[Pferdestarke]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

I would like to second that. I have also recently purchased the engine guard which is made of ABS and feels strong enough to easily protect the engine from damage caused due to flying stones. It will certainly NOT protect the engine if you were to hit a boulder, but then Ecosport is NOT an off-roader.

How much did it cost for you? I think the price for this particular accessory has gone up. Also, is there any aftermarket engine guard available for ecosport?

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by sunilg33

Generally only children do that and in that case we should use child lock. There have been so many instances where the passengers could not come out of the car in emergencies because the doors were locked, so this feature aids in quick exit during emergencies.

Actually Sunil G, it is no safety measure. Its a cost cutting idea, which does away with a mechanical lock, as done in Polo, Vento et all. Like the manufacturers did away with the engine temperature indicator.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Sorry, but this can NOT be termed a security feature; it's rather the other way round. Many cars are equipped with impact sensing door unlock "feature" which is the actual way to do it, if a company is serious about safety of passengers.

+1 to that! and yes, EcoSport does have impact sensing door unlock feature too. Without this feature, if the driver/ passengers were to become unconscious in case of an impact, other cannot rescue them fast enough, as they would have to break the windows and drag them out.

Originally Posted by ramzsys

I took a look under the chassis of the Ecosport diesel. That plastic engine protection thingy is a joke.

Originally Posted by ranjithrnair

I guess you meant to say the engine cover which comes by default ( made of Felt ) is not good ?

The engine cover offered as accessory by Ford is of good quality (ABS mould) and gives better protection.

It is not an engine guard, if they say so, its a marketing gimick. It is actually to reduce the NVH. If it is indeed an engine guard, why do the TiVCT and EcoBoost variants not have this?
The ABS one you buy as an accessory is the engine guard.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by sunilg33

Well when a car is submerged in water I doubt if the doors open automatically. Also there are instances when the impact isn't that much that the doors unlock in such cases the current functionality is the best solution IMHO. But it's definitely not a design flaw or a cost cutting measure.

But all the doors unlock (or programmed to be unlocked) once the ignition is cut is what I understand!

There are two ways the door unlock in my Swift equipped with remote. Either when the car is shut down or driver can manually unlock all doors at once thru a separate switch.

In case of submerging (without impact), driver should be in a condition to do one of these; shut down should happen in most cases.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

But all the doors unlock (or programmed to be unlocked) once the ignition is cut is what I understand!

There are two ways the door unlock in my Swift equipped with remote. Either when the car is shut down or driver can manually unlock all doors at once thru a separate switch.

In case of submerging (without impact), driver should be in a condition to do one of these; shut down should happen in most cases.

But I don't understand how the current setup is a safety hazard. You pull the lever only when you want to open the door. So, the door unlocks and opens. I find it intuitive. Compared to that, in most other cars, you have to first fiddle with an unlock switch, and then pull the unlock lever. Many a time in various cars, I had pulled the lever only to realize that I have not pulled the unlock switch first. It is plain irritating, and does not serve any purpose.

The only "safety hazard", I can guess here is somebody accidentally pulling the open lever while the car is in motion. That situation, I can imagine only with kids playing in the car. But, kids should be secured in their car seats. Worst case, child lock should be enabled.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by blacksport

....The only "safety hazard", I can guess here is somebody accidentally pulling the open lever while the car is in motion. That situation, I can imagine only with kids playing in the car. But, kids should be secured in their car seats. Worst case, child lock should be enabled.

Cmon, we are in India and we still have naughty kids moving in cars in the front seat. This is exactly where I see the safety hazard. I consider this as an additional layer of protection for those who really do NOT comply with the laws / better practices.

Now another point I can think of is when one of the passenger is trying to lift / move some stuff around (like a bag) and the strap locks on the door latch and the door opening it while moving the bag away. There are minimal chances of such stuffs happening, but then whatever we have been discussing also have much lesser chances of happening in real life.

Edit:: Another point I make sure to check usually once the car starts moving is to pull the door lever to check whether the doors have locked. Since the locking mechanism is a different button / lever, I can try opening the door without it being unlocked. This gives me an additional confidence of safety. This definitely can NOT be done in case of an Ecosport.

Disclaimer :: The door lock test has always been done at low speeds while making sure there are NO vehicles around my car.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by blacksport

But I don't understand how the current setup is a safety hazard. You pull the lever only when you want to open the door.

The only "safety hazard", I can guess here is somebody accidentally pulling the open lever while the car is in motion.

It is not a safety hazard. But it is not a security feature like what the Sales person might advertise to you.
And like you have posted, accidentally pulling the lever is what makes it risky. But then, isn't that why the concept of mechanical door locks came into existence?

Come to think of it, a mechanical lock is nothing but a child lock that can be accessed from inside the car!

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by blacksport

The only "safety hazard", I can guess here is somebody accidentally pulling the open lever while the car is in motion. That situation, I can imagine only with kids playing in the car. But, kids should be secured in their car seats. Worst case, child lock should be enabled.

