Design & engineering

WHILE the styling may have been revised for this second facelift of the Ecosport, the engineering underneath remains close to the original model. It’s based on Ford’s global B-car platform for smaller vehicles, sharing some of the same components with its Fiesta supermini sibling. This includes the 1.0-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost turbo engine (the car is pronounced ‘echo sport’ and the motor ‘ee-co boost’), which is tuned to produce 138bhp and 180Nm of torque here.

But there are some drawbacks. The Ecosport was originally developed as a cheap crossover for emerging markets, and it shows. While updates have improved things, such as removing the tailgate-mounted spare wheel, the car still lacks a little sophistication when compared with the best models in the class, even if it shares the majority of its rivals’ Macpherson-strut front and torsion-beam rear suspension layout.

Inside, the improvements are even greater. Its predecessor’s cheap cabin design has made way for a more modern, Fiesta-like interior, which includes an eight-inch touchscreen display on this model.

This isn’t the end of the list of standard kit, either. Sat-nav, Android Auto and Apple Carplay, climate and cruise control, part-leather seats, parking sensors and a reversing camera are all included.

Still, it feels decidedly mainstream inside, without any of the VW or Mazda’s more premium touches. The hard plastics mean the original budget focus is still apparent. This new version is a step forward that should win more sales, but the Ford still has some way to go to beat similarly priced competitors.

THANKS to Volkswagen’s image, if you’re a private buyer, the T-roc won’t depreciate as quickly as its rivals. Our experts predict a resale value of 52.3 per cent after three years, so it’ll be worth the most of this trio, at £11,602, and lose the least, at £10,603, offsetting its higher price.

Next up is the Mazda, with a 43.1 per cent/£9,100 predicted retained value. This figure is similar to the Ford’s (41.8 per cent), but the CX-3 will lose just £11,995 compared with £12,306 for the Ecosport. It will be worth £8,839 after three years/36,000 miles.