Ford EcoSport [2013-2015] User Reviews

Car is good except for the rampant clutch problem. We went for Ecosport over Duster due to its good looks, compact dimensions, decent pricing and above all for the trust we placed in Ford being a big and reputed company. Faced the clutch problem within just 2 months after buying the car and not even 2000kms driven (dealer: Elite Ford, Bangalore) - entire clutch is gone and Rs.13000 to replace. We are very experienced drivers and have driven many cars for >10 years without clutch problems, but the service center clowns had the nerve to blame the driver for the clutch problem and wash their hands off it. They should recall all Ecosports for clutch problem. They recalled the automatic gear version in Australia, but not in India. Shows the double-faced cheats that Ford are. Not only have we wasted 12 Lakhs on a company that has very poor service attitude and that does not own up to problems in its most popular model, but we as experienced drivers get wrongly blamed.

Looks, priceUnreliabble clutch with frequent issue, Poor service attitude, Blame the user game

Exterior

 Exterior good but after a week it feels very odd while seeing some other SUVs like Duster, XUV500 on road.I am lucky to get highend version , else the lowerend seems like a Figo from distance.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

 Very nice interior, though the space is not good for rear passenger still the features are good and driver comfort is also OK.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 This is the area which is a drawback for this vehicle.I didnt get a test drive but blindly belive this vehicle as I own a Fiesta for 5 years and belive she is one excellent performer with decent Fuel economy and good comfort.But Ecosport is noway near to Fiesta. The engine is not peppy and lot of vibration inside the cabin when driving in lower gear.Gearbox is not smooth like Fiesta and FE I have got as 12KM/L mostly in city.I have driven 2000 KM till date and expect the FE to increase after another 3000KM.

Ride Quality & Handling

 All Ford vehicles are good handler but this is not the same with this  vehicle. Fiesta handles much much better than this.The major problem is body roll at high speed on highways.The steering is also not good like Fiesta.

Final Words

 I have own a Fiesta and an Adventure in my family in addition to this Ecosport. Mainly use Fiesta for daily commute to office. Was thinking earlier to sell it after getting the Ecosport but now I have to change the decision to keep my Fiesta with me for another 5 year atleast. I have been fooled by Ford dealers and paid reviews in favour of Ecosport and now regreting to purchase this vehicle.

Areas of improvement  

See many people who are driving a Hyundai/Maruti will find this Ecosport an excellent VFM buy.But not the case with someone like me who is driving a Ford and FIAT for many years.Ford should maintain its quality with every product not simply make a cheap product like this and gain market by fooling many customers.

 

Features nothing elseEngine is not good, performance is very bad,body roll,not for highway.

Warning! This is going to be long!

Exterior It is a looker alright especially when viewed from the front or the back. But when viewing from the side, you can not escape the feeling that the car ought to look bigger. And when seen squarely from the side especially the front portion after the windscreen, the car looks ugly. The fit and finish is ok but the panel gaps could have been narrower. The rear lights when on, look very small for the car's size. The front bumper is made of softer material and bend if pressed, probably keeping pedestrian safety in mind. The rear bumper is solid. The doors are thick and close with a thud. No one is able to close the door in the first attempt since no one expects them to be so solid.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) This is one car which induces a smile every time you enter it and sit in the driver's seat. The seating position is an absolute delight especially for people like me coming from hatches. The view to the front and sides also is expansive. The view to the rear is some what disappointing but enough to get by. The seat height adjuster coupled with the tilt and the reach and rake adjustments of the steering really help in reaching a very comfortable driving position. It has keyless entry (lucky to have got it) and so one needs to merely press the button on the door handle (with the remote in the pocket) to open the door. Once the car is unlocked, the parking lights and dash board lights including the meter lights come on whether it is day or night and remain on for some time. If the third unmarked button on the remote is pressed twice, the boot opens a couple of inches enabling you to pull it open.

