Ford EcoSport 2014 Review

The Ford EcoSport joins the expanding breed of smaller than small SUVs infiltrating the Australian market. Based on the Fiesta, but offering a high-riding experience along with improved passenger space and a jaunty tailgate-mounted spare wheel, the EcoSport aims itself at customers with a more adventurous spirit than your average hatch buyer. Not too adventurous though, as it's front wheel drive only.

Ford’s EcoSport, the Fiesta-based entry into the growing small crossover hatch segment, reflects what a lot of urban buyers are looking for these days.

They are not at all interested in off-road activities – or even lifestyle activities – and they certainly don’t want to be saddled with bank-breaking fuel consumption, high maintenance costs or unwieldy handling.

They are not, either, seeking the absolute maximum in passenger-carrying or load-toting abilities.

Enter the likes of Holden’s Trax, Peugeot’s 2008 and Suzuki’s S-Cross.

These are all front-wheel drive crossovers that would be dubbed light cars if not for their slightly different aspirations, compared with Holden Barina, Toyota Yaris or Mitsubishi Mirage.

The general rule, for less than $30,000, is to offer a smaller than small crossover experience with similar inner-city handiness – and running costs – to a light car.

Because they are priced quite a bit higher than your average light-class car, the new breed of crossovers could be rightly expected to offer something over and above their donor vehicles, and they do.

Apart from the sought-after higher-set driving position, what is also on offer is slightly more efficient packaging. The uplifted hip-points (making it easier for passengers to get in and out) usually mean a little more legroom, while the higher roof line helps headroom as well.

The EcoSport is a good example. Within its small footprint, the mini crossover is generous in fore-aft stretching space, front and back, while it’s possible for hat-wearers, if they wish, to remain fully-clad inside the car.

And the compact dimensions, along with a tight 10.6m turning circle, make it easy to manoeuvre in the city and suburbs. Luggage space might not be best in class, but we’ll come back to that a bit later.

Where the Ford has a bit of an advantage over its peers is in driveline technology. The EcoSport comes with the choice of two petrol engines: A conventional 1.5-litre four-cylinder producing 82kW and 140Nm, or a much more interesting 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo that makes 92kW and 170Nm, out-powering its larger sibling while also producing better fuel economy and CO2 emissions figures.

The manual transmission only 1.0-litre model returns a claimed Combined cycle fuel figure of 5.7L/100km and emits 131g/km, while the manual 1.5’s consumption and emissions are quoted at 6.5L/100km and 154g/km respectively.

Our 1.0-litre test car, in top-shelf Titanium grade, averaged 6.2L/100km, which we reckon would be hard to improve on given the fact much of the driving was done on the open road.

So the 1.0-litre version of the EcoSport becomes the focus of those keen to embrace a bit of new technology.

The three-cylinder defies convention in a number of ways, but primarily in things like the method used to minimise the configuration’s inherent unbalance, and the material used for the engine block.

Rather than use the commonly-applied but heavy counter-rotating balance shaft to smooth the engine, Ford engineers achieved the same result and saved weight by unbalancing the pulley and flywheel to counteract the inherent three-cylinder imbalance.

And the engine block returns to cast iron construction rather than aluminium to reduce warm-up time and save energy – while the cylinder head incorporates the exhaust manifold, which enables it to be water cooled and better manage the fuel-air ratio over a wider rev range.

The result is what Ford says is its highest power-density production engine. Incidentally, the mill also picked up a win in the International Engine of the Year awards in both 2012 and 2013.

Perhaps the only disadvantage is that Ford doesn’t offer the three-cylinder with an automatic option. The only transmission, at this stage, is a five-speed manual. The efficient dual-clutch PowerShift auto is reserved for the 1.5-litre engine.

This shortcoming aside, the 1.0-litre engine does a remarkable job of hauling around the 1280kg EcoSport. Aside from a deep, torque-bereft hole below 1500rpm or so, the three-cylinder is torquey and responsive all the way to its 6400rpm redline. And it’s smooth, too, with the three-cylinder beat heard more than it is felt.

The five-speed manual means bigger gaps between the gears than the now more common six-speed units, and is unfortunately not the smoothest-shifting of gearboxes. It feels a bit rubbery and often during the test got lost somewhere in upshifts from second to third, tending to inappropriately slide across into fifth gear.

It’s not a big deal at this end of the market, after all it’s not a hot hatch, but it did happen more than once and had us wishing the six-speed PowerShift was on the options list.

The variable-assistance electric steering was quick (2.3 turns lock-to-lock) and well weighted. But despite Ford’s engineering-in of Pull-Drift Compensation to keep the EcoSport on track, there was a slight nervousness at cruising speed that pointed to a tendency towards vertical in its width-height ratio.

This suggests an inherent sensitivity to cross winds, as well as a tendency to lean a bit when cornering – although the heavier, PowerShift-equipped version feels a bit more planted.

But it’s the three-cylinder EcoSport that cruises more quietly on the open road, proof that Ford has done what it set out to do when addressing NVH characteristics. Wind noise is low (the Cd figure is 0.371), as is road noise, and the little engine disappears completely into the background when cruising.

The tailgate-mounted spare does two things: It suggests visually that the EcoSport is more than your average SUV, and it frees up the load area a bit. The latter is clear when you swing the (heavy) tailgate open as there seems to be a bit more vertical boot depth available. The letdown is that the tailgate is hinged on the left, which makes loading from the kerbside both inconvenient and less safe than it could be.

Also on the debit side, and this is an unusual criticism for a contemporary car, is that all four doors require a good solid slam to shut properly. They don't clang or rattle in response, but the EcoSport's doors contrast with the smooth, easy shut with which most car doors close these days.

Ford says the EcoSport, with its 200mm ground clearance, handy approach and departure angles and 550mm wading ability, is a bit more rough-track friendly than your average hatchback and it probably is, but even a mild off-road adventure requires a bit more than that; extra traction, for example.

The test Titanium-spec EcoSport came with seven airbags, as well as the usual complement of safety aids that help bring a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

It was trimmed out with leather seats, keyless entry-exit with a push-button starter, rear parking sensors, cruise control, climate-control, rain-sensing wipers, electrochromatic rear-view mirror, adjustable driver lumbar support and auto headlights; although it was a surprise to discover the top-spec EcoSport has a one-touch power window only for the driver.

Not unusually in this class, the EcoSport falls short of soft-touch materials on the dash. The presentation and quality otherwise are up to scratch for the segment and at least the door armrests are padded.

Leather-trimmed (but manually operated) seats add a little extra ambience to the Titanium variant, and there's also adjustable lumbar support on the driver's side. That said, the driver can get a bit restless and uncomfortable after more than two hours at the wheel.

However, the amount of fore-aft space is impressive given the overall size of the vehicle. Even a tall driver will leave enough leg-stretching space for an equally tall back-seat passenger.

The boot itself is pretty accommodating, if not best-in-class with 346 litres available when all seats are in space, but surprisingly the quoted rear-seat-flat figure is just 705 litres. This is way short of any EcoSport competitors which, by and large, quote virtually twice that capacity. It’s particularly surprising without the luggage area's need to accommodate a spare wheel.

The big question is: Why would you spend just short of $28,000 before on-road costs for a Titanium EcoSport when you could buy, for example, a base Mazda CX-5 automatic for less than two grand more?

That's a question, and a challenge, for the marketing team. And one we wish them well with.

What we liked:
>> Effective three-cylinder engine
>> Passenger space
>> City-friendly dimensions

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