Ford Ecosport 1.5D Titanium - Owner's Log of the Beauty or the Beast?

[invincible13]

Firstly, i have been researching couple of fourms to know more about ES, as i'm planning to get an urban SUV soon. But i'm looking for an AT variant and do not think anyone other than ES has it on offer, vis-a-vis it's competition

This thread did provide a lot of information and also helped me to make my decision to buy an ES more stronnger

If anyone on this forum has been a proud owner of an ES AT, can help me in knowing their ownership experience and pro's/cons of the AT engine.

Thanks in advance..

Mod sorry if'm off topic here..

 

[naveen04in]

Had a day off (thanks to the Kerala Budget drama) two weeks back and decided to do something that was long pending. Tar removal. Luckily I found an old tar remover lying in the house and decided to start work. I was shocked to see the amount of tar on the car. The entire bonnet, front bumper, all doors upto the waist line, all completely covered in tar.

Products Used



Here are some pictures of the tar. I know the pictures wont do justice.







Took close to 4 hours to complete the work which included rinsing the car, tar removal, washing the car (proper way) and then polishing the car (not the entire car. I ran out of energy ). But was able to cover most of the car and the results were pleasing.








Upgrade - Headlights

It was time for a much needed headlight upgrade and with a drive to Bangalore coming this week, I knew that this was the perfect time for an upgrade. I had planned to go with Philips Xtreme Vision but went for Osram Nightbreaker at the last moment. This was also expensive when compared to Philips (2k for a pair).

I didnt get a chance to fully test the headlights but a quick drive yesterday didnt disappoint me. Didnt notice a great improvement for the low beam but high beam was pretty good. Need to test these on the highway were I can fully come to a conclusion. I would say there's around 20% more improvement. One thing to point out is that the high beam is a lot whitish when compared to the low beam. Thank god it isnt the other way around.

Anyways, shall update it's performance after I get to drive on April 1st.

 

[naveen04in]

Update - Projector Headlights


This was something I always wanted. I had installed projectors and HIDs in my swift soon after I got the car and fell in love with it the very first day.

The reason why I decided to stay away from projectors in the ecosport was:
1) It's expensive
2) I generally change cars after 4 years (but looks like ecosport is here to stay)

Coming back to the projectors. I had few options when it came to projectors.

1) Go for the retro fit. Checked with TRS and AVS tuning. Direct import from TRS was a good option and pretty reasonable but checked with customs and came to know that it would attract duties of some 7k-8k which would bring the entire cost (projectors and HIDs) to around 26k-27k. Add another 4k for painting and installation, it would come to 30k.





Two things that changed my decision:
(a) Since ecosport headlights are sleek, I seriously had a doubt whether 3" projectors would fit properly (the ones shown in the picture is 3"). Even if the projectors made a good fit, the shroud will be another problem. It can be installed but had to be cut to make a perfect fit. I wasnt confident on this cutting and installing thingy and moreover TRS people said it wont be a perfect fit and suggested the shroud which "might" fit while AVS guys said it would be perfect fit. This added a lot of confusion.

(b) This is the main reason for declining this - My wife didnt like this. Period.

2) Decided to check some after market options. Aliexpress had lot of options but were expensive. These are some of the options that I had.





Wifey loved the tear drop projectors and asked me to go ahead. But I wasnt too keen on double barrel headlights and also the options in alipexress wasnt too wallet friendly (40K for the projectors alone). I knew even if I get to buy from them, it would attract duties. Decided to check out other options.

Then remembered about a close source that I had and decided to contact him. Said he would help me source the headlights. The lights were confirmed and the total cost for the headlights were 28k.

The next confusion I had - HIDs. I had used Auto Gauge HIDs in my Swift for more than 3 years without any issues but I finalized on either Philips or Osram. Did some check and decided to go with Osram Xenarc 35w, 4300k HIDs. Price - 10k

Headlight package:





Connection:



Ford has a single multi pin connection that's connected to the headlight. No separate wiring for headlights, indicators etc. Luckily, the aftermarket unit had the same configuration. But the only only problem is I lost the beam level adjuster feature since that's another coupling unit which is not present in the aftermarket unit. I need to check options to install this without playing around with the stock wiring unit.

HID's:



Ballast:



Fitment Process:

It was a straight forward process but the locking mechanism at the bottom of the unit was a bit tricky. Once that's sorted out, it's a straight fit. Installing the ballast was also a straight forward process. Here's the location of the ballast.

Left:



Right:



The beam is a bit high but doesnt blind oncoming traffic. Here are some pictures:

Low beam without fog:



High beam without fog:



You may notice nil difference between the low and high beam. I decided to stick with the halogens bulbs that came with the aftermarket unit. Will upgrade it in the coming months.

