[xuv2390]

A guy knows he's in love when he loses interest in his car for a couple of days but unfortunately that never happens in my case!

The decision:

This leads way back in January 2012 (Auto Expo) when I first saw pictures of the Ford EcoSport and totally fell in love with her. It was love at first sight, right since then I had been calling various dealers in Mumbai to figure out the launch date of this magnificent beauty. The wait was rather too long, hence I started concentrating on the Renault Duster during late 2012 and this was because I was not too keen on waiting any longer! So, I went to the sole dealership in Mumbai and took a detailed look at the Duster; I was not impressed at all. Poor quality interiors, overpriced ABS + Airbags version and was not too happy driving it hence I put an immediate full stop to that thought and moreover safety wise it was of no point compromising and purchasing the cheaper 10 lakh non ABS + Airbags version!

I also had an XUV5OO which I gave up due to the million issues and engineering flaws the car had. Since I could not tolerate her any further I quit on her. Hence there was a demand of a new car having excellent ground clearance, comfortable & good fuel economy.

The wait continues, continues & still continues until 1st June, 2013 at 11:23 am when I get a call from the dealer:

Dealer: “Sir, please pay the booking amount today so I can punch your order at the earliest.”
Me: “Sure, why not? How much do you want?”
Dealer: “1 Lakh, Sir”
Me: “Are you sure? When is the launch? How soon will you give me the delivery?
Dealer: “We anticipate the launch next week and your car should be delivered by the end of June.”
Me: “Ok, thanks. You will get the money credited to your SBI account tomorrow morning but make sure you stick to your words.”
Dealer: “Sure sir, I will keep you updated as soon as more information is available.”
Me: “But remember, I want a Diesel with ABS, Airbags & Silver colour would be my only choice.”
Dealer: “Sure sir.”

I called him up next week and he kept saying that the launch is next week, and then the following week he again said next week due to which I was totally frustrated. Mid-June I saw a Facebook comment by Ford India that booking has started and was then sure that the launch is round the corner. Super happy and totally excited!

The moment I saw the brochure leaked on Team-BHP I called up the dealer and confirmed that I will buy the Titanium Diesel in Moondust Silver subject to the price not exceeding 12 Lakhs else cancel my order if it exceeds this budget.

Then comes June 26, 2013 and I am glued to the laptop screen at office along with my boss sitting right next to me because he had just booked a Hyundai Verna and wanted to convince himself that he made no blunder on the price point of view! But I could not control laughing when I saw 5,59,000 on the screen. Mr. Joginder Singh, you just made my day and my boss was in a state of shock and awe, poor soul!

Once the on-road price was available I was keen to change over to the Titanium + because of the measly difference of Rs. 44,000 but unfortunately the dealer did not co-operate since he claimed that the allocations were already done and that no change was possible now. Anyway, since I will be using the car alone most of the time the curtain airbags were not so important and the leather seat covers could be easily arranged so I convinced myself that it is going to be the EcoSport Titanium TDCi only.

Dealership Experience:

It was not so pleasant because they wanted to push me back to end of July for the delivery for reasons best known to them! Since, Ford did not help in any allocation I decided to talk to the general manager and give him a piece of my mind, after couple of arguments and raised voices he agreed to allot me a car and tentatively delivery by 7th July, 2013. Since he wanted some extra money to register my car due to some incomplete documentation (he claimed) I decided to seek help of a friend and have him talk to the Dy. RTO so as to ensure a smooth registration.

Car was registered on 6th June, 2013 and I decided not to wait any longer and take the delivery the very next day.

As far as the insurance is concerned, I received a quote from Bajaj Allianz for Rs. 33,919 which includes Drive Assure – Economy (Zero Depreciation, Engine Protector & 24x7 Spot Assistance). I asked the dealer if he could match the quote, he requested for a day’s time and I agreed. The very next day he confirmed that he can indeed match the quotation. That left the dealer any me, both happy.

