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Disclaimer: This being my first thread on Team-BHP, I apologize for any noob mistakes I make. All the views mentioned in the ownership report are my own and also the views about other cars are my own and no offence meant to anyone.


At the outset, let me begin my first thread on Team-BHP by thanking the community for providing answers to almost anything automobile related and also beyond that too. Thanks to every member who contributes to the community and makes it information rich.


With this thread, I hope to add to the already info rich community by sharing my thoughts, observations and initial ownership of my blue Beast - Ford Ecosport Titanium S TDCi.



Likes:

• Punchy and efficient diesel mill
• Comfortable cruiser and also a good city car
• Looks of the Titanium S variant are just awesome
• Loaded with kit – auto wipers, lights and IRVM are my absolute favourite
• Ride and handling - feels way better than my earlier car and also is confidence inspiring
• Lovely steering and sufficiently damped suspension
• Safety kit and driver assist features - TCS, ESP, Hill Hold, TPMS etc.
• Oh did I mention the lovely blue black combo of this shade

Dislikes:

• Humongous blind spot due to the tree-trunk-thick A-pillar
• Turbo-lag in second gear gets annoying
• Road noise from the Ecopias, though controlled is still a lot for my liking
• Over sensitive auto headlights and under sensitive auto wipers
• Potholes make a big ruckus inside the cabin if you take them at speed
• Best suited for 4 adults due to the narrow cabin width
• FE drops significantly with a heavy right foot

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Background:
Since I can recollect my memory, I have been a car nut. I distinctly remember seeing cars and instantly falling in love with them. Belonging to a small town, we never had any exotics or imports roaming around but the automobile magazines fulfilled that fantasy. During my childhood, I wanted to build a car company but only if wishes were horses. Soon, I realized it was not going to be a dream which I could realize and I started moulding my career towards a different path and once I could acquire a non-geared two-wheeler license, I fell in love with two wheeled beauties.

A bike gives you the freedom which nothing can ever match. That wind in the hair feeling, the motor screaming between your legs and the sense of being one with the nature (of course I was stupid enough that time to not wear a helmet). I joined a lot of bike forums online and started gathering information particularly on safe riding techniques. By that time, I had acquired a used Kawasaki Ninja 250 R and as rightly said in the Spiderman movie, with great power comes great responsibility, I started noticing the usefulness and paramount importance of safety riding gears. So, got myself a bunch of riding gears and started enjoying riding in an all new experience. Also, by this time I was about to finish my post-graduation and had gradually started to notice the downsides of riding bikes. The same wind in the hair feeling got annoying with the increased heat, dust and sweating inside the helmet. The screaming motor now wanted to burn my inner thighs in heavy traffic and I realized in order to be one with nature, you need to take the riding gears off which I was not willing to do anymore even if somebody would offer me money to do the same.

That’s how I rejuvenated my first love – CARS. By this time, I had stumbled upon Team-BHP and had tried unsuccessfully to earn my membership to the forum. Still being a non-member, I used to literally mug up the various ownership threads posted here. In hindsight, it had become one of my aspirations too to share my ownership report on the forum one day. Team-BHP gave me a different insight into the world of cars and I was happy to see others sharing the same passion I have for automobiles. I am the go-to guy in my friend circles for anything automobile related and here I realized there are more experienced and knowledgeable people on Team-BHP to impart their advice.

After that, I started to save up to purchase my first car and simultaneously started the search for that perfect car which would suit my needs. Since the start of 2015, I had saved up enough to purchase a used car and that time I was posted in Ahmedabad. I started searching for used cars within my budget but the only cars I could afford were either Maruti Alto, Wagon-R, Hyundai Santro, Accent or similarly priced cars. I started searching frantically for that perfect car in the budget and also test drove a lot of options but nothing was tugging at my heart strings. I hated Maruti cars (and still do, no offence meant to anybody) and we had owned the first-gen Hyundai Santro so was not too keen on it. Finally, around July 2015, I saw an ad for Fiat Punto online and immediately liked the car. Punto being a driver’s car was always on my radar, but previous examples were too expensive. I checked out this particular car which was a 2009 Fiat Punto Emotion Multijet. I was getting most bang for the buck with it being almost fully loaded car with a lot of information on the MID and a lot of creature comforts too. The car drove well and the deal was sealed in the first drive.

The day I got her home


Whilst the car was a hoot to drive both on the highways as well as in the city, it started giving random problems after almost 10 months of ownership. I had added almost 25K kilometres by that time and such problems started getting frequent. I had got the suspension work done, AC evaporator replaced, glow plugs changed and other small works. I was thoroughly enjoying the car and had even driven it down to Pune from Ahmedabad twice. But such niggles started getting on my nerve. I am an impatient man and don’t like my rides spending too much time in the garage, since it is the only mode of transport for me. I hate cabs and particularly waiting for them or getting denied a cab. By October 2016, I had shifted to Pune and the only service centre operating at that time (and still operating) was situated in Nigdi which was way too far from my residence at the time and for my liking. In December 2016, one of my friends was visiting me for a few days and we had planned to explore some places near Pune for which I had to go pick her up at Mumbai.

