Exclusive! Ford EcoSport Makes Global Premiere (Variants Leaked! Pg.98)

[1989rs500]

i too have been a Ford loyalist all along, and had been waiting for the Ecosport for about an year. However, when i took a day off from work just to watch Ecosport in flesh in a nearby mall, i was completely disappointed.. It definitely has the looks to attract, but in terms of space or comfort i would rate it lower than many hatchbacks.. ES is definitely not a comparison to the likes of Duster or XUV 500.. however, i think Ecosport as a product will be a success, since there are many who would find it meeting the requirements well.. To me the lack of space and premium-ness is a deal breaker.

yes i agree with the point since bijos priority is space and premium feel, but for the part i am talking about is the enthusiasts part,See what if ford made Ecosport with better space at rear and better quality plastics and price it around 10-14 lakh on road, then people will say midsize sedans like Vento and Rapid and verna are better,Ford is a brand highly reputed worldwide for making exceptionally good handling cars thats a DNA that only the driver can experience and we pay for that experience in Ecosport but sadly only 1-2% of Indian population are enthusiasts and for them FORD IS THE WAY TO GO,also the individual components of Ecosport say the steering rack and pinion arrangement which is the costlier than what Hyundai,renault,VW,etc has to offer, then there is the AC which is made by a company named VIN which uses motorcraft type coolers thats one of the best in the world,Then there is the multilink front and torsion beam rear setup with anti roll dampers which is more sophisticated than what Duster or even what the Vento uses, to provide the best possible balance between stiffness and suppleness, the SYNC technology maybe a gimmick for the common man but its a massive project that Ford did and who paid for it!the rear reclining seats which i see as one of the most useful feature in a car like this not even a 20 lakh car offers this feature,then the 550 mm water wading,the boron steel body which is more stiffer than regular body and provides German cars rivaling interior quietness, 60;40 seat split option, the 1.0 Ecoboost petrol the best engine in the world currently,the 1.5 TDCi the most refined diesel i have driven till date with descent power and i can tell more, so with such an amazing prowess and the only quirk i find is plastic quality which i will happily forgive for the above told positives i get in the Ecosport

 

[1989rs500]

I have actually sat and travelled in the trax in Toronto ( Canada ) last month it is bigger , chunkier and looks better then ES .
And there is no point again in comparing that car as gm clearly told they won't bring that in India .
My comment was only regarding looks since I have seen all the 3 inside out very closely .



Why are they launching in Goa first ? This sounds weird . Maybe what he meant was that it will be previewed in Goa first which ford did already .

hello Raja i would like to inquire one thing, i have seen your Ecosport pics that you had a chance to sit inside even before it was produced in the Malls, those Ecosports had cloth seats right, how did you feel about those seats, were they the same one thats the grey one found in the New Fiesta, the texture seemed different though and how was the cushioning on those seats,hard, soft or mediocre and do you think all ecosports in non Titanium trim will get those cloth seats

 

[Raja]

hello Raja i would like to inquire one thing, i have seen your Ecosport pics that you had a chance to sit inside even before it was produced in the Malls, those Ecosports had cloth seats right, how did you feel about those seats, were they the same one thats the grey one found in the New Fiesta, the texture seemed different though and how was the cushioning on those seats,hard, soft or mediocre and do you think all ecosports in non Titanium trim will get those cloth seats

The seats were fabric , but had a nice shine too it ( like velvet ) , from what I know ( as I was told ) every trim will have different style of fabric .
The seats were very comfortable for me . I would say the cushioning was quite nice nothing out of the world but not bad at all .

Again regarding space I think people are expecting a bit too much out of a 4 mts car , now some might argue how come quanto has so much space ? Well if space is the only priority then ES might not be a good deal . And then question comes along with space driving dynamics , style , flair are also things which matter and the ES can run circles around the quanto .

I still maintain like before space in ES is for
1) 4 adults in superb comfort
2) 4 adults and 1 child good comfort
3) 2 adults and 3 kids again great comfort
4) 5 medium sized adults well short city trip kind of ok . Long trips will be a real squeeze .

All depends on pricing now .

 

[anisin84]

The Ecosport demo car has arrived with the local dealer where i had booked it a month back. I had a chance to drive and feel the car today but only in the underground garage. However there are a couple of things I have observed.

