FORD OUT WITH NEW SMALL CROSSOVER WITH ECOSPORT’S INTRODUCTION TO U.S. 

Ford may be getting out of the sedan market, but that doesn’t mean the company is getting out of the car business.

In fact, the Detroit News last month reported in an interview with Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's executive vice president of product development and purchasing, that the company actually expects to have three more new vehicles in its lineup by 2023 as it puts its emphasis on trucks and SUVs/crossovers.

That would give the company 23 vehicles in all, which would include the Mustang but not the familiar Fusion or Taurus sedans.

"This is not us shrinking and reducing our size in the marketplace,” the article quotes Thai-Tang. “It’s all about reallocating resources and capital where we can win, also consistent with some of the consumer trends we're seeing.”

The consumer trend Ford is seeing is a reduction in sales numbers for traditional passenger cars like the Toyota Camry and Honda Civic in decline and those for crossovers and SUVs on the rise.

Of the top 10 sedans, eight are showing sales declines for the year of over 20 percent in some cases. Even the leading seller for the segment, the Toyota Camry, was down 18.65 percent for August over the same month for 2017 and off 5 percent for the year.

Perhaps in reaction to last spring’s news about the oncoming end of production, Ford Fusion sales are down over 21 percent and Ford’s Focus numbers are down 16.33 percent for the year. For August, the Fusion was off over 35 percent, the Focus 30 percent.

Taurus sales also are down, but not nearly as much. Meanwhile, the Mustang’s were up over 35 percent for the month and are up just under 1 percent for the year-to-date.

On the other hand, six of the top 10 selling SUVs and crossovers are experiencing sales increases for the year, and of the four that aren’t, two are off by less than 9 percent over their 2017 numbers and two others are down by less than 2 percent.

Given that, Ford’s decision, while certainly attention-grabbing, is a reasonable one. (Nice of me to say that considering the guys who made it are making the big bucks.)

Thus, it’s not surprising that a new vehicle added to the Ford Fleet is a crossover dubbed EcoSport, which for some reason is pronounced as “Echo Sport.” It was introduced in Brazil for 2004 and launched globally in 2012, but didn’t arrive in the U.S. until last year as a 2018 model.

It is aimed at the rather competitive compact crossover/SUV segment. (Think Kia Soul, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-3, and Nissan Kicks and Rogue Sport here) and comes in four trim levels: S, SE, SES, and Titanium.

At 161.3 inches long with a wheelbase of under 100 inches, the Ecosport is about 17 inches shorter and with a wheelbase that is 6.7 inches shorter than the Escape, which in itself is 10 inches shorter than the Edge and 20 shorter than the Explorer.

The base engine on S, SE, and Titantium models is a 1.0-liter, Ecoboost 3-cylinder (123 horsepower, 125 pound-feet of torque) that is enough to get its 3,021 pounds moving but not at much of a pace. A 2.0-liter 4-banger is standard on the SES, and it boosts horsepower to 166 and torque to 149 pound-feet.

Neither engine is all that great on fuel numbers. The government rates 3-cylinder models at 27 miles-per-gallon city, 29 highway, and 28 overall and the AWD models at 23/29/25.

The only transmission offered is a 6-speed SelectShift automatic, which is a bummer but also pretty much the way life is these days. The S, SE, and Titanium are all front-wheel drive, the SES all-wheel. You can opt for both the bigger engine and AWD on the S, SE, and Titanium, which, frankly, I would recommend.

The Titanium (with the standard 3-cylinder engine and FWD) served as our test model for the week. Though it sits at the top of the EcoSport lineup, at $25,880 the FWD Titanium comes in just under the $26,880 for the SES with its larger engine and AWD, but the AWD Titanium tops the price list at $27,330.

The cabin features lots of hard plastics and doesn’t have the upscale feeling of some of its competitors, but it’s not what you would call spartan either.

With the Titanium, you get such standard feature as an easy fill capless fuel filter, fog lamps, LED signature lighting and automatic Halogen headlamps, power moonroof, second-row fold flat (by adjusting the cargo floor) seats, leather-trimmed heat front seats, leather-wrapped shift knob, Smart charging USB port, auto start/stop technology (which you can switch off), keylesss entry and push-button start, and Sync3 with 8-inch touchscreen.

Oh, yes. One kind of unusual thing. Instead of the usual lift gate, the back door swings open horizontally to provide access to 20.9 cubic feet with the second-row seats up and 50.9 with them folded.

Frankly, that “fifth door” may be its most distinctive feature.

What I liked about the 2018 Ford Ecosport Titanium: Ford's Sync system for operation of infotainment functions came under some criticism when it was introduced a few years ago, but now Sync3 is one of the most user-friendly around. The side mirrors also are of a nice size to give you a good view of vehicles coming up on your blind spots (assuming you have set them correctly.

What I didn't like about the 2018 Ford Ecosport Titanium: The base engine lacks punch. With no manual transmission offered, there is no opportunity to make up for that with your driving style.

Would I buy the 2018 Ford Ecosport Titanium? Probably not. Frankly there are better choices in this segment that provide more in the way a fun experience behind the wheel as well as being functional. Its ordinary fuel economy numbers don’t make up for that shortcoming.