Ford was one of the early contenders in the compact-crossover segment, beating most of its competitors to market when it launched the Escape back in 2000 as a 2001 model. Among subcompact crossovers, however, which are surging in popularity much like compacts did 15 years ago, Ford has been remiss in not offering one here in its home market. Ford didn’t have to look far to solve that problem, since it already has the EcoSport that it has been selling in numerous other markets around the world for some time. Freshened for 2018, the EcoSport finally will come to America, and Ford is underscoring its arrival by choosing the Los Angeles auto show as the site of the revised model’s global debut.
Built on Ford’s B-segment (think Fiesta) platform, the EcoSport looks like a pre-adolescent version of the Escape. Final dimensions have not been not released, but for reference, the pre-facelifted version of the EcoSport was 158.1 inches long, 69.5 inches wide, 64.3 inches tall, and sat astride a 99.0-inch wheelbase, making it roughly the size of a Nissan Juke; we don’t expect the updated version to grow much. The U.S. model would be longer if Ford included the external rear-mounted spare tire found on EcoSports in other markets, although ours will use the same swing-out tailgate as the others. Small and whimsical though it may be, the EcoSport fills a huge hole that opened up at the bottom of Ford’s SUV lineup three years ago when the current-gen Escape grew into the rather sizable thing it is today, just as other automakers started introducing subcompact crossovers.
Since the EcoSport has never been sold here, most of us won’t know (nor likely care) which features have been modified or changed as part of the EcoSport’s mid-cycle update. But for those who do, the new-for-2018 features include headlamps, front and rear fascias, taillamps, and a larger, higher-set grille into which the Blue Oval is set. Four trim levels will be offered at launch: S, SE, SES, and Titanium, the latter getting its own exterior styling cues, as well as copper accents on the dash, door panels, and seats.
The big news inside the EcoSport is the all-new dashboard that is dominated by an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system perched atop the center stack and operated with Ford’s Sync 3 logic (which, unlike Sync 1 and 2, is actually good). Ford is also touting the electronics-friendliness of the EcoSport—it gets two fast-charging USB ports and one 12-volt outlet up front, plus another 12-volt outlet and an optional 110-volt plug in the rear seating area. Ford has somehow managed to create 30 storage pockets of varying sizes throughout the cabin, and Titanium models boast a 675-watt BO Play audio system with 10 speakers.
The EcoSport will be offered with two powertrains: a 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine paired with front-wheel drive and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with all-wheel drive. Both powertrains feature a six-speed automatic transmission. Since neither engine has been mated to this transmission before, Ford won’t announce output figures until closer to launch, but for a clue, we checked the specs of EcoSports sold elsewhere in the world and found 1.0-liter models with about 123 horsepower and 125 lb-ft of torque and 2.0-liter (non-EcoBoost) models with 141 horsepower and 138 lb-ft. We’d also love to see Ford whip up an EcoSport ST at some point—just a suggestion.
The 2018 EcoSport will be displayed to the public at the 2016 L.A. auto show following a few days of merriment at its official debut venue along Hollywood Boulevard’s famous Walk of Fame. It goes on sale here early next year.
