The Ford EcoSport inaugurated the sub-4m compact crossover segment in the country and in the span of six years, the segment grew up to be one of the hotly contested spaces in the Indian car market. In the advent of newer rivals with modern design and appeal, the EcoSport feels old and is due for a major update. Thanks to the arrival of Hyundai Venue at a staggering price tag of just Rs 6.5 lakhs, all other cars in the segment may look over priced to buyers.
Ford India has been struggling with declining sales for quite sometime now with EcoSport being the only steady performer. With the arrival of new rivals like the Mahindra XUV300 and Hyundai Venue, it is imperative for Ford to do more than variant rejig to keep the EcoSport relevant.
Ford is expected to be working with Mahindra to come up with an EcoSport replacement in the coming years. Meanwhile, the American automaker has reconfigured the variant lineup of the current model to stay competitive. The official price announcement of the updated Ford EcoSport range would be made in the coming days.
The EcoSport receives a new top-end trim named Thunder which is touted to replace the existing Titanium Signature. The salient visual features of the EcoSport Thunder include black contrast roof, matching black sticker on the hood, sunroof, blacked out alloy wheels with new pattern, black spare wheel cover, and decals on the doors. Inside, the Ford EcoSport Thunder is equipped with 9-inch FlyAudio touchscreen infotainment system, and dual-tone leather upholstery. The Thunder is available with 1.5-liter petrol and diesel engine options.
Ford India has also tweaked the features list of the Titanium+ variant to make it cheaper by around Rs 50,000. The price saving is achieved by eliminating cruise control system, leather upholstery, and SYNC3 infotainment system (with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay). The new Titanium+ trim offers the FlyAudio infotainment system and receives dual-tone black-beige dashboard instead of the previous version’s all-black interior. Powertrain options include 1.5-liter petrol with manual or automatic transmission, and 1.5-liter diesel with manual transmission.
The updated Titanium trim eschews rear passenger arm rest and sun-glass holder. The black dashboard has been replaced by dual-tone unit. The range-topping Ford EcoSport S with 125 PS 1.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine is also likely to have its equipment list rejigged. More details are expected in a week’s time.
