Mahindra’s new compact SUV faces tough challenge from Ford’s popular EcoSport
Mahindra, India’s largest SUV maker has just launched NuvoSport, their new compact SUV, which is actually a restyled and rebadged Quanto. The Mumbai based automaker launched Quanto few years ago, but it couldn’t make an impact in the highly competitive market. Therefore Mahindra tried their luck once again with NuvoSport. The NuvoSport is expected to take on the Ford EcoSport, which is certainly one of the most popular compact SUVs on Indian roads alongside the Renault Duster. Ford is giving the EcoSport a touch of restyling in an attempt to stay afloat in the competitive segment.
Now we wonder who will stand stronger between these two cars Mahindra NuvoSport and Ford EcoSport, when they face each other. Here let’s take a look, how these two compact SUVs stand against each other.
Design:
Bearing its DNA from the Quanto Mahindra NuvoSport looks completely new, and pretty much stylish than its predecessor. The front fascia sports sharp headlamps, eyebrow like LED daytime running lights placed above the headlamps, vertically slated sleek hexagonal front grille, larger beefy bumper, large air intake with honeycomb pattern grille, round fog lamps and skid plate.
The side profile boasts sporty alloy wheels, black claddings, blackened greenhouse area and sharp creases running through the doors. The rear fascia bears plenty of similarities with the Quanto. It gets a roof spoiler, high mounted taillamps positioned at the rear pillars, a rear door mounted spare wheel.
Ford EcoSport on the other hand is very popular among Indian buyers for its stylish appearance. It boasts a tall stance and look is pretty much muscular compare to the NuvoSport. The front profile gets a hexagonal grille with chrome embellishment, sharp wrap around headlamps, beefy bumper, round fog lamps, skid plate.
Move to the side, it gets ORVM’s with integrated side turning indicators, roof rails, blackened out B pillars, black body cladding, and alloy wheels. Talking about rear, it sports a roof spoiler, sharp taillights and the spare wheel mounted at the rear door.
Overall, both the cars sport taller stance with muscular and bold look in the compactness.
Dimension:
Dimensionally the newly launched Mahindra NuvoSport comes with a length of 3998 mm, 1850 mm of width and 1895 mm of height along with 2760 mm of wheelbase and 180 mm of ground clearance. On the other hand, the Ford EcoSport sports 3999 mm of length, 1765 mm of width, and 1708 mm of height.
That means the NuvoSport comes with better height and width, offering better headroom to the occupants. The wheelbase for EcoSport stands at 2520 mm which is way shorter than NuvoSport. The shorter wheelbase means reduced space for the occupants inside the EcoSport. The car gets a 200 mm of ground clearance, which is better than NuvoSport.
Interiors & Features:
Talk about interiors, The Mahindra NuvoSport features a simple and clean dashboard with a three spoke multifunction steering wheel, analog dial consisting instrument cluster, a redesigned centre console with 6 inch touchscreen infotainment system which comes with USB, Bluetooth, AUX connectivity. The interior boasts safety features like ABS, EBD, and it might get dual front airbags as well. Entire cabin sports a Black and Gray dual tone theme from the dashboard to the rear seats. Like the Quanto it also gets a seven person seating arrangement.
On the other hand the Ford EcoSport offers more premium looking interior. It gets a multifunction steering wheel, dual pod analog dial consisting display at the instrument cluster with a digital display as well. The centre console looks looks like taken from a spaceship console, it looks heavy with buttons and knobs and the shape of flanking air vents along with the digital infotainment screen.
Powertrain:
Mahindra NuvoSport gets power from a 1.5 litre three cylinder mHawk diesel engine mated to a five speed manual transmission, which churns out 100 bhp peak power and 240 Nm of peak torque. The car is available in an AMT gearbox variant as well, and Mahindra has equipped the car with Power and Eco driving modes just like the KUV100.
Ford EcoSport on the other hand is available in three different engine options, with two petrol and a single diesel engine. The petrol units come in form of a 1.5 litre Ti-VCT which is available in both manual and automatic transmission options producing 111 bhp peak power. The torque amount stands at 136 Nm and 140 respectively for the manual and automatic variants.
The other petrol engine is a 1.0 litre Ecoboost unit which comes paired with a manual transmission and kicks out 124 bhp peak power and 170 Nm peak torque. Lastly, the diesel variant is powered by a 1.5 litre TDCi engine mated to a manual gearbox and generating 99 bhp peak power and 205 Nm peak torque.
Price:
Mahindra NuvoSport is available with price tags ranging between Rs. 7.35 lakh to Rs. 9.76 lakh. The Ford EcoSport on the other hand is available with prices ranging between Rs. 6.69 lakh to Rs. 9.75 lakh.
Verdict:
Mahindra NuvoSport looks way much better than its predecessor Quanto. It also comes with loads of features than the previous model. On the other hand Ford EcoSport is an already well established and very popular model in the compact SUV segment. No wonder, NuvoSport will have a tough job making its way in the segment against the EcoSport.
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