1. None of the doors have manual locks in it. There is a central switch which has to be pressed and the doors will lock FROM THE OUTSIDE ONLY. but from the inside anyone can open the door. This is a major softy concern, as if there is a kid sitting behind, he will be able to open the door if he just pulls the handle. The dealers were saying that you would need to use the child lock in order to lock it from the inside. This is a real flaw.

2. The space is very very small from the inside. Yes its true I have an i10 and even that is bigger that is we have also squeezed 4 ppl at the back sometimes in case of emergencies, but there 3 MAX that to Squeezed. 4 ppl is an absolute NO NO even if the 4th person is a 5 yr old kid.

3. The avg kmpl reading even in this car showed 7.9. This is the same thing it showed in almost 99% of the reviews I have seen over the internet. This really is a point of concern. This also means that you may get a proper 14-15 kmpl only if you do low revs, that that would really reduce your pickup even lower than a normal hatch. Its true that this has ecoboost but only if u rev it above 1800 but if u do that all the time, mileage is a real concern. Honestly, in my i10 I always switch gears at 1500 till 5th gear, and then rev it till 3000 max. and I get a mileage of arnd 13kmpl with a/c on. but so I cant imagine how this will perform.

This is nothing but a hatch oversize. It have be designed like an SUV but practically speaking, its a Premium Hatch and it must be priced arnd 5L for Base Max.

I don't know what is wrong with the FORD guys. They are unnecessary delaying with the lunch. They are focusing so much on the Urban discoveries. Its like those 100 guys are like GOD to them. I really dont understand why they cant realize that no one gives the **** about those guys what ever they discover. Just reveal the prices !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hardly believe anyone would by a ECOSPORT among the 100 contestants. Rather ford is loosing prospective customers who really need cars right now..

Below is the Top Model of all Ecosport's Competitor which can compete with ES Titanium Ecoboost

Hyundai i20 Asta 1.2 Rs 6,48,735
Volkswagen Polo Highline 1.6L (P) Rs 6,48,496
Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire ZXI Rs 6,58,944
Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi Rs 5,95,053

If others can give their top ends at this price why not Ford when they are getting such a Economies of Scale and over 40% exports.

 

[anisin84]

I was just calculating one thing...The Fiesta Classic 1.6 L Titanium is priced at 6.95 L in Delhi. This price includes an Exise duty of 24%(above 4 M) so the ultimate manufacturing (EX Factory Proce) cost comes to 5.60L on which if you add 24% (1.34L) comes to the Ex Showroom price of 6.95.

Now, the Ecosport's Ex factory price will ofcourse be less than the Fiesta as because of the size and raw materials required. Even if I consider it as the same price with the Fiesta which is 5.6 even though it has Sync (License would not cost more than 5000 Rs with Microsoft) and all that, ultimately manufacturing cost would be almost that of a i20 or so, anyway lets take 5.6 L at most for top variant with 1.5 CC (Note Fiesta comes with 1.6) also considering the lower costs by economies of scale.
Now if you add an Exise duty of 12 % that is it has an engine below 1500 (Ecosport 1.5 L is actually 1495 CC) & below 4 Meters, it comes to 6.27 L Ex-showroom Max. Now add Rs 30,000 more for the Ecoboost, 6.57, add another buffer of 10,000, you get about 6.7L at most for the 1.0 L Ecoboost Titanium. Which still comes to more than i20, Polo, Swift Dzire, Swift, Amaze etc price range.

These are the approximate practical facts from the reality & Cost perspective. Now if ppl go around saying that below 10L is a good deal, I think they are over hyping it. I remember the CEO Mr Singh stating that NEW FIESTA was for niche & premium customers, and hence the price is high. So I do not think there is any way they will price it at that segment. Also remember, Ford does not have any car to tackle the Premium Hatchback and the Compact Sadan market. So this could be what they mean by aggressive pricing...People are expecting it to be priced more but they will give the surprise!!!!

 

[MightyMe]

I was just calculating one thing...The Fiesta Classic 1.6 L Titanium is priced at 6.95 L in Delhi. This price includes an Exise duty of 24%(above 4 M) so the ultimate manufacturing (EX Factory Proce) cost comes to 5.60L on which if u add 24% (1.34L) comes to the Ex Showroom price of 6.95.

