[candidvagabond]

Originally Posted by blrboy

My running is not that much, and mostly to be drive in City limits in Bangalore and occasional highway rides. Now , few questions :-)

1. Do you think Ecoboost still suits my driving requirements?

2. Is there any lack in power in hilly terrain during ascend?

3. What is the realistic mileage that I can expect in city and highways?

4. What would be the average maintenance cost that I can expect

5. Any guarantee on the spares availability especially considering this is an imported engine (manufactured in Germany ??)

Ecoboost engine is not at it's best in crawling traffic (longer clutch travel also doesn't help, but in normal off-peak traffic it is fine. This engine is all smiles if kept above 1500rpm.
I haven't driven in hilly terrain yet, but my guess is the hill-hold assist should help in moving from stand still. 170nm of torque is more than enough for any ascend but again it kicks in only after 1500rpm, so gear shift at the right rpm should do the trick. Long-termers please shed some light on this.

[blrboy]

Originally Posted by candidvagabond

Ecoboost engine is not at it's best in crawling traffic (longer clutch travel also doesn't help, but in normal off-peak traffic it is fine. This engine is all smiles if kept above 1500rpm.
I haven't driven in hilly terrain yet, but my guess is the hill-hold assist should help in moving from stand still. 170nm of torque is more than enough for any ascend but again it kicks in only after 1500rpm, so gear shift at the right rpm should do the trick. Long-termers please shed some light on this.

Thanks much for your reply. It has increased my confidence further.

I am from Bangalore.

My running is not that high. Hence diesel is not what I am looking for.

I did a test drive of ecoboost,and really liked the performance and the overall package it has.

Only worry is about the mileage (in notorious Bangalore traffic), it's maintainability, service, and spare parts availability apart from this being a BS 4 engine.

I intend to keep my new car long (about 10 years), and my usage will be mostly within City 85% of time and remaining on highways/long drives.

Does it have any power lag in hill terrain during climbing up, especially when we get stuck behind any slow moving trucks?

I would love to hear from you based on your experience.

Also, from which dealer did you purchase ?

Thanks

[candidvagabond]

Originally Posted by blrboy

Only worry is about the mileage (in notorious Bangalore traffic), it's maintainability, service, and spare parts availability apart from this being a BS 4 engine.

Mine has done only 1300Kms, so I am not the right person to comment on mileage, maintenance etc. I get only 8.5 to 9kmpl in city and 13kmpl on highway. Hope this will improve slightly after 1st service.

Never driven the EcoSport on hilly terrain, so can't comment on that.

I bought from JSP Ford and had a good experience.

[justchells]

Have clocked over 10k kms on my EcoSport S Petrol. City mileage isn't great, you can get 8.5kmpl. I guess the Dragon 1.5 litre offers a better mileage in city (manual, not automatic).

On the highway, I've gotten mileage figures as high as 20kmpl, as long as you are driving at 80kmph in 6th gear for longer stretches. Check some of my earlier posts.

Coming to hilly terrain, I haven't experienced any difficulty. You have to be in the right power band of course considering its a turbo charged engine. Usually above 1400rpm in 2nd gear, this car can pull along just fine, and above 2000rpm, it fires up. I have been on steep inclines (like coming out of the basement) in 2nd gear at 1000 rpm, and that's when I feel the car struggles. Simply drop down a gear or move along patiently.

Bottom line - I feel the S petrol is more for the car enthusiast, if you enjoy the kick in the pants feel after the engine revs past 2000rpm. If you want better mileage, go for the S Diesel. If you want more driving convenience in city, go for the Dragon T+ petrol automatic.

[blrboy]

@candidvagabond and @justchells, thanks a lot for your replies.

I really want to own an ecosport. My running is much less, max of about 200-250 kms a week.

So, I am confused so much between 1.0 litre ecoboost, 1.5 litre petrol Titanium Plus and 1.5 litre automatic.

I am in the middle age bracket :-). Here are some thoughts running in my mind which confuses me more and more. Hence seeking some opinion and thoughts on various petrol versions.

Titanium Plus AT:

Though I like the automatic variant for its convenience, I still feel somewhat disconnected with the car, I may be wrong :-) . I do understand that at later point of time, my wife or even my daughter could use it being an automatic. I am suspecting in future it may involve high maintenance cost apart from the known issue of low mileage which I may need to deal with.

Titanium Plus 1.5 litre Manual:
I like the Titanium plus 1.5 litre petrol for the features it provides, but with no SYNC3 feature and leatherette seat cover it is somewhat disappointing.

