Road Test: Ford-Endeavour

Ford-Endeavour put to Test:

While everyone else was either getting in highly expensive luxo-SUVs or city-bound soft-roaders, Ford went in for a huge, utilitarian, truck-based off-roader, with a rumbling diesel engine and a great price. The Endeavour should be the perfect Indian SUV, but is it?:

Design, Engineering and Interiors:

The Endeavour is a South-East Asian model, based on the Ford Ranger pickup truck, and is simpler and more rugged, but not as sophisticated as a CR-V or Forester.It looks somewhat truck-like, with its cubic proportions, but it has undeniable presence. In fact, it is the epitome of what Indians think an SUV should look like: huge, beefy and rugged, with plenty of chrome and flared wheel arches. The nose is very recognisably Ford, the rear more modern and attractive.Under the skin, the Endeavour is a very traditional SUV, with a steel body bolted onto a ladder-frame chassis. It is suspended by double-wishbones in front, using torsion bars instead of coil springs and by a simple live axle and leaf springs at the rear. The suspension has been thoroughly tested and re-tuned for passenger comfort rather than the load-oriented setup of the Ranger.The interior is spacious and very well bolted together, marred only by cheap-looking plastics. The switchgear, gearknob and steering wheel feel nice and meaty, and the ergonomics, except for the too-small blower knob, are excellent. You sit really high up, with a great view of the road, and the front seats are highly adjustable.Leg- and headroom in the front and second rows are excellent, but comfort is compromised by the high floor, which forces your knees up — this is particularly bad in the third row, which is unsuitable for adults. There is plenty of storage space and cubbyholes; luggage space isn't great with all seven seats in place, but the middle and third row seats can be flipped forward or removed, creating a huge cargo bay.The air-con system is superb -- all seven passengers kept cool via multiple air ducts neatly integrated into the ceiling. Safety is excellent, with seatbelts for all seven passengers, and ABS and twin airbags as standard.

Performance, Fuel Economy and Handling

The Endeavour's 2.5-litre, 111bhp diesel is bred for torque, with 27.53kgm being made at a low 2000rpm, but the throttle response is sluggish. It is smooth and easy to use around town, but the problem is turbo-lag, which slows down responses and makes the driver work quite hard. Above 2000rpm, responses get better, and the Endeavour feels almost sprightly.There's more than enough grunt for off-roading, with plenty of torque available low down, and a Limited Slip Differential on the two-wheel- drive models that makes steep inclines easy going once it has gained some momentum. The gearbox is well-weighted, and the clutch light, which makes for easy going.The surprising thing is the low noise level of the engine. In four-wheel-drive versions, you have to operate a small lever to select two-wheel drive, four-wheel-drive high range or low range, like in traditional SUVs. There is no ‘shift-on-the-fly’ system that even the Safari uses.

Fuel economy isn't too bad: it manages 7.3kpl in the city and a useful 10.7kpl on the highway, which, with the large tank, gives the Endeavour a 760km range.

On the road, the Endeavour feels indestructible, and remains unfazed over the worst of roads, or even if you take two wheels over a concrete divider, as we did. The massive tyres absorb the impact, and the rigid chassis does the rest. Despite the bulk, the Endeavour is easy to drive; the high seating and long bonnet provide great visibility, and the steering is direct and communicative. It has superb handling for its size. It's a chore to park and make U-turns in, though. Ride quality, unlike the handling, is below par, the Endeavour riding well only on very smooth roads. The crude leaf springs get unsettled easily, the ride getting progressively worse as you go backwards in the cabin. The brakes are superb, with great feel and stopping power, and the huge, 210-mm ground clearance makes it easy to take off-road.

Verdict:*******###

The Endeavour is clearly an old-school SUV, and there’s no getting away from its truck roots. However, for the price, it offers a huge amount of metal, good looks, immense presence, a decent cabin and a not-too-bad driving experience. It is quite basic though, and doesn’t have the excitement, performance or finesse of other SUVs. The Endeavour is best bought in 2WD form, unless you're planning serious off-roading. No discounts are offered, though you could haggle to get accessories like floor mats and mud-flaps for free. The warranty is acceptable, if not great, and Ford dealers, though still not the best, are trying hard. Spares are fairly expensive, and though resale values are not yet known, it is likely to hold its value fairly well. The Endeavour is a good SUV if you need a capable but utilitarian off-roader to take you around the country, but if it had a little more power and a little more polish, it could have been a great one.

Skoda’s new Fabia

Skoda’s new Fabia is set to enter India by the end of this year.

