India-bound 2017 Ford EcoSport unveiled and it retains tailgate-mounted spare wheel

American car maker Ford unveiled new EcoSport for western markets in November 2016. The model was unveiled without tailgate-mounted spare wheel and that was a let down for some aficionados especially from Asian countries. Ford has recently unveiled Asia-spec new EcoSport in China and thankfully it retains tailgate-mounted spare wheel intact.

Also read: Ford EcoSport Titanium now gets touchscreen infotainment system

To give a fresh look at the rear, Ford has added a new cover for the tailgate-mounted spare wheel. Rest of the design at the rear is identical to the US-spec. The face of the compact SUV sports one-piece hexagonal grille in place of the split grille in the current version. This has been inspired from the bigger SUVs of Ford such as the Kuga and the Edge. The new grille houses two horizontal chrome slats, while the headlamps, fog lamps and the front bumper have been reworked. This gives a matured design to the EcoSport. The side profile remains untouched barring new alloy wheels.

On the interior, the EcoSport unveiled retains a dual-tone dashboard (black and beige) while the North American model has an all-black cabin. Current model on sale in India comes in black and grey finish and hence new model in India is also expected carry over dual-tone finish.

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 SYNC 3 infotainment technology. At the centre of the new dashboard, a new 8-inch infotainment system compatible to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto has 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. An all-wheel-drive variant of the new EcoSport is also expected in India at a later stage.