Replacing Honda City with Ford EcoSport. Worthy or Not?

[SK01]

Now I can say, it's a necessity for me to replace my Honda City with a new car and that should surely be a SUV or at least a crossover. 

 

Me and my father do many roadtrips, we travel much, but never did we face problems with the Honda City. That's a beautiful car. A car that introduced me to the world of revvs and performance. This car performs extremely well on the highways, effortlessly cruises at 140kmph. 

 

But as the trips kept  increasing, rather the exploring part kept  increasing, the need for a SUV started. This beauty isn't able to take bad roads well. We always feel bad for abusing the car taking it to badly laid roads. We scraped it's under body 4 times in one year which stopped is from doing further exploration trips on this car. 

 

Here, the need of a SUV or a crossover came up. 

 

A brief about the car:

 

It's a 2014 Honda City VX (topend) i-VTEC which comes with a cruise control, sunroof, auto climate control, rear AC vents, 2 airbags, ABS with EBD, ventilated leather seats, all leather upholstery. 

 

A car with class leading comfort, luxury and space. (Here I don't consider any of the Maruti Suzuki cars because they don't even come near to any of the C segment cars in the market)

 

The  boot is so huge that it takes almost everything that a family carriers during long drives without compromising on the second row leg room. 

 

So, an upgrade or even replacement means that the vehicle should offer few more latest features including those which my City offers. Or at least should offer those which already exists. 

 

Now as I'm already a satisfied and happy owner of Ford Freestyle my second car, I want my next car to be a  Ford and not others even if they're better.

 

Test drove the Tata Harrier, Hexa, XUV5OO (ridiculous interior plastic quality) Jeep Compass, Hyundai Creta. All these cars are no doubt awesome. Of all these I loved the Hexa. But as said I don't want to come out of Ford and want to be a Ford owner always. So, here comes the problem. I'm in a confusion of what to do.

 

Shall I wait for the new SUV launch from Ford in collaboration with Mahindra?

 

Or take the EcoSport?

 

Is EcoSport really a proper replacement or upgrade to my City?

 

Does it offer more than what my City offers including space?

 

Or at least what my City offer? 

 

all these are everytime running in my head. And a thought of restricted rear space, rear AC and boot space is stopping me from taking the EcoSport. I request EcoSport owners to give me some detailed information of EcoSport and request others to help me get the answers to the questions that are running in my mind. 

[sagar]

Hey @SK01, Firstly I wouldn't call this an upgrade as City falls on a higher side compared to the Ecosport considering the price and dimensions. As your requirement seems more inclined towards the in-car space, I recommend you to go for another option as Ecosport feels very claustrophobic in it's rear.  I would suggest you to go with S-Cross instead of Ecosport which lie on the similar price line.

[SK01]

Thanks for the suggestion @sagar

 

same thoughts about City here. My requirements are good ground clearance and it’s capabilities on bad roads. City is really a bad vehicle for exploring and you know what all challenges we face during exploring. If not a 4*4 I’m looking for a vehicle that can go where the City can’t because of its GC. 

 

Any information on upcoming Ford SUVs? 

 

My requirements are good GC, space, safety, bad roads capability (if not a 4*4 it should be better than sedans) and high speed stability. 

 

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 8:41 AM, sagar said:

Considering your budget to wave around 10- 12L, The current available models that I would like to suggest to you as per your requirements are TATA NEXON, SUZUKI S-CROSS and FORD ECOSPORT.

All those doesn’t feel as premium as City. Will wait for the Hyundai Styx or else postpone the idea and wait for some time... I considered S-Cross as a replacement for my WagonR alternative to Freestyle while buying. Can’t imagine another cross hatch?

Tata Nexon and EcoSport are really good vehicles but will definitely be smaller than my City.

 

 

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 10:28 AM, sagar said:

If budget isn't your constraint to replace your city, You can also wait for the KIA SP2 new entrant or Harrier.

What about Safari Storme? A true SUV and even I can get at an amazing price. Or wait for new SUV launches by Ford till 2020 and use my Freestyle for road trips until then. The GC of my Freestyle is 190mm which can go over bad patches and a smaller car means less headache in narrow areas. 

