Battle of the SUVs: Fiat Avventura takes on Ford EcoSport

The Fiat Avventura is true to the concept of a compact crossover and makes for a good alternative to the Ford EcoSport, says Faisal Ali Khan of MotorBeam.com

The demand for crossovers and SUVs has been soaring the world-over so why should Indians stay behind? Seeing the demand for these macho looking vehicles, manufacturers in India are increasingly offering pseudo crossovers and compact SUVs.

One such popular offering is the Ford EcoSport which is a very hot-seller and now Fiat has brought out the Avventura which has huge potential in the Indian market. We pit the Italian beast against the established American.

The Ford EcoSport and Ford Avventura are both under the 4-metre mark when it comes to length with both vehicles having a tail gate mounted spare wheel.

The EcoSport looks more butch as it's taller with a meaner front-end. The Avventura comes across as attractive too but doesn't have the same presence as the Ford.

Both cars get roof rails and black body cladding which runs throughout the car. The lights on the Avventura are really attractive and overall it's the Fiat which turns more heads although the EcoSport looks more SUV.

Both these cars have black interiors but the Fiat has a dual-tone treatment while Ford has used silver inserts in plenty on the dashboard. These cars have a large dashboard and come with a lot of kit.

The EcoSport is the more loaded though with push button start, keyless go, Bluetooth audio, reverse parking sensors and side airbags being offered on the top trim.

The Fiat misses out on these features but has better build quality as nothing feels flimsy on the Italian car.

The cabin of the Avventura has an appeal of its own, it gets three meters on the centre console which is in line with its adventurous side (tilt meters and compass).

The EcoSport does have more interior room and also has the bigger boot.

Furthermore, the tail gate of the Fiat isn't as easy to open as the Ford's and with more storage bins inside the EcoSport, the American vehicle has the more practical cabin.

Both these cars are offered with petrol and diesel engine options but Ford has the better engines here.

In terms of petrol, Fiat isn't offering the T-Jet so there is no comparison with the EcoBoost powered EcoSport as it's just in another league.

When comparing with the Ti-VCT mill, the FIRE engine still lacks grunt and can't match the EcoSport's better performing unit.

The 1.5-litre petrol engine in the EcoSport produces 112 PS and 140 Nm while the 1.4-litre petrol mill in the Avventura only belts out 90 PS and 115 Nm.

Coming to the diesels, the EcoSport is better here too as it is quicker with better low-end response. 0-100 km/hr comes up in 13.4 seconds in the diesel EcoSport while the Avventura takes 14.6 seconds.

While both engines output near about 91 PS, the Fiat generates 209 Nm of torque against the TDCi motor's 200 Nm. Still the EcoSport is faster and better performing, it also has the better gearbox and better mileage too.

Ford also offers a 6-speed automatic gearbox for the petrol EcoSport while there is no such option on the Avventura.

One can confidently say that Ford cars are excellent in dynamics but Fiat is even better in this regard.

The Avventura has the better ride and handling balance here, it also has the better steering with the tyres offering more grip. Thus the Avventura is ahead of the EcoSport in the dynamics department.

Both cars come with generous ground clearance so tackling the worst of roads isn't a task at all, as long as the terrain isn't off-road since neither come with 4-wheel drive.

Choosing either of these cars isn't a wrong decision at all as both have a lot to offer.

However, as a product, the Ford EcoSport is just better but one can't deny the fact that the Fiat is more desirable of the two.

That said, the Avventura is priced between Rs 711,000 and Rs 987,000 while the EcoSport is more expensive as it ranges between Rs 770,000 and Rs 12.04 lakh.

Thus the Fiat ends up being an excellent alternative to the Ford for those on a budget.

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