Hey Bhpians,
This is a story of my First car and it's straight from the bottom of my heart! 2021 was a packed year for me during the second half of the year with more work, a bit of typhoid, IELTS and constant travel every week to some place from Sep-Dec. Which is why I haven't been quite active on Team BHP.
Since the "Videshi" dream is still a dream due to the lottery system type visa draws from the country I was planning to migrate to(not the US of A), I decide to get a car for myself.
I did have an intention to buy a car soon but not within a month's time. Usually in other houses parents will be like "Why are you buying a car", but in my house my parents were more like, "if you travel a lot of long distance by car, get your own car". That sentence hit me hard and there begins the quest for my first own car with my earnings. The reason for that statement was simple, I've driven the car alone for 20-22,000 kms in a year and there would be no car at home in case parents want to go out somewhere. Morevoer, for a person like me, a car is more like an asset and this would be the first time that I'm buying something big for myself and would make me more responsible by paying EMI's. This decision was made on Dec 5, 2021.
My existing car at home is a Ford EcoSport 1.5 Titanium TDCi a.k.a Blue Baby. Well, this one needs no introduction!
Link:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...nium-tdci.html
I'm not quite comfortable with flights to travel as well as it takes only a day lesser than driving(Ex: If one needs to travel from BLR-DEL, one needs to leave their house 2-3 hours prior to check-in reach the airport 2 hours before check in, the flight journey is fine though for 2.5 hrs and after reaching the destination, it takes another couple of hours to reach your actual destination in DEL. A one way trip itself is 7k and close to 9-10 hours (4k flight ticket+1.5k taxi in either city to and fro)) This cemented my decision to get a car so that I go whenever I want and wherever I wish to go.
Coming to the car selection part:
I was open to both new and used and as GTO says, used cars are better buys because someone else takes the depreciation hit. However in Bangalore, the story is different as a 2016 used Polo GT would cost nearly 8-9 Lakhs and one needs a lot of patience and luck in getting a used car. I didn't have a specific budget in mind, but I was willing to push till 13-14L Max for a new car and used within 9L.
My requirements were specific such as:
1. ESP + Traction control(a real MVP on highways). I would have exempted this if the car really pulled my strings.
2. Airbags and ABS come by default in today's times. More airbags, the merrier!
3. Diesel only as my running will be on highways for 1000-2000 km drives every quarter or month. Lone exception was a Polo GT TSI
4. Solid Build
5. Android Auto/ Carplay
6. Rear Wiper+Defogger(a very underrated yet an essential feature)
7. No Sunroof!!(because I find it useless for our country's weather conditions and if a strong coconut falls on it, I'll be poorer by 70k-1L and also the maintenance of a sunroof is a lot after 5 years of the car's age as the drain pipes and rubber seals stars to give up. The last thing I'd want in my car is droplets of rain water seeping in and one of the main purpose of buying a car is to be protected by the perils of mother nature. Plus the sight of kids standing out of the sunroof while the car is moving is a sadening one as parents are ones supposed to teach children the right things to do.)
8. Has to be a top of the line variant because some OEM parts and features can't be retrofitted aftermarket.
9. Manual Transmission as my driving is 70% highway and 30% City. Automatic Diesels are very rare but would have been the best of both worlds.
10. Cruise Control( a non-negotiable on highways)
Still, for curiosity's sake I decided to check these new cars. All pics are taken from Google.
First up, the newbies: 1. Tata Altroz XZ+ 
What I liked:
+ Very Spacious and comfortable
+ Tractable Diesel Engine
+ Looks dope!
+ Great FE for Diesel
+ Good Pricing
What can be better:
- The petrol, both Turbo and NA felt kinda weak
- Abysmal GC with full load( can't expect much as this is a hatch)
- No Black color in Diesel
- Tata's Fit and Finish has some more distance to cover
Bhpian PrasannaDhana's thread was convincing enough to go for Altroz Diesel but fate had some plans already :P
Link:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...500-km-up.html 2. Kia Sonet 
What I liked:
+ Feature loaded
+ Looks good
+ Engine has decent pep
What can be better:
- Expensive maintenace
- Too small for the asking price(14L and still no rear wiper :Frustrati)
- Kia got the basics wrong. Safety is a question mark and when the structure itself is weak, it didn't feel right for a highway car
3. Tata Nexon Diesel 
What I liked
+ ESP right from base varaint
+ Ample power from the engine
+ Solid Build + GC and adequately tyred
What can be improved:
- Variants are goofed up big time(XM+ gets sunroof but no rear wiper, XZ+ gets no CC)
- A test drive car had the door rubber seal come off slightly. QC misses.