Since it has Push Button Start and Stop, the first press of the button enables the accessories. If the button is pressed with the clutch depressed, the car starts. And the dash board lights remain on till the engine is switched off. The plastic quality inside is not great, the door trim plastics bend when you push the door open from the inside. But the cabin is silent even with the engine on (mind you it is a diesel). Only when the engine is revved, you hear it inside. It is reported that the sound proofing extends to the front fenders also. The layout of the dashboard is impressive and the switches are where they ought to be and fall to hand naturally. My only gripe is about the headlight switch which is not integrated into the stalk on the steering column but is placed separately at the bottom of the dash on the right side along with the foglight switch and the headlamp leveller.

My phone was recognised by the bluetooth and the phone book downloaded. The voice command feature is an issue. 90% of the Indian names and pronounciation are not recognised. Ford has to tweak it to do so and give an update for the Sync. There are two settings for the voice command, in one the system decides the most probable name you called out and dials it, mostly with disastrous consequences. In the other setting, it asks you whether to dial xxxx and if right, you can say yes and if not say no. Then it offers you another attempt by which time you lose patience. Normal commands like yes, no, phone, music etc. are recognised without issue. The emergency assistance can be switched on or off. Sync works whether the music system is on or off.

The music system and the speakers are really good for a stock system. The headlights and the foglights are adequate.

When your front wipers are working and you put the car in reverse, the rear wiper also starts working at the same setting as the front. Once you come out of reverse gear, the rear wiper stops.

The rear seats are adjustable for recline and are very comfortable for two persons and a slight squeeze for three. Here I am talking about normal sized persons (no offence to anyone).

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The clutch is not hard at all and the gear shifts are smooth. There is no notchiness or stiffness. Once the car starts moving, the experience makes you forget all the other small irritants. The steering is very light but weighs up with speed. But compared to other cars, it still remains light so one has to be careful about sharp manoeuvres especially on the highway. Remember its high GC and short length and do not attempt manoeuvres normal on hatchbacks and sedans. Drive within the limits of the car. 

The car acclerates smoothly and suddenly you find that you have already crossed 60 kmph. The engine does not strain atleast till about 120 kmph (the max I tried was 140). In the city, it is a breeze to drive. There is no noticeable turbo lag and coupled with the light steering and the view, it is very easy to drive.

The sensors make light work of reversing. The outer edges of the wing mirrors are curved and offer a larger field of vision. The only irritant is the small rear windscreen which offers only a restricted view. But the sensors compensate for that. They are placed such that they cover the sides and the area just behind and below the bumper very well. They even detect moving objects behind the car. 

The major irritant for me is the left footrest for the driver. While it is good that Ford has provided it, it is not properly located or angled. Its top has to be raised a little more since if you drive with shoes or sandals on, your foot gets caught under the edge of the clutch pedal every time you want to use the clutch. The space between the footrest and the clutch pedal is very narrow compelling me to rest my foot on the lower part of the footrest which is not very comfortable. If the top of the footrest is raised a little (so that when you rest your foot, it is level with the clutch pedal), then it will serve its purpose wonderfully. Coming from Santro and Getz, I am used to the comfort of the footrest and that is why this long complaint.  

Ride Quality & Handling Definitely stiff. But no thuds on normal potholes and uneven surfaces. At highway speeds, the car does not bounce on potholes, but you can tell that it is going through them.

 

Brakes: 

So far I did not have the opportunity to test the brakes. Normal braking is ok and the car stops quickly even with MRFs.

EDIT: I have had many occasions to test the brakes now and can confidently say that the brakes perform well including the ABS.

FE:

I have so far driven about 1300 kms and checked the FE twice by the tankful to tankful method. The first time the FE was 16.18 kmpl and the next time it was 18.68 kmpl. I am not very sure of the second reading because though the pump cut off automatically, the fuel guage is showing less than full. So I will have to fill up again and check. The FE as per the meter was 15.5 kmpl and 15.1 kmpl respectively. The car is always driven with AC.

Edit1: I have tried to fill additional fuel. But it auto-cuts with just half a litre. So filled up to the brim manually. It took in 3.3 litres and now the gauge shows full. On recalculation, the FE comes to 17.35 kmpl. Not bad at all! However I will check next time also and report.

