If you are planning to buy a petrol-powered compact SUV with a manual transmission and loads of features, we have good news for you. Ford has introduced a 5-speed manual transmission in the Titanium + petrol EcoSport. Now you can buy a fully-loaded EcoSport with a petrol engine coupled to a manual transmission, which was earlier offered with a 6-speed automatic transmission only. The Titanium + petrol MT is priced at Rs 10.47 lakh (ex-showroom pan-India), which is Rs 83,000 less than its automatic counterpart.
The petrol EcoSport is powered by a new 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre Dragon series, naturally-aspirated engine that makes 123PS of power and 150Nm of torque. The mileage figure stands at 17kmpl and 14.8kmpl for manual and automatic, respectively.
Being a top-spec variant, the Titanium+ is equipped with a host of comfort and safety features. Comfort features include an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rear parking camera with sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control, automatic climate control, rain sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and 17-inch alloys. Safety features include six airbags, ABS with EBD and ISOFIX child seat anchors.
Ford launched the EcoSport facelift back in September 2017. And within two months of its launch, the updated EcoSport became the second highest-selling sub-4m SUV in the country with monthly sales of up to 5,000 units. The EcoSport has managed to hold its position in 2018 as well with sales of 6,833 and 5,438 units in January and February, respectively. The EcoSport rivals likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Honda WR-V and the Tata Nexon.
The American carmaker is also gearing up to launch its cross-hatch, the Freestyle, in India. Based on the Figo hatchback, it will be powered by a new 1.2-litre Dragon series engine that makes 96PS of power and 120Nm of torque. The Freestyle will be launched in the second quarter of 2018 and will compete against the Volkswagen Cross Polo, Hyundai i20 Active and the Toyota Etios Cross.