I also decided to go in for the 4 year / 1,00,000 km warranty right since day 1. I was quoted Rs. 14,990 which includes RSA (Road Side Assistance) in case of any break down during the 4 year period.


Ownership Experience:

She is a beauty; I am totally in love with her and I am actually speechless right now!

The overall size is decent, not too big not too small just perfect for city use and great for highway in case you have a family of not more than four!

She was 126 km when I took control of her, this was because of the RTO inspection, she traveled from Panvel to Vasai and back and I had no choice but to be ok with this. Out of the showroom and I was literally shivering driving her out so I decided to let dad get behind the wheels instead, while I get behind the wheels of his BMW 520d. It was a splendid idea but he was totally surprised with my behavior and this was probably due to the first car I own for my exclusive use!

Since the registration number had not been allotted due to an agent strike at the Vasai RTO, I had to wait for another 3 days before I got the number so my darling was all alone at home awaiting a number plate.

Finally on Thursday I get hold of the stamped aluminum number plates along with screw less frames which just added to her magnificent looks. We finally took her for a long drive to our farm house near Palghar on the weekend, which was a 230 km round trip. This was the first time we took her out and the entire journey was superb! She managed to handle all the pot holes wonderfully.

Although I expect the average to enhance post the engine break-in period & the first service at 3 months where I plan to change the engine oil too.

Driving Experience:

The dynamics of the car is pretty good and power delivery is linear. It feels powerful enough to handle the road. I experience a mild whining noise from the engine the moment I release the accelerator pedal which I hope will fade over time, although I am not very sure what this exactly is but I will have the service guys clear my doubts soon!

I have completed only 593 km out of which close to 80 km has been on extremely bad road conditions, despite that no rattles or noises as yet! I do not know how long will she continue to stay well behaved! Will keep you guys updated.

What I like:

-Engine Power
-Braking efficiency
-Seating position & comfort
-Driver armrest
-Storage box under the passenger seat
-Super powerful air-conditioning
-Music system & speakers

What I dislike:

-Width & depth of the front seats
-Engine noise (probably due to the engine cover that is missing on all the EcoSport's)
-Thick A-pillar (I have to be very careful in the monsoon since the A-pillar is anyway too thick and the rains make the view totally blindfolding)
-Headlights

Space:

There is enough leg room to be just comfortable enough on both the front and rear seats. As I said the front seats have very good cushioning, which makes the back support ideal for good driving comfort. The rear seats have excellent thigh support but it is strictly for 2 adults and 1 child under 12-14 years of age.

Handling:

The EcoSport is very easy to maneuver in the bustling city traffic, thanks to the electric steering wheel. Although it does feel extremely light, most of you who would have driven Hyundai cars like i20 & Verna in the past will easily adapt to this new feel. The only down side is that you will get so use to it that you will start disliking cars which have a heavy steering wheel.

Suspension & ride quality:

The front suspension is very stiff which I guess is extremely essential for Indian road conditions while the rear suspension does not feel too bad although one can expect a slightly bouncy ride on bad surfaces only otherwise it remains completely stable on smooth & even surfaces.

Engine:

The powerful 1.5 liter TDCi is quite amazing. I have not revved her beyond the 2000 RPM mark which meant that we did not drive beyond the 90-95 km/hr mark during our recent trip to Palghar and this was due to the engine break-in period, which will continue until the she attains 1500 km. Otherwise, the power delivery is extremely linear and the car has just the right power for both highway and city use. In fact she can easily ascend flyovers in the 4th gear without much hesitation.

Audio System:

The stock audio system and speakers is extremely very good, perhaps the best I have seen in vehicles under the 15 lakh bracket. You have a choice to optimize the sound to "driver only" mode in case you are the only person in the car. I have tested the Microsoft Sync with my Google Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.3 and it works well although sound quality over Bluetooth is compromised. Playback using the pen drive and Audio CD is very good. In the last 20 days I have faced disconnection only twice, I wonder if this is an issue with my phone or with Microsoft Sync!

