Ford EcoSport: Know the Trend

Following the Ranger and the Everest, the EcoSport is Ford’s third best-selling model in the Philippines and was, at one point not too long ago, their best-selling model.

The EcoSport was designed by the Ford Brazil Development Center model was introduced solely for that country in 2003. It has since gone global and is now assembled in Thailand, Russia, and Romania (among other countries) for distribution to various regions of the world.

In other markets, it is offered with a choice of EcoBlue and Duratorq diesel engines, along with the gasoline engines that range from 1.0L to 2.0L in displacement.

Locally, the EcoSport only comes with either the 1.0L EcoBoost engine or the 1.5L naturally aspirated Duratec Ti-VCT (Twin independent variable camshaft timing) gasoline engine. We take a look at the latter and the model that it powers, the mid-trim Trend.

Like the Titanium and the Ambiente, the Trend is only 4,325mm long and is nothing short of compact. From the outside, it seems terribly small — maybe cartoonish even – but when it comes to drivability and handling in the city, not many can match what it offers.

What contributes to the odd features is the height of 1,656mm, which makes it appear relatively tall for its length.

Its width (without mirrors) at 1,765 mm may not seem like much but it does fit five persons handily while also making it easy to squeeze through narrow streets of Metro Manila or pint-sized parking spaces.

Ground clearance has gone up from 200mm to a good 209mm and allows the vehicle to have a 550mm wading depth. While it may not cross fjords and run over boulders, it will surely be good enough to easily pass through reasonable flooding and numerous potholes along the streets of Metro Manila.

It has a silver grille with halogen headlamps that you have to manually turn on, but has auto levelling capability, front and rear fog lamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, and black-finish roof rails.

Ford has been at the forefront of innovative engineering with these new small displacement engines that produce a decent amount of power with reduced emissions. The 1.5L Ti-VCT on the Trend puts out 121hp and 150Nm of torque while mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. This also complies to the Euro 5 emission level.

The cabin sports fabric seats are now six-way adjustable for the driver but remains four-way adjustable for the front passenger. It still offers 60:40 split-fold rear seats, and Isofix child seat anchors.

It comes with a 2.3-inch instrument cluster display but sports a nine-inch color touchscreen infotainment display that sends audio to four speakers.

There’s no Sync3 (Ford’s connectivity system with voice recognition) anymore but it does have two USB ports, Bluetooth connection, two 12V accessory power outlets (front and rear), map lights, map pockets on the passenger seat, a cooled glove box, and even steering wheel audio controls.

Safety features include driver and front passenger airbags, the seatbelt minder system, electric power-assisted steering, anti-lock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution, front disc brakes, hill start assist, traction control, electronic stability control, a rearview camera, three-point seat belts, child-proof door locks, and an emergency brake light. Added safety features of the Trend include front side airbag, hill hescent control (on the automatic transmission), and rear park assist.

The EcoSport five-door Trend 1.5L MT (manual transmission) is priced at P970,000 while the EcoSport five-door Trend 1.5L AT (automatic transmission) retails for P1.030 million.

For that price you get SUV-like features — a tall ride that gives you a commanding view of the road, a small displacement engine that’s kind to the environment even if you push it to the limit often, modern tech to keep you entertained in traffic without distracting you from the road ahead, plus these added exterior and interior features that adds to its overall value while also improving the total look.

Photo from Ford Philippines