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FORD ECOSPORT
The Ford EcoSport (which Ford says is pronounced ‘echo-sport’, even though its turbo engines are pronounced ‘eekoh-boost’), first introduced in Brazil in 2003 and sold mainly in developing markets, was introduced in the United States late last year, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Its sales had already begun to slide in Brazil, Mexico and other places, making it a new yet outdated entry into the hot subcompact crossover SUV segment.
Quite simply, the EcoSport patches a gaping hole in Ford’s lineup, and represents a tacit admission that Ford’s priorities lie elsewhere – namely in the high-profit full-size pickup and midsize SUV segments.
Although the EcoSport has been brought in line with Ford’s attractive Kinetic 2.0 design language, similarities to the other, better SUV models in the automaker’s lineup stop there. The EcoSport comes off as somewhat of a throwback – something you’d expect to see in a rental car fleet in Athens or Mexico City.
Here in the U.S., Ford’s tall Fiesta seems like something of an afterthought. It’s difficult to imagine it faring well against more modern alternatives like the Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-3, and Subaru Crosstrek.
Hard seats do not a good car make
The EcoSport’s connection with the spartan, unpleasant economy cars of old has its locus in the tiny SUV’s hard, flat back seats. Providing legroom behind the front seats doesn’t seem to have been much of a concern to Ford’s engineers here (I’m not tall, but with the driver’s seat adjusted to my height, there wasn’t much room behind it for a rear passenger’s legs).
Fortunately, the EcoSport’s front seats aren’t as cramped. There’s plenty of head, leg, hip and shoulder room there, and the sensation of roominess is enhanced with a tiny available sunroof. The model I tested came with heated front seats, which were nice, but the seats were hard and uncomfortable after more than an hour of driving.
The interior layout is clean, but it has a cheap feel. The shift handle looks as if it were borrowed from a late-’90s Kia or a Latin American rental car – I couldn’t decide which. One of the EcoSport’s few positive qualities, though, was how quiet it was inside. Neither the noise of an often-frantic world outside nor the frustrated buzz of the anemic engine managed to penetrate the cabin’s diminutive sanctuary.
Most of the extra interior volume that comes from its crossover status seems to be floating in the unusable space overhead. The EcoSport has about 21 cubic feet of cargo volume with the rear seats up and 50 with the seats folded down. The cargo hold is tall and narrow and the rear seats don’t fold flat, or even out of the way. Ford attempts to solve the problem by including a removable cargo floor panel that notches even with the folded seat to make a level load floor.
Unfortunately, the result is also a sloped load floor, which means things will almost certainly fall out when the rear hatch is opened after driving. They did when I used it. And while the car’s small size might make it ideal for street parking in a crowded city, don’t plan on using the rear hatch in a tight spot. It swings wide.
I also had to dig into the owner’s manual to find out how to open it. The electric hatch release – the only way to open it – was hidden in the right tail lamp lens.
Case of the runaway knob
The dashboard and controls represent one of the EcoSport’s few strong points. A large, tablet-size touchscreen sits in the middle of the dash, with two knobs making for easy audio system operation. I’ve never been a fan of having to use buttons to change stations.
One drawback I noticed is that the stations don’t change as quickly as you turn the dial, and station flipping continued long after I stopped turning the knob. So I ended up cycling through all the stations a few times to get the one I wanted.
In addition to 10 airbags, the EcoSport is equipped with a standard SOS post-crash alert system, programmable MyKey safe teen driving features, and a rear-view camera. A blind-spot monitoring system with rear cross-traffic alert is optional for the SE, and standard on the SES and Titanium.
The EcoSport also includes an emergency brake assist system, which is NOT the same as an automatic emergency braking system. Also, a forward collision warning system is not offered for this veritable dinosaur of a cute-ute.
In terms of crash protection, the 2018 Ford EcoSport has yet to be rated by the federal government and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The power and stability deficit
Two engine options are available for the EcoSport. A turbocharged 1.0-liter 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine is standard, and a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with automatic engine stop/start is included with SES trim and is optional on other models.
My Titanium test vehicle came with the tiny EcoBoost engine, which turned out to be insufficient for a vehicle that weighs more than 3,000 pounds. Clattery from the time I started it, it was reluctant to respond in most situations, and I found myself wondering if I might get rear-ended when I attempted to pass other cars on the freeway.
Additionally, I expected fuel economy to be great in a car this small and underpowered, but even when I was taking it easy on the accelerator pedal, my average was just under 30 miles per gallon. Still, that’s a little better than the EPA’s 28-mpg average rating for it.
The EcoSport is a tall, narrow car. It’s ungainly profile and short wheelbase also made it a handful on the highway. It rolled into turns and felt unstable at speeds above 40 mph. I simply didn’t have much confidence in this SUV when driving on the highway.
Despite its name, the EcoSport didn’t feel sporty (I also didn’t find anything ‘eco’ or ‘echo’ about it). It felt affordable. But there are definitely cars more affordable than this one.
