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Here is a short review of my Ecosport AT. I had planned to write a review long ago, but as time went by, and when the initial enthusiasm slowly died off, I felt that the car does not deserve another thread of its own. But nevertheless, I endeavor on this short review which I have little plans of updating as time goes by.
I'd start by detailing what I wanted out of this purchase, then get into the positives, then the negatives and a conclusion.
I wanted a single car which is an all-rounder cos like most Bangaloreans, I do not enjoy the luxury (parking space) to own multiple cars
In a nutshell, I wanted a compact car that is easy to drive in the city while being stable and safe in the highway. To be honest, the Ecosport AT delivers on all the above stated objectives. Only when I delve into the finer details would you understand where things go wrong. But, let me start with the positives first.
Compact: It is easy to drive and park in the city. My earlier car, a D segment sedan was a nightmare when it comes to finding a parking slot in Bangalore city. I could live with the width, but a narrower one would not hurt. After all, for a family of two, all we really needed was a small hatch. So the Ecosport was the right choice. It can now drive through narrow lanes as well as fit into tight parking spaces.
Easy to drive: Steering is light, although a bit too light for me since I was coming from a hydraulic steering. But I adapted quickly, and when I had to get back to my old car on the odd day, its steering felt too hard. I had to quickly sell it off. The Ecosport, unlike the sedan does not scrape the under-body on Bangalore signature bumps. Also worth mentioning is the seating position. I am still living in the sedan mode, so have adjusted the seat height to the lowest possible, but still it gives a commanding view of the road. It gives me a confidence that a regular car would not give.
Stable and safe on the highway: With the exception of a dead spot on the middle of the steering, highway runs are joyous. No bobbing up and down on bad roads and very chuck-able. Weaving between traffic just need a flick of the wrist, and there is no appreciable body roll. It does give a slight floating feeling compared to the sedans, but it is just a matter of getting used to. And there are six airbags, ABS, ESP and EBA to keep you feeling safe.
And, it is quite a looker. From every angle. There is not one panel that looks like it is an afterthought. No bit of chrome that is overdone. The headlamps, the grille, the wing mirrors, the tail lamps everything speaks one word: CLASS.
I don't think anything south of 10L rupees looks better than an Ecosport
Now, on to the negatives:
Engine: is a mixed bag. It gives good mileage for a petrol AT dragging 1.3 tonnes of weight. But below 3000 rpm there is no life in the engine. I don't live for mileage. Ford has tuned the engine for mileage, and to make matters worse, the transmission tries to keep you in the 1000-2000rpm range. To get anything better, you have to floor the accelerator, and while the transmission takes its own sweet time to shift down, what makes me mad is that, the moment you take your foot off the pedal, the engine shifts up. Things are only slightly better in sport mode. Only consolation is the manual gear selection toggles, but I didn't buy an AT to do the shifting myself, so that is a fail.
Without this, the Ecosport is a dud in the highway.
Suspension: In one word, it breaks my back. On all the bad roads that you find in Bangalore city, each and every undulation is felt in the spine. If you don't slow down on bumps, the car jumps. The suspension is not just unbecoming for an SUV but even for a family car. The suspension is not at all suitable for Indian conditions. Currently I run the tyres with 29PSI so that it soaks up some of the shocks. I did some research on suspension modification and then decided against it becuase I did not want to inadvertently alter the driving dynamics.
Steering: The steering is light, but often too light. There is the dead spot which is sometimes irritating at highway speeds. It is annoying at city speeds too. EPS sensitivity is low in the middle, so quick flicks often do not turn the car by a great measure. Couple of inches on both sides of the center is vague.
Interiors: Exteriors and interiors of the Ecosport are a study in contrast. While it looks like a premium car from the outside, inside it looks and feels downmarket. The seats are small both in the front and in the back. Underthigh support is not great. Plastics are cheap, and already started to rattle. The whole area near the gear shifter area is crude. The buttons on the console are extremely hard to press.
The audio system: I don't use CDs and prefer to use a USB drive. I have a 16GB drive plugged into the slot. I don't rely on the system's indexing based on artists, albums etc. I believe that this concept would only work in the western world. I manage my music myself in folders, so when I have to change a folder, the selection process is extremely tedious. Also the responsiveness is poor. It takes half a second after you push a button for the system to respond. I am not a fan of talking to machines, so I don't use the voice commands. The few times I used it for testing, it did not understand the command correctly and instead did something else.
The headlights: It was unbelievable, and I had to meet another Ecosport face to face to understand how pathetic the headlights are. No car that is coming towards you would even acknowledge you even if you flash the high beams. My prescription glasses have a problem with high beams. And the cabbies do not care to use the dipper. I upgraded the bulbs to the brightest legal ones available in the market - the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited. Things haven't improved a lot. The proble, I feel, is with the reflectors. I think it scatters the light all over the place rather than making a pointed beam.
Headlights need a serious upgrade. I would have done it today if I could still keep the warranty intact.
Conclusion:
This is a car for which I waited for, for a year and a half. I booked it without a test drive, heck even without seeing it once in person. When I finally did a test drive, I came out less than impressed. But then it was too late, cos the heart had made up its "mind". In the run up to the launch there was a huge speculation about the price. Since it was based on the Fiesta, I expected it to be priced in its vicinity. I was fine with that price while secretly hoping that the ex-showroom price stays below the 10L mark. 12-12.5L on road felt to be the right price for me to pay. The fact that they ended up pricing it a full 1.5L cheaper than my expected price, gave me doubts regarding the quality of the car. And when the car arrived, it was my worst expectation that came true. I would have still liked it if they had not cut the quality and priced it a bit higher. At the end this please-all vehicle does not please me at all very much.