A couple of days before she was to arrive, the car started throwing errors on the MID, the AC refused to cool and also the car was driving with jerks. I was thoroughly angered both at the car and the fact that I had to drive so far to the service station. Once there, I was made to wait which further added to my agony and was later told that they would have to keep the car for diagnosis. I was literally helpless now, but I left the car there and hired a Zoomcar for the duration. This was also not going to be a smooth experience and the details for which can be found here.

Post this debacle, I received my car after spending 10 days at the SVC and I was now adamant that the Punto had to go. This time I was very clear that it had to be a new car and one which has a lot of service centres and it should be niggle free and needed to bring complete peace of mind to me (fill it, shut it, forget it types). I had decided not to follow my heart this time and be reasonable and think with my head. My mother suggested me to go with a new Punto but it did not serve the criteria of SVCs though I loved the facelifted Punto too.

So, after a lot of research, I finalized the Hyundai Grand i10 Asta (O) CRDi in exchange for my beloved Punto. This was purely a decision made by the head and the heart was not at all involved anywhere in the process. I love the top variants of any car and it being the only variant offering ABS and airbags, I opted for the top variant.

The day Punto left me



Welcoming the Grand i10



Test drives don’t necessarily give you the proper perspective and it is only after you own the car, you start to realize the true essence of any car. I thought of the Grand i10 as lifeless and just a commuter car with decent FE, proper service support and a pliant suspension to absorb the bad city roads. But boy was I wrong, this car was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It had better driveability than the Punto, felt punchier and the turbo-lag was almost non-existent. I purchased it just before the new 1.2 litre CRDi engine was launched and mine had the 1.1 litre CRDi. I bought it in end-December 2016 mainly for the year end discounts and needed a reliable car ASAP. I started loving the car more and more as I added miles on it. It was super reliable, comfy and the drive was good too. I used it for a lot of long drives too. I drove it down to Indore twice, Tarkarli, numerous Mumbai runs and afternoon runs to Lonavala to escape the office. It performed splendidly every time I took her out for a drive and I had a fuss free ownership.

During one of the drives


But at the back of my mind, I always had the thought that this was not a car which I had bought with my heart. So, although I loved the car, I had this feeling of detachment from it. Compare it to being friendzoning the car. I loved it yet I didn’t love it enough. I had clocked 48K kilometres by the time she left me. So around January 2019, by the power vested in our parents, they fixed my marriage and I gave in to the institution of marriage and agreed to take on a partner for the upcoming journeys of my life. This was also the time I had started avoiding Grand i10 for greener pastures and the seed for getting a new car post marriage had started taking shape.

The desire was stronger than ever and once I got the nod from my parents and soon-to-be home ministry, I started the search for my new car with a set budget of 12 lakhs +/- 1 lakh and also in the meanwhile, started searching for a new lover for my Grand i10 who would take care of her like I did and also pay a fair price to do it. Finally, I found one and I now share a personal relationship with the new owner too and I am happy that the Grand i10 has found a loving and caring home. This happened simultaneously with the car purchase but enough of the background now and let me start with the process of finalizing my car.

Grand i10 at the new owner’s place

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Selection And Rejection Process:
As stated above, the budget was decided but this opened the pandora’s box. A mere online search in the budget range of 8-12 lakhs opens up a plethora of options ranging hatchbacks – both premium and non-premium, compact and sub-compact SUVs, compact sedans, sedans, MPVs etc. The primary requirements were as follows in no particular order:

• Should have aspirational/good looks that appeal to me
• Be sufficiently reliable and a diesel mill
• Punchy enough on the highway and have good in-city driveability
• Be feature loaded – the more the merrier (sunroof was one of them)
• Good enough space for front 2 seats, rear seat space was not an issue
• Be a proper upgrade from the current car (so hatchbacks went out the roof)
• Have sufficient boot space – future proofing myself now that I was not going to be single anymore
• Have good ground clearance and offers good ride and handling
• Colour option must have a shade of blue – requirement of the-then to-be wife
• Did I mention it had to pull my heart strings?

Considering the above criteria, it left me mostly with sedans and compact & sub-compact SUVs. I don’t like compact sedans and MUVs were not being considered. So, finally I decided to go ahead with the sub-compact SUVs with just one exception of a sedan since it fell into my budget. I was looking at only top variants and other sedans were overshooting the budget by a huge margin. After researching a lot online and watching numerous comparison videos, decided to test the cars out in person.

