Saar: Mechanically though, the sub-4 metre SUV remains unaltered.
Ford India launched the thoroughly refreshed EcoSport in November last year. After just five months, the American carmaker has made some significant changes to the EcoSport’s recipe. First up, the price. Let’s quickly see how they have changed ever since the SUV went on sale.
| Price (ex-showroom Delhi) | Diesel | Petrol | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | Launch | Now | Approx. Difference | Launch | Now | Approx. Difference |
| Ambiente | Rs 8.01 Lakh | Rs 8.42 Lakh | Rs 41,000 | Rs 7.31 Lakh | Rs 7.82 Lakh | Rs 51,000 |
| Trend | Rs 8.71 Lakh | Rs 9.16 Lakh | Rs 45,000 | Rs 8.04 Lakh | Rs 8.56 Lakh | Rs 52,000 |
| Trend+ | Rs 9.10 Lakh | Rs 9.56 Lakh | Rs 46,000 | Rs 9.34 Lakh | Rs 9.76 Lakh | Rs 42,000 |
| Titanium | Rs 9.85 Lakh | Rs 10 Lakh | Rs 15,000 | Rs 9.17 Lakh | Rs 9.55 Lakh | Rs 38,000 |
| Titanium+ | Rs 10.67 Lakh | Rs 11.04 Lakh | Rs 37,000 | Rs 10.99 Lakh (Auto) | Rs 11.36 Lakh (Auto) | Rs 37,000 |
Let’s put some more math on the table above and calculate the average price hiked between petrol- and diesel-powered variants. We notice that it is the petrol-fed ones that have received a higher price hike. Ford will argue that while most of the price bump was to offset input costs, the rest was due to the new budget. That said, Ford has also gone ahead and rejigged the equipment list on the EcoSport. Let’s look at what those changes are.
| Feature | Launch | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Rear View Camera | Titanium+ only | All variants except Ambiente |
| Seat Belt Reminder | Driver only (all variants) | Driver plus passenger (all variants) |
| Rear Parking Sensors | Trend+, Titanium and Titanium+ | All variants |
| Rear Washer With Defogger | Trend+, Titanium and Titanium+ | All variants except Ambiente |
| Ford MyKey | Titanium+ only | Titanium and Titanium+ |
| SYNC3 (With Voice Control) | All variants except Ambiente | Titanium+ only |
| Apple CarPlay And Android Auto | All variants except Ambiente | Titanium+ only |
| Embedded Satellite Navigation | None | Trend, Trend+ and Titanium |
| Multicolour Ambient Footwell Lighting | Titanium and Titanium+ | Titanium+ only |
| Capacitive Touchscreen | 6.5-inch in Trend and Trend+; 8.0-inch in Titanium and Titanium+ | 9.0-inch in Trend, Trend+ and Titanium; 8.0-inch in Titanium+ |
Notice that the basic safety features such as rear parking sensors and front two seat belt reminders now come as standard. Moreover, the speed-sensing auto door locking feature is now standard. What is surprising though that the high-speed warning alert, which was part of the kit earlier and was offered only in the top two variants, isn’t there anymore. This could, and most probably will be a mistake by the brochure-making people. If not, that’s a big miss on the safety front, primarily because high-speed warning will be part of the basic safety feature list that all cars will have to carry from July next year.
On the infotainment front, the news is neither here or there. Sure, the screen-size has gone up for the mid-range variants, but they have lost features like SYNC3, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. The Titanium+ variant, which does get all those things, has to make do with a touchscreen which is smaller than the lesser variants.
Mechanically, the EcoSport remains unaltered. The 1.5-litre, turbo-petrol engine still has 123PS/150Nm to offer whereas the 1.5-litre diesel has 100PS/205Nm on tap. Transmission options for the petrol include a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic. The diesel, on the other hand, is still available with the 5-speed manual gearbox only. Claimed mileage figures are clocked at 17kmpl for petrol MT, 14.8kmpl for petrol AT and 23kmpl for diesel MT.
Presently, the Ford EcoSport competes with the Tata Nexon, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Honda WR-V. While the Nexon has the most powerful diesel engine amongst the three, the EcoSport has the most potent petrol motor. Maruti’s sub-4 metre SUV stands out because it is offered only with a diesel engine.
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