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Does the New Ford Ecosport Make Up for the Last One's Shortcomings?

Ford got the message and gave the EcoSport a makeover by overhauling the suspension and upping the equipment count.

AlyssaBuchanan
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Does the New Ford Ecosport Make Up for the Last One's Shortcomings?

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  1. DOES THE NEW FORD ECOSPORT MAKE UP FOR THE LAST ONE'S SHORTCOMINGS?

  2. WHAT IS IT? Ford'sofferingtothehorriblycrowded, buthighlylucrativesubcompact crossoversegment.Basedonthelast- generationFiesta'sunderpinnings,ithas alltheingredientstoriseabovethe melee,butsomehowhasneverlivedupto thepromise. That'sprobablybecausethiscarwas originallydesignedtoserviceemerging marketsinAsia,whereaffordabilityand groundclearancearethecrucialfactors. Itwasacarbuilttoastrictcostbase. Sureenough,thehandlingmagicfromthe Fiestawasgone,leavingthecarwoefully under-engineered.

  3. In2015,FordgotthemessageandgavetheEcoSporta makeoverbyoverhaulingthesuspensionanduppingthe equipmentcount.AnotherthreeyearsonandFordhasgiven theEcoSportanothermajorrestyle.The2018updatesinclude exteriorstylingtomatchtherestofitslineup,aninteriorto matchthenewFiestaandnewtrimlevelswithincreased personalizationoptions.

  4. WHAT IS IT LIKE ON THE ROAD? Awholelotbetterthanitwasinthe past.Clearlyembarrassedbyits initialefforts,Ford'sengineershave knuckleddownandreallytriedto squeezeeverythingtheycanfroma carthatdidn'tgetthebeststartin life.Itnowdoesapassable impressionofaFiestaattown speeds,whichiswhereit'slikelyto spendmostofitstime,butinthe cornersittendstotoppleoverand feelsconsiderablymoretopheavy. Notsurprisingreallybecauseitis.

  5. Moresoundinsulationplusbettersuspensionandsteeringmeansit doesn'tfeelasflimsyasitoncedid.Itdoesn'tridetoobadlyeither, butthesoftspringsmeanyou'rebobbledaroundonpatchyroad surfaces.Thelightandresponsivesteeringwillbeperfectlyfinefor 90% ofcustomers,butlacksthewhisperoffeedbackyougetina Fiestathatmakesitagenuinepleasuretodrive. EnginechoicesnowincludeFord'sthree-cylinder1.0-literEcoBoost witheither123hpor138hp,anda1.5-literdieselwitheither99hpor 123hp.ThemorepowerfuldieselisonlyavailablewithAWD (afirst fortheEcoSport),whileasix-speedmanualisstandard--onlythe 123hpgasolineisofferedwithasix-speedauto.It’sthebrilliant three-potgasolinewe’drecommend--specificallythe138hpversion. Okay,so0-100kphin11.8secondsisn'tfastbutthein-gearpunch feelshealthierthanthat,itrevssmoothlypast6,000rpmandstays quietandgenerallyunobtrusivetherestofthetime. Inallhonesty,it’sabitofahollowcriticismmarkingthistypeofcar downonspeed,steeringfeelandcorneringability,becausethevast majorityofcustomerscouldn'tcareless. Insummarythen,whereasbeforewe'dactivelysteeryouawayfrom theEcoSportforthesub-parwayitdrove,it'snowadequateforthe classbutstilllackinganysparklefromitsFiestabloodline.

  6. LAYOUT, FINISH AND SPACE Nowwegettothebitthatreallymatters,butbeforewejumpin,a wordfortheexteriordesign.It'snolongertheruntofFord'slitter. GoforthenewST-linetrim,whichaddssportssuspension (stillnot verysporty),abodykit,17-inchsmokedalloys,aflat-bottomed steeringwheel,part-leatherseatsandSTscuffplates,andit'snota bad-lookingthing--solongasyoulikecarsthatresemblesports shoes.Evenonlessertrimlevelsyoucanletyourhairdownwitha contrastingroofandwingmirrorsinwhite,red,blackororange. FrontandcenterintheinteriorisanewSync3infotainmentsystem fromthenewFiesta.Thetopoftherange8-inchtouchscreenjutsout alittleprecariouslyfromthetopofthedash,butishardtofaultin termsofgraphics,content (AppleCarPlay,DAB,Bluetoothallpresent andcorrect) andusability.A6.5-inchtouchscreenisalsoavailable, aswellasaten-speakerB&Oaudioupgrade. So,fiveyearsafteritslaunch,theEcoSportfinallyfeelsup-to-date, butwhathasn'tchangedarefundamentalflawsinthepackaging. Whilethefrontrowisperfectlyspaciousandairy,therearbenchis crampedanddespiteaclevernewmovablebootfloor,thespace backthereisstilllimited:355liters.

  7. FINAL THOUGHTS AND PICK OF THE RANGE FordhasmanagedtodragtheEcoSportfromablotonitsportfolio fiveyearsagotoaworthycompetitorinitssegment.Better-looking, better-equippedandbettertodrivethaneverit'snowworthalook, whereasinthepastitwastobeactivelyavoided. Goforourfavorite,the138hp1.0-literEcoBoostandthesnappy manualgearboxandpunchybutperfectlymanneredenginecanpaper overmostoftheEcoSport'scracks.It'llbecheaptorun,comfortable forthemostpartandshoulddeliverhassle-freeownership. However,witheverymanufacturertrippingoverthemselvestoget theirpieceofthesubcompactcrossovercake,there'sawhiffof cynicismsurroundingthesecars--asuspicionthatthey’remerely hastilycobbledtogethertop-hatsonsubcompactunderpinnings, designedtocashinonatrendratherthanservethecustomer'sneeds. TheEcoSport'sproblemisthatwhenyou'rebornfromstockas talentedastheFiesta,yourshortcomingsarethrownintosharprelief.

  8. ARTICLE SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.TOPGEAR.COM.PH IMAGE SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.THOMSONFORD.COM.AU/ECOSPORT.HTML

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