Ford launches mildly updated EcoSport at Rs 6.79 lakh

Ford has launched the revised EcoSport for the Indian market starting at Rs 6.79 lakh. The refreshed model gets no major cosmetic or mechanical changes, but a 10bhp bump in power output for the diesel. The diesel variant is now priced at Rs 7.98 lakh.

A new ‘Golden Bronze’ colour will be offered in addition to the options available till now. The top-of-the-line variants come equipped with DRLs also called as Ford’s signature light guides. These are similar to the aftermarket ones that were sold by dealers, but will now be officially available through Ford. There are no other cosmetic changes to the compact SUV and the boot-mounted spare wheel continues to be in place unlike the 2016 Ford EcoSport offered abroad.

This EcoSport will continue to be offered in three engine options. The 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost and 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol mills remain unchanged. However, the 1.5-litre TDCi diesel mill has been re-tuned to churn out 98.6bhp of power and 205Nm of torque, which is 10bhp more than the earlier oil-burner. The transmission options remain unchanged, meaning the five-speed manual and six-speed automatic gearbox is carried forward.

Auto-dimming mirrors, auto-headlamps and rain-sensing wipers are offered with the top-of-the-line trim and there are a few chrome embellishments in the cabin. Apart from the base Ambiente variant, all other variants will now get ABS and EBD as standard. Ford has also introduced a new Trend+ variant apart from the Ambiente, Trend, Titanium and Titanium+ variants. Over the Trend trim, the Trend+ variant additionally gets DRLs, fog lamps, a chrome grille and silver-coloured roof rails. There are some more features available like automatic climate control, distance to empty, outside temperature display, econometer, average speed, average fuel efficiency and dual front airbags.

Nigel Harris, president and managing director, Ford India, said, "With more than 2,00,000 proud owners and counting, Ford EcoSport has successfully created a benchmark and continues to be received extremely well for its quality and value package across the globe. Ahead of the festive season, we have made our clever, compact SUV even more stylish with a host of smart features and enhanced power to delight consumers.”

The Ford EcoSport was launched in 2013 and has tasted a fair bit of success in our country. The sporty looking, feature-loaded and aggressively priced compact SUV is now available with a mild makeover and powerful diesel mill. Hopefully, it will help boost the dying sales of the EcoSport especially ever since many new crossovers like the Hyundai Creta and Mahindra TUV300 were launched.

The variant-wise prices (ex-showroom Delhi) for the petrol EcoSport are as follows -

Ambiente 1.5L Ti-VCT - Rs 6,79,563

Trend 1.5L Ti-VCT - Rs 7,75,363

Titanium 1.5L Ti-VCT - Rs 8,90,963

Titanium 1.5L Ti-VCT Automatic - Rs 9,93,363

Trend+ 1.0L EcoBoost - Rs 8,53,363

Titanium+ 1.0L EcoBoost - Rs 9,89,463

The variant-wise prices (ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel EcoSport are as follows -

Ambiente 1.5L TDCi - Rs 7,98,144

Trend 1.5L TDCi - Rs 8,70,244

Trend+ 1.5L TDCi - Rs 9,18,244

Titanium 1.5L TDCi - Rs 9,85,844

Titanium+ 1.5L TDCi - Rs 10,44,344