Ford EcoSport SUV: Engines revealed – on sale this year

The Fiesta-based Ford EcoSport SUV will get the 1.25PS EcoBoost engine, Ford SYNC AppLink and on sale before the end of 2013.

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Last week we reported that the Ford EcoSport SUV – Ford’s compact SUV based on the Fiesta – was heading for the Geneva 2013 Motor Show for a European debut and there was every chance it would be in Ford UK showrooms by the end of the year. And it will.

Ford is debuting the EcoSport in Europe at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, an apt place to show their baby SUV considering it comes with some smart Ford SYNC toys to keep customers happy.

The EcoSport will get the voice-activated SYNC and SYNC Emergency ASsist and will be one of the firts Fords in Europe to get Ford SYNC AppLink which lets you voice control SmartPhone Apps. Which we suppose is better than actually updating your Facebook status with one hand whilst steering with the other.

Paul Mascarenas, Ford’s chief technical officer, said:

We are entering the age of the connected car and debuting EcoSport at Mobile World Congress underlines just how important advanced vehicle technology is to customers and to Ford.

The role of the car is evolving. Customers want to be able to safely enjoy the same level of connectivity in their cars as they would do at home, and SYNC AppLink enables then to do just that. By maximising the potential of apps, Ford can offer customers a class-leading range of smartphone app capabilities while on the move.

SmartPhone dependent as we are, we’re not certain being able to Tweet and FaceSpace whilst behind the wheel is the way to go.

More interesting from a driver’s point of view is that Ford has confirmed the EcoSport will come with Ford’s excellent 1.0 litre 125PS engine – which should suit the EcoSport perfectly – as well as the latest 1.5 litre petrol with 110PS, and the 1.5 litre diesel with 90 PS and the promise of excellent headline economy. But unless you do stellar mileage, the 123bhp 1.0 litre EcoBoost will be the star.

As an aside, Ford has also confirmed that as well as the new EcoSport landing in showrooms before the end of 2013, the Ford Edge is also heading for Europe as the third in the line of new Ford SUVs after the Kuga nd EcoSport.