Ford Ecosport: The Next Big Thing?
Posted on 19 January 2012
Ford Eco Sport
The 2012 New Delhi Auto Show was the stage for the unveiling of Ford’s new crack at the Eco-friendly SUV market, the Ford EcoSport. Based on, and sharing the platform of the Ford Fiesta, the EcoSport is part of the company’s new campaign “One Ford” which is aimed at targeting the markets in Europe, the UK, North and South America and China, with over 100 markets expected in total. Ford is looking to have the SUV available on mass release by 2014 and pre-production research has begun at the R&D centre in the Chinese province of Nanjing. The demand for mini SUV’s in China and the country’s ever developing car market is seen as the perfect place manufacture the EcoSport.
Ford are hoping that the EcoSport has the ability to compete with, and supersede, other popular mini-SUV’s such as the Mazda CX-5 and the Range Rover Evoque and are confident that sales will exceed those of the original 2003 EcoSport which are estimated to be around 700,000 models sold. So what is it that Ford’s new SUV offers to car enthusiasts?
Starting with the outlook, muscular looking wheel arches and spare tyre fitted on the rear, gives the vehicle the classic SUV look and is a statement of the EcoSport’s off-road intentions and the small, but chunky vehicle is able to handle rough ground fairly easily thanks to the versatile and supple suspension. The roof of the vehicle can be equipped with a chrome finish roof rack and front bumper and side sills, coated in plastic coating add to the style of the vehicle. Overall, the vehicle seems a lot sleeker and smooth that the original model and slimmer front lights and the over-sized trapezoidal front grille are testament to this. Ford specialised line-up windows are also provided on the rear side windows.
On to the power of the vehicle, the EcoSport will be equipped with Ford’s first new three-cylinder 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine which is designed to give the power of conventional engine up to 1.6 litres. This is thanks to the host of technologies such as turbo-charging, direct injection and variable valve timing. The output of the engine will be 118 horsepower and 125lb- ft torque and is paired with a five-speed manual transmission. Low emissions are a must for all new models of car and with a CO2 output of under 140g/km; the EcoSport is certainly able to compete of the high-end of the eco-friendly SUV market.
The first intended market stop-off for the EcoSport is India, where a growing economy and ever-increasing desire for smaller SUV’s are the perfect ground to unveil, Ford’s next big thing. Because of the Indian market intentions, the New Delhi Auto Show was the obvious place to show off the vehicle to the world. It is also a clever move by Ford as the show is becoming increasingly important on the world scene; the fact that Jaguar Land Rover has skipped the Detroit Auto Show in order to focus on Delhi is testament to this.