EDIT2: Now after driving about 13000 kms+, my city FE has settled at about 16 kmpl and highway FE varies between 15 and 22 kmpl depending on the speed (both with 100% AC). 

Final Words The car is nice and there are no regrets in having purchased the same. I am enjoying it and will update this thread as and when there is something to report.

Areas of improvement The dead pedal may be shaped differently and position also modified if possible. The panel gaps should be narrower. The rear lights may be reworked to make them bigger. And lastly the quality of the interior plastics can be improved.

Looks, engine, gearbox, featuresdead pedal, panel gaps, rear lights, interior plastics

I think every person should avoid buying this car... The Dealership booked the car on 17th of July 2014, promising a delivery by the end of August and till now there is no delivery... They even had the audacity of disbursing the loan telling lies that the car will come in a few days towards the middle of August... Amazingly now the dealership is ducking calls and the customer service seems clueless by saying they are trying to help but they are doing nothing. Everyone is just trying to push the buck on someone else in the hope that they will keep the customer occupied and involved in these trivial fights. What was amazing is that since the 17th of July, till now the dealership has not even placed a billing of the car with the plant and hence there is no delivery, which cam out in a conversation with the plant customer service… Are they trying to cheat people of their monies, earing some monies through investments, as the company is not selling cars, so let’s try to earn monies through other sources???? Really think the government should kick such companies out of the country and bar them from entering the country anymore...

 

 

Nothing!Attitude & Lackadaisical Attitude of the dealership

WHAT WE YOUTH WANT AND  WHAT IS FORD IS OFFERING-IN A NUTSHELL IS-" ECOSPORT".

M LIVING IN CROWDED BAZAR, ND HW EASILY I RIDE AND CONTROL THIS CAR IS AWSOME, JST LIKE DRIVING AN ALTO. ON HIGHWAY JST AFTER DRIVING FOR 8-10 MINUTES, U WILL GET ADDICTED TO DRIVE IR MORE AS U WILL FEEL FUN TO DRIVE IT.

PICK UP ND FEELING OF TORQUE IS COMPARITIVILY MORE IN 4TH GEAR DN 3RD GEAR.REACHES 80KM/HR IN JST 2ND GEAR.WOW.

IF U HV ALREADY DRIVEN A DIESEL CAR,DN U MST KNOW DT IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC U HV TO KEEP A DIESEL CAR IN 1ST -2ND,2ND -1ST,1ST-2ND GEAR(FREQUENT GEAR CHANGE) , BT IN THIS 1.5 DIESEL MOTOR FORD HV DONE A GREAT JOB, UNLIKE SOME OTHER DIESEL CAR.

FRIENDS U MAY HV READ IN MANY REVIEWS REAGARDING REAR SPACE.ACTUALLY WHEN WE ARE TALKING  ABT SUV OR SUV WORD -THAN AN IMAGE FLASHES IN R MIND DT CAR HAS GREAT REAR SPACE, BT IN ECOSPORT REAR SPACE IS MORE DN DZIRE OR SM OTHER SAME SEGMENT CAR BT COMPARITIVLY LESS DN DUSTER OR SM C SEGMENT CAR.

THE PLACEMENT OF REAR POWER WINDOW BUTTON BEFORE THE DOOR HANDLE ID WINDOW IS REALLY WRONG WRONG WRONG, MAKING UNCOMFORTABLE TO SIT.

PLEASE FORD IMPROVE DS.

THANKS FOR READING DS.

RIDING ND CONTROL, AMPLE OF FEATURES,FUTURISTIC SHAPEREAR SEAT

Nice Car because I have been using it for first time and I want this product and I want to buy latest model of this Car it is very much good for you want to buy latest model and I have bought it for in place of my XUV 500.

Exterior

 Very Smartly designed for a sub 4 meter.