Multimedia Information Display:

The blue boy, the font colour seen on the MID display is in blue colour only! Although it looks very good, I would have liked it even more if they allowed you to change the font colour to suit you taste. The feedback is a little slow when you press the 4 way direction key to select different options on the MID display.

Usage Pattern:

I drive down to office everyday which is only 10 km away so the daily usage is only 20 km. Apart from this I will be taking it to my farm house 3 weekend's of the month and that collectively adds to approximately 1000 km a month. I am currently going a little slow because of the poor road conditions and heavy rain in Mumbai.

Exterior Design & Build quality:

I find the design to be very interesting and it is just ideal for this kind of vehicle. At sub. 4 meters, 200 mm ground clearance & 10 lakhs on the road I have absolutely no reason to complain! One always feels that they could have done this better, that better, but I am sure a lot of engineering and aerodynamics goes into thinking before finalizing the actual design. I am very happy!

The build quality is extremely commendable for this price tag. The doors feel extremely solid and close with loud thud just like any German car. The door handles are solid too and infant if you just press the black button on the handle, the car unlocks provided the remote is in near vicinity of the door sensor. This particular feature is very useful since you do not have to pull the remote from your pocket and then press the unlock button.

Interior Design & Quality:

The interiors are very modern and look amazing for a car in the under 10L bracket. The air-conditioning vents are large and you have a choice to close the fins in case you want to stop the air flow. The driver armrest is a big boon which adds to the driving comfort, I would have loved it even more if they could have made it a little longer. There is a credit card holder just below the climate control buttons, looks like they have not modified the design specifically for India since we do not and cannot use plastic money on the roads at all! The area around the gear is black and glossy and is prone to scratched very easily and this is something we cannot avoid.

Seat comfort:

I am much on the heavier side so I was a little concerned owing to the small seat but luckily I fit in just right. The back rest is perfectly cushioned which gives me extremely good driving comfort, and for those of you who have back problems, the seat also offers a manually adjustable lumbar support too. The rear seats have very good thigh support and you feel extremely comfortable as long as only 2 adults are seated. I have ordered the rear arm rest with cup holders and pillow which should further enhance the rear seating comfort.

Air-conditioning:

The blower is very powerful and the car cools extremely well, in fact it is equivalent to my BMW's air-conditioning system! One great thing is that not a hint of outside air comes into the cabin when set on internal re-circulation mode. This was unlike in case of my XUV5OO where outside air always entered into the cabin despite setting it into internal mode.

Gear Shift:

It is very smooth and the gears synchronize extremely well, not once did they cause any form of hindrance while shifting. The gear box is very responsive and you can feel the right punch only after shifting to the 3rd gear and beyond.

Fuel efficiency:

On the trip console panel it constantly displayed an average between 18.0 – 18.2 km/liter. This was excellent for her first ride and more over the car had 1 large size adult (me), 2 medium built adults (parents) and a full load of luggage in the boot. We can assume the car was fully loaded and also had the air-conditioning running at all times. This car is easy on the pocket! But I am yet to ascertain the real world average using the tank to tank method.

Headlights:

The first time I took her on the highway was during heavy rains at 6:00 am in the morning and unfortunately despite the headlights being on high beams they were not at all effective. We can upgrade them to higher wattage bulbs without tampering with the wiring (adding a relay) since that will immediately void the warranty as per the service manager! This is a major downside.

The EcoSport Diesel recall:

Please refer to my detailed recall thread below regarding the GPCM module:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-recall-5.html

Accessories:

I decided to go in for the Essential pack which includes the following 6 items:

a. Floor Carpets
b. Boot Carpet
c. Mud Flaps (Front & Rear)
d. Metallic Keychain
e. Document Holder
f. Perfume Kit

Apart from the above I have placed an order for Fabric seat overs, rear arm rest, engine guard & interior ambient light. I will be receiving these accessories hopefully by the end of next week.

