Ford EcoSport [2015-2017] User Reviews

Buying experience: Back to 2015, I was looking for a comfortable weekend car for my small family. I had 2 cars in my mind, VW Polo GT and Ford EcoSport. And both of them were quite different from each other. Initially I was a but inclined towards the VW Polo GT but it felt a bit pricy for a small hatchback. EcoSport on the other hand seemed worth every penny. It had more safety features than all other cars in the price range. Had more comfort than the Polo and was surprisingly fun to drive too. The buying process was smooth and the dealership in my city tried to give me max benefits possible. The only issue which I faced was that I wanted to purchase the Titanium trim, but it had 4 montys waiting period. Hence, I had to step down to Ambient trim. The dealership I was purchasing the car from (Ganges Ford) made the process very easy- it was a door-step test drive, so had to go to the showroom only twice: once for choosing the add-on and making final payment; and other time for taking the delivery.
Riding experience: Ford EcoSport is a driver's car. My father and I still fight for the driving seat. The car is slightly underpowered and one needs to shift down gears quite frequently while driving in the city. But the drive is still very peppy and enjoyable. Thr stearing works like magic. It is extremely light in slow speeds which makes parking easy. And gains right amount of weight in high speeds which increases confidence in highways. Visibility is also amazing the only downside here is having a thick A-pillar which one needs to get used to. The suspension is apt for city rides. If one wishes to take the car fir mild off-roading, suspensions wouldn't help much, but big 200mm ground clearance would help in such situations making sure that the car's bay never toucehes any rock/boulder/speedbreaker.
Details about looks, performance etc: EcoSport looks amazing frok both outside and inside and looks big for a sub 4m sized small car. I opted for the 15' alloy that Ford was offering which may not look as good as the 16' alloys available in Titanium and Titanium+ trims. The lower half of the car's body has a plastic guard running all round the car, thus protecting the car from scratches. Coming to thr interiors, the infotainment system is Ford's USP and works amazingly. The front seats are very spacious and comfortable. The reat seats- not as amazing but comfortable. The dashboard too looks good and urban but doesn't feel that good in the long run. The problems I have faced in the interiors are: (i) the top of the dashboard is made of rough(textured) hard plastic which makes it impossible to stick any mobile stand or idol in the dash board. (ii) The car has way too many cup/bottle holders than a person might ever need; which seemed good in the beginning but it is very difficult to clean the dust coolected in these pockets. (iii) rear seats cannot comfortably seat 3 people.
Servicing and maintenance: Ford claims to have lowest maintenance costs, which might be true. I have used the car for almost four years now and the cheapest service costed Rs. 2600 approx. The max being 5400. My dealership calls me for all service reminders, rather also for reminding that the year of ownership is ending and I might need to renew my insurance. Till now didn't require to use their road side assistance as never faced any breakdowns. So cannot comment on that. The car dows not seem to have any majir maintenance issues, the only problem being the dust getting collectes bolw the wind shield area, and wearing of clutch.
Pros and Cons: Pros: 1) loaded with safety and security features 2) feels like a big car 3) best stearing wheel from a car in this segment 4) great looks 5) ground clearance and ride height 6) practicality and huge pockets eveywhere 7) infotainment system Cons: 1) rear seats are not that spacious 2) feels a but under powered 3) small battery 4) no rear AC vents