In early 2018, the Ford Motor Company will start importing the EcoSport into the United States of America from India. Slated to be built at the manufacturer’s Chennai plant, the EcoSport holds the title of first U.S.-market Ford model to be produced in India.
But first, a quick recap about the second-generation EcoSport. Introduced back in January 2012 and based on the Fiesta’s B2E platform, the EcoSport already went through a couple of minor updates. First and foremost, the EcoSport lost its swing-out door-mounted spare wheel in 2015. After that, the European-spec EcoSport added a PowerShift transmission for the 1.5 Ti-VCT. Be that as it may, the 2018 Ford EcoSport represents yet another update for the crossover, one that transmutes the EcoSport into a more mature vehicle.
Dubbed “perfect for the adventures that lie ahead” and aimed at people who want to “live big,” the 2018 EcoSport is noticeably more pleasing to the eye compared to the EU-spec 2016 EcoSport. The interior, however, is a significant improvement over the current model, thanks to a redesign of the dash and the addition of a Ford SYNC 3 8-inch infotainment system.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are on the menu, as is SYNC Connect, the smartphone app that allows owners to lock, unlock, and start the vehicle via their mobile phones. For those who want to go all-out with the options, there’s an available B&O Play audio system with 10 speakers and 675 watts to play with. Be that as it may, the interior still looks very, very plasticky. In terms of customization, customers have 10 paint choices, 7 ambient lighting options, and 4 trim levels: S, SE, SES, and the top-of-the-range Titanium.
To be offered with either the 1.0 EcoBoost turbo-3 or a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, the 2018 EcoSport comes as standard with a six-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel-drive is available only on SES and Titanium models equipped with the 2.0-liter mill. The visual updates performed on the U.S.-spec 2018 Ford EcoSport will trickle down to the European model, which is slated to go into production at Ford’s plant in Craiova, Romania, in 2017.
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. Full profile
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