If the Ford EcoSport was Elon Musk, there’d be a special online site created to champion the tarring and feathering of the writers at this publication. While we’re in agreement that the subcompact crossover space is a much-needed segment for Ford, especially given its plan to ditch conventional passenger cars, we question the automaker’s decision to bring the EcoSport here.
One of our readers wasn’t too thrilled with his experience behind the wheel, but we’ll all reserve final judgement until after we spend a week in one. There’s further reviews on the way. (Maybe it’ll hack our lives and our emotions.)
Having said that, the EcoSport, which saw its first ever U.S. deliveries in January, sees its monthly sales continue to climb. Much to the chagrin of a certain PEI resident, it seems Americans have taken to the thing.
Last month, Ford moved 5,481 examples of the little Indian-built vehicle in the United States, beating the subcompact Fiesta’s tally of 5,110 units. Note that Fiesta sales grew 22 percent, year over year, last March. And yet the less-expensive vehicle was still trounced, if marginally, by the EcoSport’s volume. Maybe Ford’s on to something here…
Putting that figure into context, the EcoSport outsold the Toyota C-HR (4,366 sales in May), the Mazda CX-3 (1,823 sales), and the equally new Hyundai Kona, which recorded 5,079 deliveries last month. Chevrolet Trax sales figures remain a mystery (thanks, GM!), but the monthly average for 2017 works out to roughly 6,600 vehicles, and the first quarter of 2018 isn’t far off that mark. Still, the only subcompact offering that can legitimately claim to have beaten the EcoSport is the perennially popular Honda HR-V, which recorded 8,773 sales in May.
One month in the auto industry doesn’t count for much, and it remains to be seen where the EcoSport plateaus — and for how long it can sustain its sales compared to the competition. Already, we’re seeing more incentives pile up the little ute’s hood. In the Detroit area, for example, there’s up to $5,000 waiting for existing FoMoCo owners with good credit who finance through Ford.
Two grand in customer cash seems to be a country-wide offer on the EcoSport, along with the usual college, military, and first responder bonuses.
Soon, however, there’ll be a rival boasting a base MSRP that’s five bucks cheaper than an entry-level EcoSport with $2k in customer cash hiding in the glovebox. That model is the front-drive-only Nissan Kicks.
[Image: Ford Motor Company]
The fact that the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Fusion Sport, and Taurus SHO are all going away, and we get this steaming little pile instead, makes me lose my will to live.
An Echosport Titanium was merging onto the highway today, so I had to decide if I could get ahead of it in my C-Max. I decided, that yes, I could go faster than an Echosport, and sure enough I did. It dawdled onto the highway, as I expected.
Maybe there will be an Echosport ST at some point to do some sort of Gibson hacking.
The All-New Ford Tikka Masala VindaluSport. Because 90% of American’ wages are catching down to those of emerging markets, B!tches.
Have you Driven a Calcutta back alley designed, built and tested Ford lately?
Tis the future sir. I have been looking at sub 500cc motorcycles, and noticed the BMW, KTM, Husqvarna and Honda are either chutney or pad thai.
Not sure if that changes your perception for better or for worse, but the Ecosport was supposed to be a brazilian design.
Bring a little bit of the Indian subcontinent to your driveway. Can an EcoSport Cobra be in the works?
How about a Lincoln version? Let’s see, we have the Navigator, the Aviator… oh I know, the Lincoln Mahout.
Can we get a Vindaloo edition?
EcoSport hacks your life with a free pith helmet and optional fold-out mosquito netting.
Lincoln Vaccinator.
Perhaps it will become known for setting itself on fire, a la the Tata Nano.
The bumpers on the Nano were made out of C-4.
Still laughing at your comment… Good stuff.
The power of Ford’s marketing department and its dealer network. We all knew this would be a big seller for Ford, regardless of whether it is any good or not.
It’s not a bad little vehicle, just overpriced for what it is.
With this article, I think I can finally mathematically disprove the old saying that there’s a sucker born every minute.
If you divide the number of minutes in the month of May (44,640) by 5,481 Ecosport sales, you’ll find one is only born every 8.14 minutes.
I’m keeping this.
Your review of this object was the only one in North America that jived with the UK ones, and theirs are now made in Romania, relieving India to flood the US/Canadian market.
It’s amazing that the mainstream press here has glossed over the mediocrity of this little plodder. It just shows that if you have enough dealerships, you can sell any old piece of rubbish in numbers for a while. And at prices high enough to make one choke in disbelief.
Those wanting a good small SUV from Ford are wise to wait for the upcoming baby Bronco. This is for college kids and others who could care less about driving dynamics on road or usefulness off road, etc.
At least it offers AWD, a utility vehicle without even the option of 4 wheel power is just sad. That would be the only compelling reason to choose this over the C-HR or the Kicks. Well, another reason to choose it over the C-HR would be that it doesn’t look like a squished bug.
As it stands today, I would choose a Jeep Renegade or Honda HR-V over this without question, but I’m not an “urban utility vehicle” kinda guy anyway. I think the Jeep is the only one offering the slightest bit of off-road competence.
I dunno about that AWD mania. I kinda always liked the PT Cruiser, and C-HR is basically Totyota PT Cruiser, replacing Scion xB in that role.
It’s not like Kia has suffered much for not having AWD in the Soul.
Soul isn’t marketed as an SUV, its just a funky wagon like the PT Cruiser, XB, HHR, etc.
Yep, CH-R is just like the PT Cruiser and XB, just without all that pesky cargo room and practicality. It literally has half the cargo volume of a PT with the seats folded in both. Half.
