[RavenAvi]

The Ford EcoSport facelift has been caught on camera during testing rounds by the guys at Auto Evolution for the very first time.

The mini-SUV sees a BIG change at the rear - it is missing the rear mounted spare wheel, which added to the butch, SUV-ish looks of the present-generation EcoSport.

Everything else seems to be the same, except that the rear door now sees a space for the number plate in it's middle.

SOURCE (and more details) - Auto Evolution

[wilful]

According to that link there is no other real change apart from that spare wheel at the rear. Maybe there are some changes in front? I wonder how the smallish boot will be with the addition of a spare wheel or will it be placed below (outside)?

[Vid6639]

From the photos, the length has not gone up. The quarter glass/C pillar still look small implying no change in length.

So that leaves us with the question; Where has the spare wheel gone?

Only probable answer is they have decided to ditch the spare in favour of tubeless repair kit like many manufacturers or have somehow managed to fit a spare saver. Space saver will be difficult as the overall diameter has to be similar to OE tyre and Ecosport has a large tyre size. This won't fit below the boot area.

[Y@SH]

Source:noticiasautomotivas

Expect the Rear of the car to look similar if not same to the image below. This is a modification done by an owner in Brazil.

[sansvk]

Question that arises is where has the spare wheel gone? Doesn't seem to be placed underneath the boot. I prefer mine with the spare wheel hanging out and I don't think Ford would mess around removing the spare wheel.

[CoolFire]

I am not sure whether this change will come to India, especially if this means ditching the spare wheel altogether. Such a decision will be a recipe for disaster with our horrific road conditions and sparse service network Ford has here.

Even otherwise, deletion of the wheel may not go down well with the positioning here, which is somewhere middle of the road between a Car and a proper SUV.

[callvvijay]

^^ Never has it been mentioned anywhere that Ford is going to drop the spare-wheel altogether. They might move it below the rear-seat/boot after doing the necessary modifications.

It looks more like a XUV to me..

[deetjohn]

I guess this is for the international markets, to remove that spare wheel from the tailgate. Maybe the wheel is going inside the boot. The rear loading lip which form part of the rear bumper is also masked.

I think most customers abroad prefer a clean look for the tail gate without the spare wheel. Quite unlike our country where it is termed one of the biggest merits of EcoSport.

[ahmad.007]

Contrary to popular opinion I always thought the spare wheel on the ecosport did not suit the car. This clean look is definitely the one I'll be going for if I get a choice. This makes it look exactly what it's trying to be, an Urban SUV.
But where has the spare gone? Underneath like in Storme/Innova? Or will it take some precious boot space which is already at a premium? That would be a deal breaker.

[swiftnfurious]

Didn't we have a version without a spare wheel in one of the countries? If they remove the spare for India, it's gonna be a disaster. Spare wheel on the tail gate is the ONLY thing that's helping Ford. Once taken, they will have two hatches in the sub 10L segment.

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Didn't we have a version without a spare wheel in one of the countries? If they remove the spare for India, it's gonna be a disaster. Spare wheel on the tail gate is the ONLY thing that's helping Ford. Once taken, they will have two hatches in the sub 10L segment.

They cannot do away with spare wheel since it is a mandatory requirement in India for registration approval.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by alavandar

They cannot do away with spare wheel since it is a mandatory requirement in India for registration approval.

We do have cars sold without a spare wheel right? Some of the BMW models (or all?), Volvo etc.

[zenren]

Ford India is actually selling the Ecosport in India without the spare wheel, at least technically. That entire spare wheel is mounted outside the 4m length of the car and the boot-lid mounted spare is the reason they are able to offer a decent boot space.

They can always include the spare inside the boot or under the boot. In both cases, they would either end up reducing the boot space or the ground clearance. Both of them are crucial in their current marketing campaign and it is unlikely that the Indian version would get this change.

[naveen.raju]

Ecosport facelift is on the cards but will take atleast 2 years to make it to the market (atleast India). The next one from the Ford lineup will be the facelifted 2015 Ford Endeavour

Reliable source from Ford Plant

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by vb-san

We do have cars sold without a spare wheel right? Some of the BMW models (or all?), Volvo etc.

The new lot of BMW 3, 5 and the X series are apparently coming with a space-saver tire. Saw a snap of the space-saver tire strapped on the boot of a 5’er, posted by a fellow BHPian on another thread recently.

Btw Alavandar appears to be right. The CMVR mandates that a spare wheel be carried in 4 wheelers. No clue how the S60 got away with that!

Pages from CMVR 1989.pdf