We've driven the 1.0-litre petrol motor-equipped EcoSport already. And now, here's a look at the version with the 89bhp 1.5-litre diesel engine.
In terms of the cabin, the EcoSport’s interior is very similar to the Ford Fiesta. The dash has a modern, angular design, dominated by the V-shaped centre console. However, there are a lot of buttons here, and the dashboard’s sharp angle means they can be hard to read on the move. The advantage of this raked dashboard, which stretches far ahead to meet the windscreen, is that it gives a large sense of space. The downside is that it makes it hard to judge where the front of the EcoSport ends.
The front seats offer a lot of leg and head room, and are very snug and supportive. Move to the back though, and the EcoSport gets a bit narrow, which makes sitting three abreast a bit of a squeeze. The overall rear legroom is nothing exceptional, but its seats do have a decent amount of thigh support. This being a tall SUV, the EcoSport unsurprisingly has plenty of headroom too. Where the EcoSport does lose out quite heavily however, is in boot space. Its 3999mm length means that it has a meagre 362-litres of luggage space. In comparison, the EcoSport’s primary competitor, the Duster, has a bigger 475-litres of boot space.
What the EcoSport is, then, is a genuine rival to Renault’s segment-defining compact SUV. It does everything as well as the Duster, but in a more sophisticated, up-to-date and desirable manner. Renault has set the benchmark quite high, but in the EcoSport, Ford has a genuine shot at crippling the Duster’s sales.