Meet the Facelifted, India-bound Ford EcoSport

In what the makers claim to be the first ever Snapchat reveal for a vehicle Ford has introduced the facelifted EcoSport on the social media platform The facelifted compact SUV will make its public debut at the upcoming LA Motor Show and will hit showrooms in the USA by early 2018 Whatrsquos interesting is that the compact SUV will be exported from Fordrsquos Chennai plant making it the first madeinIndia Ford vehicle to hit the North American market Also this move suggests that we will get almost every new update and additional goodies that Ford has offered with the EcoSport facelift Let us see what we can expect for the Indian market from the revealed American versionDesignFord has subtly updated the EcoSport on the whole but it is the front profile that seems to have gone under the knife the most The front fascia now features a chunkier chrome grille ndash a design element thatrsquos in line with the other SUVs by the Blue Oval such as the Kuga and the Edge It is somewhat similar to the one in the secondgen Endeavour as wellThough the headlamps feature a profile similar to the current version they look bulky and incorporate projector plus halogen lighting And this time around the indicators are placed lower in the fog lamp housing There are no changes to the sides of the vehicle save for the new set of alloysAt the rear the tail lamps are largely unchanged but the American version of the EcoSport will not sport the mounted spare wheel The outgoing EcoSport in the European market currently comes with a similar option The Indian facelifted EcoSport in all probability will continue to feature the mounted spare wheel when the facelift goes on saleCabin And FeaturesAlthough the exterior hasnrsquot been altered much Ford has completely overhauled the cabin which perhaps will be the highlight of the facelifted EcoSport It now features a brandnew steering wheel and a twindial instrument cluster which is clearer to read and has grown in size compared to the outgoing versionThe central console features the lsquofloatingrsquo type touchscreen infotainment system which was sorely missing in the present EcoSport Like its American version the EcoSport will probably share the Ford SYNC 3 infotainment system with the Endeavour in India the Endeavour has recently received the SYNC 3 unit It is a massive eightinch unit that supports both Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto including AppleGoogle maps for navigation Most importantly in the USA the SYNC 3 in the EcoSport will be coupled to a 675watt 10speaker BampO Bang and Olufsen Play audio system including BampO PLAYbranded tweeters and woofers in the front doors and a subwoofer in the back This sound system is not likely to be offered in IndiaOne of the versions in the American market will also get copper accents for the interior and sport seats as seen in the picture above Though they look cool the Indian version is unlikely to be offered with such options We might get the allblack cabin with glossy black highlights see the picture below The updated EcoSport also comes with seven ambient lighting optionsIt also features a new layout for the automatic climate control and new switch gears which are borrowed from the Endeavour Additionally it offers two fastcharging USB ports placed below the climate control unit along with a regular 12volt socket at the front It will also come with a 110volt outlet positioned behind the centre console and another 12volt outlet allowing rearseat passengers to stay plugged inMechanicals In the American market the EcoSport will be available with the 10litre threecylinder EcoBoost turbo petrol along with a naturally aspirated 20litre petrol The latter will come standard with an AWD allwheeldrive system In the Indian market the facelifted EcoSport is likely to remain unaltered and will continue to come with the 15litre TDCi diesel along with the 15litre TiVCT and the 10litre EcoBoost petrol engine options The probability of us getting the 20litre petrol with AWD is very lowLaunchThe updated EcoSport will take on its existing rivals ndash such as the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Mahindra TUV300 and NuvoSport ndash when Ford launches it in India in mid2017 Moreover the 2017 EcoSport will also have to compete against the Honda WRV since it will be launched in the first half of next year The prices of the updated EcoSport are likely to shoot up because of the additional features and aesthetic upgrades but the compact SUV is expected to be aggressively priced like the current versionRead More on Ford Ecosport reviewRead full article on cardekhocom