Right balance of SUV and Urban car - A definite head turner on the road

High Ground Clerance makes is easy to handle pot holes and also easy to enter and exit for tall people

Side Pillar styling hides objects on corners while driving, be careful for 2 wheelers and pedestrians while taking a turn

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

A dashing dashboard , having a nokia kepad style center panel

MID and fuel display adequate for a sub 10 L car - cant ask for more

 Ample legroom for driver and co driver , lots of bottle storage spaces

Shoulder space and hand stretching a problem - specially if you are driving a mid size sedan like me.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 1.5 TDCI with 90 BHP is quite responsive for urban needs

FE on test drive showed 21 kmpl! which is excellent

Smooth gear shift- Thats big plus from a normal SUV's in urban traffic

Gear shift at less than 1000 RPM may get turbo lag , however above 1500 its smooth at any gear.

Ride Quality & Handling

 Excellent Ride quality - takes corners with confidence for car as heighted as this

Steering very very smooth - may not be so accurate as fiesta but i liked

Suspensions - a bit harder to most sedan so pot holes may give a bit of jerk but it also stabilises it on higher speeds - so not much to complain here.

A truely drivers car like most from Ford.

Final Words

 if you have a Family of 4 who use car for daily commuting and occasion weekending long drive , this the ideal car for you. 

Areas of improvement  

 Ford came prepared for the marketing before this delayed launch. Still they struggle with deliveries. This needs to addressed fast.

They have also lost cutomer faith with steep price increase , no protection for cutomers who booked and reducing important feathers like keyless entry from Titanium model.

Informed customers like me are now looking elsewhere!!! 

Exterior, Styling, Ground Clearance, FEDark , Hard Plastics, Less spacious rear seats, Equipment reduced from Trend and Titanium

Exterior

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

It is just ing giving average of 12 KMPL in city. even on highway it is giving 15 only. 

 

Ride Quality & Handling

 

Final Words

Harpreet Ford supplied the car without PDI. Vehicle was having very irritating sound since day one. I have compliained to dealer and Ford india both. But even after 5 months, it is not resolved. still having irritating sound from the vehicle.

Also, their dealership "Harpreet Ford" should be named as Harpreet Fraud, they are doing fradulanet transaction with the customers.  I purchase the car 06 August 2014 and  they issued the sales invoice dated 31.07.14.  Also as per Ford india records, name of the owner is different. It is 5 months now and it is still not rectified. Even after writing multiple emails, you will not get any revert from them.

On First service they were delivering car without any check and proper wash. When i checked that there is lot of dust on car tyres and  underbody parts and car is not even cleaned from inside. They said, I have to come again for car wash.

Really Harpreet Ford is a Fraud delarship of Ford and should be named as Harpreet Fraud.

 

Areas of improvement  

Customer services need to be improved a lot. they takes months to responds. i don't konw i much time they will take to resolve customer concern because i have been following for past 5 month and dont know much more time they will take. 

 

Good ground clearancePoor customer service. Faulty products delivery without PDI

It was way back in July 2014 where the average monthly sales of this car was 10000 and ford has tasted sucess with this car. Even for a test drive also we had to wait for a week. But the sales guy from TI Ford guwahati was really kind enough to us to give a test drive for 4-5 times before purchasing. And moreover the wait time during that time was 6 months but we booked on June and the sales guy promised to deliver the car within 1st week of July. “Kudos to TI Ford” the delivery was very smooth and so the car is. The body of the ecosport feels so heavy and strong that it takes a jiff on body to open/close the door. The ride and handling is as smooth as silk and the mid range of the 3rd -4th gear of the car is so puncy that it keeps pulling all the way to 4k-5k rpm and you can feel the tubro thats kicking the engine. During that time it was considered as the sexiest SUV in India every one wants to have it parked on their garage. And the USP of the look was the boot lid of the car. Too good..... Now after 4 years and 5 months and running of 60k+ kms it the driving feels the same as the car is being driven form the showroom. The maintenance till now i have spend is around ?25000. Now some of the cons of the car is the plastic quality materials inside the cabin feels very cheap and also the plastic quality of the boot is also very quality. And I think at 2013 also when it was launched the titanium version should have equipped with a rear view camera. And the most important cons of the car is the headlight lacks to provide illumination at night in highway driving. Ford 2013-2015 models were equipped with very low beam headlights. But overall I feel really happy when i drive my ecosport.