Ford EcoSport facelift – Europe gets ST-Line, new 1.5L EcoBlue diesel and AWD; no longer made in India

This is yet another refreshed Ford EcoSport, just revealed by the Blue Oval. This is the European version of the latest revision that was first unveiled for the US market late last year. There appears to be a long list of changes, even if the basic car remains the same.

The new EcoSport for Europe will now be built in Romania following a 200 million euro investment, replacing India as the source. It will go on sale later this year, before a new “SUV-inspired” Fiesta Active crossover model is introduced in the Continent next year.

There’s a new engine, a 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel with 125 PS and 300 Nm of torque. Paired to a six-speed manual gearbox, it’s good for fuel consumption of 4.5 litres per 100 km. The new engine comes with Intelligent AWD that can adjust torque delivery up to 50/50 between the front and rear wheels in under 20 ms.

Ford says that the EcoBlue will also come with front-wheel drive and “all-new, low-friction” six-speed manual gearbox for even lower CO2 and better fuel efficiency from mid-2018. Besides the 1.5L TDCI AWD, launch engines include a 100 PS 1.5L TDCI and 1.0L EcoBoost petrol in 140 PS and 125 PS outputs. Mid-2018 will see the latter get a 100 PS version.

Ford says that the new EcoSport “will continue to deliver ride and handling tuned specifically for customers in Europe,” with optimised springs, dampers, spring aids, steering gear, torsion beam, ESP settings and steering assistance profiles. The fact that they needed to reinforce this hints at the previous Indian-made version not quite making the cut.

The EcoSport can now be had in ST-Line, which adds on sportier bumpers and side skirts, black-finish roof rails and headlight bezels, 17-inch “Dark Tarnish” alloys, ST-Line badging and extended painted roof and door mirrors as standard. Inside, the sporty line brings a flat-bottomed steering wheel, leather-suede seats with red stitching, ST-Line scuff plates and stainless steel pedals.

Customers can choose from 12 exterior colours, including Lightning Blue, Ruby Red and Tiger Eye metallic orange. One can also opt for the new contrasting top half colour option. There’s no boot-mounted spare wheel here, but customers can opt for it.

The EcoSport’s cabin has more soft-touch materials and less buttons on the new centre console. The seat design is also new, and adjustable ambient lighting in seven colours are available. There’s also a new height adjustable boot floor that can be raised to provide concealed storage, or lowered to increase luggage capacity to 334 litres.

Ford is offering its SYNC 3 infotainment system here, which is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible. All are shown on a floating eight-inch touchscreen, which supports pinch and swipe gestures. Further down the screen range is SYNC 3 with a 6.5-inch touchscreen and a 4.2-inch screen. Available kit include a B&O Play sound system with 10 speakers, cruise control with adjustable speed limiter and a reverse camera, among other things.

B-segment SUV rivals in Europe include the Renault Captur, Opel Mokka and Peugeot 2008.

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