Ford EcoSport is credited as the inventor of the sub 4-meter SUV segment in India. Rightly so, as it was the first one to arrive in the country way back in 2013. Though, Ford gave it a mid-cycle makeover four years later in 2017 but due to the introduction of several new and advanced vehicles in the segment, it is losing its charm among the buyers and is due for a new-generation model with modern and upmarket features. Recently, a couple of units of the Ford EcoSport were spotted undisguised near Ford's manufacturing unit in Chennai.
It is believed that they could be the high-performance turbo variants of the EcoSport. The spotted units were wearing 'Trend' and 'S' badging. The former boasted of black door handles and steel wheels while the latter was equipped with body coloured door handles, roof rails and 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels. There have been several rumours after the Ford-Mahindra collaboration that the EcoSport would be the first vehicle under this association to get the Mahindra's 1.2-litre mStallion turbocharged petrol engine. Just so you know, this engine powers the XUV300 Sportz. And, since both the units were spotted without any camouflage, it strengthens this theory that they could be undergoing test runs with Mahindra's petrol engine while no cosmetic upgrade was noticed.
However, recently an announcement was made in which Ford and Mahindra called off their joint venture. So, this shelving of the JV also puts clouds of darkness around this purported theory of Ford EcoSport getting Mahindra's 1.2-litre turbocharged mStallion petrol engine. The engine develops a top power of 130bhp and peak torque of 230Nm in the XUV300 Sportz while it is paired to both manual and AMT gearboxes. Presently, Ford EcoSport is available with a petrol and diesel engine. The 1.5-litre Ti-VCT motor is at the helm of petrol variants with a power output of 122bhp and torque performance of 149Nm. On the other hand, the diesel variants are powered by a 1.5-litre TDCi engine which belts out 99bhp and 215Nm of peak torque.
Image Source - Indian Auto
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