Ford EcoSport 1.5 Ambiente Auto Test Review

There are 2 critical issues facing car buyers in the current financial world that we face.......value and convenience.

The current generation of the Ford EcoSport is very familiar to us. I attended the launch and a number of these cars have graced the MotorMatters driveway since.

Recently, Ford added an extra derivative to the range, specifically to address the critical issues I mentioned above and this arrived recently for testing.

The familiar EcoSport Crossover is not one of the segments best sellers for nothing. The raised ride height, the body cladding, the space, the familiar spare wheel mounted to the outside of the unusual side opening rear door. This all remains the same, as does the smooth ride and good driving dynamics of the car.

The changes start under the bonnet. Previously only available as a manual, the new model provides the convenience of Fords smooth 6 speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels. Power is provided by the 3 cylinder 1.5L petrol engine borrowed from the Figo range.

This is where the differences, made in the interests of providing value start. The engine offers 91kW and 150Nm of torque but the omission of the turbo that you get with the other models in the range is very apparent. I would not say that the car is underpowered but life is definitely far more leisurely than with the fun and buzzy nature of the turbo version.

There are a few changes on the interior as well. The most apparent is the small screen atop the centre fascia instead of the larger touchscreen. Personally, I feel that a proper touchscreen has become an expected item even in the cheapest cars on our market so Ford SA may have missed a trick here? The smaller screen is still highly functional and does include Ford's Sync 3 functionality.

Safety is still well provided with 6 airbags and the usual alphabet soup of safety acronyms.

Overall fuel consumption for the test period was 7.9L/ 100km with the usual mix of urban and freeway driving. This should be easily achieved in general use.

Currently priced at R306 700, the new version certainly ticks the value box. Moving up to Trend specification will give you more pep in the performance plus the large touchscreen infotainment system for an additional R38 000 on the purchase.

A 4 year/ 60 000km service plan is standard.

As always, money talks and it's certainly an interesting choice.

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