The Ford EcoSport has been one of the best, premium compact SUVs in the Indian sub 4m SUV space. With growing demand for petrol automatics and stiff competition from the likes of the Venue and the upcoming Sonet, Ford has added a new, more affordable petrol automatic to the EcoSport's line-up. Priced at Rs 10.66 lakh (ex-showroom), what does the Ford EcoSport Petrol Titanium Automatic bring to the table? Scroll down for more information...
Till now, the petrol automatic was only being offered in the top spec Titanium+ version which comes with all the bells and whistles. However, this version is priced at Rs 11.56 lakh which puts it at the higher end of the segment. The new trim however is cheaper by as much as Rs 90,000 which makes it more accessible to a lot of prospective buyers. Infact, the Ford EcoSport Petrol Titanium Automatic version will now be able to pull in buyers who are looking at the Brezza 1.5 A/T or the Venue 1.0 DCT. So what are the missing features here? A quick look at the updated brochure reveals that the new trim misses out on:
- Side and curtain Airbags
- Electrochromic or Auto inner review view mirror
- Rear arm-rest with cup holders
- Sunglass holder
- Rain sensing wipers
- Auto headlamps
- Sunroof
- 60/40 rear seat split
- Front map lamps
- Less funkier alloy wheels
The list is long but the price difference is justified too. For numbers, the Maruti Vitara Brezza ZXI AT priced at Rs 10.5 lakh and the Hyundai Venue 1.0 DCT SX+ that carries an ex-showroom price of Rs 11.35 lakh. The Ford EcoSport Petrol Titanium Automatic continues to use the same 1.5-litre petrol motor that puts out 122 PS of power and 149 Nm of torque - yes, this is way more powerful than the Brezza 1.5 and the Venue 1.0 turbo petrol.
Ford offers the EcoSport with a 3-year or 100,000 KM standard warranty and a longer service intervals of 10,000 KM, compared to 5,000 KM for most compact SUVs. Ford claims EcoSport owners spend as low as INR 1,400 for scheduled service in the first year while the 100,000-KM or 10-year service is surprisingly affordable at just INR 4,700.