Tata Nexon:

The first test drive I took was of the Tata Nexon XZ+ diesel.
Likes:

• Good engine and driveability in the city
• Suspension was liveable and so was the ride and handling
• Awesome music system and gimmicks like rear view camera which can be turned on while driving
• Price – although at the cost of a lot of features
• Interior space

Dislikes:

• The steering felt small in size and I did not feel comfortable holding it
• Lots of features missing vis-à-vis the competition
• Horrible touch screen interface
• Average quality of interiors

Finally, decided against Tata Nexon. It did not leave a mark on me and was not able to fulfil the heart criterion.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza:

Honestly, it was never under consideration but just decided to check it out in person since the dealership is at the ground floor of my office building.
Likes:

• Price and interior space
• Sufficient features

Dislikes:

• Engine – the biggest nail in the coffin for this car for me
• Cheap quality interiors
• Lack of a good music system and average touch screen system

As I had hoped, it might be the market leader in terms of sales, but surely never attracted me towards itself. So, it was rejected.

Mahindra XUV 300:

The car had launched by February 2019 and seriously I was following its launch since I was attracted by the features it offered. I loved those DRLs and segment leading features.
Likes:

• Class leading output from the engine on paper
• Interior space especially in the front
• Looks – they were able to pull my heart strings
• Feature loaded to the brim and more

Dislikes:

• Puny boot – might be even lesser than the Grand i10
• Ride quality – as mentioned by many and also during our Pune-Mumbai meet
• Not as dynamically sorted as others in the segment
• Price – overshooting the budget by more than a lakh rupees

Although I was inclined to book this car, the negatives heavily outweighed the positives and had to let go of it. In hindsight, I feel I took the better decision by not opting for it.

Suzuki Ciaz (The Exception):

Since this car was falling into the pre decided budget, I decided to check this car out. Also, Suzuki was about to launch 1.5 litre diesel mill which promised to offer better power than the previous 1.3 litre DDiS which caught my attention.
Likes:

• Interior and boot space – way better than compact SUVs
• Those LED headlights – most attractive feature for me
• The 1.5 litre engine was actually nice to drive

Dislikes:

• Interior and plastic quality left a lot to be desired
• Home ministry didn’t approve this – need I say more?

Ciaz was also dropped from the list which left the only option in the sub-compact SUV segment – the creator of the sub 4m SUV segment – Ford EcoSport (I don’t consider WR-V a sub-compact SUV and Venue had not launched back then).

Ford EcoSport:

Now this was a car which I liked since it was launched way back in 2013. With the new facelift, it has gotten even better with a host of feature addition (deletion too).
Likes:

• Punchy and efficient diesel mill
• Looks of the Titanium S variant are just awesome
• Loaded with kit – auto wipers, lights and IRVM are my absolute favourite
• Ride and handling – the best in the segment
• Lovely steering and sufficiently damped suspension
• Safety kit and driver assist features - TCS, ESP, HLA, TPMS etc.
• It had the best shade of blue which my wife liked

Dislikes:

• Humongous blind spot due to the tree-trunk-thick A-pillar
• Potholes make a big ruckus inside the cabin if you take them at speed
• Best suited for 4 adults due to the narrow cabin width

Finally, I had arrived at a decision of choosing the Ford EcoSport Titanium S. But still, there were some doubts in my mind regarding the engine to opt for which I had shared on how I booked the car finally, quoting myself from the post: -

Past few days have been traumatising. Its always the question "What Car?" which makes us spend sleepless nights and mind you the decision is not easy what with the plethora of options we have today in the 10-12 lakh price bracket.

I always had a soft corner in my heart for the Ford Ecosport but it was necessary to judge the competition too. The only real competition IMHO is Mahindra XUV 300 (comparing just the features and price here) but it was rejected after the price reveal and also the Team-BHP meet at Lonavala where GTO mentioned the horrible suspension (although it turned out to be defective).

So, once Ecosport was decided, the quandary came in the form of Engine options and variant to choose. I just L-O-V-E the S variant but it was turning out to be a pricey affair. But since my last car purchase was a decision taken totally with my head (Hyundai Grand i10 1.1 Diesel), this time I decided to follow my heart and chose the S variant.

But you see, the quandary didn't seem to end here. From this thread it is evident that the Ecoboost engine with the 6-speed manual has greatly improved and it is one stonker of an engine. So, decided to try out both diesel and Ecoboost to end this dilemma. I first test drove the TDCi and having lived with diesels for quite a long time now, found it to be very easy in the city and punchy on the highway too. Then came the Ecoboost and boy-oh-boy what a delight it was to drive it out on the highway. I mostly was gunning the engine to judge its capability and it did not disappoint me at all. In the city too, it was liveable and for my driving style, I did not think it will pose any major concerns in the driveability department. However, one area of concern for me was the mileage and with my driving style and nature of job wanting me to travel within the city mostly, I am pretty sure the mileage is going to be in single digits.