4. Polo GT/Highline+ TSI 
What I like:
+ The 1.0 TSI is suprisingly torquey
+ Enough said about VAG quality
+ Insane Mod Potential
What can't be changed:
-Strictly a 2+1 seater car.
- Apparently VW is doing a favor by selling a Polo GT TSi. None of them in South India have a ready stock for a Polo and wait time is 6 months and I'm like "Whaatttt!!". So their SA's are clear that they want to push the Taigun. One dealer in Delhi was nice enough to send the car to Bangalore if I'm going for the GT.
-Not VFM anymore(GT never was)
Going by the list, it would have been obvious that I went with Nexon. There's a twist as we move further.
I started Exploring used cars(Under 40k kms) as well and oh boy! The used car market is as deep as the Indian ocean and one can easily scratch their head if they keep having more options.
Two Quick tips to check a used without even driving car are:
1. Compression test:
You need to start the car and let it idle or run the car for 5 min and then open the engine oil dipstick with the engine on. If you see a white smoke coming out, then stay away from that car as the head gasket has been affected. You wouldn't believe the no.of cars I saw this issue(I would have seen close to 100 cars from all brands before I bought my car and almost 40% cars had this issue and all the affected cars were from used car dealers only, including Spinny Chennai for a Freestyle Titanium+)
2. Check in RTO vehicle information App(not Vahan) download from Playstore. This app shows loan details, exact insurance due date and genuine no.of owners as well as traffic fines. Sometimes a few owners hide the loan fact and this is very important.
App's link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...p2BV-2ztJ-a_7Y
Avoid the standalone used car dealers as their cars would be tampered with.
Spinny seems to be like the angel among used car dealers, but they don't budge on the pricing and all their cars are overpriced by 80k-1L. Plus they do not correct some of the issues mentioned by us in the car. One of my friend's who bought an S-cross from spinny still has the squeaky noise from the doors.
Another tryst with Spinny was I went all the way to Chennai to check for a Freestyle Titanium+ TDCi which was run 44k kms. But it felt like that particular car has run more than 1.5L kms and it failed the compression test. Moreover there was a black stain on the headlight and it wouldn't go. Then I realized it's a flood affected car. Plus Freestyle will have much higher depreciation than EcoSport.So didn't make financial sense too. Lesson learnt, never go for a used car from Chennai. I think the 200+ checkpoints have vanished into oblivion.
Wild card entry was a Maruti S cross. If it was the S-cross, I wanted only the 1.6 after being influenced by Dr.Naren's thread, can't think of the 1.3 at all though that too is practical! Alas, 1.6 is like finding a black panther in Kabini. I did find one in Chennai, none in Bangalore. It looked to be good but when I checked personally, it was a flood affected car.
Ditto with Ola and Cars 24. But on the flipside, these companies do take care of name transfer.
PerCarMart in Electronics City isn't good as well as I saw most of the cars had some issue or the other. Especially white smoke issues in most of their cars.
After seeing multiple cars with multiple dealers and owners, I felt dejected as I would have seen close too 100 cars(Multiple iterations of S-cross, Freestyle, Polos, Ameos, EcoSports). Either the cars would be way overpriced for their age and ODO reading or some issue will be present with the car.
Plus I was thinking that 13% loan on a used car isn't really a good choice and went ahead with booking a White Nexon XZ+ from Chennai and was prepared to get the Cruise control fitted at the dealership itself. I was getting a crazy discount in Chennai. So the plan was to drive the car on temp plates and get it KA registered. I was about to pay the advance to Lakshmi motors, Cehnnai on 29th December and here the
real twist happens!
