The compact SUV space in the country has been growing strong in India. In an effort to further strengthen its foothold in the country, Ford will be launching the new EcoSport in India on 9 November. The EcoSport facelift will compete against the likes of the Mahindra TUV300 and the recently launched Tata Nexon in India. Here below are a list of the key differences between the three cars -
Engine:
Speaking of the engine options, the new Ford EcoSport gets a new 1.5-litre Dragon petrol engine in five-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmission option. The new three-cylinder engine generates 123bhp of power and 150Nm of torque. On the other hand, the diesel version does not get major changes and it continues to be powered by a 1.5-litre engine that generates 99bhp of power and 205Nm of torque. The four cylinder turbocharged diesel comes mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and drives the front wheel. Ford has discontinued the Ecoboost engine option on the new facelift model.
The Tata Nexon is powered by a 1.2-litre inline four cylinder petrol engine producing 108bhp of power and 170Nm of torque. The diesel motor is an all-new 1.5-litre unit with an output of 108bhp/260Nm. Both engines are offered only with a six-speed manual transmission. Tata is already working on the AMT options and should offer them in the first quarter of 2018.
The Mahindra TUV300 is available only with the 1.5-litre mHawk 80 three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. It comes mated to either the five-speed manual or the five-speed AMT transmission. The power figures of the manual are 84bhp and 230Nm, while the AMT is tuned to produce 81bhp and 230Nm.
Exterior:
The new Ford EcoSport gets a refreshed exterior design with an aggressive tone this time around. The new model has eliminated the slim grille under the hood and has instead pushed the original hexagonal grille further upwards. The new model also gets a reshaped bonnet, sharper projector headlamps with LED DRLs, larger fog lamps and the elegant alloy wheel design that gives it a sportier appeal than its predecessor. However, the rear section has been left untouched with no considerable changes on the back.
Tata Nexon speaks loud and clear on the company’s Impact design philosophy. The stylish offering from Tata Motors flaunts large headlamps and a raked windscreen. The honeycomb grille is scrounged from its elder sibling, the Hexa. The tall stance and flared arches along with the slightly sloping roof give it a modern and brawny appearance. Owing to the growing demand of cars with dual-colour paint scheme, Tata has offered it on the Nexon sub-four-metre crossover.
Mahindra has rather preferred to GO for an old school boxy design with a five slat grille on the TUV300. The headlamps are angular, the bumper is a perfect rectangle and so is the air vent. The fog lamps are square too. The popular utility vehicle manufacturer in the country has taken the boxy design theme too seriously as the side profile is also simple with no overhangs and gets squared-off wheel arches.
Interior:
The new Ford EcoSport gets a curvy dashboard and comfortably accessible eight-inch vertically positioned infotainment screen. In addition to the earlier function like the Emergency Assist, the new model now also gets the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Instrumentation is all-new, and the new attractive multi-functional steering wheel holds the controls to the MID (multi-information display). Ford also claims that they’ve reworked the air-con to cool the cabin quicker than before. As for safety, the standard equipment list in the new EcoSport includes safe clutch start, dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiter, driver seat belt minder, crash unlocking system with light flashing, power door locks, engine immobiliser, approach lights and homesafe headlamps, emergency brake lights flashing, door ajar warning and rear child lock.
The Nexon comes with a three-tone interior. It is loaded with features like climate control, touchscreen infotainment system with floating display and eight speakers, button start, rotary dial for drive mode selection and a 350-litre boot. The Harmann touchscreen infotainment system gets USB, Bluetooth and AUX connectivity. For safety, you have dual front airbags as standard while ABS is standard for the range.
The Mahindra TUV300 is a seven-seater with two jump seats at the back which is more useful as a 384litre boot. The base variant misses out on all the safety features but the other five variants get ABS-EBD; two of them have driver side airbags, while the top three versions get dual airbags at the front. In terms of feature list, the car gets a decent music system, rear parking assist, steering mounted audio controls and climate control.