So, again after spending two more sleepless nights, decided to go ahead with the diesel workhorse and finally booked my Ford Ecosport Titanium S TDCi in the Lightning Blue shade. Thanks to Team-BHP and particularly this thread which made me atleast consider the Ecoboost. The long wait starts now, since I am taking the delivery in May! (Yeah, the sleepless nights are not going to end soon)

Hyundai Venue had not launched by the time I had booked my EcoSport but after looking at it in person, I am sure if it was available at that time too, I wouldn’t have booked the car. Other cars like Renault Duster, Hyundai Creta etc were not considered due to their price.

Booking And Delivery Experience:

I decided to book the car from my hometown since we knew the owner and also the RTO tax was lower than in Pune. I cannot comment much on the booking and delivery experience since I was absent and the price negotiation was undertaken by my cousin.

One other factor which put me off from buying from here was the attitude of the sales staff here in Pune. Firstly, they behave like they are doing a favour by selling their car to you and if you ask for discounts, you get ridiculed saying that it is a competitive product which sells well and hence no discounts. But if you have some approach with the management of the dealership (which I mostly have since I work in a related sector), they immediately change their tone.

Still, PPS Ford Pune (only Ford dealer I visited in Pune) was adamant that they don’t have any discounts available. Though the SA was known to me and gave me long test drives of the EcoSport, when it came down to price, they wouldn’t budge. Also, final nail in the coffin was the exchange amount they offered me for my Grand i10. They offered me 3.35 lakhs for my two year old, diesel car which had run 47k at that time and was in a mint condition which was simply ridiculous. I walked out of the showroom but not before giving the exchange manager an earful on how he was trying to cheat a potential customer and promising myself I will never visit them for sales enquiries (remember, I am a short-tempered and impatient man).

Finally, the car was booked through GK Ford, Raipur with 13 Lakhs OTR after a discount of 1 lakh rupees. I was promised a fresh piece from the factory since I had opted for Lightning Blue shade (wife’s choice but now I love it too) which was not available with them. I had booked my car in March 2019 and I was in no hurry as I wanted the delivery only by May 2019. All my co-ordination with them happened over phone and Whatsapp messages and the team was splendid in their behaviour and attitude. I would give them full 10 points for the courtesy extended by them.

In April 2019, I was informed by them that the car had arrived in their yard and if I would like to do a PDI, I can visit. I did visit them armed with the Team-BHP PDI checklist. The dealer themselves hadn’t performed any PDI of their own and the car was showing “Dealer PDI pending” or something of that sort on the MID. Also, the reverse camera adaptive guidelines were not functional during my PDI which I thought was another feature deletion by Ford India but later after the dealer PDI, it got activated which I noticed post-delivery of the car.

During PDI at the showroom



During my PDI I asked them to not stick any type of dealer sticker anywhere on the car and also to remove all the plastic covers inside the car before delivering which was promptly noted by the SA and was adhered to without any reminders. I was not available during the delivery too but the dealership made it a point to share the photos with me so that I can at least have the delivery experience. The car was delivered to our home and I was able to get my hands on it only after a couple of days.

Delivery Day Pictures Shared by GK Ford





Beast at Home


After I got my hands on the new car, we had planned an almost 1000 kms road trip before I drove it down to Pune. We also got the Pooja of the car done on that stretch. Will share the details about it in my upcoming posts.

Overall booking and delivery experience: 10/10

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First Impressions:

The car looks stunning in this shade IMHO. I like darker colours on my vehicles be it a car or a bike, so blue was clouding my judgement since it’s a loud colour too. I have mostly owned either black (Pulsar 220, Ninja 250R, Punto, Dominar) or grey (Grand i10) and I was particularly averse to getting a blue car home. But honestly, with the blackened effects of the S variant, this looks absolutely amazing in the blue-black combo. The colour has grown on me and how. Every time I park the Beast, I always turn back to look at him once more. I don’t seem to have gotten enough of it yet. The design philosophy and the sexy 17-inch rims provided by Ford are absolutely smashing. Very few cars come close to being beautiful right from the factory in this price bracket and I feel proud to be owning one of these.

Design apart, I love the plethora of features on offer. The biggest attraction for me was the sunroof and other convenience features just go that extra mile in making you feel special. The space on offer is adequate for us as I will be driving the car alone most of the times while at other times its going to be just me and my better half. That being said, we did a 1000 kms road trip along with my parents and the space, comfort and convenience offered by the car helped it to cast an impression on everybody’s heart. We were especially happy with the ground clearance on offer, since we had travelled to places where it was required.

Driving And Ownership Report:

At the time of writing this review, I have covered nearly 4000 kms of which 2300 kms are highway driving and remaining within the city.