I am still confused about the spare wheel cover, should I buy it or not? The silver alloy and the Goodyear tire gives the rear a nice mean look, so the question is whether the spare wheel cover add to her beauty or not?

Last, I decided to buy a set of step garnish plates (Rs.600) and a complete rubber floor & boot mat set (Rs. 1700) from the local accessories shop since the step garnish was grossly overpriced by Ford and rubber matting which is a must in India is not available with Ford.

Here come the pictures from various angles:

The Urban Beast:


The boot door gaps are clearly visible


The mounted alloy wheel further complements the beauty of the EcoSport


The silver roof rails gel together with the Moondust silver


It does not look all that small


The chrome grill adds to the beauty too


A slightly zoomed out version


The headlights look awesome but are not powerful enough for highway driving


The zoomed version of the chrome grill


LHS veiw


I luckily got the Goodyears! They have excellent grip.


My EcoSport Titanium TDCi


Driver door handle, the black button can be pressed to unlock the car provided the remote is in its vicinity. Very good feature!


Driver side OVRM mirror (does not fold automatically - another downside)


The power-horse


A zoomed version of the engine


Ford battery and on top lies some electronic module (I don't think it is the ECU)


Radiator fluid


The insulation is decent enough


Notice that the wipers are not correctly positioned, there is a huge scope of improvement here


Interior view from the driver side


The front seats


Rear leg room after both the seats being pushed all the way back


Rear Headrest


Rear door trim has just the right touch of chrome


Driver door trim, observe the OVRM adjustment joystick


The power window control switches


I think the tweeters are dummy in the Titanium Diesel version


Spare wheel side view


Diesel Cover it is made up of plastic

[xuv2390]

Some additional pictures since there is a limit of 30 per post:

The awesome interiors


MID Display, Music System & Climate control


The feather light steering wheel


The dashboard is very deep


Sun visor, vanity mirror & manually controllable light


Sun glasses holder (it is too small for my Ray-ban sun glasses)


Driver Armrest and lumbar support knob


Rear RHS boot door panel gap


Rear LHS boot door panel gap


Rear door step garnish


Front door step garnish purchased from the local accessories shop


The gap between the three pedals is decent


My key placed in a leather key chain purchased from a local shop


Small & wonderful genuine leather


The accessories as part of the essential pack


Ford Metallic keychain


Car perfume provided by Ford (Lemon ice fragrance)


Leather Document Holder


My lovely keys (My Mahindra Yuvraj 215 tractor keys are missing )

[PatienceWins]

Congrats. It is nice to see that you are getting very good mileage. Looking forward to regular updates as you clock miles.

[DeKay]

XUV2390,
A very hearty congratulations from my side! Moondust silver is a really special colour for the Ecosport and she looks absolutely lovely.

So great to hear that you're loving the Ecosport. I have booked a Sea Grey T(O), but I'm calling up my SA now and I'm going to tell him to allot me a silver or a grey, whichever comes earliest.

Anyway, in these 20 odd days you've owned this machine, how much have you driven? Any issues such as rattles/squeaks?

[coolboy007]

Congrats on your Ecosport. Beautiful pics and the silver color looks really good and elegant.

How did you find the handling? Does the steering weight up well at speeds of 100 or it remains super light like it is.

[drmohitg]

Congrats on your new ride. It looks really good in this colour. I feel you should give a skip to the rear mounted wheel cover. The wheel with those alloys really gel with your cars colour. Wishing you many happy miles ahead.

BTW interesting garage you have there: Dzire, Ecosport and the 520D!!

[ampere]

Congrats on the purchase. Truly an urban class stamped all over. Wish you many many miles !

Originally Posted by drmohitg

BTW interesting garage you have there: Dzire, Ecosport and the 520D!!

+1 And to add more, his Handle : XUV... !

