Ford India on Wednesday (20 January) launched an all-new premium sports utility vehicle (SUV) Endeavour, build on a completely new platform, in two variants -- 2.2 litre and 3.2 litre engines -- with an industry-first feature of airbags for the knees.
The models are priced in the range of Rs 24.75 lakh to Rs 27.7 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai), which is marginally cheaper than its immediate competition.
Nigel Harris, President & Managing Director, Ford India said, " For an automotive brand, the best way to begin the year is to launch a new product and that is what we are doing with all new Ford Endeavour. It will set a new benchmark in the SUV segment."
Anurag Mehrotra, Executive Director, Ford India said, "The all new Ford Endeavour is built tough with ultra-high strength steel & first-in-class 7 airbags, including one for even driver's knees. With the new Ford Endeavour, we are bringing to India the second generation of Ford's voice-activated connectivity system, SYNC 2 and recognises over 10,000 different voice commands."
Last year, the company had launched two 2 brand-new products and this year they are expected to introduce more vehicles in the Indian market including the conic car Ford Mustang.
"In 2015, we fulfilled our Product Excellence promise with 2 brand-new products, compact sedan Figo Aspire and hatchback new Figo. Today's launch is another stellar example of our Product Excellence Promise with all new Ford Endeavour," said Harris.
The upcoming Ford Endeavour will come with two engine options and two variants- a 2.2-litre, four-cylinder TDCi diesel engine churning out maximum power output of 157bhp and maximum torque of 385Nm, mated to both six-speed manual and automatic transmission.
While the 3.2-litre, four-cylinder TDCi diesel engine will come with peak power of 197bhp and peak torque of 470Nm, mated to only six-speed automatic transmission
The all new Ford Endeavour has a fuel efficiency of 14.12 km/l for the 2.2L MT, 12.62 km/l for the 2.2 AT and 10.91 km/l for the 3.2 AT AWD.
The company has strategically kept the price of the SUV nearly Rs 1 lakh lower than its chief competitor and segment leader Toyota Fortuner. The car will also compete with Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Hyundai Santa Fe and the recently launched Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV.
BW Reporters
The author is Senior Correspondent with BW Businessworld
