After 9 months of delay, the Ford Ecosport was finally launched into our market, with the fully loaded Titanium variant and the basic Trend unit. Both uses the common powertrain from the Fiesta, which is the long trusted 1.5-litre Ti-VCT engine, mated to the Getrag 6-speed dry dual clutch powershift transmission, with the ability to produce the 109hp/142Nm of power. As an urban SUV, the Ecosport now officially compete directly with the Peugeot 2008, and it does has a very strong marketing point as it could wade through 550mm/1.8ft depth of water, thus making it flash flood proof in our tropical weather. A 200mm/0.65ft of ground clearance is another strong feature for our potholes filled road, especially in our urban jungle that is full of MRT/LRT/BRT constructions!
Starting from RM93k for the Trend version and RM104k for the Titanium variant, the Ecosport could be a winner in this B-Segment SUV segment as it is about RM16k cheaper from the 2008. The Ecosport Titanium even comes loaded with 7-airbag, a first in this segment. Full leather seats, keyless entry and start/stop, as well as a sunroof or those that enjoy getting some suntan if not for the ability to wade through rainwater. Other safety features such as traction control, ABS, hill launch assist, auto headlamp and wiper are included, though the Trend version goes without the convenience of auto headlamp and auto wiper. The Trend version also loses the not so premium leather seats for conventional cloth seats, which could be more comfortable in our weather, as well as all the leather trimmming on the steering wheel and gear stalk. The lack of a sunroof also means no chance of water leaking from the roof after many years of ownership, thus less maintenance. If it were equipped with 7-airbag instead of 2, it could be the best buy Ecosport variant.
The interior is still the typical Ford, similar to the Fiesta which the Ecosport is based on. A lot of transformer style buttons cluttered the dashboard, with a small screen that houses the audio configuration, which the dated bluetooth SYNC software which Ford had announced to discontinue in the very near future. Single zone aircon replaces the manual unit in the Titanium variant, which bring the dashboard slightly upmarket. The glove compartment is air-cool to keep your can drinks cold during long travel, which has been a standard feature in most continental cars. The interior could be improved if the USB port could be designed into a cover-able compartment, like a handrest compartment, instead of expose, right behind the gear shift. Anyhow, the handrest in the Titanium version is definitely an afterthought design, as it block the access to the 2 cup holders beside the handbrake level. Thus, having more do not necessarily means better!
If one take a deeper look at the Ecosport, most will agree that the spare wheel at rear design is outdated, and add the convenience of it being stolen. However, it does add certain degrees of ruggedness to the SUV, especially the rear door open sideway without any expose hinges, and giving a clean symmetrical look with the spare wheel slotted right in the middle of the door. The rear door is keyless, with a push button and handle built right into the rear right lamp cluster, which is a nice thought. If you check out the fuel lid, the label E20 fuel is the recommended type, but the Ethanol and Petrol mix of E20 is not available here.
With only the Peugeot 2008 as its competitor now in the market, the Ecosport could sell like a hot cake. However, the Ecosport with the Ecoboost engine is still a better choice, but this could means an estimated price of RM119k, could swing some business to Peugeot. Let's hope Nissan will bring in the Juke again, Honda the Vezel and Renault the Captur, to make available more choices for us!