Initial Impressions (from personal experience):
1) Much better than stock bulbs
2) Much better than Osram Nightbreakers
3) Went for a night ride yesterday (city) and did not use the fogs (I always use them as the stock bulbs were bad). Satisfactory performance.
4) High+low combo is brutal as all four lights are switched on.
5) This is a LHD configuration so the cutoff is a bit weird. (sorry, couldnt click the cutoff picture)
6) DRL's are sweet and definitively catches attention. And as the DRL's are lit when the car is unlocked, it does attract people's attention.

Final Summary:
Will update my findings when I take it for a long drive.

Projectors Headlights - 28k
Osram Xenarc 35w, 12V, 4300k (H7) HID's - 10k
Installation - Free
High Beam - H1

 

[naveen04in]

Rear wiper - Frameless type

Had planned this long time back but couldnt get my hands on the right size. Finally saw fellow bhpian Arun's update and as soon as I saw it, I bought the wipers. But unfortunately, after two days they say it's a 2 year old pack and that too an unboxed pack. So decided to cancel it and try searching other online shops. Stumbled on a product - Universal frameless wiper for Ford Figo Rear 12". Although the Ecosport wiper size is 11", I decided to try this one out. I knew there's enough space to accommodate that extra inch. Bought the wiper for 299/-

Here are the pictures.







Initial Impressions:
1) Covers a lot of area.
2) Clean swipe.
3) Looks better than the stock wiper.

 

[bharatbharija]

Hi Naveen, Congrats on your purchase. I have purchased Ecosport Diesel Titanium Variant, in New Delhi and I am now in search of a gear lock. Do you have any recommendations ?

 

[naveen04in]

Hi Naveen, Congrats on your purchase. I have purchased Ecosport Diesel Titanium Variant, in New Delhi and I am now in search of a gear lock. Do you have any recommendations ?

I have no clue on that. I guess Ford is giving the gear lock as an accessory. Or check some local shops. They have it.

 

[Niku]

@naveen04in:

Although I am late to post in this thread, I have been following it for quite some time. The car looks in excellent shape even after ~2 years. The tear drop projectors look very good. Can I see projectors as stage one for the kind of modifications you carried out on your Swift Diesel?

@bharatbharija:

Congratulations for the car, bharatbharija.

Gear lock would be available at Ford Dealerships or Aftermarket shops for Rs. ~2k. Look for brands like Autocop and Minda, as the price difference won't be much. Put up this query in the Ecosport TD thread for a better response.

Have a look at this thread for gear lock pictures (though not from Ecosport):
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ications/22026-gear-lock-chevrolet-optra.html

Regards,
Nikunj

 

[Shail1061]

Hi have you purchased the extended warranty which i heard was till 5 years ? can you throw some light on this ?

 

[bharatbharija]

I have purchased 4 years extended service for 100000 kms. 5 years one was twice the price and for 120000 kms. In extended warranty wear and tear is covered at intervals of some kms like for shockers you can report a defect upto 30000 kms and its like this for other parts as well

 

[naveen04in]

@naveen04in:

Although I am late to post in this thread, I have been following it for quite some time. The car looks in excellent shape even after ~2 years. The tear drop projectors look very good. Can I see projectors as stage one for the kind of modifications you carried out on your Swift Diesel?

Thanks dude. Well, I thought of keeping the ecosport stock but these small mods have always fascinated me. No major mods planned but next might be wider tires.

Hi have you purchased the extended warranty which i heard was till 5 years ? can you throw some light on this ?

I have only 2 years warranty. Might extend this.

 

[bharatbharija]

Hi Naveen, I would like to congratulate on your purchase of Creta. When is the comparison report coming with ecosport. And How would you rate Ecosport's ownership in one sentence ? Your Thread made me buy Ecosport, now time will tell if It makes me buy some other car down the line (Creta - Looks Awesome)

 

[naveen04in]

Hi Naveen, I would like to congratulate on your purchase of Creta. When is the comparison report coming with ecosport. And How would you rate Ecosport's ownership in one sentence ? Your Thread made me buy Ecosport, now time will tell if It makes me buy some other car down the line (Creta - Looks Awesome)

Thanks Bharat. To give it a score, I would rate it 8. It was absolutely perfect for us (family of 2, 90% city use and that too through the metro construction corridor) but the hard suspension was a bit too much for me. Not a deal breaker, but when I saw the creta, I just knew this was better. So went with it. Absolutely nothing wrong with ecosport, it's an amazing car.