Skoda’s new Fabia is set to enter India by the end of this year. Initial plans to launch the last-generation Fabia saloon have been put on hold as the car would have been priced too high to be competitive. There were further delays because Skoda was waiting for the second-generation Fabia to be launched abroad but this is about to change. The new Fabia hatch will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. It is bigger than the current car and shares its basic platform with the Volkswagen Polo and the Seat Ibiza. At 3992mm in length, it is 22mm longer and 47mm taller than the outgoing model. To put this figure into perspective, it’s almost as long as the Ford Fusion, 300mm longer than the Swift and almost 200mm longer than the Getz.Skoda claims the car will have class-topping legroom and headroom and we find no reason to believe otherwise. Boot space is class-topping too. Fold down the rear seats and the substantial 300-litre boot increases to 1163 litres.There will be three engines on offer: a 1.2-litre petrol, a 1.4-litre petrol and a 1.4 turbo-diesel. Skoda will also bring in the scorching Fabia RS which is expected to have 150-plus bhp. A six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission is on offer as an option to the five-speed manual, but this is unlikely to be introduced here.Very important for India (and for Skoda) will be the smallest of these engines. The three-cylinder 1198cc 12-valve petrol engine along with the car’s ‘under four metre’ length means it will qualify for the excise sop, which in turn means Skoda will be able to price it competitively. It puts out 60bhp but this engine’s 11.4kgm of torque at a low 3000rpm should make up for this deficit.The 1422cc turbo-diesel will be Skoda’s trump card though. A three-cylinder version of the Laura’s Pumpe Duse motor, it puts out an impressive 70bhp and an even more impressive 19kgm of torque. So it will go head-on with the Swift diesel and the soon-to-be-launched Getz diesel.Expect the price to be pegged at around 10-15 percent more than the Getz. What you will get for the extra money will be quality levels previously unheard of in this segment, plenty of interior space and solid European build and safety. Along with these features, what you will get is a very handsome car, the well proportioned but staid lines of the old car replaced by a fresh, modern design that resembles the Skoda Roomster MPV.The strong chin looks like that of the larger and far more expensive Laura and the glasshouse mimics the Swift’s with the blacked-out A and B-pillars and a chunky C-pillar. Even the rear looks far better than the old car’s dowdy-looking tail. The Fabia is sure to give Hyundai and Maruti a few sleepless nights at the very least. It is certainly ahead of the game when it comes to interior space, quality and choice of engines. Now all Skoda has to do is ensure that the price is right.

Ford's next big thing

Ford's next big thing

Ford is planning to launch its upgraded Endeavour with a 2.5-litre common-rail diesel engine in India by early 2007

Ford has officially unveiled the new Endeavour (Everest in other markets) in Thailand. It’s more than just a face-lift and claims it an all-new SUV with 75 percent new parts. The silhouette of the new Endeavour remains largely unchanged and the macho look is instantly recognisable. The straight and uncluttered lines have been softened a bit to ensure it doesn’t look overtly boxy. The new Endeavour hasn’t lost any of its butch appeal and it still looks as intimidating as before. In fact, the new Endeavour with a length of 5009mm is marginally longer than the earlier model though the wheelbase of 2860mm remains the same. A huge rectangular grille and a massive cowl dominate the front end, giving the SUV a truck-like look. The turn indicator and parking lamps in the headlight unit are more prominent and the sideview mirrors get integrated indicators, a trend that’s catching on with manufacturers.The big change though is in the interiors. While the earlier model’s cabin scored high on space and solid build, it looked old-fashioned and utilitarian. Importantly, it lacked the essential upmarket feel expected from a product in its price range. Although Ford had spruced up the Endeavour’s interiors in 2006 by replacing the grey upholstery with beige, it didn’t have the desired effect. Expect that to change now. The dashboard is a combination of circular and rectangle design elements. The big circular gauges are clear and easy to read. The silver-finished centre console looks good on the black dashboard. Circular AC vents on the corners of the dash seem similar to the Fiesta’s. Overall, there’s an airy feel to the cabin and the extremely refreshing interiors are a huge step up from the current model. AC vents are present for both the rear rows as well. The seating configuration remains unchanged and that’s a bad thing for passengers in the third row who suffer from a complete lack of under-thigh support, besides needing an athletic ability to get in and out easily.The biggest change, however, is under the hood. Ford plans to replace its mediocre 116bhp diesel with a new 2.5-litre TDCi engine developing 143bhp. What’s more, it develops a healthy 33kgm of torque (5kgm more than the earlier model). It would be safe to expect that the Endeavour’s new powerplant should also be a more responsive unit than the current engine. Refinement levels are expected to be higher as well.The Endeavour’s ride quality was always stiff, the SUV riding well only on very smooth roads. We don’t expect that to change very much as the rear suspension still uses antiquated leaf springs. This power increment should also make the already good off-road abilities even better. And the massive tyres should go a long way in absorbing impacts and ensuring that the SUV feels as indestructible as ever before. The braking, which was always exceptional, will now be aided by ABS (expected to come as optional kit, as will airbags). Also, this SUV’s huge ground clearance makes it easy to take off-road.With the new Endeavour, Ford has made an improvement on a proven package. The new model should help improve the company’s foothold in the SUV segment in India. But, as always, a lot depends on the increase in price and we expect it to cost around Rs 17-18 lacs which is Rs. 1.5- 2 lakh more than the previous model. But with an engine that now gives this mammoth SUV the power it deserves, the Endeavour promises to be equally good value.