2017 Ford EcoSport facelift likely to be launched in January in India

American carmaker Ford showcased new EcoSport at the Los Angeles Auto Show that began on November 14. Though the compact SUV is scheduled to enter carmaker's home market in 2018, India launch was rumoured by mid-2017. Emerging reports indicate the launch is not far off and it can be expected next month.

The 2017 Ford EcoSport facelift India launch can be expected by the third week of January, reports Gaadiwaadi. The Chennai plant is one of the major units of EcoSport production for India as well as eastern countries. The production of new version will soon begin at Chennai plant and hence launch is also expected soon.

The new EcoSport comes with a design in line with Ford's bigger SUVs — the Kuga and the Edge. The face of the compact SUV sports one-piece hexagonal grille in place of the split grille in the current version. The new grille houses two horizontal chrome slats. The headlamps, fog lamps and the front bumper have been reworked while the side profile remains untouched barring new alloy wheels. The rear door mounted spare wheel, one of the highlights in the design of the current EcoSport is expected to continue untouched for India. The US version will do away with this.

The 2017 EcoSport gets a new dashboard and steering wheel. Vertical AC vents at the centre of the dashboard have been replaced with a conventional horizontal unit. The SYNC 2 infotainment system has been updated with a more advanced SYNC3 infotainment technology. At the centre of the new dashboard, a new 8-inch screen working in tandem with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto commands, and B&O Play audio settings have been added.

For India, the current powertrains are expected to continue. EcoSport in India is sold with a 1.5-litre TDCi diesel engine, which is tuned to dish out 99bhp of power. The petrol mills are a 1.5-litre Ti-VCT and the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine.