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Ford Gets Carried Away With EcoSport's Size, Cargo Area

Presented in 2012 in India then Brazil, the EcoSport is a mixed bag as far as subcompact crossovers are concerned. Despite the fact it’s overpriced in the U.S. at $19,995 from the get-go, the Ford Motor Company couldn’t pass the opportunity to wax lyrical about the EcoSport.
Ford EcoSport 126 photos
Photo: Ford
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In a press release titled “In a Crowded World, Ford EcoSport Creates EcoSpots," the Blue Oval highlights that its crossover has more cargo area than the MINI Countryman despite being 8.5 inches shorter. The list goes on with the Buick Encore (7 inches), Mazda CX-3 (7 inches), and Chevrolet Trax (6 inches), which sounds desperate if you’re the type to read between the lines.

Care to look at the sales figures for these models for November 2018? The EcoSport accounted for 5,893 examples of the breed, which is indeed better than the Countryman at 1,175 units. Lest we forget, the MINI is a premium crossover that starts at $26,900.

The other premium model in the list is the Buick Encore, which is the brand’s best-selling vehicle. Moving on to the Mazda, the CX-3 moved 988 units last month, a poor result through and through. The Chevrolet Trax, which also happens to be the most direct competitor to the EcoSport, easily sells 6,000 examples per month in the U.S. of A.

Without further beating around the bush, American consumers don’t want a crossover with no legroom in the rear that’s built in India with questionable plastic in the cabin. The EcoSport isn’t too popular on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, where the complaints are pouring in for problems that range from the sunroof to the push-button start.

Also worthy of mention, the Hyundai Kona comes with more standard equipment and a more powerful engine as standard, all for $19,490 for the entry-level trim. Better still, the Kona polarizes opinion with its looks while the EcoSport is as bland as a sheet of copy paper.

After all, the EcoSport arrived in North America as a response to the crossover onslaught, not because Ford planned it from for this part of the world from day one. If you still plan to go with Ford for your new crossover, the Escape will be reimagined from the ground up next on the C2 platform of the Focus Mk IV. Better still, the 2020 Explorer will go official in January on the CD6 platform that debuted with the Lincoln Aviator.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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