Ford Endeavour
Gets more than just a new motor
The Ford Endeavour is arguably the best SUV in its segment. Almost exactly a year ago, Ford gave the Endeavour a mild update and the advent of BS VI emission norms has brought about another one. The talking point this time around is an all-new 2.0-litre diesel engine and a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Before we get on to the heart of the matter, though, let’s round up all the interior and exterior changes first. There are just two noteworthy changes. It gets a slightly updated headlamp setup and the badge next to the front door which earlier read 2.2 or 3.2 depending on the variant, now simply reads ‘Endeavour’. The rest remains unchanged. Likewise, on the inside, the only noticeable change is slightly updated look for the gear selector.
The new 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel is now the sole engine option on offer. The engine is completely new and features a host of technologies making it more efficient and refined than the engines it replaces. It pairs with a 10-speed automatic transmission. On the move, this works much better than the earlier 6-speed. It shifts quicker and doesn’t seem as out of depth as the earlier transmission in kick down either. Off the line, the motor revs up a bit before it settles in and picks up pace building up speed and moving through the gears quickly. The transmission has the ability to skip gears if required. If you press down on the accelerator hard, it can skip from say seventh to third if required to ensure you get the most out of the engine. At higher revs, the engine does get a little noisy though.
Ford has also retuned the suspension setup towards comfort so it feels slightly better than before over bad roads.
On the flip side, it isn’t as dynamically sharp now.
To show off the Endeavour’s off-road prowess, Ford had us indulge in some dune bashing in the sand dunes of Sam near Jaisalmer. Tire pressures reduced and sand mode selected, the Endeavour made light work of one of the trickiest terrains you can throw at an off-road vehicle. The sand course also helped highlight an impressive feature of the new 10-speed transmission. It gets something called SelectShift. Basically, the driver can restrict the gearbox to a certain number of gears depending on the demands of the terrain. In our case, we locked the transmission to third gear, which meant it moved from first to second to third and not beyond. This helps ensure the vehicle doesn’t lose momentum by upshifting.
The discontinuation of the 3.2-litre variant is certainly a point of contention. While the 2.0-litre diesel can’t match it in terms of performance, the new powertrain feels more than adequate. Besides, the 2.2-litre variant was the sales driver anyway so, the lack of the bigger 3.2 variant is unlikely to affect sales significantly. Prices start from Rs 29.55 lakh (ex-showroom) going up to Rs 33.25 lakh making it cheaper, spec for spec, than both the 2.2-litre and 3.2-litre variants. Although prices will go up by 70,000 May 1, 2020 onwards.