I think the only thing that potentially derails this crapwagon is getting a reputation for poor reliability.
Or for self-combustion.
The only thing Ford has going for it is their marketing department. Sales of this dumpster should be so bad that they have to give one away with F-Series and Navigator purchases.
With the release of the 2019 Renegade, this abortion will be put into an early grave. Ford has no clue what they are doing.
Ford builds a vehicle that almost immediately becomes one of the top sellers in its segment, but clearly they have no idea what they’re doing.
What an astounding deduction, Sherlock, how do you do it?
Yes because sales is everything right?
Yes, it is. Duh.
I don’t begrudge Ford a sales hit.
I just wish it wasn’t such a piece of garbage.
“the only subcompact offering that can legitimately claim to have beaten the EcoSport is the perennially popular Honda HR-V, which recorded 8,773 sales in May.”
Isn’t the Jeep Renegade a subcompact crossover just like the ecosport and HR-V?
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. It sold 9,512 in May, beating the HR-V.
To my surprise, I haven’t seen a single one of these on the road yet, and I’m in big time Ford country.
If you’re a big time Ford fan, you don’t want to see one of these…it’s too f’in sad.
Further proof nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste or intellect of the American public.
I saw one of these things in the wild, Third World would be a step up.
Oh and btw, why is it this thing has wheelbarrow tires and everything else must have 19-22 in rimzzz. Seriously, it looks like a clown car. Bozo: now you can Go Further.
I’m confused. Are you bashing the Ecosport because it doesn’t have ridiculously large wheels?
Generally speaking it appears to be dog excrement, however yes I am also mocking it’s tiny wheels in an industry of gigantic ones. Even if I am wrong in my general thinking, it very much looks ridiculous with such small wheels when nothing else around it has them.
Pictures don’t do this turd justice. Seeing it in person – let’s just say I’d be less embarrassed to own a Mitsubishi Mirage than be seen in one of these.
Two grand on the hood already? Boy, looks like that no more cars strategy is off to a great start.
“Apu” isn’t exactly flattering to Indian-Americans, but the Ecosport is a real insult.
“EcoSport: The car that let Edsel Ford off the hook”
These thing were parked next to the Escapes at the local dealership, with the best price on the windshield. Because of the large incentives on the Escapes, they were actually cheaper than the Ecosport.
EcoSport: The switch car that hacks your lot.
I think if they took a turd, stuck the all important CUV label to it, jacked it up, put “eco” in the name, put 4 wheels on it along with a tiny underpowered engine and colored it blue it would sell. Oh wait……
They need top push the envelope, make it three wheeled, or the steel roof not be a standard feature. Let’s see once and for all how stupid the CUV buyer really can be.
Ding…ding…ding…it’s a CUV, and there are a crapload of Ford dealers out there, so it’s selling. We have a winner!
FreedMike: +1. All there is to it.
Saw one of these in the wild on my commute in this morning. What a miserable looking hunk of junk. I don’t get how anyone could see one of these and think it looks good. Heck, as weird as the CH-R looks, at least it doesn’t scream third world mobile. Lots of women are going to buy these things, guaranteed. I will say I get a good look when I pass by in my GTI that probably costs less and does everything better besides sitting 3 inches higher off the ground..you know to coddle me with safeness.
dwford: +1. It’s pretty easy for the biggest brands to sell thousands of ANYTHING, because of the brand’s huge popularity. Even this bland micro-stubface-on-stilts.
I had one as a rental…It isn’t a terrible appliance. Seems like it is just the cool car to hate right now. Curious how many of the “cool kids” on here have actually driven one. It isn’t something I’m in the market for, but it is very far from the worst I’ve ever been given on a rental lot.
It’s not terrible to drive (in the city, on the highway its worse than a Chevy Spark), it’s the looks, the price, and the overall attitude of laziness and “good enough” that it screams that are the problem.
The reviews for the EcoSport have been mixed. One critic stated, “with the possible exception of the Fiat 500 the EcoSport is probably the worse vehicle for sale in North America. Remember, the Cavalier and the Sunfire were big hits for GM, despite being pretty bad cars. There is no way I would trade in my Fusion for an EcoSport. I would be personally insulted if a Ford dealer asked me to trade in my Fusion for a EcoSport.
Crap is Crap.
US News ranks the EcoSport 12th out of all compact SUVs. The Hyundai Kona finished first. The EcoSport is simply not a competitive product. A poor product can only maintain good sales for so long.
What a disgrace!
Can’t wait for the King Cobra version of this with snake skin shift nob covering and wonderful bright stripes and seating and interior accents. There won’t be any performance or handling upgrades. And you’ll pay $1,995 for it.
This is Ford 2018 and beyond.
And this is coming from a Ford fanboi from birth to 2018. I’ve divorced my Washington Redskins this year and also my mistress Ford. Only should I decide to buy a new Mustang will I give any new money to Ford. By the time my 1997 Ford craps out on me, I wonder if the Mustang won’t be an Explorer with a fast back roof by then?
Let’s see- Ford is replacing the Taurus, the Focus, the Fiesta and the Fusion for an Indian pile’o’crap ? Is Ford trying to sell us a third-world Yugo SUV ? All I can say is that the QUALITY had better be top rate. If it isn’t, Ford Death Watch is coming. I remember when Ford said “Quality is Job One.”. This says “Quality is Dead”.
Ford’s stock is still the lowest of all the major car companies. When your stock is under 12.USD you know things are bad.
Ford – what a disgrace!