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 10:28 AM, sagar said:

definitely consider S cross as it is bigger then creta in dimensions  

Yes bigger only by dimensions but smaller in looks and looks more like a hatchback. Also I don’t want to consider Maruti Suzuki. 

 

22 hours ago, Ranger said:

 Start looking at 4wd options. 

 

21 hours ago, sagar said:

You can rather consider other options.

Will check Duster AWD or else wait for 2020. Will not be in a hurry else I'll miss a beautiful car. 

 

 

22 hours ago, Ranger said:

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 1:23 PM, Shekar said:

I checked up yesterday about Safari Storm, on 2019 models only 25K discount is offered across all variants. on 2018 models insurance at 14990 and exchange bonus of 20K is being offered. Malik Cars offered 70 K discount on 2018 models and on 2019 model 25 K only. 

 

 

I would suggest you to avoid Safari.
It is at the end of its life cycle. 

 

21 hours ago, sagar said:

Hands Down 'NO' to that... 

Just eager to know the reason why many are against taking a Safari at this point. Is it only because it's being discontinued or any other reason such as engine, safety, old platform, etc...?

[sagar]

Considering your budget to wave around 10- 12L, The current available models that I would like to suggest to you as per your requirements are TATA NEXON, SUZUKI S-CROSS and FORD ECOSPORT.

Model expected to be launched in the same segment by the end of 2nd quarter or 3rd quarter this year is the HYUNDAI STYX.

 

12 hours ago, SK01 said:

Any information on upcoming Ford SUVs?

 

I don't sense any new FORD successors in this segment to be launched until 2020.

[sagar]

When you can consider Ecosport, I feel you can definitely consider S cross as it is bigger then creta in dimensions   If budget isn't your constraint to replace your city, You can also wait for the KIA SP2 new entrant or Harrier.

[Shekar]

17 hours ago, SK01 said:

What about Safari Storme? A true SUV and even I can get at an amazing price. Or wait for new SUV launches by Ford till 2020 and use my Freestyle for road trips until then. The GC of my Freestyle is 190mm which can go over bad patches and a smaller car means less headache in narrow areas. 

I checked up yesterday about Safari Storm, on 2019 models only 25K discount is offered across all variants. on 2018 models insurance at 14990 and exchange bonus of 20K is being offered. Malik Cars offered 70 K discount on 2018 models and on 2019 model 25 K only. 

 

[Gowtham]

On 3/16/2019 at 1:23 PM, Shekar said:

I checked up yesterday about Safari Storm, on 2019 models only 25K discount is offered across all variants. on 2018 models insurance at 14990 and exchange bonus of 20K is being offered. Malik Cars offered 70 K discount on 2018 models and on 2019 model 25 K only. 

 

 

I would suggest you to avoid Safari.
It is at the end of its life cycle. 

Even If you get 2+ lakhs discount, i would suggest to avoid it. 

 

On 3/13/2019 at 11:58 AM, SK01 said:

Is EcoSport really a proper replacement or upgrade to my City?

 

EcoSport is downgrade to City.

If space is not a constraint, EcoSport is an excellent cross over. 

 

If you are looking a vehicle for exploration drives, none of the above listed cars come under that category. 

Start looking at 4wd options. 

 

[sagar]

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 8:10 PM, SK01 said:

What about Safari Storme?

Hands Down 'NO' to that...  You can rather consider other options.

[sagar]

On ‎3‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 8:02 PM, SK01 said:

Just eager to know the reason why many are against taking a Safari at this point

 

Tata Motors Quality and Reliability of this batch of cars is one reason as it is going to fade away pretty soon as their new leg is booming at the moment.

Safari no doubt is a great car. Only thing is that the quality of plastic is cheap. The suspension and braking system are very stiff. The car is very much spacious where in 7 can sit but, its 3rd row side seating is no way impressive as how it is felt in an Innova.

[SK01]

10 hours ago, sagar said:

 

Tata Motors Quality and Reliability of this batch of cars is one reason as it is going to fade away pretty soon as their new leg is booming at the moment.

Safari no doubt is a great car. Only thing is that the quality of plastic is cheap. The suspension and braking system are very stiff. The car is very much spacious where in 7 can sit but, its 3rd row side seating is no way impressive as how it is felt in an Innova.

Okay. So Safari is also ruled out.