Absolutely right!
I too think that this is the correct operating procedure for the Central Locking system. Locking is intended to prevent outsiders to come inside. However, occupants inside should, BY DESIGN, have the easiest and fastest way to exit the vehicle when needed. This is exactly what this system provides.

Kids should always be kept in a child/booster seat. They should NEVER be allowed to move around in a moving vehicle. For additional safety and as a fallback measure activating the Child Locks is a wise idea. I find it amusing that we expect a Central Locking System to compensate for such a malpractice.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Cmon, we are in India and we still have naughty kids moving in cars in the front seat. This is exactly where I see the safety hazard. I consider this as an additional layer of protection for those who really do NOT comply with the laws / better practices.

Sorry, but I don’t understand what are we trying to prove here. Ecosport or any other car, kids moving around in the front seat is a recipe for disaster whether it is in India or elsewhere. Why should a manufacturer consider those kind of scenarios? Its like saying, ‘In India we don’t like wearing seat belts, and hence there should not be any seat belt warnings at all’.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Sorry, but I don’t understand what are we trying to prove here. Ecosport or any other car, kids moving around in the front seat is a recipe for disaster whether it is in India or elsewhere. Why should a manufacturer consider those kind of scenarios? Its like saying, ‘In India we don’t like wearing seat belts, and hence there should not be any seat belt warnings at all’.

Doesn't look like you even tried to understand what I wrote.

To make it clearer, the comment was "kids try to open the door by pulling the latch". When we have a different lock switch, that acts as an additional layer of protection and the door will NOT be easily unlocked as in the case of the same latch doing the unlock action.

On the seat belt part, I would expect a manufacturer to give an additional buzzer for seat belt reminder especially for India since people do NOT like to wear seat belt, forcing a bunch of them to wear it. Not to take off the warning sign as you mention - the idea is an additional layer of security and NOT lesser.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Cmon, we are in India and we still have naughty kids moving in cars in the front seat. This is exactly where I see the safety hazard. I consider this as an additional layer of protection for those who really do NOT comply with the laws / better practices.

As the cliche goes, only you can help yourself. Don't expect the manufacturers to spoon feed.

Now another point I can think of is when one of the passenger is trying to lift / move some stuff around (like a bag) and the strap locks on the door latch and the door opening it while moving the bag away. There are minimal chances of such stuffs happening, but then whatever we have been discussing also have much lesser chances of happening in real life.

I'll leave you with this pic while you try to figure out how a strap from a bag could foul with the lever.

Edit:: Another point I make sure to check usually once the car starts moving is to pull the door lever to check whether the doors have locked. Since the locking mechanism is a different button / lever, I can try opening the door without it being unlocked. This gives me an additional confidence of safety. This definitely can NOT be done in case of an Ecosport.

Disclaimer :: The door lock test has always been done at low speeds while making sure there are NO vehicles around my car.

Maybe that is the 19th century method of checking whether the door is locked. Now you have an indicator on the central console.

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

It is not a safety hazard. But it is not a security feature like what the Sales person might advertise to you.
And like you have posted, accidentally pulling the lever is what makes it risky. But then, isn't that why the concept of mechanical door locks came into existence?

Come to think of it, a mechanical lock is nothing but a child lock that can be accessed from inside the car!

Gibberish, ignored!

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

the idea is an additional layer of security and NOT lesser.

And maybe we can have a third layer too. How about another switch under the seat?

[pkk_84]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

But all the doors unlock (or programmed to be unlocked) once the ignition is cut is what I understand!

There are two ways the door unlock in my Swift equipped with remote. Either when the car is shut down or driver can manually unlock all doors at once thru a separate switch.

In case of submerging (without impact), driver should be in a condition to do one of these; shut down should happen in most cases.

+1 for swiftnfurious. I like the way it is designed in Maruthi Vehicles.

- You start rolling your car and vehicle attains 20Kmph. Central lock engage and all door locks.
- You stop your vehicle. Central locking is disarmed automatically once the key is pulled out or if the car is still in idle then can be unlocked by driver manual (By unlocking driver side lock knob/button, all doors unlocks). With this feature, other passenger in the cabin cannot jump out without the knowledge of the driver, making sure they are not hit by roadside motorist / cyclist or doors hitting the pedestrians.
- Additionally When the vehicle is in motion non of the passenger inside the cabin can open the doors (either From Inside or Outside) when the central locking is armed. This feature provides more safety while a car is in motion.
It is not only children who tries to open the door in a moving car. I've experienced few elderly people or even others trying to open the door before car comes to stand still position. As we are in India we may have people with less road sense / knowledge about car.

I miss this in ES. Also I miss window one touch Up/Down feature in my Variant (Trend) which I had in my earlier vehicle. I don't know what FORD gains by cutting these kinda small features. These are necessary features to be provided across the variants

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by blacksport

As the cliche goes, only you can help yourself. Don't expect the manufacturers to spoon feed...

