SPIED: Ford EcoSport facelift sans the bulky sparewheel!

Chaps at autoevolution have caught a camouflaged 2015 Ford EcoSport, which perhaps will only come with one major difference – a clean back, thanks to the removal of that ungainly sparewheel.

EcoSport facelift

Now, we have seen quite a few Wagon Rs with its spare wheel mounted at the rear and we have also come across a few examples of this Maruti where the owners had installed roof ladders! That tells you quite a bit about the masses’ fixation with rear-mounted spare wheels and the works just to make their ride look as ‘butch’ as possible.

So we don’t really know if the removal of the sparewheel from the tailgate would be taken to kindly by the potential buyers. But aesthetically, the crossover does look better without the sparewheel and it would also help in improving the dynamics though most might hardly notice it. The tailgate braces would also heave a sigh of relief with this move and it won’t rattle even when used extensively over the harshest of terrains.

EcoSport facelift

Ford, in all probability, will place the sparewheel inside the boot rather than on the underside of the floor, and that would compromise the boot space, which, at 346 litres, was not much to begin with. Still, the rear seats split 60:40 and Ford has even provided roof box mounts on the roof rails!

Ford-EcoSport (7)

Other than tidying the rear end in the EcoSport facelift, Ford designers can be expected to play with the front and rear bumpers, headlights, taillights, etc. The registration plate position will also see a change and will go up on the tailgate from the rear bumper where it is place in the current vehicle. The interiors might also see a refresh but it would be mostly in the form of a new infotainment system than anything else. The EcoSport already has a fine interior and Ford should ideally leave it like that.

Ford-EcoSport (6)

There won’t be any changes made to the mechanicals and the same engine and gearbox combos would be retained. So, only the petrol 1.5 will still have an automatic gearbox as an option (it comes with a five-speed manual too) while the 1.0-litre EcoBoost and the 1.5-litre diesel will continue with their 5-speed manual transmissions. Ford should not be raising prices with the facelift but even if it does, the increase would not be a deal breaker.

As of now, the ex-showroom prices in New Delhi start at INR 6.46 lakh for the base variant and go all the way up to INR 9.29 lakh for the top-end EcoSport. We just hope that the company is able to at least reduce the waiting period with the new one, which we don’t see coming until the second quarter of 2015…

Related: EcoSport Storm, Beauty & Beast: 3 Interesting Concept SUVs

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