Ford India is hard at celebrations after winning all major Car Awards for its uber-popular hatch – The Figo. But away from all the Indian action, Ford Brazil is developing the new successor for the mini SUV –the Ecosport.
Mechanically, the new Ecosport draws inspiration from two of Ford's newest, internationally successful cars, the new Fiesta and the Focus 2012.
The exterior design reveals so many elements of the 'Kinetic Design'. There are cleaner lines throughout the body, dominated by large bumper air intakes. The grill is influenced by the recently launched Ford Ranger. Overall, this is certainly an extension of the ‘One Ford’ philosophy.
The engine duties will be performed by 1.6L and 2.0L Ecoboost engines configured with manual gearbox or automatic gearbox with optional 4WD. Ford plans to sells this SUV is Brazil, China, Thailand and some European countries. Ford might manufacture this car in China, India and Brazil in the next couple of years.
But does the Ecosport make sense for India? One cannot forget that the mini SUV market is something that has been attracting attention of a lot of manufacturers in India. Even the largest auto manufacturer in India - Maruti Suzuki is readying a Gypsy-like model. Skoda took the plunge with their Yeti last year but it was a pricier option.
Current Ecosport (based on Figo platform) will cost you around 20K Euros which the same as 11 lakh INR. If the product costing is done right (a la Figo) and the Ecosport is brought to India under 10 lakhs, it will certainly sit as a unique lifestyle.
What do you think? Should the Ecosport invade the Indian streets? Will you pay around 10 lakh for an urban SUV?
Source - automocionblog.com via AutoEsporte
