[anumod]

I seriously feel that, the car which is going to come in market will be of better quality. The interiors I expect to be in par with the new Fiesta. The Leather seats got missed very badly.

Even the quality of the steering wheel, the gear lever cover etc are falling behind by miles.

[John]

Originally Posted by sara.ramli

Adding to other observations based on the photos, the electric ORVM control on the door, looks ill-placed to me. It sure is going to take some training for your mind to register the relation between control input and mirror movement, because it ain't going to be natural.

+1 to that. Definitely not an ergonomical design. Going by the pictures, the plastics appear pretty bad. Reminds me of my 2001 Fiat Siena Weekend!

[sparsh]

As rightly pointed out by our fellow bhpians, the exterior does look quite good. The hump in the rear could hamper the extra passenger. The best rear seat arrangement without the hump is the best in the Honda city, which has a flat bed in the rear. Lets hope the pricing is aggressive. the key success factor is the pricing along with the bells and whistles. The engine cover and the sump cover under the body will make a lot of difference. I believe that Fiat Linea has a thick metal sheet to protect the underbody.

[PrideRed]

Going by pics ,Ecosport will have good road presence. Given the amount of chrome and Clear lens, a Black Ecosport should look good.
I guess interior materials,fit and finish will be similar to NFF. The seat cover doesnt look like Factory fitted,more like Aftermarket.
Ecosport seems to have lot of black panels in the exterior.(side cladding's,part of front and rear bumper). This looks great when its new, but looks pathetic when it ages when it turns whitish. The story is similar with Audi,BMW etc. I don't understand why cant manufacturers get something that will stay black!!

I had chat with head of Cauvery Ford Mlore, he was confident of mid April Launch. Not sure when deliveries would start. Also quoted On road price in the range of 8-10 lacs.

[Faramir]

Rear seats indeed looked cramped and the high position of windows aggravates the claustrophobic feeling.
Totally disliked the rotary headlamp switch :(. Makes me remember old and bulky room fan regulators. Hopefully dipper would be inbuilt in the steering stalks. Boot seems Ok though.

[vb-saan]

Thanks Parrys for the report. And great pictures too!

First thoughts - quite modern from outside, a bit conservative from the inside.
The mobile phone inspired centre-console was in-vogue 4-5 years back, but not in the current era of iPhone 5, SG S3 etc.

But from the manufacturer POV it makes perfect sense to use a bit of the old parts bin for a SUV on budget. It also helps when the nearest competition has not really set any new standards in interior packaging. Hope Ford slot it in the right bracket does not name this as a premium SUV and price it out like the Fiesta.

Originally Posted by parrys

The pictures below are of the production ready car. Complete specifications haven't been revealed yet.

This being the top-end Titanium Ecoboost, did you manage to get some information on the safety equipment? Ford India website mention about side curtain airbags. And any idea if the car got ESP?

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by NIP

Looks very cheap to in the pics at least !! I'd pay a lakh over a decent hatchback (eg: swift, i20) for this. Nothing more. Rear seems to have extremely limited legroom !! Good luck Ford !!

Hope Ford wont do what Toyota did with Etios. Low quality product, hope to sell on perceived brand quality. But again this is pre-production models, quality will be better in final product.
This is Ford's make or break or product. If this does not sell in reasonable nos, the fate of Ford in India is bleak.

[ozzyrules]

Originally Posted by parrys

A button heavy head-unit, clearly inspired by cell phone design.
Attachment 1062651

How do you select USB from here? Curious as I toggle between radio and USB and have no use for the CD player.

[Warwithwheels]

Am not impressed at all. The plastic quality is a great let down. Wish they restrict this quality only to the pre production version! Figo's plastics look much better!

[saion666]

Price it in the range of 5-7 lakhs, this would sell well.
Price it in the range of 7-9 lakhs, we have another market dud.

The exterior looks quite radical, the interior doesn't. BTW what is the FE figure for the 1.0L engine?(Sorry if I missed it in any of the post)

[Enigmatic]

Guys I think we need to take a step back and think before taking such a strong stand on the Eco-sport.

Most of us haven't seen the vehicle in flesh yet and hence calling it a complete disappointment based only on pics is a bit of a stretch.

Also lets not forget our demands. If one so much as takes a glance at the other ecosport thread, one will realize that we want a ecosport that is < 4 meters so that we get a good tax cut. We also want it to be heavily localized so that the prices are kept close to the 6-9 lakh bracket.

Lets be realistic now. If we want the prices to be in the 6-9 Lakh bracket then this quality is what one would get. Spend more and go into the storme,xuv etc territory and let me know how much more in terms of quality do you really get for your money.

I find the ecosport to be amazing. Well done ford and this WILL sell .

Cheers

[swiftnfurious]

Bang! I am a bit disappointed with the interior pics, but would NOT strike it off until I see & feel it in person! I feel the base variant will be good for a price of 6L ex showroom for this interiors (120 bhp engine), but will a person spending 10L for the top variant be happy with the same interior? That's where I feel bad - I would have expected a better interior when I pay 10L for this vehicle (based on the initial feel).

Also the color scheme puts me off, because this is what is offered in Figo too and it felt budget stuff. But as I said, the product stays in my check list till I check it out in person!

The seat covers are another point of concern, hope this is NOT the final product!!

Doesn't XUV & Ecosport have a lot in common??

0. Both monocoque SUVs.
1. So much pre-launch hype for both
2. Long delays before launch!
3. Getting superb bashing on the day of launch, based on visuals!
4. Product exhibited first without a price announcement
5. Shock pricing (as expected in case of Ecosport too)
6. ..... (This remains blank till the day of price announcement)!

I really hope Ecosport too wins a lot of hearts and become a hit. May help in a lot of price correction in the market if launched at the prices we hear & expect.

[nitinralli]

Dont know if anyone noticed, whats with these wipers? Where the hell are the positioned

[Parm]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Guys I think we need to take a step back and think before taking such a strong stand on the Eco-sport.

Most of us haven't seen the vehicle in flesh yet and hence calling it a complete disappointment based only on pics is a bit of a stretch.

Also lets not forget our demands. If one so much as takes a glance at the other ecosport thread, one will realize that we want a ecosport that is < 4 meters so that we get a good tax cut. We also want it to be heavily localized so that the prices are kept close to the 6-9 lakh bracket.

Lets be realistic now. If we want the prices to be in the 6-9 Lakh bracket then this quality is what one would get. Spend more and go into the storme,xuv etc territory and let me know how much more in terms of quality do you really get for your money.

I find the ecosport to be amazing. Well done ford and this WILL sell .

Cheers

Enigmatic, you are 100% correct in your post and i think the OEMs in india need to localise heavily to give us a reasonable price. But again looking at Duster, i think Ecosport will be seen as a premium vehicle a little notch above Duster.

I think Ford has done well to bring out a right product to take on the compact SUV segment. What you pay is what you get!

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Faramir

Hopefully dipper would be inbuilt in the steering stalks.

Yes, it definitely will.

This style of switch (commonly found on European cars) lets you switch on/off parking lights, main beams, and sometimes front/rear foglamps too. Switching between high and low beam is always done from the stalk.

cya
R