Quick initial review of my Ford Ecosport

[JustinH]

Interior looks much nicer than my base escape.

 

[nthach]

Made in India by Ford. That deal with the tractor company (Mahindra I think) never happened.

Mahindra has a JV with Suzuki I think?

 

[jsean]

Mahindra has a JV with Suzuki I think?

Suzuki has been holding the #1 market position in India for multiple years without a JV . Wouldn’t have guessed that given how uncompetitive they were here. I always liked the Kizashi though. Too bad they stopped selling those.

Ford got into India with a JV with Mahindra which was dissolved a long time ago. They seemed to be selling uncompetitive products outside of the Ecosport. Imo it’s a shame because other OEMs like Hyundai got in way after Ford and seem to have captured decent market share over in India.

Wonder if anyone knows why the first JV with Mahindra was dissolved and why Ford was trying to form it again with Mahindra instead of someone else?

 

[Corollaman]

I don't think it looks that bad, I've considered one myself in the past. The market for a $20,000 AWD vehicle will always have market appeal, the catch is getting as close to that $20,000 number as possible before all the "extras". I think a base model Impreza with a manual transmission (if it can be found) is more appealing to me.

 

[jstert]

i spent a couple days driving up and down oregon last winter in a hertz rental ford ecosport with a cousin. i forget which trim level but i do starkly recall no spare tire. he liked it more than me. joelb’s review pretty much nails it. “just asking for a friend”...for an inexpensive, non-awd, small, lifted, hatchback wouldnt a kia soul, nissan kicks or chevy trax/buick encore be better, at least have a donut spare in the back?

 

[nthach]

i spent a couple days driving up and down oregon last winter in a hertz rental ford ecosport with a cousin. i forget which trim level but i do starkly recall no spare tire. he liked it more than me. joelb’s review pretty much nails it. “just asking for a friend”...for an inexpensive, non-awd, small, lifted, hatchback wouldnt a kia soul, nissan kicks or chevy trax/buick encore be better, at least have a donut spare in the back?

I think the policy with many rental companies is the customer is never allowed to change a spare tire… I could be wrong. I’d rather be reprimanded for installing a spare than use a “comfort kit” on a shredded tire.

Also, for Hertz/Enterprise, Uber and Lyft rentals are an important part of their business in some metro areas. I have yet to see an EcoSport with Uber/Lyft decals on it - the Venue/Seltos/Soul/Sportage/Tucson and the Kicks/Rogue are much more prevalent for those areas.

 

[dishdude]

I think the policy with many rental companies is the customer is never allowed to change a spare tire… I could be wrong. I’d rather be reprimanded for installing a spare than use a “comfort kit” on a shredded tire.

I've never heard that...but if you do get a flat in a rental the renter is responsible for repair/replacement unless additional coverage was purchased.