Driving Ford India's new car EcoSport from Goa to Bangalore was a grand experience.
The ideal road conditions for test driving a car or a SUV is a combination of narrow, winding hilly roads sprinkled with bumps and potholes of different sizes, and wide highways with airport runway like surface. A 600 km drive from Goa to Bangalore via Hubli offers this ideal condition in plenty. When Ford India offered me its new vehicle EcoSport to drive from Goa to Bangalore, I just grabbed the opportunity as I knew it would be a thrilling drive through the hilly terrain and jungles (more so because of the incessant rains and mist) from Goa to Hubli (186 km) and then on the fantastic super-smooth highway from Hubli to Bangalore (415 km).
As Indian car buyers are getting more enthusiastic on cross-country driving and increasingly taking fancy in vehicles that are a crossover between a car and a sports utility vehicle (SUV), more car companies are launching such cars. Ford's EcoSport (the company calls it a urban utility vehicle) has thus joined a growing list of Renault's Duster, Maruti's Ertiga, GM's Enjoy, Honda's CRV, Toyota's Innova, etc. The EcoSport comes with three engine options: 1.5 litre diesel, 1.5 litre petrol and 1 litre Ecoboost petrol engine. I drove the last one, a technological sensation for a SUV fitted with a small one litre engine.
With EcoSport Ford has brought its globally acclaimed EcoBoost technology to India. This three-cylinder, 1 litre small engine (Ford claims it is so small that it can be stowed in the overhead baggage space in a jet plane) delivers power and performance of a traditional 1.6-litre engine but with an improvement in fuel economy by up to 20 percent. The EcoBoost engine produces 125 PS of power and peak torque of 170 Nm from 1,400 to 4,500 rpm and the company claims superior 18.9 km/L mileage under the ideal road conditions. But I got an average 16km/L mileage from my Goa Bangalore drive which included almost 200 km of hill drive on bad roads where the average dropped significantly.
The beauty of this EcoBoost engine is that it is a one litre engine (same capacity as 1 litre K10 engine in Maruti Alto) that produces power of a 1.6 litre engine. This direct injection EcoBoost engine is fitted with a responsive turbocharger that delivers extra power quickly when the throttle is open from low rpm. Unlike in diesel engines where a turbocharger kicks in at around 1700 rpm, in this EcoBoost engine the turbocharger gets activated at a slightly higher speed and higher rpm. Though the engine’s peak torque is 170 Nm it is available over a wide range of 1,400-4,500 rpm which is more than enough for drivers to pull away and overtake.
In simple language this means that though the engine is small it provides extra power through a turbocharger and to get the best power output and mileage one should accelerate slowly and should not expect a sudden thrust of power like a sports car. Ford’s engineers have also used unique cast iron block that warms up the engine quicker than a conventional aluminium block, cutting the amount of “warm-up” energy required by 50 percent and increasing fuel economy.
Positioning of the car
Priced at Rs 7.90 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) the EcoSport - EcoBoost will not be cheap. Ford has positioned it as an urban sport utility vehicle that has the seating capacity of a car (2+3), combines the agility, affordability and fuel efficiency of a compact car with the driving versatility of an SUV. The car is aimed at young male professional having an active lifestyle that has him driving in all types of city roads and frequent out-of-town breaks. Ford expects the EcoSport being modern (it is technologically feature rich), premium and sporty, it will certainly appeal to urban buyers with modern lifestyle. The car being compact, it is sub four metre, and with a small turning radius (5.3 metre), is easy to manoeuvre in city.
While its ruggedness in handling bad roads, wide tyres and electronic power steering with pull drift compensation technology makes it suitable for high-speed highway driving. But from my driving experience on the hill roads I must caution that one should not do sharp cornering at high speed as the suspensions are a bit stiff (for extracting longer life on bad Indian roads) and the car has a tendency to drift sideways, specially on wet surface. Good news is that EcoSport’s high ground clearance of 200 mm also means users won’t have to go dead slow over high speed bumps and potholes. The company claims the car can wade through 550 mm of water, so drivers can confidently drive through large pools of water, especially during the monsoon season.
More engine options
The Ford EcoSport is also be available with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (price starts at Rs 5.69 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi), which delivers peak power of 112 PS at 6,300 rpm and peak torque of 140 Nm at 4,400 rpm. This petrol engine features the twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) technology, which allows extremely precise, variable control of “valve overlap” – the window of time in which both the intake and exhaust vanes in an engine are open at the same time. By adjusting overlap continuously, the engine can operate at optimum settings for peak fuel economy or power output as conditions demand. Ford claims this engine offers 15.8 km mileage under ideal test conditions.
Another benefit of this technology is a broadened torque curve. The Ti-VCT strategy allows the intake valve to be advanced, so instant power is delivered when the customer demands it at low speeds. At high speeds, the intake cam is retarded and higher airflows are available. For the driver, this means improved low-speed torque and increased fuel economy.
Feature rich
The EcoBoost model of EcoSport is also loaded with many intelligent driver-assist features. The blue LED display tells you the average mileage on a real time basis to help improve driving habits. It also gives information on average speed of driving over a journey, average mileage and distance to empty (indicating the distance one can cover before filling up).
It also has voice-activated in-car connectivity system co-developed with Microsoft, enabling drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel while choosing their favourite music and making phone calls using voice commands. The cabin also has 20 practical storage spaces, including a glove box that can keep up to six beverage cans cool. Its boot space is 346 litre, enough for a small family outing and the rear seats can be reclined in select models for greater comfort or easily folded down for additional cargo space. When the rear seats are folded the boot space increases to 705 litres. The rear seats can be split 60:40 to transport long objects. The car has Smart Keyless Entry, customers no longer need their key to start the engine.
Safety and driver assistance
The car also has been designed to provide high levels of protection and driver support through a range of advanced features. About half of the urban SUV’s body structure is made up of high-strength steel and ultra-high-strength steel. The SUV’s array of airbags provides additional safety. It also comes with an array of driver-assist systems. Hill Launch Assist helps drivers make a perfect hill start whether it’s uphill or downhill, by holding the SUV for up to three seconds. This prevents the vehicle from rolling backwards or forwards while moving off from the slope. The car also has anti-lock braking system and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) available in the higher-priced models.
Technical specifications of EcoSport
Length (mm)
|
3999
|
Width (mm)
|
1765
|
Height (mm)
|
1708
|
Wheel base (mm)
|
2520
|
Ground clearance (mm)
|
200
|
Turning radius (m)
|
5.3
|
Fuel Tank (L)
|
52
|
Engine: (1.5 L/ Diesel)
|
Power: 91PS, Torque:
204Nm
|
Engine(1.0 L/
Petrol-EcoBoost)
|
Power: 125PS, Toeque:
170Nm
|
Engine: (1.5
L/Petrol)
|
Power: 112PS, Torque
140NM
|
The writer is a business journalist and a freelance writer writing test drive reports on cars / SUVs for the last 10 years. Can be contacted on dilipmaitra@gmail.com. (Any unauthorised copy and reproduction of images are prohibited. Please write for permission.)
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