Comparo – Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster

Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster - FrontView

Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster – FrontView

Ford India has finally launched the much awaited Ford EcoSport this week after which it has been observed that Ford EcoSport would be one of the strongest competitors to the existing Renault Duster in the Indian market. Ford EcoSport has already made a significant mark globally and is expected to continue the same in India.
 
Pricing:

Ford EcoSport has been priced very aggressively keeping in mind, the consumers in the Indian market and would be available starting at 5.69 lakhs INR (ex-showroom price).

Renault Duster had already been priced fairly and was a reasonable compact SUV till date in India until the arrival of Ford EcoSport and is already available starting at 7.69 lakhs INR (ex-showroom price).

Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster - SideView

Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster – SideView

Engine:

The EcoSport comes with two variants in the petrol and one diesel, while the Duster is being offered with one petrol and two diesel option.

Ford EcoSport will be available in both petrol and diesel engines. The petrol version has two option, the 1.0-liter turbocharged VCT petrol engine which delivers a maximum power of 118 BHP at a maximum torque of 170 Nm, while the 1.5-litre is the same which powers the Fiesta, it generates maximum power of 108 Bhp with maximum torque of 140 Nm. Whereas, the diesel version features a 1.5-liter diesel engine which delivers a maximum power of 90 BHP.

Renault Duster is already available in both petrol and diesel where the petrol version is equipped with 1.6-liter petrol engine which produces a maximum power of 102 BHP and is normally not preferred by consumers when buying an SUV. The diesel version available is mostly preferred and is available in two set of units i,e a 1.5-liter diesel engine which produces maximum power of 85 BHP and 110 BHP equipped with 5-speed and 6-speed transmissions respectively.
 
Performance, Dynamics and handling:

  • The Ford EcoSport has a refined diesel engine making it less noisy than the Renault Duster. The diesel Ford EcoSport sounds and feels almost like a petrol engine on the move.
  • A person looking forward to buy a petrol powered SUV can change their mindset to the Ford EcoSport which features a 1 liter EcoBoost petrol engine which is no match for all the other range of compact SUVs available in petrol engine.
  • The 6 speed transmission diesel engine provided by the Renault Duster has no comparison with the Ford EcoSport since it is much more expensive.
  • While considering the irritating stop and go city traffic, the more city friendly, lighter clutch Ford EcoSport would be considered over the Renault Duster which has a heavier clutch and a significant amount of Turbo lag.
  • Renault Duster is a more preferred car to drive in an open road (highway) that does the 0-100kph sprint quicker in 11.88 seconds when compared to the Ford EcoSport which takes 13.72 seconds.
  • Duster’s suspensions along with thick tyres provide more absorbance when driven over large speed breakers and pot holes when compared to the Ford EcoSport which does not provide the comfort when driven over broken roads.
  • In city driving, EcoSports lighter steering makes it easier to drive than the Duster which requires more effort to steer.
  • At high speeds, Duster’s handling and braking performance would have an upper hand over the Ford EcoSport due to the poor quality of tyres provided in EcoSport.
  • Both the SUVs features front wheel drive and the Duster would be considered in case of an off road trip due to its better handling.
  • Duster gets a 5 mm higher ground clearance than EcoSport and is also featured with a engine guard that provides protection which is in fact missing in EcoSport.
Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster - RearView

Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster – RearView

Exteriors:

  • Ford EcoSport is featured with an aggressive look, sporty elements, tail gate mounted spare wheel and the new stylish alloy wheels which makes EcoSport high in styling when compared to the old generation look of Duster which comes with a chrome coated grille at the front and a massive flat bonnet.
  • The huge wheels and headlights along with a longer body makes the Duster look more like a SUV rather than EcoSport which is almost 4 meters in length and looks more like a hatchback.
  • The Duster’s hatch door opens upwards whereas the EcoSport’s hatch door opens side wards; Hatch door opening upwards would be much preferable.
  • The boot of EcoSport can be opened by pressing a button on the right tail light whereas a press of a key hole in the Duster would open up the boot.

Interiors:

  • The updated Duster’s dashboard features a fresh design, two-tone color scheme but still lagging in quality whereas the EcoSport features a modern, angular design, dominated by the V-shaped centre console and hence EcoSport takes an upper hand in this section.
  • EcoSport features rectangular AC vents in the dashboard whereas the Duster is equipped with circular vents which would be preferable.
  • The front seat in the EcoSport offers large leg and head room along with excellent back support and fantastic driving position whereas the Duster’s seats are larger but not supportive.
  • EcoSport has been featured with front driver seat arm rest and with no arm rest for the rear seats. Duster has entirely different offerings which is exactly opposite to EcoSport i,e it is featured with only arm rests at the rear.
  • The legroom offered in EcoSport is quite good but is no match for the legroom offered by Duster. However thighs are better supported in EcoSport thanks to the better use of vertical space by Ford.
  • The 346 liter boot space provided in EcoSport is no match for the 475 liter boot space featured in Renault Duster.
  • The Dusters rear seat folds into just one piece whereas the EcoSport’s rear seats can be folded in 60:40 ratios.
Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster - DashView

Ford EcoSport VS Renault Duster – DashView

Maintenance:

  • Coming to maintenance, Ford EcoSport would be cheaper to maintain than the Renault Duster since Ford has continued to use its child parts strategy in order to reduce the cost of maintenance and service.
  •  As Renault Duster comes with a 4 years/80000 km warranty, the EcoSport comes with a 2-year /1 lakh kms warranty which can be extended by another 2-years /1 lakh kms.

Fuel Efficiency (As per ARAI certified):

  • Renault claims the petrol Duster offers a mileage of 13.4 kmpl and the 85PS, 110PS diesels return 20.45 kmpl and 19.01 kmpl respectively.
  • Ford EcoSport will deliver 15.6 kmpl (1.5 Petrol AT), 15.8 kmpl (1.5 Petrol MT), 18.9 kmpl (1.0 EcoBoost), 22.7 kmpl (1.5 Diesel). These figures will be attracting many Indian buyers for sure.

Overall Ford EcoSport is the best car in this comparison despite its small size is more appealing than the Duster, offers first-in-class features, better mileage and value for what you pay!
 
Check out more pictures below the jump.

 

Also see – Snap – Renault Duster completely exposed

 

See more pictures of the Ford EcoSport –

2013-Ford-EcoSport-Mangalore-001     2013-Ford-EcoSport-Mangalore-002     2013-Ford-EcoSport-Mangalore-003     2013-Ford-EcoSport-Mangalore-004

 

See more pictures of the Renault Duster –

2013-Renault-Duster-Mangalore-001     2013-Renault-Duster-Mangalore-002     2013-Renault-Duster-Mangalore-003     2013-Renault-Duster-Mangalore-004