Good Sport!
There’s a new Ford on the block and the company reckons that the ownership profile will have ‘a slight female bias’. It’s called the EcoSport and yes, we do believe that women will flock to dealers to test-drive this car, not because it’s girlie but because it’s downright gorgeous.
It’s practical too, wonderfully spacious and comfortable in the front and rear. Oh, and did we mention the fabulous boot. It’s really accessible (there’s no lip that you need to lift stuff over) and it’s massive too. And, if you really need to move big things, simply tumble the rear seats forward and you can even transport a washing machine!
On the subject of practicality, it’s also a go-anywhere vehicle, which offers a high ride height. This sports utility vehicle (SUV) actually looks like a 4×4, although it’s not. Having said that, its high ground clearance of 200 millimetres means potholes, pavements and speed humps are no challenge. Neither is the occasional flash flood. (But please don’t cross rivers with it; the EcoSport doesn’t come with water wings.)
It does come with a choice of three engine and trim options. We simply adore the 1.0l EcoBoost motor, which outperforms many 1,6-litre engines. Incidentally, it is the same engine fitted to the Fiesta that was recently named 2013 Women’s World Car of the Year (click here to read all about it). This is a simply incredible powerplant, which combines loads of power and torque with great economy too, these attributes have seen the 1.0l EcoBoost engine winning the coveted title of International Engine of the Year for the last two years running.
When it comes to trim options, that really depends on your budget. They’re called Ambiente, Trend and Titanium and we think that the bottom-of-the range Ambiente is just fine, but obviously the flagship Titanium does come with all the bells and whistles (at a price). Speaking of which, the price of the EcoBoost is surprisingly good. It’s pitched slap bang up against the more radically styled Nissan Juke, and the Ford is definitely the better value of the two.
Prices (as at August 2013):
EcoSport 1.5 Petrol Ambiente Manual R199 000
EcoSport 1.0 EcoBoost Trend Manual R224 000
EcoSport 1.5 TDCi Trend Manual R229 000
EcoSport 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium Manual R244 000
EcoSport 1.5 Petrol Titanium Powershift R244 000
EcoSport 1.5 TDCi Titanium Manual R249 000
Text: Charleen Clarke