Ford EcoSport SUV Will Debut At Los Angeles Auto Show

ord’s smallest SUV, the EcoSport, is coming to America. Its styling has been updated a bit from the current version of the car sold in South America, Asia, and Europe, but it will still look like a smaller version of the Ford C-Max. The diesel engine offered in Europe probably won’t make it to America but the US will most likely get at least two of the three engines available on the Continent — a 1.6 liter 120 horsepower four cylinder, a 1.0 liter three cylinder EcoBoost turbo making 123 horsepower, or a 2.0 liter four cylinder that has 160 horsepower. This year’s LA auto show kicks off November 18.

The EcoSport is a small crossover SUV built on Ford’s global “B” architecture which is shared with the Fiesta. Originally developed as a simple and inexpensive SUV for emerging markets, the EcoSport was first built in Brazil. Since then, production has expanded to China, Russia, India, Vietnam, and Thailand. Ford sold more than a quarter million EcoSport cute utes worldwide in 2015. The EcoSport is said to have a towing capacity of more than 1,500 pounds in European trim, so it should be suitable for hauling small camping trailers and boats on vacation.

In size, the EcoSport will compete with the likes of the Buick Encore, Honda HR-V, Chevy Trax, and Nissan Juke. Americans are buying a lot of those compact SUVs, which are easier to maneuver than a full luxobarge like the Chevy Suburban. Sales of smaller SUVs are up dramatically of late and Ford obviously wants a piece of the action.

Source: The Automakers. Data through October 31. 2016

The EcoSport for the US market will likely be built at Ford’s Cuautitlan Stamping and Assembly plant in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico. That’s where the Ford Fiesta for the US market is manufactured. Another possibility is Ford’s assembly plant in Thailand. The date for the start of sales in the US has not yet been announced. Pricing details are also unknown, although The Motley Fool suggests a base model might sell for around $20,000 with a fully equipped Titanium version costing $26,000 or so. Ford may make more details available during the LA show next week.

Photo credit: Ford Motor Company. 2016 European model shown.

2016 Honda HR-V EX-L Navi AWD

When it was introduced in the late 90s, the original Honda CR-V was an innovative car-based SUV that promised to combine an SUV’s all-weather capabilities and high seating position with a car’s fuel economy. It was a formula that was wildly successful, and which spawned rivals like the Toyota RAV-4, Hyundai Tucson, and- depending on who you ask- the Mercedes-Benz GLK350 a decade later. Since then, the CR-V has been redesigned four times. With each redesign, the little SUV has grown slightly bigger, to the point that there was now a gap in Honda’s product line for a small, practical little SUV just about the size of that first-generation CR-V.

Enter: the 2016 Honda HR-V EX-L Navi AWD

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Based on the excellent Honda Fit and fitted with Honda’s Real Time AWD system, the 2016 Honda HR-V we tested was more than capable of handling my generally suburban commute- and gave no indication that it would slip up once “real winter” sets in here in Chicago. The HR-V’s clean, intuitive interior design and 5-star safety rating should also help the little SUV find buyers- but what about the sub-CR-V size? Is the HR-V just too small to be practical?

2016 Honda HR-V | Just Right

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  Not too big, not too small. Just right …

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In a word: No. In more words, the 2016 Honda HR-V may not take up any more garage space than its Chevy Trax or Fiat 500X competition, but it’s worlds ahead of both in terms of practicality.

“Worlds ahead,” I hear you ask. “Really?”

Yes, really. Whereas the Fiat cute-ute could barely fit a folded-up umbrella stroller, the 2016 Honda HR-V swallowed up the much larger City GT stroller, a diaper bag, my daughter’s pink folding chair (shown), and the new Sit n’ Stand 2-kid stroller we just bought. At the same time. Meanwhile, the Chevy Trax is just nowhere- without room for even the tiniest of folding strollers, the Trax is totally useless as a family car.

In addition to real, actually usable cargo space, the HR-V is comfortable enough for two midwestern American adults (read: large adults) a toddler in a massive baby seat, and a twelve-year-old to happily tool around in all day. Trying the same trick in either of the previously mentioned vehicles will make everyone claustrophobic quickly.

Where does that leave us with the 2016 Honda HR-V? I think it leaves us with a small SUV that isn’t too small, isn’t too big, and fits nicely in an urban garage while giving back just a bit under the 29 combined MPG rating during the week I had it- which brings me to the very clever way the new HR-V “grades” your driving.

2016 Honda HR-V | Gamification of Green

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At idle, the ring around the speedo is either blue or white- but that changes to green when you’re driving economically, or a reddish-purple when it decides you’re burning too much gas. It was annoying at first, but after I started thinking about “getting green” as a game, it started to get entertaining and my avg. MPG did creep upwards. It wasn’t a party, but it was more entertaining than “Elmo’s Got the Moves” for the thirtieth time, anyway.

So, that said, I think the 2016 Honda HR-V is a strong contender in the tiny SUV market. And, frankly, the only one I’ve driven (so far) that I’d even consider as a daily driver for a (relatively) young, growing family.

Third Date: 2015 Toyota Prius V

With more interior room and a garage-friendly footprint that’s not too much bigger than the standard Prius, the 2015 Toyota Prius V is winning us over pretty quickly. Would the extra cargo-hauling capacity punish us at the pump, though?

How Was It?

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In many ways, driving the larger Toyota Prius V was a lot like driving a regular Prius, but better. Whilethe standard Prius reminds you, constantly, that its 1.8 liter Hybrid Synergy Drive power plant was not taken out of a performance car, the Prius V somehow manages to feel capable of smoothly accelerating up to highway speeds. It’s a bit of a mystery, considering both the “regular” Prius andPrius V carry on with the same drive train- and the difference is noticeable enough that I actually went to Toyota’s site to compare the power outputs of the two models.

I suspect there is some software trickery afoot that’s giving the Toyota Prius V a more aggressive throttle tip-in than its more tightly-packed siblings, but I can’t prove it. Instead, I’ll simply say that “it was better than the regular Prius.”

The interior of the 2015 Prius V, also, felt bigger and more open than I expected a “Prius wagon” to feel. I was also impressed that Toyota went to the effort of designing a whole new interior for the car, instead of just re-using the standard Prius’ bits. GM and Mercedes could learn a lot on that point.

What Do I Expect Now?

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  Plenty of leg room.

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One thing I’ll say about the folding rear seats of the Prius V that I definitely can’t say about, for example, the Chevy Trax, is that this could easily be a multi-kid car. Even with one of the 60/40 rear bench seats folded down, you could reasonably fit 2 kids back there (albeit, snugly). With the rear seats up, there is plenty of cargo room in the back of the Prius V for groceries, strollers, diaper bags … I even got a set of drag wheels to fit back there!

Add in better than expected fuel economy and, well- we’ll see how I feel by the end of the week, I guess. So far, though, the 2015 Toyota Prius V seems like a winner!