Unveiled in India last year and sampled by South African media on its global launch in Portugal last December, the refreshed EcoSport gets a Kuga inspired front facia in the form of a new grille and sculpted bonnet, restyled headlights with daytime running LEDs on Trend and Titanium models, new fog light surrounds, redesigned front and rear bumpers and a choice of seven exterior colours. Unlike the EcoSport sold in Europe and North America though, South African models retain the spare wheel mounted on the on the tailgate.

Inside, the EcoSport takes heavily after the new Fiesta and Focus, with the old smartphone inspired dashboard making way for a cleaner minimalist layout, highlighted by a new freestanding touchscreen infotainment system in two sizes; 6.5-inch or eight-inches. As well as new storage areas including a height adjustable boot floor that increases luggage space to 334-litres, Ford has also upgraded the actual floor itself by utilising a honeycomb construction that it claims can “support more than 300kg”.

Model-wise, the EcoSport will again be offered in three trim levels with notable equipment on the entry-level Ambiente being 16-inch steel wheels, a trip computer, static 4.2-inch display with SYNC 1, Voice Control, Bluetooth and dual USB ports, electric mirrors, a six-speaker sound system, body coloured bumpers, a single 12-volt outlet, cloth seats, 60/40 split rear seat and electric windows all around.

On the safety front, the Ambiente receives six airbags, ABS with EBD, auto lock doors, Electronic Stability Control, rear parking sensors and ISOFIX mounting points.

Building on the Ambiente, the Trend swaps the steelies for similarly sized alloys and additionally benefits from a hard rear spare wheel cover, Tyre Pressure Monitor, leather covered steering wheel and gear knob, a rear 12-volt outlet, overhead sunglass holder, the 6.5-inch display with SYNC 3, chrome upper grille, body coloured door handles, front fog lights, one-touch driver’s electric window and black roof rails. Added safety items come in the form of Hill Launch Assist, Roll Stability Control, driver’s knee airbags and the Ford MyKey.

At the sharp end, the Titanium rides on the 17-inch alloys and adds cruise control, keyless start, climate control, an electrochromatic auto-dimming rear mirror, a 4.2-inch TFT instrument cluster display, centre console and footwell ambient lighting, front scuff plate, eight-inch infotainment system with embedded navigation, seven-speaker sound system, electrically folding mirrors with puddle lamps, auto on/off headlights, silver roof rails and one-touch electric windows all around.

Underneath the bonnet, the previous normally aspirated 1.5-litre petrol has been dropped altogether leaving only the 1.5-litre TDCI and 1.0-litre EcoBoost.

Despite offering the new three-cylinder 1.5-litre Dragon petrol in the Indian market EcoSport and the updated Figo, the withdrawal of the four-cylinder sees the diesel being offered in Ambiente spec only, with power and torque kept unchanged at 74kW/205Nm. Connected to a five-speed manual gearbox, Ford claims a combined fuel consumption figure of 4.6-litres/100km with emissions rated at 121g/km.

As with the Fiesta, the multi-award winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost powers the Trend and Titanium models, with outputs of 92kW/170Nm. New though is a six-speed manual gearbox in place of the old five-speeder, while the six-speed Powershift dual-clutch automatic makes way for a conventional six-speed torque converter.

For manual models, Ford claims a combined consumption of 5.4-litres/100km and emissions of 123g/km, while the automatic sips unleaded at 6.3-litres/100km and emits 143g/km of CO².

A four year/120 000km warranty and four year/60 000km service plan are standard on all models.

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