[johy]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

Hang on! Are u saying that there is a turbo lag even in a petrol engine?

The Ecoboost is a turbo-charged petrol engine. Hence the turbo lag.

The other petrol engine in the EcoSport is the 1.5 liter Normally aspirated one, so no turbo lag.

And they have the diesel.

[carbaliga]

Saw a huge crowd and line up outside Lathangi Ford, J P Nagar. Wait time for test drive was 1 hour So, i'm not surprised with 3-4 months of waiting period for delivery.

Anyways, decided to skip the test drive today and wait for the frenzy to get over.

[Nilesh5417]

Should get my car in the next week. Dealer didn't agree to me getting insurance directly. No accessories were thrust on me.

[gsurya]

Originally Posted by sup?

I contacted Ford customer care over the dealer malpractice at Elite Ford in Bangalore:

Hi

I booked a Diesel Trend Ecosport today at Elite Ford in Bangalore. They are insisting that insurance has to be done through them. They are threatening that they would not allocate the car to me if I did not get the insurance through them.

Also they have released a price list with accessories worth 25000 as compulsory. This too is not legal.

If these issues are not addressed, I plan to take both Ford and the dealer to consumer court. So, please make sure such a situation does not arise.

This is a good approach. Book the car then pressure via Ford to not be bound to take accessories & insurance.

[h@r$h@l]

Hello,

Just back from Ford dealership with fellow bhpian AVR. We sat in the display car parked at the showroom. Thanks to the zillion people visiting the showroom the car was not well kept. The dash board was hanging low. Broken.

Also we were both not impressed with the space inside. With AVR sitting on his ideal driving position there was not much space left for me. I have a i20 and a punto and i can safely say that EcoSport rear bench is at par with Punto but found it less than i20.

Another uncomfortable thing i found is the width of the front seats.

All in all, not a car for me. Guys these are strictly my observations and dont intend to create any conflicts.

Regards,

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by rajamuneeb

Hang on! Are u saying that there is a turbo lag even in a petrol engine?

Its a turbocharged petrol engine (1.0 L with an intercooler), so yeah, there's a bit of turbolag. Ford also sells it with a 1.5 NA petrol, though no TD vehicles are available for this variant.

[k_ajay]

Went to Elite Ford @ marathahalli again today later afternoon with the objective of taking a test drive (of any engine). Fortunately they had the EcoBoost as a TD vehicle (Lathangi said they didn't) and this is the engine of choice for me.

Went at around 2.45 and only got my turn at around 4.10 to do the TD. Lots of folks lined to up to TD both the EcoBoost and the Diesel (1.5 Petrol was not available).

Short summary and just my opinion. I currently drive a 1.4 petrol Fabia. The steering definitely felt much lighter than my Fabia but in the short ~3 kms td I had, the steering response didn't make me nervous. I touched 90 on the ORR before vehicles began to line up in front of the ES I was driving again.. Very responsive engine, good torque and initial pick up. Midrange also feels strong. I didn't immediately floor the accelerator so didn't experience the turbo lag much. If this engine can perform on the highway, I'd be very happy with it.

One sales executive mentioned the fuel efficiency I can expect the Ecoboost to return might be between 12 and 14 kmpl in the city and about 3kmpl more on the highway. Seemed like a fair evaluation and that's my expectation too.

Overall I rate the car positively as it's well built, has very good legroom and under thigh support and decent plastics in the inside. Only negative I see is rear bench width. Reclining positions are good (3 stages). A very good car for any family (of 4 adults and a kid) to consider, in the given price range(s).. 349 ltrs boot will definitely be adequate for most (how many of you go for a holiday every quarter with airline travel suited large suitcases??) Have never required more than the 300 ltrs my Fabia has.

I'll be waiting to see more experiences before I decide on the EcoBoost for myself. Might also td the diesel before I finally decide (will be some months).

Ecoboost variants don't seem to be manufactured much due to the imported engine so I was told to expect a ball park of ~8 months for delivery of the EcoBoost, if I booked within the next 1-2 weeks. Diesel would potentially be easier to get delivered earlier.

P.S: One of the sales rep mentioned ELITE ford might have 1-2 Trend vehicles in stock for the 1.5 petrol, in the 1st lot they'll be receiving soon. If anyone 'needs' them, go book soon.

[puchoo]

That does sound fair and good work by the sales executive as well in terms of not over inflating the figures as many of them do. 8 months is really a lot , its understandable for manufacturers to be conservative while launching and not having massive inventory pile up's just in case something goes wrong , but this car has been in the making for 1 year , people have been talking about it for longer , i really do think Ford should have done , or should do very quickly to bring these waiting numbers down.

While on one hand it might 'supposedly' indicate the popularity of the car , some customers are not going to wait.

Originally Posted by k_ajay

One sales executive mentioned the fuel efficiency I can expect the Ecoboost to return might be between 12 and 14 kmpl in the city and about 3kmpl more on the highway. Seemed like a fair evaluation and that's my expectation too.

I was told to expect a ball park of ~8 months for delivery of the EcoBoost, if I booked within the next 1-2 weeks. Diesel would potentially be easier to get delivered earlier.

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

More than 1800 replies in just one month? This is certainly the hottest car of 2013! Now I think Vellore has the least waiting period than any other car. A guy who booked the EcoSport TDCi Titanium just a week ago has got the car!. Maybe it's because the Ford factory is in Chennai so the waiting period is less. Any pointers on this? Also, how about the height of the car? Is it taller than the WagonR?


Cheers,

Achyuth

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

Hello,

Also we were both not impressed with the space inside. With AVR sitting on his ideal driving position there was not much space left for me. I have a i20 and a punto and i can safely say that EcoSport rear bench is at par with Punto but found it less than i20.