Titanium Plus 1.0 litre Manual:
This top end model comes with the whole package, and I really like the driving experience. My heart says go for it. But my head says think in practical terms. I am not sure what I should decide. Can you help

For my usage, may be I shouldn't worry much about the mileage. But I also feel this is meant for driving more in highways, right? That is when you can fully extract the joy that it can provide.

Also, for my scheme of things, diesel doesn't suit at all.

I am not the one who change cars frequently and intent to keep for at least 6-7 years.

If you were in my position, what would option would you choose.

Thanks,

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by blrboy

I really want to own an ecosport. My running is much less, max of about 200-250 kms a week.

That translates to 1k kms a month & 12k kms an year. For that much running most people would pick a diesel! I would too.

Of course - petrol is your choice, I'm not saying go for diesel. But then - this is not "low" running as such. On an average, car buyers in India drive lesser than this so far. This is sufficient running for you to include "mileage" in one of your criteria unless you don't care about mileage at all.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

That translates to 1k kms a month & 12k kms an year. For that much running most people would pick a diesel! I would too.

On the contrary, I think 1000 kms per month is pretty average running, nowhere close to high running. More so now that the price differential between diesel and petrol are negligible (in single digits, usually) as compared to even a few years back, when the delta was close to Rs. 25 or so at one point. Purely from the economic point of view, diesel makes very little sense for that kind of running. My running is almost identical, and when I had worked out the math (several years back when choosing between the Swift diesel and Swift petrol), even then petrol made more sense for my mileage - again, purely from the numbers perspective. I have not re- done the math any time recently, but I do believe they still hold good.

Of course, if one were to evaluate the inherent characteristics of the powertrains themselves (petrol v diesel), that would be a different ball game and the outcome would more likely hinge on the personal preferences of the customer. For instance, I prefer a smooth creamy and responsive petrol (which is why I chose the Honda City this year) while others may prefer a heavier diesel experience with more torque etc.

@blr boy: take your pick between the Ecoboost and the Dragon manual. Both are good choices, and I personally preferred the Dragon's linear response to the Ecoboost's engine. Choose whichever driving experience appeals to you more personally.

[blrboy]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

That translates to 1k kms a month & 12k kms an year. For that much running most people would pick a diesel! I would too.

Maybe I exaggerated my usage, this is on higher side, usually it will be less than this.

I thought diesel would make more sense , if the running is 15K KMS or above in a year.

Thanks for your response

[blrboy]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

@blr boy: take your pick between the Ecoboost and the Dragon manual. Both are good choices, and I personally preferred the Dragon's linear response to the Ecoboost's engine. Choose whichever driving experience appeals to you more personally.

Thank you! I didn't do a test drive of Dragon petrol yet, planning to do it in a day or two.

[candidvagabond]

Originally Posted by blrboy

@candidvagabond and @justchells, thanks a lot for your replies.

Thanks,

I was in the same situation as your's. Monthly usage of 600-1000kms max, still my preference was diesel initially purely because of the higher torque. But with the recent govt policy, future of diesel cars doesn't look so bright. Resale value will go down drastically and govt may even come up with a scrappage policy for 10+ years old engines. Since mileage was not prime reason to consider diesel, an Ecoboost engine seemed like best of both worlds. It gives the turbo kick, higher torque while being environmentt friendly. Ecoboost gives a higher mileage too compared to 1.5 dragon if driven sedately. As you mentioned, lack of S edition in 1.5 was also one reason. I may have gone for 1.5 if there was an S, sometimes a linear torque is easier to drive, specially in the Bangalore traffic.

[blrboy]

Originally Posted by candidvagabond

Ecoboost gives a higher mileage too compared to 1.5 dragon if driven sedately. As you mentioned, lack of S edition in 1.5 was also one reason. I may have gone for 1.5 if there was an S, sometimes a linear torque is easier to drive, specially in the Bangalore traffic.

Yes, I too think so. But the Test drive vehicles that I drove (both Dragon and S variant) was showing not more than 9-10 kmpl as mileage. The sales guy said that is because of the driving habit of various persons and within city limits. But still its a huge difference from what they claim (17-18 kmpl), right?

Also, I heard people saying that 1.0 litre engine may cause some heating issues due to its specific design (small capacity engine, pulling a heavier vehicle) and it may need engine work if we ever get into issue in future. Ecoboost being an imported engine (I guess, its not manufactured in Indida, right ?), will that be something to be considered too along with the maintenance cost?

[BikerSuz]

My RedFox just completed 1 year yesterday. And I got my 2nd free service (10k) done during the weekend at PPS Yelahanka. It has about 9800 km on the odometer right now.
My ownership experience has been wonderful for the most part and I'm happy about my investment.

