From the Sao Paulo Auto Show in Brazil, we bring you another tasty little tiny 4×4. This time it’s Ford that has something that might bridge the gap between go-anywhere ability and decent fuel economy, and unlike the Ford-Troller T4, it doesn’t look cribbed straight from Jeep’s parts bin. The blue bean above is the Ford EcoSport Storm, a concept off-roader that unabashedly takes it’s inspiration from the Ford Raptor. “Okay”, you might be thinking, “it looks just like an Escape…or an off road Fiesta? Just how big is this thing, and what’s it so different from?”
The EcoSport is a Ford Brazil design and is currently in it’s second generation. Here’s the EcoSport as it’s normally sold:
The EcoSport is based off of the Fiesta platform, so yes, it’s a 4×4 Fiesta. The most powerful EcoSport sold currently is the 1.0L turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, good for up to 123hp. But we’ve seen what that engine is actually capable of in Ford’s Rip Rod concept vehicle, and we highly doubt that engine was anywhere near 120hp. So what does the EcoSport Storm have, besides looks? Size and fuel economy, two things that the Jeep Wrangler has been suffering with. The Ecosport appears to be the spiritual successor not to anything in Ford’s lineup, really, but to the Geo Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara: a small and nimble off-roader that could fit anywhere and be thrifty enough to be used everyday. We know that the upcoming gas mileage requirements are coming, but if this is the future of downsizing, then count us impressed. Or, rather, don’t, because there isn’t a chance yet of the EcoSport coming to the U.S. anytime soon.
Huh.
I might actually kind of like this little car.
If I could trim down the air dam up front, the little tail hanging down off the back bumper and clearance the wheel wells a bit without it looking like a total mess, this could potentially be a soft-roader worth having.