ANTAUS Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 http://www.autoblog.com/2015/12/08/spy-shots-ford-ecosport-us-sales/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Obviously SUV's are hot and seems like those trends will continue and Ford could use this vehicle here ASAP to offset softer sales of entry level Fiesta's and Focus models. They just need to ditch the spare tire on the wheel and add a tire sealant kit. Where would they produce this thing, Brazil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Maybe they will call it Bronco and build at MAP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Maybe they will call it Bronco and build at MAP? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 IMHO, I would like to see the Bronco model as a higher-end version, like a mini Raptor. The Ford parts bin has all the necessary items, like the new 9-speed, 2.0/2.3 EB, RS-type AWD suspension pieces, so it's not like having to start from scratch. Or maybe they will federalize the Troller with a body that can meet US impact regs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I posted these pics a while back.....not sure if it was at all related, but I saw this pair of EcoSports here in South Florida a few months back....not sure why they were here, but they clearly weren't production models (obviously they're not sold here anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 That intake looks huge in proportion to the rest of the front end and they may of been doing some hot weather testing? I've seen a few prototypes running around the middle of the state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Too bad they can't find some place else to stick that spare tire on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Need it on the showroom, yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
focus05 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Honestly, this is a s**t product. I'm struggling with this CUVs role in a US portfolio. It is 160" long - 7-9" shorter than other B- CUVs. It could be the first "A" CUV. Really, really small. But I'm not sure Americans want really really small. It's not an off-road product by any stretch. It won't be more fuel-efficient. It doesn't seem to out perform its peers in the UK. Ford needs to re-think their entire A/B and emerging/developed market strategy. I suppose they can bring cheap, small, compromised CUV like this to the US, but it would be dumb, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 If they bring it here it will be an all new design, not the current one. The thought is that it would be more popular than the current Fiesta hatchback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Too bad they can't find some place else to stick that spare tire on it Function> Beauty And it ain't the tire that makes this look like crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 If this version comes here I bet they'd go without a spare as they are offering in Europe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) Honestly, this is a s**t product. I'm struggling with this CUVs role in a US portfolio. It is 160" long - 7-9" shorter than other B- CUVs. It could be the first "A" CUV. Really, really small. But I'm not sure Americans want really really small. It's not an off-road product by any stretch. It won't be more fuel-efficient. It doesn't seem to out perform its peers in the UK. Ford needs to re-think their entire A/B and emerging/developed market strategy. I suppose they can bring cheap, small, compromised CUV like this to the US, but it would be dumb, imo. Exactly. EcoSport is 157" and 167" with the external spare tire. So it is about 3 inches shorter than the Fiesta hatch (160"). All the other B-segment CUVs are around 167~168" so EcoSport gives up 10" of interior space to competitors like Chevy Trax, Jeep Renegade, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3 etc. This car was designed for sale in India where 4 meters (~157") is the magic number between reasonable and very high annual taxes. This is also why Ford can't fit the spare tire under the trunk like a normal car... the trunk is too shallow to even fit a space saver donut tire under the cargo area as it would interfere with the rear axle. Ford needs to work on a proper B-segment (~167" or around 4.2 meters) CUV to compete. Leave the EcoSport, which is really A-segment, overseas. Edited December 9, 2015 by bzcat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Maybe they will call it Bronco and build at MAP? If they want to piss off the kinds of buyers they're supposedly trying to woo with a new Bronco, that'd sure as hell do it. They'd be better off leaving the Bronco name dormant, or slapping a BOSS label on a C-Max... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I never realized it was that small! They need a proper vehicle in that segment but definitely sounds like this is not the answer. Good-leave it elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Exactly. EcoSport is 157" and 167" with the external spare tire. So it is about 3 inches shorter than the Fiesta hatch (160"). All the other B-segment CUVs are around 167~168" so EcoSport gives up 10" of interior space to competitors like Chevy Trax, Jeep Renegade, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3 etc. This car was designed for sale in India where 4 meters (~157") is the magic number between reasonable and very high annual taxes. This is also why Ford can't fit the spare tire under the trunk like a normal car... the trunk is too shallow to even fit a space saver donut tire under the cargo area as it would interfere with the rear axle. Ford needs to work on a proper B-segment (~167" or around 4.2 meters) CUV to compete. Leave the EcoSport, which is really A-segment, overseas. The first generation Ecosport was also a similar length which leads me to think that Ford Sth America developed the vehicle for themselves / BRIC nations and anywhere else that wanted it. Ecosport is small and you notice it after sitting in Trax and CX-3, that's why I felt it was a mistake for North America and something like a jacked up Focus (Subaru XV) would be easier to sell to those buyers.... The kindest thing I can say about the Ecosport is that it's better suited as a 3-door hatch with the rear seats folded down. With Ecosport, you either have room for back seat passengers or a decent cargo space but not both at the same time. Edited December 10, 2015 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Not the Focus XV again. Jacked up Focus? That's called an Escape. It's a different Market and price point. Even if Ford did do an "XV" for incremental sales it would not be a competitor to the B Class CUVs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Not the Focus XV again. Jacked up Focus? That's called an Escape. It's a different Market and price point. Even if Ford did do an "XV" for incremental sales it would not be a competitor to the B Class CUVs. Ok How about a Fiesta XV instead? Do any of the Smaller CUVs like the Trax, etc offer AWD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traxiii Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Looks like a slightly "sporty" Transit Connect, not anything like a Bronco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) My guess is Ford will eventually end up with all 3: A-segment CUV to replace EcoSport in developing countries (paired with Ikon/Ka program) B-segment CUV to replace the current EcoSport (paired with Fiesta/B-Max program) C-segment hatchback size CUV (paired with Focus/C-Max program) In addition to existing line up of: 4. C-segment wagon size CUV Escape/Kuga (paired with Grand C-Max program) 5. D-segment size CUV Edge (paired with Fusion/S-Max program) 6. E-segment size CUV Explorer (paired with CD6 sedan program... if such a thing exists ) Edited December 10, 2015 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) Not the Focus XV again. Jacked up Focus? That's called an Escape. It's a different Market and price point. Even if Ford did do an "XV" for incremental sales it would not be a competitor to the B Class CUVs. I have actually driven Ecosport, Trax, Focus, Kuga (Escape) and Subaru XV....... At the moment, Ecosport is something like 17" shorter than Escape, so there's a lot of latitude there to build a better alternative for north America. At 171" long, Focus is a bit close to Escape's 178" length but the shape is different. Trax is 167" long and in Ecosport (160"+spare), you do notice the reduction in interior room, Between Trax and the Escape Focus hatch's length is probably a better match for buyer expectations. I doubt that the new Utility needs to be a whole 11" shorter than Escape Edited December 12, 2015 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Escape hatch's 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Too bad they can't find some place else to stick that spare tire on it The refresh in Europe did: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 The refresh in Europe did: I'm pretty sure they went the fix-a-flat route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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