This is the new Ford Ecosport. Except it’s not really that new, it’s really more of a facelift of the old one, which didn’t get very good reviews and so Ford would like you to think that it’s new. It’s all terribly complicated. But if Ford wants us to think that everything is different then we should give the car the benefit of the doubt. 

The Ecosport is one of Ford’s ‘world cars’ – car makers can save money by selling the same car around the globe rather than building them in smaller numbers for specific markets. It was originally conceived for the Brazilian market, and production of this new European model has been moved from India to Romania. 

The Europe-specific styling works much better – there are nice, subtle touches around the exterior that make it look more stylish, and the cabin is also a marked improvement both in terms of quality and practicality. There are loads of places to store things – a drawer under the passenger seat, a sliding armrest between the two front seats and a great bottle bin that uses the space available in the door panel.

Back on the outside, the frankly ridiculous side-hinged door remains. You won't find any rival – not the Seat Arona, Renault Captur, Nissan Juke, Hyundai Kona or Kia Stonic, to name a few – with such a frustratingly impractical boot opening. 

First impressions

Actually, the latest version of the Ecosport is an improvement. The quality of the cabin is better – admittedly there are still some dodgy areas, but who spends their t...