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The hottest topic in the Indian auto-sphere is undoubtedly the Ford EcoSport. The American automaker plans to put the EcoSport on Indian roads later this year and has already revealed the production version of the much awaited compact SUV. After some bit of confusion on the length of the EcoSport, Ford has finally given a confirmation that the EcoSport is under 4-meters in length. Being under 4-meters in length will give the EcoSport a very big advantage of pricing.

Under 4-meter cars being taxed much lesser will result in the Ford EcoSport being priced very aggressively. With the recent hike in excise duty, the sub 4-meter EcoSport will ensure that Ford dealers become an extremely busy bunch. We can safely expect prices to start under Rs. 7 lakhs for the base EcoSport, while the top end diesel should retail below Rs. 10 lakhs (on-road estimates). Both the 1.0-litre EcoBoost and 1.5-litre TDCi engines come under the Indian governments small car classification.

Renault will be bringing in the EcoSport’s biggest competitor in the form of the Duster. The Renault Duster is not a sub 4-meter SUV, which means the EcoSport will be cheaper. Could Renault also trim the Duster’s body to take advantage of the lower excise duties? It could be very much possible as the French automaker has abruptly postponed the launch of the Renault Duster from June to October 2012. The battle of the compact SUVs heat up this festive season and both are likely to emerge as winners.

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