Ford’s EcoSport range gets a sporty new Active edition

This week, Ford South Africa introduced to the world the newest member of the EcoSport range, the EcoSport Active. If you aren’t familiar with the lineup, where have you been for the past ten years? These things are everywhere. Now there’s one more, but this one is (slightly) different.

The EcoSport Active stands out thanks to a few pieces of strategically placed black plastic and some 17in black alloy wheels. Pretty much everything else you’ll have seen before, as the Active is based rather closely on the company’s existing ‘Trend’ variation.

If it ain’t broke…

Ford has given the EcoSport a facelift to keep it up with the times. And those times might be dwindling for the range, as they did for the Fiesta and Figo.This isn’t those though, this is ‘new’ and ‘trendy’. Can’t you tell from all the black plastic? There’s plenty of that on offer.

The front grille, headlamp, foglamp bezels, and front and rear skirts all feature sprinkles of the bolder, rugged design. At least, that’s what Ford wants you to think. They’re still just bits of plastic after all so where this comes through clearly is with the black alloy wheels. Nothing says ‘I’m ready to go’ like a set of decent rims. Except maybe a racing stripe.

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Then, in case the black accents weren’t enough of a nod to how Active this one is, there’s a badge plastered on the front fender and throughout the cabin. Speaking of the cabin, if you’ve been in a Trend, it’ll feel familiar. Except, in the Active, cloth seats give way to leather. You’ll also find some of that on the steering wheel. You also get the usual: electric windows, plenty of safety features and airbags, air conditioning, cruise control, and an 8in touchscreen infotainment system that supports Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and compatibility with the FordPass app.

…don’t fix it

The Active borrows the powertrain from the Trend. Expect a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that’ll produce 92kW and 170Nm torque. In the Active, this is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. If you have any experience behind the wheel of any of the other EcoSport derivatives you might struggle to tell which one you’re driving. Aside from the feel of the leather-wrapped steering wheel, anyway. There are no complaints about the Active’s powertrain and it certainly has a bit more oomph than the Ecosport Ambiente. That said, you still won’t be going anywhere in much of a hurry. But if you’re carting kids from school or enjoying a scenic drive to a farm stall, it’ll do you just fine.

This might be a fresh new look for an otherwise aging vehicle and Ford knows this. This must be one of the reasons it’s brought the EcoSport Active in under R400,000. One will cost you R393,700, to be specific. And that’s before the dealership starts sandbagging you. You don’t get a service plan – you can buy one if you want – but you do get Ford Protect. That’s Ford’s way of giving you a four-year/120,000km warranty, four-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance, and five-year/unlimited distance corrosion warranty. Whether that’s all worth it is up for debate. It’s mostly just a new bunch of black plastic, after all. Oh, and some alloy wheels.