Ford is gearing up to launch a new variant of the Ecosport known as SE. The new variant will not come with a boot-mounted spare wheel. Instead, Ford will be using the boot design of the international Ecosport which is not sold with a spare wheel in the foreign markets. The new variant was first spotted at a dealer yard. However, this time the new variant is spotted during a TV commercial shoot alongside the Titanium trim of the regular Ecosport.
In the picture, we can see how the new SE variant of the Ecosport looks and we can also compare both of them side by side. The SE variant looks less bulky because of the deletion of the spare wheel, the number plate holder has been moved up in the centre of the boot lid where there is also a chrome garnish and the lower bumper is also redesigned to accommodate a new silver faux skid plate. The tail gate will still remain a side-hinged one. Overall, the new design does look better than the current one as it looks more modern.
This means that the new SE variant will not come with a spare wheel instead it will come with a puncture repair kit. This has been possible because of the new amendment that was released from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways or MoRTH. The amendment said that the carmakers can now opt to omit to offer a spare wheel in a vehicle of the M1 category. However, the vehicle should meet certain conditions like having a tyre pressure monitoring system etc. Due to which the Ecosport SE will come with a puncture repair kit, tyre pressure monitoring system and tubeless tyres.
According to the rumours, the SE variant will sit below the Titanium and the Sport variant. So, it would be much cheaper and more attractive which should help in attracting more people. As of now, the Ecosport is offered in 5 variants, namely Ambiente, Trend, Titanium, Sports and Titanium Plus. There will be no other mechanical changes to the Ecosport. However, from the pictures we know that the Ecosport SE will come with a rear wiper with a washer, high mounted stop lamp, rear spoiler, roof rails, regular alloy wheels, body-coloured door handles and body-coloured outside rear view mirrors.
So, the Ecosport will continue to be offered with a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The petrol engine puts out 122 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 149 Nm. It is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. Then there is the diesel engine which produces 100 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 215 Nm. It is only offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
The Ford Ecosport currently starts from Rs. 7.99 lakhs ex-showroom and the top-end variant will cost you Rs. 11.49 lakhs ex-showroom. Ford Ecosport competes with Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV300, Nissan Magnite, Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Toyota Urban Cruiser and recently launched Renault Kiger.