Suddenly a few minutes later someone from the EcoSport Owners group pings me that a
Red Titanium+ 2018, 40k run is up for sale. I immediately went to Kanakapura road Metro and saw the car in person. Drove it and did all pass the tests. Then my mind completely changed and I knew that this is the one which is going to be my 1st own car and it ticks every requirement I had mentioned above. The car was well within my budget for a used car (9L to be specific) and the Owner was kind enough to help with all the transfer and bank formalities. What sealed the deal was that the owner had helped me in getting a 10.5% interest rate for a used car loan and that seemed to be quite good. I did the math on the back of my head and even if I decide to sell after 5-6 years, my depreciation would be way less than a new car. Started all the bank procedures on Dec 30 and on Jan 6, 2022.I got my first car finally! That feeling when you buy your first car with your earnings is surreal and a goosebumps moment! So, the Red dragon(Phoneix) was home. Talking about fate, the previous owner also was like in Kannada "Hennu, honnu, mannu thanagi thane olidu barbeku" This means that Woman, money and land/power has to come to you all by itself ".
I'm not going to delve into the details, interiors or features as everyone is aware of the car by now.
A summary of the Red Dragon: +Engine: The 1.5 TDCi is a very reliable workhorse and light on the wallet. My car makes a claimed power of 125 PS and 270Nm torque after the stage1+ remap. The difference is in the in gear acceleration. Someday this year, I will dyno great the car to know the actual figures. Good FE too and economical than a present day 2 wheeler. Maintenance is a strong point as service bills seldom exceed 6k.
+Practicality: Usable bottle holders, storage spaces, Cargo management (can keep the laptops, tools and valuable stuff hidden under the plank in the boot). Adjustable to 3 levels and the middle one is my favorite. The front doors can hold an umbrella too. Sunglass holder is handy too but need to wrap the sunglass in a soft cloth else it'll rattle. Glove box light, puddle lamps auto dimming mirror, auto headlights (especially lead me to home feature where the headlights are in for 10-20 secs) are quite usable. Only gripe is that the leather seats heat up quickly though they are comfy.
+Handling & Steering feedback: It's a Ford and this had been the main reason for red dragon to come home.
= Brakes: Brakes are better with ESP and TC compared to other variants. Decent stopping power and engine brakes works better in this car and helps in the longevity of the brakes. But for the tuned power, the stock brakes will need an upgrade.
=Transmission: The IB5 gearbox did the job well but has notchy shifts on prolonged use. A simple solution is to change a rubber bush and gear oil in the gearbox area. A 500 Rs fix.
-Tyres/Suspension: The 17" wheels make the ride too stiff and are good only for highways. Suspension has a different set up than the other variants for a sportier drive.
-Ease of repairs: Most of the FNGs and accessories shops are still hesitant to touch a Ford. Aftermarket accessories for Ford are a pain. Even a roots horn isn't plug and play. Ford specific one are quite expensive.
Mod potential: Now, Ford's have immense mod potential equal to VAG cars with the advent of
Forscan, UCDS for Ford cars, F-Mods and CyanLabs. Parts are swappable with Fiesta, Focus, Kuga and almost several other Ford's. Money and Sky are the only limitations.
My pipeline mods will be Carried forward from Blue baby and additional mods Planned are Full digital Speedo, Adaptive Cruise Control and Driver fatigue system. BLIS does not make sense for Indian traffic conditions.
The very second day of ownership, I had a small cut on the left rear tyre. Then I decided to switch to 16" for 2 reasons. 15k cost difference while changing tyres and better ride+ Peace of mind. Currently it's running on 16" wheels.
Ford's games of spot the difference (feature deletion) started from this VIN series(JT= April 2018) and they have forgotten or deliberately not given TPMS sensors for a 17" tyre. Apparently, Even under seat stowage has been axed.
A first glimpse of Red Dragon 
One small similarity is that both the EcoSports are registered in April 2018 and the VIN numbers are close as well. JS for the blue one and JT for the red one.
Now most of you might think what's wrong with this guy. Ford has been shut and you're still going for another Ford, that too the same car. Here are my answers to those questions.
1. Spares will definitely be available for next 10 years legally. There are some folks driving around in a Lancer or Pajero which is almost my age and still they do get spares, right?
2. I've never seen any other come come with such quality south of 30L
3. EcoSport is a familiar car to me. So it'll be my canvas for any type of mod and since it's a global car, getting spares or mods are easier.
4. I know I might be mad or crazy but yeah, I have both my cars and have no plans to sell both till their End of service.
