The American carmaker, Ford, with a firm foot in the Indian market introduced the EcoSport back in 2013. The sub-compact SUV became an instant hit. It is very normal that a new car coming with a naturally aspirated engine. On the contrary, Ford EcoSport wanted to start a whole new era, but it was a bit too early. or was it?
2013, Ford got the Ecosport in a powerful avatar with a supremely powerful and refined engine, and brilliant driving dynamics. Both combined gave tremendous value when it came to the price. Through the years, Ford regularly updated the Ecosport to keep it in the market but was Ford successful? Yes! this American car manufacturer still has the Ecosport in the market and comes loaded with features. Keeping that aside, how was it to drive the most powerful turbo petrol engine in under ₹12 lakhs?
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1.0-litre EcoBoost Engine
1.0L EcoBoost Turbo-Petrol Engine After its launch, Ford Ecosport boasted of a powerful turbo petrol engine. First things first, how much power? you may ask. Well, the EcoBoost engine produced 123hp and about 170 Nm of peak torque. It was true engineering as the engine was just a 999cc 3-cylinder petrol engine. Indeed, slap on a turbo and see what small engines are capable of.
Engine 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine Power 123 hp Torque 170 Nm 0-100 12.7 seconds Later, though the years, the development resulted in a power bump, and in 2018 with the new Titanium S variant, it got some upgrades under the hood.
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Drivetrain
The EcoBoost engine was mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Though it was a decent gearbox, it was not able to extract the most out of the 123hp. But still, when driving, the gearbox was hassle-free and it slipped into gears without any efforts.
Ford Ecosport Talking about the EcoSport Titanium S launched in 2018, the shortcomings were entertained. Titanium S variant Ford added another gear to the gearbox to extract everything out of the engine. Talking about the 6-speed gearbox, the last two gears, 5th and 6th were overdrive. This allowed the car to stretch its legs out on the highways.
PS. The 1.0 Litre EcoBoost engine won the ‘Engine Of The Year’ consecutively for 5 years. -
Experience behind the wheel
By now we all know that Ford is known for making some amazing drivers cars. EcoSport is still in the same league. The suspension, the fat 205 section tires offers confidence out on the highway.
Ford Ecosport | Steering Wheel The chunkey steering with the 6-speed manual gearbox and the gem EcoBoost engine combined made an amazing package. Although there was an automatic on offer, and it had paddle shifters, that in some way was fun.
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Amazing road presence
Ford Ecosport One has to agree that the Ford EcoSport has tremendous road presence and is easily identifiable. All thanks to the 200 ground clearance and high setting position, it was indeed a good bet. This allowed this sub-compact SUV to have a wide stance that appeals to all.
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Jam-packed Features
Ford EcoSport | Interior Back in 2013, the EcoSport arrived with features loaded till the brim. It was equipped with automatic climate control, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and most importantly 6 airbags. Getting such features at the price was in itself a big thing.
Also, Read 10 Reasons Why Indians Just Love Ford Cars!
In 2013, Ford Ecosport with turbo petrol engine was launched at the price of ₹9.14 (ex-Showroom). With time, the engine and the car were updated. Now with the incoming of the new BS6 emission norms, we desperately need such a sub-compact SUV at present. For your information, due to new BS6 emission norms, the EcoBoost engine was discontinued. In the future, Ford will borrow the turbo petrol engine from Mahindra for EcoSport Titanium S.
Fun Read: The Ford Mondeo | A Global Success, A Domestic Failure
I had a a Ford ecosport diesel from 2013 to 2015. I was hoping that this car would have the best attributes of a car and SUV. It was instead the worst of both. What I got was a monstrosity and probably the very worst of automotive design. There wasn’t a single redeeming feature. It had the weight and dimensions of large vehicle with interior space that was no bigger than a Maruti Celerio. The worst part is that the ecosport is most unsuitable for hills. I could see in Walparai that the ecosport barely managed to crawl from start up a steep incline while Altos ominis, Maruti 800s and others whizzed past. The smell of burnt clutch persisted for over an hour. The handling was terrible and the brakes would send the car into a nose dive. There was crude Abs without EBD. It was ready to topple at the drop of a hat. It was the first and the last Ford I would buy in my life.
The Ecosport styling hasn’t really changed since 2013 and it now looks completely outdated! The interior of the car too, now suffers when compared to the latest offerings from Hyundai and Kia at the very least. It remains to be seen how the Nissan Magnite and Toyota Urban Cruiser challenge this 7 year old platform from Ford. Apparently, the 2021 Ecosport was released in Brazil earlier this year and why Ford has thus far chosen not to bring this model to India is beyond me! The current model will take Ford to the bottom of the sales ratings.
Hi Rajeev,
Well, considering the complete package, back when it was launched it was a really amazing deal, especially the 1.0 turbo petrol. But with time, Ford has updated the compact SUV. Looks of the interiors being subjective, it does look upmarket with good quality interiors. Stay Pinned!
Looks are still better than many new ones, its a timeless design which is hard to undo and that’s why ford is struggling to bring a new design for ecosport. It has all great features, better than new so called car type SUVs. Drives better and has great road presence.
Hi Pijush,
Yes, that is true and we would love to see Ecosport with a new turbo petrol engine. Stay Pinned!
Hey, thanks for your response. My understanding is that the 1.0 turbo petrol engine was a great engine but not compliant with the latest emission (BS VI) standards. As you correctly point out, looks whether interior or exterior are completely subjective. IMHO, the Ecosport looks more like an MPV rather than an SUV and its relative performance vis-a-vis the competition is found to be lacking by Car and Driver, Road and Track et al. I think Ford is trying to “market” its way out of a lack of bona fide 2021 model; not sure why they wouldn’t bring the 2021 model released in Brazil earlier this year? I, for one, will NOT buy the 2020 model.
Is it, I guess it’s a rare review which says ford handling is not good!
Actually, the foreign press – Card & Driver etc have been commenting on the sub par performance of the Ford EcoSport for some time now…..
When ecosport launch in 2021
Hi Nirmal,
As far as we know, till now there are no speculations of a new Ford Ecosport launching in 2021. Stay pinned, we’ll keep you posted.
impressive, thanks for the post