My partner through thick and thin: 96k km done 2016 Ford Ecosport

High school, undergraduate, post graduate, new bonds, farewells, new city, college bunks, new jobs, getting married, first kid; you name it. From rash driving to maturing up, she's seen it all.

BHPian Taha Mir recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My Sanam, through thick and thin. High school, undergraduate, post graduate, new bonds, farewells, new city, college bunks, new jobs, getting married, first kid; you name it. From rash driving to maturing up, she's seen it all.

The tough times didn't last but she did; without skipping a beat. 11 years and not one instance of being stranded on the road, not even for a flat tyre. She's been the most perfect companion, a few days without driving and I want to get back in the drivers seat, not just of any car but exactly my Ecosport.

She's been maintained better than the factory maintenance schedule. Mild mid life updates like the stage 1+ wolf remap, green performance air filter, bi-xenon projector fog lamps and Rockford coaxials have kept her on par with current cars on the road, if not more, and have played their part of keeping me very well entertained.

For years I've scoured team bhp and used car websites (I still do) for an upgrade but nothing seems to catch my fancy. Great handling, power, illumination, better AC than some newer cars, good stereo with potential for modding (it's got a great soundstage) top notch build and solid paint quality, stellar fuel economy, good after sales support (yes, even after fords exit). It can't all be rosy, right?

My car, being the 30th Ecosport to be delivered in Hyderabad was plagued with interior rattles, although very minor (I love me a dead silent cabin). A roll of double sided tape and some foam sufficed. Early model Ecosport (2013-15) also have the most expensive spares. My most expensive repair was of an intermittently working AC compressor which costed 47k rupees. The door locks like to fail on you randomly; you won't be stranded but you'd be driving with a door that won't close. 5-6k a pop. The car simply does not enjoy being driven in b2b city traffic, the hard ish clutch and the anti stall rpm thingy can get annoying and new drivers will find it difficult to drive smoothly in traffic. These items were the most annoying parts of ownership; in hindsight much better than what some cars make you go through.

Some specs and trivia:

• I seem to get better fuel economy when driving hard. Seriously. 19-21 kmpl with constant ripping is normal.
• 11 years and I haven't changed a single bulb that came with the car; headlights, stop lamps, cabin lights etc. Real strange. I use stock headlights as DRLs now that I have bixenon projectors. Key fob battery is also factory.
• 96k kms and I'm still on factory brake pads and rotors. Brake feel is top-notch, very progressive and Ford like.
• The car came with a standard 3 year warranty and we did not opt for extended. Ford replaced my clutch plate which is a wear item under goodwill at the 5th year (due to a judder issue, took some back and forth on emails though).
• She has not crossed more than 10k kms between oil changes. Average is 7k kms.
• I personally (and obsessively) wash and wax the car myself. Hardly 4-5 pressure washes done (outside of Ford) in it's lifetime. She still shines like a 2-3 year old car.

Future mods planned:

• Cobra 30mm lowering springs
• Amplifier and subwoofer
• Decat downpipe and stage 2 (when she's no longer my primary vehicle)
• EBC yellow stuff brake pads (are these better than OEM?)

Cars I'm potentially considering for the future:

1. Used Octavia/Jetta/A3/O3 TDI DSG
2. W212 E250d
3. Crysta 2.8 AT
4. Endeavour
5. MUX
6. Scorpio 4x4
7. Thar 4x4.

It's a varied list, but they are all competent tourers. For now, Sanam is my primary. Finalizing something that ticks all the right boxes is a task and implementing is gonna be a costly affair. I'm open to all suggestions, TIA.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.