Many manufacturers are offering up smaller and smaller SUV-style vehicles - the latest from Ford is this cute, Fiesta-based EcoSport. It's from the One Ford global product program that's aimed at helping Ford become more profitable.
According to Ford "EcoSport gives people accustomed to small city cars a smart alternative that is about driving fun and freedom, compactness and agility and a contemporary family SUV shape that puts them in command of the road." Noice one.
Built for crowded urban streets EcoSport also has out of town cred too. It has a contemporary shape and bold front-end treatment in the Ford world idiom.
EcoSport will eventually be sold in nearly 100 markets around the world. The compact footprint is small enough for the city, yet it's strong and rugged enough for trips to the mountains or countryside.
EcoSport debuts Ford's new EcoBoost engine a 1.0-litre three pot which offers the performance of a conventional 1.6-litre engine. This 1.0-litre has recently been voted the 2012 "International Engine of the Year".
Ford is going all EcoBoost in its powertrain technology. Interior styling and equipment is upgraded in line with other new models in the Ford lineup.
EcoSport is the first One Ford global product to be designed and developed in South America, marking that region's increasing importance in Ford's global product development system.
The creativity behind the new EcoSport was sparked in Brazil, a nation dominated by compact cars, which has become one of the world's key emerging markets. Ford's EcoSport is a response to a similar vehicle from GM called the Trax.