Exterior And Build Quality:

The car looks the best of the lot in the C-SUV segment IMHO. Along with it the exterior styling trims add to the further sporty looks of the car. The headlamp cluster with dual barrel setup & blackened bits and also HID lights in the S variant look smashing. It was always a beautiful car to start with and the facelift brings much needed upmarket changes to the exterior. I also love the DRLs which are not too bright to blind the oncoming traffic and also the low beams along with fog lamps provide enough illumination for most uses. The alloy wheels are gunmetal finish and look astonishing. I personally felt this was by far the segment benchmark of alloy wheels and other manufacturers need to match this design to make their alloys look sporty. Sadly, this alloy wheel has been discontinued by Ford and I feel happy that I was able to get my hands on it while it was still there.


The Beautiful Alloy Wheel


The ground clearance of the car is good and with a full load of 4 passengers and the boot full of luggage, we never had any nervous moments even on broken roads. We had travelled to Bandhavgarh National Park and the route to our resort was very uneven and had it been my father’s Skoda Rapid, it would have definitely scraped its underbelly. But no sir, on this, we just didn’t need to worry at all. The car provides such confidence to the driver.


The Imposing Front








Beautiful Rear


The car at Bandhavgarh



The build quality of the vehicle is solid. The doors feel heavy and they close with a thud which oozes premium. The body panels don’t flex while pressing them with the thumb and the door handles feel well built too. The car unlocks itself when you pull the door latch with the key in your pocket and they feel sturdy too. Overall no complaints in the build quality department from the outside. The panel gaps are also consistent and frankly, I don’t care much even if there were some. The paint quality is top notch and its really going to be a pain to maintain this colour for the long term.

Interiors:

I love the all-black interiors. Amongst the sea of beige providing OEMs, Ford has gone a step ahead and told others how black looks classy. The interior plastics feel good for the most part unless you want to nit-pick. I for one have no qualms in the glovebox being a little misaligned or the plastics lower down being hard or scratchy. The sunroof brings a lot of light in so if you start feeling claustrophobic, you can open the sunroof cover. But along with it, the outside noise also increases. Also, the cover feels flimsy and the only thing which feels is not going to last long if you use it roughly.

Front seats feel nice and wide and I particularly like the under-thigh support provided by the seats which is way better than my earlier Grand i10. The seats with their dual fabric+leatherette combo feels practical and also will be easier to maintain. Driver seat being height-adjustable and the tilt and telescopic steering provide a lot of options to find that perfect driving position. The ORVMs are wide enough to cover the background in detail and also the edges have a concave surface to cover that little extra action behind. One area of complain is that humongous A-pillar which has given me a few heart-in-the-mouth experiences till now. Post which I have started to drive more carefully keeping the huge blind spot on my mind. Ingress/egress at both the front and rear are quite easy too and you walk-into the car and not climb-into unless you are short in height.

The MID offers a lot of information and I love the TPMS system. The sheer number of features offered for driver aid makes driving this car that much more comfortable. The butter smooth SYNC3 system with 6 speakers offers sufficient punch for that bass when you want it. True audiophiles will be left wanting for more but for an average joe like me, the music system offers good enough bass to keep you satisfied. All the controls fall within the reach of the driver’s hand and you don’t need to necessarily take your eyes off the road to use any of them. The glovebox is not too deep though and cannot hold large items. It is good only for small items and documents.


The MID At 1K



The automatic AC cools the cabin really well and the rear AC vents were never missed by my parents who sat in the back during our roadtrip. The rear bench is sufficiently wide and offers good legroom too. I sat in the back too while my father was driving the car and I felt that the legroom was good. For reference, my father is 5’8” while I am 5’9” and we all are a bit on the heftier side. The car has a lot of storage spaces and all the doors can easily hold a 1-litre bottle. In fact, the front door pockets can hold 2 1-litre bottles which I think is very convenient. I usually slide in the bottle in the door pocket so that it does not foul with my right leg. The boot space is good too and though we did not use the seat tumble function, but the car swallowed a H-U-G-E amount of luggage both in the boot and on the back seat while me and my wife drove from Raipur to Pune. Talk about doing the things you love, my marriage started with the thing I love the most – Driving!

Engine And Gearbox:

The engine is the same 1.5 litre TDCi turbo-diesel tried and tested mill across a range of Ford cars with 100 bhp and 205 nm on tap. It has already been reviewed and I don’t have much to write about it barring just my initial impressions. Initially, it felt a little sluggish and it failed second-gear speed-breaker tests royally. It knocked, cried and then went dead. However, as I have learnt, the workaround is the moderation of clutch but I hate using clutch that much and prefer shifting to the first gear. My father drove the car and he was not at all delighted as it felt underpowered under full load and failed to pick pace. Although we were driving it under 2.5K RPMs for the initial 2500 kms, the way it reached that RPM was just plain sluggish.

