!

" Sell Your Car

Home New Cars Used Cars News & Rev

Ad

/ REVIEW

2019 Ford EcoSport 1.0 EcoBoost

Review
Small, capable, and with an award-winning engine
under its hood.

Jacob Oliva on Nov 23, 2018

A lot of people has been asking us about the 2019

EcoSport review. Now, it's finally here.

Looking back, it was almost five years ago when

Ford Philippines brought in the EcoSport
nameplate. It created a new segment, expanding
the choices of car buyers – a small vehicle with
raised ground clearance and donning a sporty,
SUV-like appeal. The best part? Its price point is
within the budget of those who have been eyeing
subcompact and compact sedans/hatchbacks. It
was a game changer, and an instant hit if I may
add.

Since then, the Ford EcoSport became one of

Ford’s consistent top-sellers, but other brands
followed suit, each bringing in their own contender
against the well-received crossover. It even gave
birth to another segment, the bold-looking seven-
seater MPVs, which again changed the game with
the capability to carry more passengers at the
same price. With the current and emerging
competitors, the EcoSport warrants a revamp to
bump its appeal to its supposed market. Ford PH
complied and brought in its facelifted model, along
with a lot of new things under the hood. The
EcoSport 1.0L Titanium EcoBoost is supposed to
stir the market again, but is it a yay or a nay? We
got one for a full review.

4.0 / 5 ####$
2019 Ford EcoSport 1.0 EcoBoost Review

Performance 3.5/5
Engine Output (HP), Acceleration, Transmission,
Handling

Design 4.5/5
Exterior & Interior Design, Quality, Fit and Finish,
Ergonomics

Ride Comfort 3.5/5

Cabin Comfort, Suspension, NVH Insulation

Safety and Technology 4.5/5

Convenience Technologies, Active and Passive
Safety Features

Value for Money 4.0/5

Amount of the vehicle you get for the price, Fuel
Efficiency

What You Will Like %

SYNC 3 with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto

works seamlessly.

Materials used in the cabin are of high

quality.

Small yet powerful EcoBoost engine.

What You Won't Like &

Six-speed AT is sometimes hesitant to

up-shift.

Needs more rear legroom.

Cabin noise isolation needs

improvement.

How We Do Our Reviews '

Request A Test Drive

Exterior

The EcoSport retained its flat-nose shape and

underpinnings (that’s why it’s a facelift), but the
biggest changes in its exterior design are found on
its front fascia. The former split-grille has been
replaced with one solid hexagonal grille, making its
face more unified and robust. A new set of fog
lamps has been added, as well, and sharp daytime
running lights crown the automatic HID projector
headlamps. It’s a good look, day and night, and I
absolutely love it.

On its side, it’s pretty much carried over from the

outgoing model, except for the chrome strip that
underlines the windows. The rear, on the other
hand, didn’t get many updates, except for the new
position of the Titanium badge to give way for the
EcoBoost badge and the cover of the spare tire.
So, yes, the visible spare wheel remains, which
admittedly was something that boosted the SUV
appeal of the car. The only problem with this is
that it’s quite hard to differentiate the old EcoSport
from the new when viewed from behind.

Interior

It’s a different story inside the car. The 2019

EcoSport gets a wildly different cabin – yes, wildly
– because the changes are so drastic, you might
think that you’re inside an all-new EcoSport. In
fact, the only things retained are the sloping dash,
the shape of the center console where the gear-
shifter resides, and the gear-shift knob itself. Even
the materials used inside the cabin are all new.
The dashboard is covered in soft leather, and so
are the elbow rests found by the door and the
slidable cover of the center console box (cheap
thrill!). The soft plastics used don’t look cheap at
all, and there are minimal scratch-prone piano
black accents found. In other words, the whole
cabin radiates a premium aura – something that
the bigger Everest midsize SUV has.

As the dimensions of the 2019 EcoSport remain

intact, the rear passenger legroom is the same, as
well, which is one of the few qualms I have in this
car. It really isn’t much, just enough for me who’s
standing 5’6”. Nevertheless, cargo space remains
commendable, especially when the rear backrests
are folded down and the trunk lid removed, but I
really wish Ford made it lipless for easier cargo
loading. The swinging rear door needs an update,
too, as it’s too heavy, opens really wide, and
doesn’t have a step-stopper. You would need to
be careful when opening it to avoid damages to
the spare tire cover, especially when parking with
the rear facing the wall. While design, aesthetics,
and convenience are the EcoSport’s greatest gifts,
its overall ride comfort has seen better days. It’s a
bit bouncy for my taste and the cabin noise
isolation can be further improved. Body roll is
prominent as well, but that’s understandable with
this car’s elevated ride height and 209mm ground
clearance.

Technology

My most favorite part of the 2019 EcoSport is its

floating eight-inch colored, capacitive touchscreen
infotainment system that doubles as the reverse
camera display. It's an eye candy and aside from
its crisp display, it’s equipped with Apple CarPlay
and Android Auto, which employs a very seamless
smartphone connectivity. If you’re on iOS 12 and
higher, the Waze app is also integrated into the
CarPlay so the display of the app is within the
head unit, so, bye bye phone holders. The gauge
cluster display has been revamped, too, and it
looks fresh and it’s akin to what the Everest has.