Now, the Ecosport's Ex factory price will ofcourse be less than the Fiesta as because of the size and raw materials required. Even if I consider it as the same price with the Fiesta which is 5.6 even though it has Sync (License would not cost more than 5000 Rs with Microsoft) and all that, ultimately manufacturing cost would be almost that of a i20 or so, anyway lets take 5.6 L at most for top variant with 1.5 CC (Note Fiesta comes with 1.6) also considering the lower costs by economies of scale.
Now if you add an Exise duty of 12 % that is it has an engine below 1500 (Ecosport 1.5 L is actually 1495 CC) & below 4 Meters, it comes to 6.27 L Ex-showroom Max. Now add Rs 30,000 more for the Ecoboost, 6.57, add another buffer of 10,000, u get abt 6.7L at most for the 1.0 L Ecoboost Titanium. Which still comes to more than i20, Polo, Swift Dzire, Swift, Amaze etc price range.

These are the approximate practical facts from the reality & Cost perspective. Now if ppl go around saying that below 10L is a good deal, I think they are over hyping it. I remember the CEO Mr Singh stating that NEW FIESTA was for niche & premium customers, and hence the price is high. So I do not think there is any way they will price it at that segment. Also remember, Ford does not have any car to tackle the Premium Hatchback and the Compact Sadan market. So this could be what they mean by aggressive pricing...People are expecting it to be priced more but they will give the surprise!!!!

Ecosport's 1.5 L petrol engine will be subjected to higher duties i.e. 24%.The 1.5 diesel and the 1.0 ecoboost will be the only gainers of low excise duty.It will be interesting to see how Ford prices the 3 engines.

Doors not having manual locks is a matter of concern,wonder why nothing has been said in this regard in any of the review.BTW What type of seat fabric was present in the demo car you drove?

 

[anisin84]

it had the same black leather seats like in the malls..

 

[MightyMe]

anisin84-thanks for the clarification.

The review is coming up this weekend. Do watch this space.

Drive Safe,
350Z

The weekend is coming to an end!!!!Review

 

[1989rs500]

it had the same black leather seats like in the malls..

Hello Anisin84, to be frank I am a Ford fan, but let me clarify some thing about Ecosport
1.) about door locks,its a petty issue and as long as child locks are there no need for manual locks, i drive a Ford figo and it dosent have manual locks once the car moves above say 5 knph the doors get locked and then no way the car can be unlocked from inside or out only the switch or the driver side lock acts as the door unlocker
2.)The rear seat is strictly 2 seater, remember the word urban SUV and sure its a beefed up hatch but still its a CUV, its compact like the i20,Jazz,etc but still lacks the shoulder room, thats because for stability dynamics and the door which is built like that of a tank, did u observe that its heavy because it should provide best in class side impact protection more than 3 people inside
3.)The avg kmpl reading is a concern for me as well as per my uncle who has driven a ford focus 1.0 ecoboost in Europe he says the milage reading that the display shows is just approximate and we have to adapt to a driving style in this car to obtain good city milage, the city milage he got in Scotland was 12-13 kml in city and 15.6-16.6 kmpl on highway, but in Indian city i think ecoboost will give 11-12 kmpl and highway 14-45 kmpl
4.) Also mind one thing did u take a drive in the ecosport , thats the part where the Ecosport shines its a DNA thats under Fords belly one cant experience it by looking at it, also there is 123 bhp and 170 Nm of torque please tell me 1 petrol car in India today under 10l having such good spec engine.
5.)The ecoboost is imported from Spain and its made in Colonge and Spain who pays the import duty?
6.)The individual parts inside the cabin of Ecosport, the seats the most sportiest shotgun seats that i have seen in a car in India under 10l Rs, the AC which is undoubtedly the best, the best Audio system, The cabin insulation that rivals Germans, the 200 mm ground clearance without sacrificing body control handling and ride quality, the reclining seats,The exterior design which as per me puts even a real SUV guy have his jaws hit the floor, the sync system,the water wading ability etc

So there is 100 things good about Ecosport but 10 bad so for the 10 bad things it dosent become a market bargain and frankly if space is the primary criterion for Anisin84 please look somewhere not Ecosprt,Ecosport is not about outright space and extreme quality but its about everything else that i have mentioned above, hope u got my point

 

[MSN1]

Hello Anisin84, to be frank I am a Ford fan, but let me clarify some thing about Ecosport
1.) about door locks,its a petty issue and as long as child locks are there no need for manual locks, i drive a Ford figo and it dosent have manual locks once the car moves above say 5 knph the doors get locked and then no way the car can be unlocked from inside or out only the switch or the driver side lock acts as the door unlocker

figo autolocks the door at 8 kmph, and for some security reasons door can be opened from inside at any speed on figo

