The 2020 Ford EcoSport is more refined, with extra features

The Ford EcoSport burst onto the scene in 2013 and soon found a home in the heart of South African motorists due to its raised driving position and affordable price tag (for a crossover). One of the major reasons for its popularity at the start was low competition in its market segment. Fast forward to 2020 and we see many small utility vehicles are outselling the EcoSport. That said, Ford has been making steady improvements in the EcoSport to enhance its appeal. After the 2018 update, the 2020 model now offers a new automatic model and upgraded trim levels.

Let’s find out more about the EcoSport:

The 2020 Ford EcoSport is available here in three trim levels: Ambiente, Trend, and Titanium. There are three engine choices:

   1.5L Petrol delivering 91kW and 150Nm of torque

   1.5L TDCi diesel offering 74kW and a healthy torque of 205Nm 

   1.0-L Ecoboost good for 91kW and 170Nm of torque

All the mills can be had either with a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission except for the diesel, which you can only mate to a manual gearbox. Ford says the new EcoSport can deliver 6.3L/100Km of fuel economy, which is not bad for a compact crossover.

When Ford updated the EcoSport in 2018, they adorned it with a big trapezoidal grille and unique angular headlights, combining LED daytime running lights on the Trend and range-topping Titanium models.

The most prominent facilities in the Ambiente was a six-speaker sound system and electric windows while the Trend came with 16" alloys, a hard spare wheel cover, body-coloured door handles, and mirrors, the leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, hill assist, and Ford MyKey.

Ford also refined the interior and added a completely the new instrument cluster and centre console, new seat designs for improved occupant comfort, and a range of tidy stowage facilities such as a new height-adjustable boot floor to increase the boot space.

Other salient features included a special honeycomb build for the boot floor, a new centre console with a built-in folding, sliding armrest (Titanium variants), under-seat storage below the passenger seat (Titanium variants), and power windows.

For the 2020 model, Ford made slight adjustments on the exterior. However, the most prominent changes can be seen inside with Ambiente now featuring no less than six airbags (dual front, side, and curtain airbags). The Trend and Titanium get a driver’s knee airbag, as well.

Continuing with the safety theme, Ford gives high importance to the safety of passengers with ABS brakes, electronic stability control (ESC) with traction control (TC), on top of the roll stability control (RSC). The 1.0 EcoBoost-powered variants also come with hill launch assist (HLA), and Ford’s tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

The 2020 EcoSport Ambiente now includes Ford’s SYNC with Bluetooth and voice control, in addition to two USB ports, six speakers, and a 4.2-inch screen.

The Trend gets even better with a more refined version of the SYNC infotainment system playable on a 6.5-inch colour touchscreen. The Titanium encompasses SYNC3 with an eight-inch display, along with embedded turn-by-turn navigation.

With a starting price of just R288,300 along with four-year/60 000km service plan, three-year unlimited distance roadside assistance, and four-year/120 000km comprehensive warranty, the 2020 EcoSport once again looks more attractive for potential crossover buyers in South Africa. (All prices correct at time of publication.)

Want to know more about other crossovers on SA’s market? Be sure to read the reviews section of the MotorHappy blog – we give you the ins and outs of many of the latest models to arrive in SA.

Please note the imagery supplied in this blog was taken off  www.ford.com