5 things to love about the refreshed Ford EcoSport

The Ford EcoSport has just become more street smart, able to navigate city roads with ease while sporting a much trendier design and smart technologies that make it ideal for urban driving.

The new EcoSport retains much of what had endeared it to Filipino motorists since it pioneered the sub-compact segment in the Philippines in 2014, while adding more exciting features.

Launched several weeks ago, Ford Group Philippines organized the EcoSport Street Smart Media Drive, which aimed to demonstrate the model’s most significant upgrades. The event had select members of the motoring press drive from Manila to Batangas (with a stopover at the Laiya Adventure Park for some outdoor activities) to experience the beauty of the ride first hand.

Being street smart, the new EcoSport is equipped with Auto HID headlamps and rain sensing wipers (Titanium variant), as well as smart keyless entry, push button start, and SYNC 3, which allows drivers to keep their hands on the wheel while making phone calls, listening to text messages, or playing their favorite music.

Here are five of the most impressive features of this mid-model revision of the Ford EcoSport:

1. The EcoBoost Engine in the Titanium variant
The new EcoSport comes equipped with new 1.0L EcoBoost engine that is paired with the new 6-speed automatic transmission and the 1.5L TiVCT engines (mated with either the new 6-speed AT or the 5-speed MT). The 1.0L EcoBoost engine produces 125 PS maximum power and 170 NM maximum torque, which makes the new EcoSport one of the most powerful mini-utility SUVs in the segment.

2. Super quiet engine, less vibration
During the drive to Batangas, the Ford EcoSport demonstrated how quiet its engines are, with this writer having to check if he had properly started the car. While waiting for the traffic lights to turn green, there were virtually no shaking or vibration that could be felt by the passengers.

3. Bolder exterior design
The new EcoSport comes with a bold new exterior design-a refreshed grille, hood, and headlamps that are sportier than ever. It also comes with 17-inch alloy wheels that are lightweight and extra-strong. The new spare tire cover looks pretty neat. The EcoSport comes in six colors, including Absolute Black, Ingot Silver, Ruby Red, Canyon Ridge, Crystal White, and Blue Lightning.

4. A handsome dashboard
The EcoSport Titanium’s dashboard features an 8-inch touchscreen with a redesigned interface and intuitive smartphone-like actions, such as swipe and pinch-to-zoom. The 9-inch touchscreen display is available in the Trend and Ambiente variants.

5. The ultra cool Power Sunroof
The new EcoSport comes with a cool Power Sunroof (for the Titanium variant), which allows passengers to sunlight-or moonlight stream-into the cabin with just a press of a button. Standing through the sunroof is also a great way to capture photos and videos (as long as you make sure there aren’t any obstruction that might hit your head, of course).

The Ford EcoSport is available in four variants: 1.0L EcoBoost Titanium AT (P1,168,000), 1.5L Trend AT (P1,028,000), 1.5L Trend MT (P968,000), and 1.5L Ambiente MT (P918,000).