Excellent motor
Superb handling
Affordable Ford EcoSport hits Namibian market
Can the baby Ford still make an impact this late in the race, especially against the force that is the Renault Duster? In the manner of all baby SUVs, the EcoSport is short and high, with a bluff front end and very short overhangs. Under such circumstances it can hardly be sleek and the looks are further compromised – to some tastes – by a bulky, covered spare wheel attached to the outside of the large and convenient side-opening rear door. Ford engineers reckon some markets love it for the ruggedness it implies; but the mini Kuga styling will definitely not find favour with all. We do prefer the styling over that of the clunky, awkward Juke by a long shot though. When you get into the car, through the wide doors, the relationship to the Fiesta is obvious from the dash design and the looming switch set about the centre console; good job. Hard plastics shows off its Indian heritage – others in the class are better finished and more European. It’s quite roomy though, offers pretty good rear accommodation for a four-and-a-bit metre car and has a decent boot that’s easily accessible. The rear seat folds and tumbles, and the resulting load space is generous, not least because it doesn’t have to accommodate a full-size spare wheel. Every car is a relatively well-equipped Titanium model, and there are three engines – the now-familiar 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol, a 1.5-litre turbo diesel with 90bhp, and a 110bhp 1.5-litre petrol four. We drove two versions of the EcoSport, in both diesel and petrol EcoBoost guise. The latter had all the smoothness and good response of other Fords powered by this engine, though it had only a five-speed gearbox instead of the six that sometimes accompanies the car. The diesel was reasonably flexible but rather vocal – both engines are much more intrusive than in larger Fords, and there was more wind noise at speed than in saloon versions, but not to the level that it becomes truly intrusive. Ford didn’t quote a kerb weight on test, but it seemed
rather obvious from the car’s slightly lethargic acceleration (0-62 in 14.0 sec for the diesel) that the new car isn’t exactly lightweight. The EcoBoost does better, with an acceleration time of 12.7 seconds and a top speed of 179kmph. Both versions drove well. The uncorrupted steering that is a feature of Fiestas was a little lighter in the EcoBoost, but supremely accurate and acceptably weighted in the diesel. The car refused to lean much in corners, and gripped nicely while resorting to modest understeer hen pushed. Even in the seriously strong (and unusual) Windhoek crosswinds we’ve been having, it felt very stable. But it is the ride that moved this car dynamically to the top of its class.
It copes quietly with bad bumps, and keeps its poise very well, without ever losing the residual alertness and control of the Fiesta chassis. The Ecosport is not without faults, even the name feels a bit of an afterthought, but for everything it does wrong, it makes up for ten fold in other areas. In all honesty, the gripes are miniscule, shoddy styling and a cheap, obviously Indian interior do little to keep the Ecosport in the top ranks of the baby SUV market. Excellent motors, superb handling and affordable, yes please!