Just because a bunch of bhp'ians or informed people think in a specific direction, the behaviour of most people in India would NOT change. Pity if you think so! Inspite of these couple of posts bashing kids travelling in the front seat, still 80% (assuming 80-20 rule) of the cars out there will see kids travelling in the front seat. Neither you nor I can change it - We can change may be 1% of those.

Originally Posted by blacksport

...I'll leave you with this pic while you try to figure out how a strap from a bag could foul with the lever.
Attachment 1175207...

Point taken. Now will you try and justify the other arguments too please? Like a car getting submerged and NO impact and impact with not enough strength NOT to unlock the locks et al ? We are discussing possibilities.

Now, let me know your thoughts on the below portion please.

Originally Posted by pkk_84

...With this feature, other passenger in the cabin cannot jump out without the knowledge of the driver, making sure they are not hit by roadside motorist / cyclist or doors hitting the pedestrians.
- Additionally When the vehicle is in motion non of the passenger inside the cabin can open the doors (either From Inside or Outside) when the central locking is armed. This feature provides more safety while a car is in motion.
It is not only children who tries to open the door in a moving car. I've experienced few elderly people or even others trying to open the door before car comes to stand still position. As we are in India we may have people with less road sense / knowledge about car....

I have seen people opening doors and knocking down pedestrians, two wheeler riders as they did NOT check surroundings before they got down. As a driver, I have a clean view of the surroundings of the car and can warn my co-passengers about any movement close to the car and can control the exit to some extent if I have a separate switch under my control.

Originally Posted by blacksport

...Maybe that is the 19th century method of checking whether the door is locked. Now you have an indicator on the central console...

Sorry, I do NOT care what you think. I still trust my senses more than electronics & technology. Am glad people like you have moved on in life.

Originally Posted by blacksport

...And maybe we can have a third layer too. How about another switch under the seat?

May be one in the boot too. I can pay extra for that.

[pkk_84]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

We are discussing possibilities.
Sorry, I do NOT care what you think. I still trust my senses more than electronics & technology.

Rightly said. It takes ages to educate the whole indian community to adapt latest technology and its security features. So just to make sure safety of indian passengers why can't a manufacturer customize their product keeping Indian mentality in mind? After all Indian auto market is one major for all these OEMs

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by blacksport

As the cliche goes, only you can help yourself. Don't expect the manufacturers to spoon feed.

Maybe that is the 19th century method of checking whether the door is locked. Now you have an indicator on the central console.

Gibberish, ignored!

And maybe we can have a third layer too. How about another switch under the seat?

Please read above comments BlackSport. We are not trying to force something on to you, nor are we saying the EcoSport is unsafe. We are just saying we would have preferred an additional mechanical lock. No need to get defensive here, just be a sport.

Me and SwiftnFurious don't have anything against the EcoSport. I own a Ford too, in fact I am much more closely associated. But then, T-BHP is a forum to have healthy discussions on cars without being biased

EcoSport follows Vento, Polo, Rapid and a few other cars which have given the mechanical lock a skip due to cost reasons. Much like many Europeans manufacturers do with the reverse lights - removing a bulb for cost saving. That is our point here.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Just because a bunch of bhp'ians or informed people think in a specific direction, the behaviour of most people in India would NOT change. Pity if you think so! Inspite of these couple of posts bashing kids travelling in the front seat, still 80% (assuming 80-20 rule) of the cars out there will see kids travelling in the front seat. Neither you nor I can change it - We can change may be 1% of those.

Point taken. Now will you try and justify the other arguments too please? Like a car getting submerged and NO impact and impact with not enough strength NOT to unlock the locks et al ? We are discussing possibilities.

Now, let me know your thoughts on the below portion please.

I have seen people opening doors and knocking down pedestrians, two wheeler riders as they did NOT check surroundings before they got down. As a driver, I have a clean view of the surroundings of the car and can warn my co-passengers about any movement close to the car and can control the exit to some extent if I have a separate switch under my control.

Sorry, I do NOT care what you think. I still trust my senses more than electronics & technology. Am glad people like you have moved on in life.

May be one in the boot too. I can pay extra for that.

I will not reply point by point, because it is starting to sound very repetitive. To sum it up, you think that manufacturers should be covering all possibilities (car getting submerged in water, falling into lava, being swallowed by dinos), while I think that they have to put a stop somewhere.

The design their cars for a target set of people, and while they do so, they have to assume that the users of their cars have a certain level of IQ that enables them them use it without much fuss. Their job is to provide things that are useful to the customers, not to cover all possibilities. In this case, the setup is highly intuitive and user friendly. I come from cars that had the two step process, and find this one much more liberating. Perhaps you should use it extensively to appreciate the difference.

ps: And that's my last one on the subject.