2.)The rear seat is strictly 2 seater, remember the word urban SUV and sure its a beefed up hatch but still its a CUV, its compact like the i20,Jazz,etc but still lacks the shoulder room, thats because for stability dynamics and the door which is built like that of a tank, did u observe that its heavy because it should provide best in class side impact protection more than 3 people inside

regarding rear seat space, 3 average men can sit in figo rear seat with no issue for short trip, but long journey its uncomfortable for the third one sitting in the middle, so i believe the same thing goes with ecosport too

my comments are in bold

 

[anisin84]

Hello Anisin84, to be frank I am a Ford fan, but let me clarify some thing about Ecosport
1.) about door locks,its a petty issue and as long as child locks are there no need for manual locks, i drive a Ford figo and it dosent have manual locks once the car moves above say 5 knph the doors get locked and then no way the car can be unlocked from inside or out only the switch or the driver side lock acts as the door unlocker
2.)The rear seat is strictly 2 seater, remember the word urban SUV and sure its a beefed up hatch but still its a CUV, its compact like the i20,Jazz,etc but still lacks the shoulder room, thats because for stability dynamics and the door which is built like that of a tank, did u observe that its heavy because it should provide best in class side impact protection more than 3 people inside
3.)The avg kmpl reading is a concern for me as well as per my uncle who has driven a ford focus 1.0 ecoboost in Europe he says the milage reading that the display shows is just approximate and we have to adapt to a driving style in this car to obtain good city milage, the city milage he got in Scotland was 12-13 kml in city and 15.6-16.6 kmpl on highway, but in Indian city i think ecoboost will give 11-12 kmpl and highway 14-45 kmpl
4.) Also mind one thing did u take a drive in the ecosport , thats the part where the Ecosport shines its a DNA thats under Fords belly one cant experience it by looking at it, also there is 123 bhp and 170 Nm of torque please tell me 1 petrol car in India today under 10l having such good spec engine.
5.)The ecoboost is imported from Spain and its made in Colonge and Spain who pays the import duty?
6.)The individual parts inside the cabin of Ecosport, the seats the most sportiest shotgun seats that i have seen in a car in India under 10l Rs, the AC which is undoubtedly the best, the best Audio system, The cabin insulation that rivals Germans, the 200 mm ground clearance without sacrificing body control handling and ride quality, the reclining seats,The exterior design which as per me puts even a real SUV guy have his jaws hit the floor, the sync system,the water wading ability etc

So there is 100 things good about Ecosport but 10 bad so for the 10 bad things it dosent become a market bargain and frankly if space is the primary criterion for Anisin84 please look somewhere not Ecosprt,Ecosport is not about outright space and extreme quality but its about everything else that i have mentioned above, hope u got my point

Thanks for your wonderful comments. But I beg to differ from you interms of price. This is India, you cannot compare ppl who are rich like you or ur uncle. Here money matters. Someone who wants to spare 10 L would go for a Highclass sadan like a City or even the new fiesta, which falls in a premium class. Why do you think Ford will make another blunder like the new fiesta ( It didnt even sale a 100 units a month since Jan 2013. Thats pritty much a bad result and their sales are going way down.

See in management terms, there are 2 ways to be on top and be a market leader, either by MASS or CLASS. Fiesta was a CLASS product but the sales showed the decline. They are developing Eco Sport for Mass. and they cannot price it that way. Think BIG, why do you think ford will place another car at a price range when they already have a flop car in that range. Do Remember Mr Singh mentioned this would be a second fego success, which is only possible by making it affordable. Look at the AMAZE for example. its like a rocket in sales, just because of Price.

Dont just comment by looks and what you think it should be..look at the management view.

Before launching any NEW products, they use analytical software designed by ppl like me, where you will just need to feed in the expected price and it would project, what would be the sales and the target unit to be produced taking into consideration of Historical figures. Ford used that tool and found that the sales is going to break through the roof. Do you really know what that means??? that can only be possible if the price is around the CS or HB+ range.

No Offense but our team did a lot of analysis behind this.

Look at this if you want to get some idea on what I mean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vT126dUxXo

 

[MSN1]

one more review from net

Road Test and Review: Ford EcoSport

where is our review just 4 hours left for this weekend to finish

 

[350Z]

Thread closed. Please continue further discussions in our official review: First Drive: Ford Ecosport Test Drive Review.

Drive Safe,
350Z