Ford’s exciting new compact crossover, the EcoSport, is close to launch and while Ford have been busy showcasing their new creation at various malls in the metros, a few bigwigs of the automotive news industry, including Car India, have been behind the wheel already.
The EcoSport offers a good amount of space, but its compact dimensions reflect in the overall passenger and luggage room. The front seats are comfortable and there is fairly good room to spare. The same cannot be said about the rear, which feels a little tighter. Overall, the feel and build quality are on par, if not better than its main rivals, notably the Renault Duster. Handling and dynamics, as you would expect from a Ford, are good and the car feels stable. The engine line-up is a familiar affair, with the 1.5-litre 109 PS TiVCT petrol and 90 PS TDCi diesel from the Fiesta, as well as an all-new gem of a motor, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost three-cylinder, turbo-petrol unit. The EcoBoost was the one we first drove and, for a three-cylinder, the engine is very smooth and with 125 PS and 170 Nm on tap, it doesn’t leave you wanting much as far as power is concerned.
The Ford EcoSport will be available in three trim levels, with the EcoBoost engine and automatic transmission being available only on the top-end Titanium variant. The rest of the range will sport the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines and manual transmissions. Expect the EcoSport to be in showrooms very soon as Ford is building up the excitement across the country as a prelude to the much-awaited launch. No word on pricing as Ford continues to remain tight-lipped about those numbers. Read the full first drive of the Ford EcoSport in the June issue of Car India.
