Ford has unveiled its latest CUV, called the EcoSport concept in Delhi prior to the auto show. The new CUV previewed the "One Ford" latest evolution of Kinetic design, first seen on the Evos concept. The EcoSport is underpinned by the Fiesta platfrom, the B-Class challenger from Ford.
Ford new CUV is designed to cater the young, urban buyer looking for a prominent upgrade for their hatchback, but not quite into the SUV trend. The EcoSport sports (no pun intended) a chunky detailing, comprises of technical looking headlight graphic, huge trapezoidal grille, pronounced cladding around the lower bumper edge, sills and surround the mascular wheelarches, and an outside-fitted spare wheel, mounted on the tail gate. These elements impart an off-road aspiration, complemented further with the roof rail.
Underneath the sleek skin, the EcoSport housed the latest, smallest EcoBoost powertrain, at just 1.0L in capacity arranged in 3-cylinder in-line format. The modern-downsizing of 1.6L equivalent in performance, the smallest EcoBoost boast 118bhp and 170Nm of torque. However, the 1.5L diesel from current Fiesta is also destinated to reside under the EcoSport hood in the near future.
The EcoBoost engine capitalized on the turbocharging and direct injection to achieve an efficient blend between power and reduction of fuel consumption. The quick spooling turbo has further aided the availability of 170Nm from as low as 1,300 rpm. The cylinder block is made of cast-iron. Not only this is cheaper material-wise, but aided with split coolant circuit design, the engine can be warmed up quicker, further helped by in-cast exhaust manifold in the cylinder head (similar in concept with Honda R18,20). More after the jump.
The launch in India is a strategic decision, as Ford aimed to expand its presence in the India, Brazil and ASEAN market. To further amplify the "One Ford" policy, Ford emphasized that the EcoSport was designed in South America design centre, with team member comprise of engineers from Asia, Europe and North America. Initially, the EcoSport will be build in Brazil and Chennai (India).
The current Ford EcoSport was introduced back in 2003 in South America, and was the first affordable SUV. Ford has shifted 700,000 units since then. The new EcoSport was designed to appeal to 100 markets round the world.
Despite the concept look the vehicle, Ford has insisted that the showroom car will be ready in 6 months time. Furthermore, the detail design of the interior is not yet shown. Judging by how the previous Ford Verve concept mutated into the new Fiesta, expect minimal changes!
Small gallery of Ford EcoSport can be found below:
The launch photos are sourced from Zigwheels.
ford design team seem to have forgotten that target audience in india should be male; while in many other countries ladies prefer such smaller suv
ReplyDeleteWhy? Do u think it is too feminine?
ReplyDelete