Ford India has brought the EcoSport to Mumbai, putting it on display at Irorbit Mall in Malad. The Ford EcoSport will be on display till the 25th of January at Infinity Malad, later shifting to Inorbit Vashi on the 27th. Ford India has gone into top gear with its marketing activities, ensuring customers stay inquisitive in the EcoSport. To be launched in the second half of 2012, the EcoSport benefits from lower excise duties thanks to the sub 4-meter length of this compact SUV. Ford has given us cues that the EcoSport would be priced on similar lines as the Figo, thus we can expect prices to start around Rs. 8 lakhs for the base variant, going upto Rs. 10 lakhs for the top end diesel Titanium variant.
The Ford EcoSport will be powered by both petrol and diesel engines. We usually are big fans of oil burners but in the case of the EcoSport the petrol motor is what really is the one to look out at. The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine produces 120 PS of power and 170 Nm of torque. These figures are what a 1.6-litre engine produces. The advantage of the EcoBoost motor is the low displacement, high power and low fuel consumption. The diesel engine will be from the new Fiesta, having a displacement of 1.5-litre, producing 90 BHP of power and 200 Nm of torque. Expect sharp handling which is part of Ford’s DNA.
Ford stresses that the EcoSport will be a world-class product having high quality and safety. The high ground clearance of the EcoSport ensures it has balanced performance both on and off-road. Ford is investing an additional Rs. 750 crore in its Chennai facility to pump out the EcoSport, which will also result in 400 jobs being created. The same plant will be the base for export and international orders for the compact SUV. Other than India, Ford will also produce the EcoSport in Brazil.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Faisal, There was this story I received about the Ecosport. http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/ford-ecosport/ford-ecosport-is-more-than-4-meters-long/
If the ecosport will not receive the sub 4m excise sop, then why all the trouble with it?! Might as well just fit the 3 pot turbo petrol mill into the fiesta and start rolling it out ;) The fiesta would be far more lighter and slippery than the SUV. Of course, the dismal rear room will continue to irritate. I really wonder if space that little needs dedicated doors? I think if fiesta was offered as a 2 door coupe, it would make it a far more honestly designed car. ;)
Ganesh, I guess they will go EcoBoost with the new Fiesta sometime in 2013. A 2 door Fiesta would not work in India, even though there is not much space at the rear, we satisfy ourselves seeing 4 doors ;-p
haha….sometimes it is the spoilers and some times its the doors ;)
but really like the 1er coupe, the 120 hp, 990 Kg fiesta would be a lovely car.
Ganesh, Ford is still thinking about the Fiesta hatchback so this is just out of the question.
Hatchbacks are not bad either. But for some reason Indian manufacturers impose it on themselves to offer hatchbacks without serious power. Left unadulterated, a 120 PS fiesta hatchback will not be bad at all. But Ford has to pass on the small engine and sub 4m price advantage to us ;)
Ganesh, the Polo 1.6 and the Fabia 1.6 hardly sell and thus companies don’t want to offer powerful hatchbacks.
ya, they are the 2, 105 hp hatchbacks.I can understand the fabia not selling well. The overall package does not gel with the power appeal but the polo needs to sells well. Its sad that it does’int.
Ganesh, nobody wants to touch a petrol car these days. People prefer a diesel. Get the diesel hot hatch and trust me, it will sell.
haha….maybe Faisal. If the added cost of diesel cars was because of the hardware involved in it, I would not mind. However, in our country, the added costs is more because of additional diesel vehicle taxes and duties. That is not alright by me, Sir.
Ganesh, companies claim that added cost of diesel is due to the hardware involved!
Diesel car tax structure as I know it. :)
At the refinery diesel does not cost any less to produce than petrol. Actually in Europe, diesel is more expensive than petrol. In our country, our Govt prices Diesel cheaper to facilitate with public transport of goods and masses. Private car owners exploit this situation and buy personal transport diesel cars. To compensate this revenue loss, the govt levies additional duties and taxes on diesel cars.
Ganesh, that is right but the cost of diesel technology is higher, right?
Sure Faisal, the metallurgy required in a diesel engine for its NVH must be higher. So must be the turbo charger, pumps and so on. I would however still doubt that there is a big content of tax interlined in the added cost of diesel vehicles. There could however be some silver lining here. Thanks to the higher taxes, diesel car manufacturers might have invented inexpensive ways of bringing this technology to us ;)
Ganesh, plus if the price difference was less, even petrol buyers would pick the diesel.
True Faisal, but again it would be exploiting a price structure meant to benefit some other segment ;) Do check out this website which has got prices of Diesel across various countries in Europe. It was interesting to profile how various Govts view this issue ;)
http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/fuel_prices_europe.html
Ganesh, the issue in Europe is another one. The fact is that in Europe the petrol engines are also equally powerful so both petrol and diesel cars cost similar.
Thats a fresh tangent, Faisal but excuse my being thick, I’m unable to connect the dots :’(
Ganesh, what I meant to say is, in India people who are looking at buying a diesel car opt for the fuel economy while there are few amongst us who opt for it as its more fun to drive. The difference between a petrol car’s price and a diesel car’s price is atleast Rs. 75,000/- to a lakh, while in Europe petrol cars cost more than diesel as petrol cars too have good technology like turbo and supercharging!
& also because diesel powered cars out there don’t suffer additional taxes. ;)
but yes, it is interesting to note that diesel cars are a growing segment in Europe even as diesel cars out there don’t suffer additional taxes.
Ganesh, BMW has launched M powered diesel, this itself says it all.
true faisal!!