Perfect ride for the Pilanesberg
Ecosport easily handles rugged dirt roads
I’D ADMIRED the Ford Ecosport crossover SUV from afar, thinking it looked like “my kind of car”, and wondered what it would be like to drive.
Late March, with time booked in the Pilanesberg National Park, I got the chance to find out.
Motoring journalist Willem van de Putte has been test driving the Ecosport 1.0 Titanium (Moondust silver in colour) and, before it was returned, arranged with Ford’s product communications manager, Minesh Bhagaloo, that I borrow it for a week.
Willem had to help me open the tailgate – which has the spare wheel mounted on it – to pack in kit bags, cooler box and a crate of essentials for five days in the park. The rear seats can be reconfigured but, although the boot is not huge, it has a split floor and was big enough for our luggage (for two).
Before I set off, Willem explained the driving basics, including how to start the car with its button-start (unlike my car which has an old-fashioned key). I synced my phone through Bluetooth, activated the satnav, selected a music radio station, and with the car in “drive”, headed west on the 140km drive to Manyane Resort. I had to watch the clock on the N4 as the Ecoboost engine means it’s easy to find yourself speeding but, by the time I arrived, I felt at ease. I enjoyed that this model was automatic and had all the mod-cons, such as leather seats (with seat warmers), electric windows, automatic light sensors, and a good A/C system.
In game parks across the country, the car of choice seems to be a Toyota Fortuner, but the Ecosport served us very well. A friend and her teenager were comfortable in the back and my husband could relax his long legs in the front. We agreed that the extra height the Ecosport offered meant better viewing and picture possibilities, especially as the grass is tall at this time of the year. The rear cameras were a boon when I had to reverse over a narrow bridge to allow cars to pass thanks to a jam caused by elephant.
The Ecosport handled the sometimes rugged dirt roads (the potholes and corrugations seem worse than on our visit a year ago) and steep and rocky passes, where again we were glad not to be in our own cars.
We drove slowly taking in the views and the game. Over the next few days, we had some great viewing, including elephant frolicking in the Malatse Dam. We saw a lioness, buffalo, hippo, giraffe, zebra and a variety of antelope, smaller animals and variety of birds.
From Lenong View we watched a large herd of elephant charge across the plain below, before being witness to a young man get down on his knee and propose to his partner.
After the park, I took the Ecosport on one last spin: to Joburg for a family birthday party, where it was admired by guests, asking more about it. This shows that despite the distinctive Ecosport being fairly common, and the competition from a range of other manufacturers’ models, it remains of interest. I brought the test car back to the office this week and, as I drove my car out the car park, stalled – a reminder that the next car I own could be an automatic, preferably with all the gadgetry I’d quickly become used to in the Ecosport.
* Boje is the editor of the Pretoria News.