Below pic was taken at Chorla Ghat during my Goa trip in Sept 2019.

Originally Posted by candidvagabond

My Red beast finally came home after a wait of 2 months.

Congratulations bro!

Originally Posted by blrboy

My running is not that much, and mostly to be drive in City limits in Bangalore and occasional highway rides. Now , few questions :-)

1. Do you think Ecoboost still suits my driving requirements?

2. Is there any lack in power in hilly terrain during ascend?

3. What is the realistic mileage that I can expect in city and highways?

4. What would be the average maintenance cost that I can expect

5. Any guarantee on the spares availability especially considering this is an imported engine (manufactured in Germany ??)

So have you picked up your car already? Regarding your questions...

1. My running is mostly on highways, long drives and during the weekends to malls and inside the city. I don't use it for the daily commute. So might differ from your usage and can't really comment.

2. There isn't any lack of power in hilly terrains as such. From what I have heard, this Ecoboost fairs better than the prev gen Ecoboost because of the difference in gearing. I have gone to Goa and Kerala a couple of times and have driven through the ghat sections. Power felt adequate and never really felt odd. Again, the gear in which you are might matter here.
This is my first manual car, and I've gotten used to it. As others said, the turbo feel (on right rpms) is addictive and you'll really enjoy them on open highways.

3. On an average (less city + more highways), mine gives approx 11-12 kmpl. I've usually got as low as 8 and as high as 16 kmpl on varied conditions.

4. My 2nd service, which is done at 10k km or 1 yr, cost me about 1700-1800. This is great in my opinion and is almost similar to other EcoSport variants.

5. I think the Ecoboost we have here is Made in UK/Romania. Can't speak about engine spares availability as I don't have any personal experience about that. But a friend of mine has the previous-gen ES Ecoboost and haven't heard any real concern from him regarding this.

[justchells]

Recent drive from Bangalore to Salem, got 23+ kmpl on the odometer of my Ecoboost petrol engine, started with a full tank on Shell normal petrol. I've observed the best way to get mileage is driving at 80 kmph on 6th gear in cruise control.

[Ibanez_70]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Great review, especially the driving impressions part which was the only important thing to know really. But going through that and the "smile that it puts on your face" i can't understand the ranking that the Mods have given in terms of the engines. The power and torque combination of the EcoBoost feels very punchy and i may be in the minority here but once you get the feel of a turbo petrol, NA cars just feel like missing that zing , that push back in the seat feeling which just doesn't come in NA. The diesel feels fun to drive for the same reason.

While yes, the low down torque feels low in the 1.0, it doesn't feel inadequate by any measure. I have the 5 speed Ecoboost and the only little thing that irked me was getting away from speedbumps, sometimes you have to shift down to 1st. I believe even that would be much better in 6MT. And for rest of the city driving experience, the boost over 2k rpm is just fantastic and never gets old. Given a choice between a small turbo petrol vs NA, personally would go for turbo 10/10 after having used one for 5 years. And touchwood at least in these years, haven't had maintenance issues.

The price premium at that time was about 40k for the EcoBoost and that has increased a lot and the difference between the ecoboost and diesel has decreased so there's no surprise that it makes a harder case for itself than ever. But I would ask other members to not question Ford's decision to relaunch the Ecosport's flagship powertrain but rather give Kudos to Ford for bringing it in. Other manufacturers have shown how little interest they have in bringing their latest turbo engines to India. While overseas, pretty much every maker has 3 pot 1.0, none has brought it in yet(save for maruti, and even that at a price that makes no sense). Thanks to them for being this adventurous in trying it out.

Now if only the next Figo S has the EcoBoost

How many kms have you covered till now? Have you faced any major issues till date?? My dad booked the S ecoboost last week and because I found a bit of negative impressions here on Team-Bhp about the Ecoboost, I am a little worried.

Test drove the S with the Ecoboost and boy its such a fun engine. The experience behind the wheel is truely amazing. Dad booked the red colour.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by Ibanez_70

How many kms have you covered till now? Have you faced any major issues till date?? My dad booked the S ecoboost last week and because I found a bit of negative impressions here on Team-Bhp about the Ecoboost, I am a little worried.

Test drove the S with the Ecoboost and boy its such a fun engine. The experience behind the wheel is truely amazing. Dad booked the red colour.

We just sold the car last month with 35K on the odo. Faced no mechanical issues with the car. Only did a yearly service and no part failed except for the lock of the tailgate. The EcoBoost pull is addictive, bested only by the GT TSI in that price range.