Another uncomfortable thing i found is the width of the front seats.

All in all, not a car for me. Guys these are strictly my observations and dont intend to create any conflicts.

Regards,

+1 here. I also visited the show room today and here are my views on the vehicle.

I currently own a Ford Ikon. I just TD'd the diesel ES today and I feel it is way too cramped inside in 2nd seat. Only 2 people can sit comfortably. My take on this is if you do not mind spending so much for a lesser space then the car is for you. I feel the Duster/Ertiga is a much better car though the cost is way too high in caseof Duster. ES has the gadgets and gizmos you want but the lack of space proves to be a damper. I wanted to book the vehicle today and had gone with all the documents and cheque...but came back after TD'ing the same and want to rethink on the same. After all, I will be spending a Million bucks for the car and I need the comfort and giadgets also. I feel a Quanto might be better though the looks are not good but atleast they have not compromised the space inside and has a decent torque too.

Moreover they are quoting anywhere between 12-15 months for 1.5L petrol and Ecoboost engine and had displayed they have stopped booking of Petrol ES engine.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav

More than 1800 replies in just one month? This is certainly the hottest car of 2013! Now I think Vellore has the least waiting period than any other car. A guy who booked the EcoSport TDCi Titanium just a week ago has got the car!. Maybe it's because the Ford factory is in Chennai so the waiting period is less. Any pointers on this? Also, how about the height of the car? Is it taller than the WagonR?

Cheers,

Achyuth

It is probably because there were less bookings at that dealership coupled with the proximity of Vellore to the factory.

Case in point, the dealer here in punjab only has a display vehicle (no TD), but doesn't have a lot of bookings. Cars are expected next week with nearly no expected booking for the EcoBoost. Nobody cares about a petrol here. So when I book an EcoBoost, I could very well get it in the first lot.
The height would be only a little more than the WagonR but what makes it more SUVish is its good ground clearance.

[S@ndy]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Do you have any more pics of the interior? The headunit looks different from that of the higher variants.

Sorry friend, this Ambiente variant was the only Ambiente in their stockyard and infact, they were advising me not to click the pictures of the car. So, sorry I wasn't able to click more pictures but I have to go to Ford showroom tomorrow and I'll try my best to click some more pictures of Ambiente. As for the Head-Unit, yes, it is different from the Titanium. The Trend variant also gets this. I think it's a pretty feature rich unit, since it supports Bluetooth as well but the Area for SYNC screen is blank and has a sort of Storage Cubicle. The Wheel-Covers look good but lack the snazzy design of OEM alloys. Ambiente loses chrome bits such as chrome on Grille, fog lamps and moreover, this base variant has black handles, ORVM's and has Black finish on gearlever as opposed to silver finish of higher variants.

P.S. For detailed variant-to-variant differences, first page has it all in form of a table and as for the pics, I'll try my best tomorrow when I visit the showroom.

Keep revvin'
S@ndy

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

On talking to a sales advisor, he stated that Ford is prioritizing diesel manufacturing over the petrols. I still don't believe this, I think its worth waiting a few weeks to see how the demand finally shakes out, and how Ford decides to prioritize the production of the petrol variants.

I would believe Ford is prioritizing Diesel production. IMO, both Petrol engine variants are loss leaders for Ford. The 1.5 Petrol variants are priced ridiculously low in my view, given they do not enjoy excise breaks. The Ecoboost is priced at a point where it can be profitable with domestic engine production, but this engine has to be imported at this point in time and with the rupee depreciation and high import duties, this variant is also probably unprofitable now.

The Diesel variants in my view, are priced to earn a profit , but a fairly narrow margin. The only way for Ford to recoup the losses on the petrol variants and achieve overall profitability on Ecosport is to achieve a high ratio of diesel to petrol sales, like 90% diesel versus 10% petrol.

There are a few factors at work that determine thw mix - Natural tilt of market demand towards Diesel on India, relative pricing, promotion of each variant and finally supply of variants.

The first factor is a given and not within Ford's control but is favorable for the objective. On pricing and promotion, Ford had no choice but to tilt the market towards Petrol. They had to give a very low price for the 1.5l petrol variants to penetrate the market. This tilts demand towards Petrol variants.

I guess on relative promotion of variants, Ford India's hands may have been tied on managing and controlling the amount of promotion of the Ecoboost variant, since this aspect is probably controlled by global marketing strategy. So the Ecoboost variant gets over promoted and the demand mix tilts more towards petrol.

Now the only weapon available to bring the demand balance back to 90-10 in favor of Diesel is to manage the supply side. By restricting the production and availability of Petrol variants, Ford can force the balance back to 90-10. But the risk is that this has to be done without reducing overall demand for Ecosport. It is a fine line to walk.

[k_ajay]

So this short review of the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine on a Fiesta mentions that the engine is rev happy but doesn't provide for great fuel efficiency when driven hard.. So may be a little decent in the city but when it is pushed, may relate to less than impressive kmpl..

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/73...0-litre-review


Quickdraw: Congrats on the win. Having lived with the EcoBoost for a couple of weeks, could you share your feedback on the engine (including power) and the fuel efficiency, vehicle dynamics, etc..

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I guess on relative promotion of variants, Ford India's hands may have been tied on managing and controlling the amount of promotion of the Ecoboost variant, since this aspect is probably controlled by global marketing strategy. So the Ecoboost variant gets over promoted and the demand mix tilts more towards petrol.

I think that's a very pertinent point, and best explains the difference between the amount of EcoBoost promotion vs. production. Thank you, this answers a question that's been nagging me for ages!