Ford is full of surprises these days. The latest one in the line is the announcement that the company is planning to show off their EcoSport small utility vehicle at the upcoming Los Angeles auto show. What is even more interesting is the confirmation that it will be finally available in North America after years of enjoying the popularity abroad. Ford decided to unveil it at Monday’s event ahead of press days of the auto show, and this information was firstly discovered by DJ Khaled on Snapchat, after which Ford officially confirmed it on Twitter.
The EcoSport SUV is pulling its roots from the Ford Fiesta, and after its debut and sales success in Europe and China, the company finally decided it is worthy of showing up in North America. The first official confirmation on this came in January from CEO Mark Fields who announced company’s plans to add not one but four new utility vehicles to its lineup over the course of next few years. Ford also announced that these will be the new nameplates for the Ford and Lincoln brands.
What is it really like?
The very first model was introduced far back in 2003 in Brazil, and after that, the second gen followed up in 2012. Since current model is getting “tired” it up to a facelifted 2017 vehicle to freshen up the place. The part of new features that will be available on the facelifted 2017 Ford EcoSport are a new dash to accommodate Sync 3 and all-wheel drive for more markets. It is supposed to compete with the likes of Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Opel Mokka, Chevrolet Trax, Nissan Juke, and Fiat 500X. Not exactly a small amount of competition, but we believe that EcoSport can handle it with ease. We expect to see both petrol and diesel engines in the lineup, where the petrol units will include options like Ford’s 1.6 L and 2.0 L four-cylinder naturally aspirated, and the EcoBoost 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engines. These are the most likely candidates to see the US market, and we do not expect to see diesel option here.
It is currently built in China, Thailand, Russia, Brazil, and India with plans to build some of them in Romania next year. The US-bound model might come from Mexico together with the new Fiesta.
