Ford India’s portfolio of cars ranges from an affordable hatchback, the Figo, to an affordable sports car, the Mustang. In between lies a subcompact sedan, the Aspire, and a whole lot of SUVs that include the very popular Ecosport, the Freestyle and of course the Endeavour. In its latest moves the American carmaker has launched new editions of the Endeavour and Freestyle to keep them up to date with the changing demands of the consumer. The Endeavour Sport and the Freestyle Flair also have the task of ensuring higher sales in the upcoming festive season. We tell you more about them.
Ford Endeavour Sport
The main idea behind the Sport edition of the Endeavour is to give it a dark look with use of much less chrome. There are a lot of changes on the exterior when you compare the Sport to regular variants of the SUV. What catches your eyes are the black elements including the new ebony black front grille and the special black edition smoked headlamps. The front fender as well as the front and rear bumper skid plates also get an ebony black treatment to add to the SUV’s stance. The black theme is carried through to the side with ebony black ORVMs, fender grille and dark inserts on side steppers. A SPORT decal can also be seen on doors and tailgate. One of the most noticeable changes though are the ebony black alloy wheels and roof rails while the Endeavour badging on the rear is also written in black instead of chrome.
In contrast, the cabin is just like other variants and there are no special black elements that are seen here. Ford’s famed voice-enabled, in-car connectivity technology SYNC 3 with 8-inch touchscreen and apple carplay, android auto compatibility is available here. Ford’s connectivity solution FordPass is there too where owners can perform several operations like starting, stopping, locking or unlocking the vehicle, know remaining fuel levels, distance to empty and locating their vehicle remotely.
The car continues to run on the 2.0L EcoBlue diesel engine that delivers 170 PS and 420 Nm. The Sport is only offered with a 4X4 driveline that claims a fuel efficiency of 12.4 Kmpl. The engine is mated to the world’s first 10-speed automatic transmission that facilitates smoother acceleration in all driving conditions, according to the company. The SUV also gets Progressive Range Select or SelectShift which allows the drivers the ability to lock gears in the desired range to deliver a more controlled drive experience. The terrain management system (TMS) with four preset modes — Normal, Snow/Mud/Grass, Sand and Rock alters the vehicle’s throttle response, transmission, four-wheeldrive system and traction control to tackle different situations in a better way. The SUV has a water-wading capacity of 800 mm.
The Endeavour Sport is priced at Rs 35.10 lakh (exshowroom), which makes it the most expensive variant of the SUV. It is available in three colours — absolute black, diffused silver and diamond white.
Ford Freestyle Flair
Like the Endeavour Sport, the Flair also comes in as the top-of-the-line variant of the Freestyle. There are many changes on the exterior and interior that make the car look more sporty and youthful. The doors get an especially designed Flair badge which is housed in all-around black and red graphics. You also get a black-painted roof with red roof rails, black & red ORVMs, new black alloys and black skid plates with red insets on the front bumper. The cabin gets new black & grey upholstery while red accents can be seen on black door handles and seats which also feature the flair badge.
The car also gets 7-inch touchscreen-based infotainment system with embedded satellite navigation, automatic headlamps, automatic wipers and climate control. The Flair is being offered with both Petrol and Diesel engine options. The 1.2L TiVCT petrol generates best-in-class 96 PS of peak power and 120 Nm of torque. The popular 1.5L Diesel delivers 100 PS peak power and 215 Nm of torque. Both engines are mated to a five-speed manual transmission and there’s no automatic on offer.
The Freestyle Flair gets a first-in-class active rollover prevention (ARP), a technology that works with electronic stability control and applies brakes on relevant wheels to decrease engine torque to help prevent any potential rollover situations. It also offers six airbags as it is based on the top Freestyle variant. The car is available in 3 different colours, white gold, diamond white and smoke grey. It is priced at Rs 7.69 lakh for the petrol model and Rs 8.79 lakh for the diesel variant, both exshowroom.
The writer is Senior Editor at carandbike.com.