Finally, one for the road:
I'd start by detailing what I wanted out of this purchase, then get into the positives, then the negatives and a conclusion.
I wanted a single car which is an all-rounder cos like most Bangaloreans, I do not enjoy the luxury (parking space) to own multiple cars
In a nutshell, I wanted a compact car that is easy to drive in the city while being stable and safe in the highway. To be honest, the Ecosport AT delivers on all the above stated objectives. Only when I delve into the finer details would you understand where things go wrong. But, let me start with the positives first.
Compact: It is easy to drive and park in the city. My earlier car, a D segment sedan was a nightmare when it comes to finding a parking slot in Bangalore city. I could live with the width, but a narrower one would not hurt. After all, for a family of two, all we really needed was a small hatch. So the Ecosport was the right choice. It can now drive through narrow lanes as well as fit into tight parking spaces.
Easy to drive: Steering is light, although a bit too light for me since I was coming from a hydraulic steering. But I adapted quickly, and when I had to get back to my old car on the odd day, its steering felt too hard. I had to quickly sell it off. The Ecosport, unlike the sedan does not scrape the under-body on Bangalore signature bumps. Also worth mentioning is the seating position. I am still living in the sedan mode, so have adjusted the seat height to the lowest possible, but still it gives a commanding view of the road. It gives me a confidence that a regular car would not give.
Stable and safe on the highway: With the exception of a dead spot on the middle of the steering, highway runs are joyous. No bobbing up and down on bad roads and very chuck-able. Weaving between traffic just need a flick of the wrist, and there is no appreciable body roll. It does give a slight floating feeling compared to the sedans, but it is just a matter of getting used to. And there are six airbags, ABS, ESP and EBA to keep you feeling safe.
And, it is quite a looker. From every angle. There is not one panel that looks like it is an afterthought. No bit of chrome that is overdone. The headlamps, the grille, the wing mirrors, the tail lamps everything speaks one word: CLASS.
I don't think anything south of 10L rupees looks better than an Ecosport
Now, on to the negatives:
Engine: is a mixed bag. It gives good mileage for a petrol AT dragging 1.3 tonnes of weight. But below 3000 rpm there is no life in the engine. I don't live for mileage. Ford has tuned the engine for mileage, and to make matters worse, the transmission tries to keep you in the 1000-2000rpm range. To get anything better, you have to floor the accelerator, and while the transmission takes its own sweet time to shift down, what makes me mad is that, the moment you take your foot off the pedal, the engine shifts up. Things are only slightly better in sport mode. Only consolation is the manual gear selection toggles, but I didn't buy an AT to do the shifting myself, so that is a fail.
Without this, the Ecosport is a dud in the highway.
Suspension: In one word, it breaks my back. On all the bad roads that you find in Bangalore city, each and every undulation is felt in the spine. If you don't slow down on bumps, the car jumps. The suspension is not just unbecoming for an SUV but even for a family car. The suspension is not at all suitable for Indian conditions. Currently I run the tyres with 29PSI so that it soaks up some of the shocks. I did some research on suspension modification and then decided against it becuase I did not want to inadvertently alter the driving dynamics.
Steering: The steering is light, but often too light. There is the dead spot which is sometimes irritating at highway speeds. It is annoying at city speeds too. EPS sensitivity is low in the middle, so quick flicks often do not turn the car by a great measure. Couple of inches on both sides of the center is vague.
Interiors: Exteriors and interiors of the Ecosport are a study in contrast. While it looks like a premium car from the outside, inside it looks and feels downmarket. The seats are small both in the front and in the back. Underthigh support is not great. Plastics are cheap, and already started to rattle. The whole area near the gear shifter area is crude. The buttons on the console are extremely hard to press.
The audio system: I don't use CDs and prefer to use a USB drive. I have a 16GB drive plugged into the slot. I don't rely on the system's indexing based on artists, albums etc. I believe that this concept would only work in the western world. I manage my music myself in folders, so when I have to change a folder, the selection process is extremely tedious. Also the responsiveness is poor. It takes half a second after you push a button for the system to respond. I am not a fan of talking to machines, so I don't use the voice commands. The few times I used it for testing, it did not understand the command correctly and instead did something else.
The headlights: It was unbelievable, and I had to meet another Ecosport face to face to understand how pathetic the headlights are. No car that is coming towards you would even acknowledge you even if you flash the high beams. My prescription glasses have a problem with high beams. And the cabbies do not care to use the dipper. I upgraded the bulbs to the brightest legal ones available in the market - the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited. Things haven't improved a lot. The proble, I feel, is with the reflectors. I think it scatters the light all over the place rather than making a pointed beam.
Headlights need a serious upgrade. I would have done it today if I could still keep the warranty intact.
Conclusion:
This is a car for which I waited for, for a year and a half. I booked it without a test drive, heck even without seeing it once in person. When I finally did a test drive, I came out less than impressed. But then it was too late, cos the heart had made up its "mind". In the run up to the launch there was a huge speculation about the price. Since it was based on the Fiesta, I expected it to be priced in its vicinity. I was fine with that price while secretly hoping that the ex-showroom price stays below the 10L mark. 12-12.5L on road felt to be the right price for me to pay. The fact that they ended up pricing it a full 1.5L cheaper than my expected price, gave me doubts regarding the quality of the car. And when the car arrived, it was my worst expectation that came true. I would have still liked it if they had not cut the quality and priced it a bit higher. At the end this please-all vehicle does not please me at all very much.
Finally, one for the road:
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