As the range-topper, the EcoSport Titanium

boasts several driving conveniences. They’re more
than a handful, so I’ll just drop them all here:
speed-sensing door locks, auto-dimming rearview
mirror, keyless entry with push-button start/stop,
hill-start and hill-descent controls, rear parking
sensors, rain-sensing wipers, and auto start/stop –
all of these work flawlessly, save maybe the last
one as I prefer not to use it, really. There’s still no
rear A/C vents, USB charging ports, and headrest
for the middle passenger, but that’s fine as the
automatic A/C works great even at high noon and
there’s a foldable center armrest with cupholders.

Safety

The 2019 EcoSport is showered with active and

passive safety features to keep the driver and
passengers protected along the way. Aside from
the mentioned rear camera with sensors, it also
has the standard ABS with Electronic Brake-Force
Distribution, Traction Control, Electronic Stability
Control, ISOFIX child seat tethers, and six airbags
up to the back. It also has a seatbelt reminder but
for the front passenger only. The best part is, it
has hill start assist and hill descent control, so
steep ramps are an easy task for the subcompact
crossover.

Driving and Handling

Now, down to what’s under the hood. The 2019

EcoSport Titanium is powered by the (read: six-
time) award-winning three-cylinder 1.0-liter
EcoBoost gasoline engine – the same power
powerplant inside the Fiesta Hatchback Sport+.
This engine wasn’t award-winning for nothing, and
it transcended during the actual drive. Even with
the huge step-down in displacement, the
diminutive mill can produce 123 hp and 170 Nm of
torque – numbers greater than its 1.5-liter
naturally-aspirated counterpart. These numbers
were felt on the road, whether crawling on EDSA
or cruising through the highway. It provides the
needed pull every time, with the turbo kicking in at
around 1,500 RPM. With this, even hill climbs and
tough parking ramps were a cinch. From a
standstill, the EcoSport wasn’t hesitant to move
forward, which could be attributed to its new
conventional six-speed automatic transmission.
The torque converter has proven itself as a
reliable choice, but it needs a little bit of tweaking
as it shifted less quickly, sometimes even staying
too long at high revs.

The EcoSport’s handling has been improved

primarily because of the better weight employed
to the steering wheel, but could still be better, I
reckon. A little tweaking to the electronically-
assisted power steering wouldn’t hurt as there’s
understeer at speeds, but generally, the car
followed where I pointed it and it’s very
maneuverable in tight city streets. The strong-
biting front disc brakes made every drive safe and
secured, too.

Fuel Economy

With the mentioned engine behavior, there was a

small setback in fuel economy figures: city drives
at around 15 km/h read 7.1 km/L, while faster
paces at 60 km/h returned 13.1 km/L. Highway
cruise nailed at 90 km/h gave out a generous 17.2
km/L. Not too good for a 1.0L engine, but this can
be offset if you'll use the automatic start/stop
system, which would be quite effective since the
fuel consumption boosted when idling.

Verdict

With all things considered, the Ford EcoSport

Titanium 1.0 EcoBoost came just in time to agitate
the segment it essentially started and dominated.
The P1,168,000 price tag isn’t too much to ask with
its improved looks, driving dynamics, and overall
interior amenities. It’s sulit, so to speak. Yes,
there’s room for improvement, but this nameplate
has been a best-seller for a reason, and it will
continue to do so with its new set of skills under
its belt.

Ford EcoSport Exterior Gallery

+5

Ford EcoSport Interior Gallery

+16

SHARE ! " # 1 SHARE

RELATED ARTICLES

2020 Chery Tiggo 5X Review

2020 Toyota Hiace Grandia Tourer Review

2020 Mitsubishi Montero Sport GT 4x2

Review

2020 SsangYong Tivoli Diesel Review

2020 Nissan Terra 4x2 Review

TAGGED UNDER (

EcoSport , Ford EcoSport , review , subcompact crossover

, opinion

Click Here

RECENTLY ADDED PROMOS

Featured Promo

Ford Ecosport Zero

Downpayment FREE Flight To
Asia

16 Days Left

Available in: NCR

View Promo Get Quote

Featured Promo

Ford EcoSport 1.5 Trend MT with

Zero Downpayment

6 Days Left

Available in: Northern Mindanao & 3

Other Locations

View Promo Get Quote

Featured Promo

Ford Ecosport Zero DP FREE

Flight To Asia

16 Days Left

Available in: NCR

View Promo Get Quote

LATEST REVIEW

2020 Chery Tiggo 5X Review

/ REVIEW
Earl Lee
3.8 / 5

2020 Mazda6 Turbo Review /

REVIEW
Earl Lee
4.5 / 5

2020 Maxus T60 – Quick

Drive Impressions / REVIEW
Earl Lee

2020 Toyota Hiace Grandia

Tourer Review / REVIEW
Earl Lee
3.8 / 5

2020 Honda Accord 1.5 Turbo

CVT Review / REVIEW
Autodeal
4.1 / 5

View More Articles

Popular Articles
Cheapest cars under P700,000 in the Philippines
Nico Ylanan · Nov 06, 2018

Editor Speaks: Best automatic cars in the Philippines

Nico Ylanan · Nov 12, 2018

How does park assist work?

Nico Ylanan · Nov 21, 2018

Most fuel efficient SUVs in the Philippines

Nov 26, 2018

2018 Toyota Rush stirs bold-looking MPV segment in

PH
Jacob Oliva · May 04, 2018

Family cars in the Philippines with the biggest trunks

Nov 14, 2018

Head to Head: Toyota Fortuner Vs. Nissan Terra

Nico Ylanan · Jun 01, 2018
Get Quote