Ford Ecosport

The interior of the Ford EcoSport is something to die for. The layout and placements of every bit are just so right. The three-spoke steering wheel comes with standard music control buttons. The Trend and Titanium trims get a leather-wrapped steering wheel, while the base Ambiente gets a regular one. Look behind the wheel and you will find a small digital display between the two analogue dials, one the tachometer and second the speedometer.

The centre console is clustered with a lot of buttons that route to the music system and has the AC vents adjacent to it. There is just a small 4.2-inch digital display that is connected to the SYNC system. The SYNC system lets you transfer contacts and make a call inside your car without having to pick up the phone as it works on voice commands.

The seats are fairly spacious. The legroom and headroom of 1,008 mm and 1,043 mm respectively, indicate that it is not a very bad option for occupants with a tall frame. Open the boot lid and a big 362-litre cargo capacity awaits you. The driver’s seat is two-way manually adjustable on the base Ambiente trim and 4-way adjustable on the Trend and Titanium variants. Plus, the driver’s seat of the top-end model gets an adjustable lumbar support.

An Electronic Automatic Climate Control is given standard only on the top end trim while a manual one is given on the bottom two. Leather-wrapped upholstery is also available as an optional fitment on the top trim.

If you look closely, the 2018 Ford EcoSport hasn’t changed a lot over the previous generations. It is still a very muscular SUV and has inflated and butched-up parts on every corner. The front bonnet is still same as before, high and bulky. The headlamps are sleek and swept back. The front grille gets a lot of chrome embellishments, and so does the fog lamps, which has chrome-dipped tips. The top Titanium variant gets automatic headlamps. However, the base variant does not get fog lamps at all.

The chunky tailgate-mounted spare wheel is still a part of the Ford EcoSport in the local market. The wheel arches are bumpy and get a thin strip of black cladding running on it, which extends to all the corners of the SUV. The customers buying it can have one it in 15-inch wheels or 16-inch wheels trim, depending on the variant chosen. Basically, the smaller wheel with steel covers is standard in the base Ambiente trims. The 15-inch wheels get 195-section tyres while the 16-inch models get thicker 205-section tyres.

As for the windows, tinted glass is used on all sides. The base trim has front power windows only, whereas the rest of the variants get power windows on all the four doors.

The Ford EcoSport is powered by a four-pot 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol engine. The engine is good enough to make a maximum power of 112 PS at 6,300 revolutions per minute along with a peak torque of 140 Nm at 4,400 revolutions per minute. The power is sent down to the wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission gearbox with PowerShift capability. The fuel efficiency ranges between 15 - 17 kmpl.

That said, the engine performs much better than what the figures suggest. The gasoline engine has a high grunt and can put any hatchback on shame while on the high road. The PowerShift capability that is offered in the engine is known for its prowess behind saving fuel and also reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. However, the best part about this transmission is that if you want the manual transmission to kick in on busy streets, you have that option as well.

The Ford EcoSport is not the most outstanding SUV when it comes to the safety concerns. Yes, it does have a very sturdy build, which is capable of absorbing most of the impact in an event of an accident, but the safety inside is not world class.

Two safety airbags are given as standard in all the trims. However, side curtain airbags for both the rows, along with front-seat side airbags are offered only in the Trend and Titanium trims. If you care about the safety aspect, you will like the seatbelt reminder and perimeter alarm, the former being offered only on the top-end trim.

Apart from this, ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) are also offered. Front disc and rear drums are standard fitments. The rear seat row gets child safety rear door locks as standard.  Other safety features include an engine immobiliser, ISOFIX and TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System).

Finally, cruise control and keyless entry with push-start button are offered on the top-end Titanium trim. The rear parking sensors feature has been elusive off the bottom two variants.