[over.drive]

Hello xuv2390,

Hearty congrats on getting the EcoSport Titanium and that too so quickly. She is an absolute beauty and has great presence. The waiting time for the vehicle here is over 6 months.

How do you find the overall size of the vehicle? Since you have used a XUV, how do you compare the experience (driving, comfort, performance etc) with that. Would be great if you could share.

Wishing you many happy miles in your EcoSport.

Thanks

[xuv2390]

Originally Posted by DeKay

XUV2390,

Anyway, in these 20 odd days you've owned this machine, how much have you driven? Any issues such as rattles/squeaks?

@DeKay: I have clocked only 593 km to be precise. No rattles or squeaks despite driving at least 80 km on pathetic road conditions. So far so good, let me wait and watch whether she continues to remain well behaved!

Originally Posted by coolboy007

How did you find the handling? Does the steering weight up well at speeds of 100 or it remains super light like it is.

@coolboy007: Well, as I had stated above I have not driven beyond the 2000 RPM mark due to the engine break in period but even at 95 km/hr the steering feels quite good. I have no reasons to complain, being an electric steering I doubt if it will weight up, but for certain she remains totally stable!

Originally Posted by ampere

Congrats on the purchase. Truly an urban class stamped all over. Wish you many many miles !

+1 And to add more, his Handle : XUV... !

@ampere: The Dzire was sold last year and replaced with an i20 Sportz, fed-up with the XUV5OO niggles she has now been replaced with the Ford EcoSport and BMW 520d will continue at least for the next couple of years. Not to forget I have a Mahindra Yuvraj 215 tractor too!

If you guys have any other specific questions, I would be glad to answer.

[Batfreak]

Congrats on the awesome buy! Wish you many happy miles on her. You must be so proud of your garage. Please please please don't go in for the spare wheel cover. Those alloys beg to be flaunted. One question. How is the rear armrest fitted into the car? Does it involve a change of the whole rear seat?
Cheers!

[xuv2390]

Originally Posted by Batfreak

Please please please don't go in for the spare wheel cover. Those alloys beg to be flaunted. One question. How is the rear armrest fitted into the car? Does it involve a change of the whole rear seat?
Cheers!

@Batfreak: I had similar views on not putting the spare wheel cover!

As far as the rear arm rest goes, it comes only in black colour and is fitted using a strap (maybe using Velcro). I am going next Saturday to the service center in order to get it fixed along with other accessories and will post detailed pictures then. I am also considering the black with grey inserts fabric seat covers because the current light grey fabric is prone to dirt and will look awful after a few months! And I personally hate the rexine/vinyl seat overs, they look so fake hence I have decided to go for fabric!

[TheARUN]

Congratulations on the purchase, never seen an Ecosport in this colour, looks better than white to me, great choice.

Can we get one shot of the BMW standing next to the Ecosport, that would make for an awesome picture and give us some perspective on the size of the Ecosport

[johannskaria]

Originally Posted by xuv2390

I am still confused about the spare wheel cover, should I buy it or not? The silver alloy and the Goodyear tire gives the rear a nice mean look, so the question is whether the spare wheel cover add to her beauty or not?

Last, I decided to buy a set of step garnish plates (Rs.600) and a complete rubber floor & boot mat set (Rs. 1700) from the local accessories shop at Opera House, Mumbai.

My personal opinion is not to cover the spare wheel .. It looks much better this way

Hey one more thing did the guy in Opera house have the roof rails of Ecosport?
and could you please share his name and number?
This guy is way cheaper than dealerships and I would buy the scuff plates and even the rails if he has from him!

[saisrujan]

Congratulations! That's a good review and lots of detailed pictures. Here's wishing you many years of great memories with this car.

[noopster]

Thread moved from Assembly Line to Initial Ownership Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

The Eco Sport actually looks fantastic in silver, unlike most cars that just look ordinary (in my opinion!) Congratulations on the car and wishing you many million miles in it.