However, as the kms climbed, the engine kept feeling sprightly and now after the first service at 2.5K and nearly 4000 kms, the engine has fully opened-up and is as sprightly as ever. The in-city driveability is a boon and you can ride the torque in the second and third gears without any throttle input. However, on inclines it struggles a bit and you need to downshift to get it going. To close that gap in the traffic, you need to quickly perform a downshift and then the car just rockets forward. You need to keep it above 1.5K RPM if you need immediate power. However, if you drive sedately, the car rewards you with a smooth drive and returns good fuel economy too. I am currently getting 14-15 kmpl within the city but honestly, I don’t care about the fuel efficiency much.

The highway is where this engine belongs. It shows its true nature when you want to cruise comfortably and need to be able to maintain good speeds while doing that. However, it doesn’t set the roads on fire with its acceleration but work the gears and the RPM correctly and you will be rewarded with swift performance. While it can maintain triple digit speeds, the noise levels increase in the higher 100s. Overall, it will never leave you wanting for more power and also will reward you with excellent FE if driven sedately. The FE is heavily dependent on your throttle input. Keep in mind this is a heavy car with the same engine as other Fords, so with a heavy right foot, be prepared to see the FE drop significantly and vice-versa, with light throttle input, the FE it offers is fantastic.

The gearbox felt notchy initially coming from the Grand i10 but over time the shifts have become smoother. The gear lever falls to my hand excellently and surprisingly for my seating position, the front armrest is usable and doesn’t hamper the gearshifts at all. The gearbox is medium throw and feels perfectly fine either in the city or on the highway. The NVH levels are well controlled and there is only a soft engine thrum if you don’t prefer listening to your music. The engine sounds a bit coarse in the morning or on cold starts till it reaches its operating temperature. However, with a little music, the outside noise does not filter through making the cabin a quieter place. The vibrations are also well controlled and only time you will feel it is when thumbing the start button. While killing the engine is an absolutely no-nonsense issue.

The clutch is light to use according to me. I haven’t yet felt uncomfortable using it in the city and the clutch travel is also not too long. The dead pedal provided adds to the extra convenience when you want to rest your left foot.

Ride And Handling:

Suspension setup is almost perfect for my usage. In the city, it is compliant for the most part, however, you need to slow down for sharp bumps and deep potholes. Expansion joints on the bridges don’t unsettle it but at the same time one needs to be careful while driving on these low-profile tyres. I used to abuse the Grand i10 suspension in the city and still had no complaints, but this one feels brittle and need to be careful unless you want to get tossed around in the cabin. That being said, the ride quality is good for the most part, in fact better than good, but you need to be careful while navigating sharp bumps and potholes. Low speed ride is not the Beast’s strongest point. Period.

On the highway, it’s a different story altogether. The car feels solidly planted and stable even at high speeds. The car has no sideways movement while tackling undulations on the road and feels composed throughout. The ride quality is so nice on the highway that one doesn’t easily feel the fatigue driving it. I drove it constantly for 500 kms without any break in between and was perfectly fresh even after driving for so long. With the NVH levels also in check, this happens to be one of the best and most dynamically capable cruiser on the highway in the C-SUV segment.

Steering is a delight to hold and with thumb contours provided, it fits in your hand perfectly. It is light and easy in the city and weighs up nicely as speeds climb on the highway. I have taken fast turns on the expressway and the car was calm and composed throughout and never once did I feel nervous while doing so. I drove it up to the Aamby Valley City ghat and it takes corners in its stride. I felt really delighted while driving him up there. Body roll is well controlled and with a host of electronic aids like TCS, ESP and vehicle stability management, I did not feel nervous even if I carried more speed that I would have liked in the corners. Keep in mind this car sits higher above the ground so its definitely not a corner carver, but at the same time its enough fun to keep you interested.

The brakes provide good feedback and have good stopping power. I haven’t yet had any emergency braking manoeuvres but I am sure the car will be composed in such situations too. The car stops where you want it to once you get the hang of the brake pedal and get to know how much bite it offers with your input.


During One Of The Cleaning Sessions



Post Wash

[tp_dominator]

Any Particular Likes/Dislikes:

I am in love with the features provided but just had an observation to share. The car comes with Hill Launch Assist and earlier I understood it will stop the car from going backwards or forwards on inclines. But as the name suggests, it will not go backwards for 3 seconds if you are moving forward on an incline and while any forward gear is engaged or the car is in neutral. Conversely if you are on an incline slanting forwards and engage the reverse gear, the car will not move forward for 3 seconds. Honestly, to me this was a little annoying but what can we expect from a feature being provided in this price range.

Also, I quite like how all the buttons are backlit on the Beast but the rear power window switches are not backlit (Cost-cutting?). There is no toll ticket holder but with the advent of Fastag, I don't think it's required much now. However, the area for keeping your mobile phone is too narrow and that is one major drawback for me. How do you expect somebody to connect the phone via USB and keep it there?

One more omission in the Sync3 is no provision for date dispaly or maybe I couldn't find it. BHPians please help me if there is an option to display the date on Sync3 too.