5. Our generation might be one of the last ones to experience IC engines and by next decade we will be seeing only quiet and boring cars(Yes EV, I'm looking at you) but environment conscious cars.
6. Ford making a comeback into mainstream Indian car market(Just Wishful Thinking)
The first thing I did after I bought the car was drive it straight to Engineering Exponent at Hoodi(next to Bharat Petroleum pump) for a Wolf Stage 1+ remap. I had done enough research on them and even some folks in team bhp have told positive stuff about wolf, I decided to take the plunge.
Since I went from the owners group side, I got a 3k discount from the actual price of the remap. They take about 2 hours to get the car remapped. The owner of Engineering Exponent, Jayant was very knowledgeable and friendly. He answered all my queries about remap and reliability. Even their service costs are lesser than OE service centers.
After 2 hours, I drove around for a while and Jayant had mentioned that it will take about 50-60 ignition cycles and about 60-80 km for the car to respond to the new map. The magic was when I started the car the next day. It sounded way more silent than my stock blue car and the way it pulls in each gear is like a train. You can reach silly speeds in 3rd gear and some insane speeds in 4/5 th gear. After remap, the engine pulls very linearly and the service interval remains unchanged. The claimed figures are close to 122PS and 270nm torque. Haven't had the time to check on a dyno yet. The best part is city fuel economy has bumped up by 1.5-2 km/l. Highway FE too, but if you're in a mood for some fun driving, then expect 16km/l.
The same evening I swapped the cluster from my blue car to the red one as parents hardly know a thing about the ST line cluster. I got the cluster recalibrated at Soni meters in Ulsoor and started to use again.
For viewing pleasure
The Wolf Pack
Still looks goods despite the age
The Red Dragon getting famous from day 1.
If anyone is going for an EcoSport now, go with Titanium+(Dec 2017-Jun 2019) OR BS 4 S variant as these versions have all the bells and whistles and are trouble free.
Oh goodness! I'm still not bored of this car and I think the EcoSport loves me back as much as I love it. No wonder another EcoSport came into my life and this had to be the fate that was written for me :D . The EcoSport and Endeavour are similar to what the RX100 and RD350 were and is today.
Well, here is the tale of the EcoSport twins, one stock, the other a wild one
After wheel swap
Front look. Still Thunder headlight swap( thunder variant has black inserts) and black roof are pending for the red dragon
Flashy and Classy
I will keep this thread alive by posting more of my travel + mods over here. Cheers and a Happy new year!
Oh yeah! Congratulations! You've made me a bit more confident about Ford.
@jithin23 many congratulations for finding a good car in today’s flooded pre owned car market. Your decision and prior experience with ecosport is a booster for others who might have been hesitant to consider Ford ecosport as an option after Ford Fiasco of Indian exit.
The mods which you have done are very interesting.
As you rightly said sadly there might not be chances to get an IC engine car in next decade; we automobile lovers must take every advantage/ chance to enjoy these engineering marvels.
Every time I read pre worshipped car purchase/ review and happiness of new owners I just can’t stop thanking beloved GTO for correct logic, guidelines and saving loads of money of people like us:)
Will be eager to read updates.
Have hundreds of thousands of kilometers with Phoenix.
Cheers.
Congrats Jithin on your red dragon. Ecosport is one of the best handling and sorted out of vehicle out there in it's segment. I was in similar boat last year and shortlisted Ecosport, but had to let go of it due to space constraints. Also 10.5% interest on used car loan is a steal deal. When I enquired, I was quoted nothing less than 12% and that is why I went for personal loan which was 10.7% I think.
Hardly used vehicles are the new trend if you ask me. I am enjoying the used Compass which took 8L depreciation in 1.5 years.
Having said that, 9L seems a bit high for a vehicle company which left India. Is this due to high taxes in KA? I felt 8L would have been a sweet spot for this beauty.
Anyway looking forward to your mods. Happy miles. :cool:
Fret not, I'm another one of those who bought a Ford after their exit from India.
Purchased a 'Demo Car', Figo TDCi Nov 2020 model from a Ford dealer in Jabalpur. The car had clocked only 6600 kms and was almost 'new'.
After Stage 1 remap (Quantum/GT Tunerz), the car is even better to drive than before. It's quieter too, the diesel clatter is a lot less than before..
