Ford introduced mini-SUV "Ford Ecosport"
Ford introduced their new mini-SUV in Beijing Auto show in April, 2012, Named Ford Ecosport. Their compact size fits well on congested roads and thus adds particularity to the car. Ford Ecosport is codenamed as ‘B512’. It is a combination of SUV, a small car and a hatchback. The present model of Ford Ecosport is quite a success in Brazilian car market and they hopes that kind of success will continue in countries like India.
Ford Ecosport will come with a new 1.0 litre 3 cylinder eco-boost petrol engine generating around 120PS power and a peak torque of 170 Nm with super low Co2 level of 140 g/km. This turbocharged petrol engine will provide same output as of 1.6 litre engine. Company offers a mileage of 20 kmpl, high in small SUV’s and also they done much design work to make this car to give such a mileage. This car is expected to give good driving experience to Indian customers on Indian terrains. Ford Ecosport has a similar Ford Fiesta platform. In India it will be launched on 2012 end or 2013. The specialty of this Ford Ecosport is that it is built on award winning compact car platform B2E, which help in reducing weight and size.
Ford Ecosport is coming with a price range of Rs 7.5 lakh-Rs 9 lakh which can be affordable to customers. Till now SUV’s are available over Rs 10 lakh, ford is starting a new price range for their cars. This is done by limiting the length up to 4 meters, in order to overcome heavy tax.
The looks of the car is different from Ford Fiesta. It provides good ground clearance, high bonnet, small roof rails and good cladding. It has a sleek Led headlight, rear windscreen and attractive tail lamp. Ford Ecosport provides a strong and sporty look and car is expected to come with 16 inch wheels.
Interior of Ford Ecosport
Ford Ecosport is coming with stylish and modern interior. It is quite comfortable for five persons with good space for storage. Talking about the passengers comfort they managed to give good leg space and roof height. The steering wheel is leather wrapped with carpeted floor and centrally positioned console. In order to provide a sporty look the interior colors are specially aligned. About the electronics part, Ford Ecosport is coming with AM/FM radio, CD players and Voice control. They provided a central digital clock, Bluetooth, USB connections and a powerful air conditioning system.
Safety:
Ford Ecosport will come with well positioned driver seat which provides a good front view of the road. It also coming with burglar alarm system, front and side curtain airbags, back seat belts, ABS with EBD, ESP, Traction control, and Hill Launch assist. In my view Ford Ecosport will be a challenge to ‘Renault Duster’ which awaiting its launch in India.
Models:
Ford Ecosport is coming with three variants.
- Ford Ecosport 1.0 litre petrol MT: powered by eco-boost petrol engine with output of 120 Ps with a torque of 170 Nm and a mileage of 20 Kmpl. Muscular engine with 5 speed manual transmissions.
- Ford Ecosport 1.0 litre petrol AT: 6 speed power shift automatic transmission with dual clutch.
- Ford Ecosport 1.5 litre Diesel MT: 1.5 litres with manual transmission.
About the mileage 3 cylinder petrol engine will claimed to give 20 kmpl. This will help to save Rs.19, 600 in a year. This is obtained by the help of its design. The new eco-boost engine will provide 120 ps max: Power and 170Nm of max: Torque at 1500 rpm. The diesel powered Ford Ecosportis expected to provide 90bhp of power and max: torque of 204 Nm at 2000-2750 rpm.
Exteriors:
The car is good and muscular looking. It has only 4 meter long, thus providing compact SUV. This platform has been developed with the help of Mazda. It comes with Silver skid plate, roof tails, roof antenna etc. Body color bumper has a black air dam and also has small fog lamps. Protective cladding also provided. Roof is front sweeping and joined to the windshield, which giving a sporty look. Side lines are provided to improve the look.
The Ford Ecosport is entirely anew challenger to the small SUV segment.