Apart from the above, everything else is either liveable or more than necessary so no further rants.

First Service Update:

I drove the car down from Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) to Pune. The ODO stood at 2430 kms after I reached here. It was the time for the first service at 2500 Kms. It is basically an inspection and nothing major is done on the car. Booked an appointment with Shivalik Ford at Pashan-Sus road on a Saturday and reached there by 9.30 AM.

This was a happy departure from the Hyundai SVCs here in Pune and my car was promptly taken in by a Valet first and later a SA was assigned to me within 5 minutes. Since I work in a related sector, a few of the SVC people were known to me and they were delighted with my purchase. The SA prepared a job-card and the tentative time of delivery was 1 PM. I chose to wait in their customer lounge while viewing the car from there. The SA pushed me for an under-body exhaust coating to be done on the new car which I politely refused. The car was ready by 11.30 AM properly washed and waxed and I was totally satisfied with the cleaning of the car. I have a bit of an OCD for clean cars and I was delighted that I had no area of complains here.

This being a newer SVC was relatively less crowded and being a newer facility was clean too. The washrooms were also properly cleaned and maintained. The total bill amount was zero and I was promptly given the gate pass after I got some accessories installed and went away.

Accessories Installed:

Ever since I booked the car, I was searching for some good accessories on the Ford website itself. I chose to get the scuff plates, mudguards and window shades installed initially. However, the SA at Shivalik Ford advised me against the mudguards since it will hamper the aesthetics so chose not to get it installed. I will wait for the monsoons to arrive and see whether they are required for utility. The sun shades were not available at the SVC and hence I got the scuff plates (non-illuminated ones) installed and also purchased two pillows for the back seat.

The Scuff Plates


The Ecosport Branded Pillows



However, with the scorching summer I needed the sun shades since I drive a lot in the daytime in the city due to the nature of my job. So, ordered them from Amazon by a brand called Autofact. They are magnetic sunshades which cling to the body of the car and have a cut on the front shades for access to toll receipts and also for the ORVMs. The rear shades have a zipper for access to the windows. They provide good shade from the sun and of sufficiently good quality. However, they block just a tiny bit of the driver’s side ORVM but is transparent enough to not cause any blind spot.

The Front Shades


The Rear Shades


I also ordered a Jopasu duster and a bunch of MF cloths from Amazon which are kept in the boot for easy cleaning of the car. I plan to clean the car myself and wash it only if it is required and hence these were ordered.


I also ordered a silicone key cover for the key fob from Amazon to prevent the key from getting scratches in blue colour which was intended to match the colour of the car but they don’t. I also saw one unique thing on Amazon which I ordered for checking out its utility. They are soft rubber mats for the storage spaces which will prevent dust accumulation and also damp the sound if any metal object is kept in them. They are also blue black in colour which complement the car’s colour.

The Key Cover:



Car Drome Premium Mats:



I also got the car Aquatinted! I opted for the opti-gloss coat along with PPF on door edges and handle cups along with alloy, exterior plastic and glass coating. The results are just stunning! I am seriously pampering this car a lot. Hope it serves me well, fingers-crossed.

The Car At Aquatint:


PPF Installation:



Post Getting Aquatinted:




PS: All the pics posted in the earlier posts are pre-coating. I will share more pics in due time to show the difference and whether the investment was worth it.

Epilogue:

I am in love with the car (haven’t I said it already? Oh well) and the colour and I promise to keep updating this thread with relevant updates from time to time. Getting the Beast home was one of the most prudent (though financially foolish) decisions of my life and I intend to care for her for long I just hope it loves me back and keeps rewarding me with the excellent drive and comfort. Overall, it’s a great package and with all the latest features including Android Auto and Apple Carplay, its going to be relevant for a long time to come.

One note to Ford: please stop continuously rejigging the features and let the customers decide what they want. I am talking specifically about the horrible new alloys on the S and the deletion of flat-bed seats on my model.

With this, my initial impressions about the car come to an end and I hope it serves me well for the countless miles I am going to add on it and keeps rewarding me with its punchy acceleration and also makes me a lazy person with the convenience features it offers. The next upgrade is going to be expensive because of the benchmark set by the Beast (Yeah, you only live once, upgrades will always be there).

Thanks for reading and spending time on my little amateurish thread which is straight from my heart and happens to be my first thread. Happy Driving!

Beast Signing Off:

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations.

Personally, I could very well relate to this report as our garage has been similar (Punto and Grand i10 - Err, Xcent for parents in my case) and even I had a close look at the XUV 3OO as well. Overall, I think I might have chosen the same car in the same colour too, if I absolutely had to. Congrats once again and wish you thousands of trouble free miles ahead.

[sahilkhurana]

Congratulations and the beast just looks awesome in this blue shade. Wishing you happy mile crunching !

