Ford’s Ecosport packs in a lot of features

The Ecosport inherits all the good driving behavior of the Fiesta. Its steering feels quick, if overly light. The chassis reacts well to rapid changes in direction and feels stable at highway speeds.

MANILA, Philippines–Ford’s hit new crossover, the Ecosport, should be a contradiction on wheels. It looks like an SUV and is as tall as an SUV, but it has a compact footprint. It has generous room inside but manages to be fuel-efficient. What makes it tick is not really a secret: The Ecosport is built on the platform of the Fiesta, a highly entertaining hatchback in its own right.

Where the Fiesta features a hunkered-down, low-slung stance, the Ecosport is fully upright. The beady-eyed robot look takes some getting used to, particularly in the brighter shades that the car is offered in. The hip point, where your rear end actually parks itself, is tall, so getting in and out feels natural. It’s perfect for those citizens whose joints are starting to get creaky. The tall roofline allows for plenty of interior volume, with a lot of clear air overhead.

There’s 200 millimeters of ground clearance, enough to keep the Ecosport’s underside well clear of humps, driveways and road debris. Ford quotes a 550-mm wading depth, enough to cause some double-takes from off-road enthusiasts. It’s surely not built for a river crossing, but traversing a flooded street should feel more secure with the added height. Drive is only to the front wheels.

Mounting the spare tire on the back gives the Ecosport that “proper” SUV look, and it actually works out well for the cargo area. Open the side-mounted door and you’ll find a tall volume with a low floor for easier loading. The depth is limited, so the space comes out to 346 liters— plenty for a trip to the grocery. The rear seat does split-fold to increase cargo space, which is a sizeable 705 liters when the car is in two-seat mode.

The Ecosport inherits all the good driving behavior of the Fiesta. Its steering feels quick, if overly light. The chassis reacts well to rapid changes in direction and feels stable at highway speeds.

Ecosport is powered by a 1.5-liter inline-four with 108.49 horsepower and 142 Newton-meter of torque. The output sounds modest, and it’s just enough for sprightly acceleration for the sub-1,300-kilogram crossover. The engine is mated to an available six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The transmission can engage one gear as it disengages another, helping to provide smooth acceleration. The dual-clutch feels abrupt when moving off from parking speeds but comes into its own once the car is moving. Seamless power flow then comes on tap, helping to make the most of the engine’s output. The only thing missing with the powertrain is a paddle shift system. The manual shifter is a very un-intuitive button on the gear lever.

A hill-hold function keeps the brakes engaged for a second while on an incline, preventing the car from rolling backward.

It has been a while since we’ve seen a brand-new SUV priced below one million. We were worried that there would be a lot of switch blanks in the cabin, but that’s not the case with the Ecosport. There are a lot of electronic features included, from rear parking sensors to smartphone connectivity and a voice-command feature. Ford’s new crossover is a smart take on the B-segment car, taking out most of the pain from owning an SUV, and retaining nearly all of its advantages.