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Hearty congratulations on getting the EcoSport. Absolute gem of a car! Nice write-up. Wishing you many happy miles! Do share the details and photos of the car post the coating!

[MrBeast]

Congratulations on your beautiful ride. The EcoSport is an amazing car and that TDCi is one of the best engine for sure. Wish you many happy miles ahead with this beast. Do keep us posted about all the updates related to the car. Also do share some headlight output shots at night if possible.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by tp_dominator

I am in love with the car (haven’t I said it already? Oh well) and the colour and I promise to keep updating this thread with relevant updates from time to time. Getting the Beast home was one of the most prudent (though financially foolish) decisions of my life and I intend to care for her for long I just hope it loves me back and keeps rewarding me with the excellent drive and comfort.

Great choice there and I love the blue colour. The Ecosport is one of my all time favourite cars. I remember when my friend picked the EcoBoost when it was launched! We had good times with her.

One note to Ford: please stop continuously rejigging the features and let the customers decide what they want. I am talking specifically about the horrible new alloys on the S and the deletion of flat-bed seats on my model.

Haha, hopefully they listen to the owners if not all of us out there. Ford, though making awesome cars and giving good equipment, need to get their act right on the feature list.

With this, my initial impressions about the car come to an end and I hope it serves me well for the countless miles I am going to add on it and keeps rewarding me with its punchy acceleration and also makes me a lazy person with the convenience features it offers.

Keep it up, looking forward to seeing your updates over time. Do keep us posted on the ownership reports few years down the line.

[SID2997]

Heartiest congratulations on the new vehicle.She looks Lit.I would suggest that you replace the Ecopias with Continental Comfort Contacts as soon as possible.They'll have a significant impact on the ride quality.

[arindambasu13]

Congrats. I almost got one myself earlier this year, till I found the stiff ride quality, heavy clutch on the diesel and turbo lag in second gear to be deal breakers for me. Also, I wasn't sure of the future of diesels in the country, all of which made me cancel my booking.

Wish you happy miles with your car!

[tp_dominator]

Originally Posted by SID2997

Heartiest congratulations on the new vehicle.She looks Lit.I would suggest that you replace the Ecopias with Continental Comfort Contacts as soon as possible.They'll have a significant impact on the ride quality.

Thanks for the suggestion. However, for now I am quite happy with the DKK series Ecopias but would definitely consider Continental on the next change!

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Great choice there and I love the blue colour. The Ecosport is one of my all time favourite cars.
Keep it up, looking forward to seeing your updates over time. Do keep us posted on the ownership reports few years down the line.

Thanks a lot! Ecosport has been on my radar since its launch too and with this facelift they have given the necessary updates to the car. I will surely keep updating the thread as my ownership progresses.

Originally Posted by MrBeast

Congratulations on your beautiful ride. The EcoSport is an amazing car and that TDCi is one of the best engine for sure. Wish you many happy miles ahead with this beast. Do keep us posted about all the updates related to the car. Also do share some headlight output shots at night if possible.

Thanks so much. I will try this weekend to capture the headlight shots as you have requested and will update.

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Hearty congratulations on getting the EcoSport. Absolute gem of a car! Nice write-up. Wishing you many happy miles! Do share the details and photos of the car post the coating!

Thanks for your kind words. For now the coating is holding good even after the mud bashing and continous rains here in Pune. I will surely update with more pics post the love it has received!

Originally Posted by sahilkhurana

Congratulations and the beast just looks awesome in this blue shade. Wishing you happy mile crunching !

Thank you!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations.

Personally, I could very well relate to this report as our garage has been similar (Punto and Grand i10 - Err, Xcent for parents in my case) and even I had a close look at the XUV 3OO as well. Overall, I think I might have chosen the same car in the same colour too, if I absolutely had to. Congrats once again and wish you thousands of trouble free miles ahead.

Thanks a lot! As per me, I took the better decision by not going with the XUV 3OO and getting this lovely car home. What car are you finally considering now?

[Nitish.arnold]

I am seriously considering this car, as an upgrade/swap to my Nissan Terrano.
But the stiffness of the suspension is something I need to look out, as compared to the "MAGIC CARPET" suspension tune of Duster and Terrano.

P.s. You are right, Ford is shuffling the features a bit too much, been following the updates for the last 6-7 months.

What is your feedback on the Sunroof or "FUNROOF", as Ford markets it.
Is it big, sturdy and functional, or just an add-on accessory to boost the sales of the aging model.

Again want to congratulate, for listening to your HEART. Not many people can do that, the color is the best of the lot.

[rakesh_r]

Hearty congratulations, the current model looks and has exactly what I wanted 3 years back, instead went for the Scross 1.6, no regrets though. I was seriously put off by the Nokia keypad style dashboard of the older model. Nevertheless, the blue color looks absolutely stunning. Congratulations once again.