Pricing Switcheroo As Ford EcoSport Faces New Rivals

In a matter of days, we’ll have a first drive review of the Hyundai Venue for you to peruse. That tiny vehicle’s introduction to the crossover market pertains to this story, as it’s yet another small, cargo-happy vehicle the Ford EcoSport — a vehicle that was aging even before its arrival on these shores — must face in 2020.

As one can expected from a new model-year vehicle, the EcoSport saw a price increase for 2020, but just as suddenly, it didn’t.

As noticed by CarsDirect, the $490 removed from the entry price of a base EcoSport S last week puts the subcompact, Indian-born crossover right back where it started. The model’s current $19,999 pre-destination MSRP is the same as when the EcoSport appeared in January of 2018.

In a letter to dealers, Ford said the “competitive pricing action” applies only to the entry-level S, with loftier trims keeping their original 2020 price alterations.

Add destination, and the cheapest new EcoSport you’ll come across retails for $21,090. On paper, anyway. Generous dealer cash available for EcoSport intenders (especially for lessees) will push that price downwards quite a bit, which should give the model a helping hand in fighting off a growing number of competitors.

Since it appeared on the sales charts in January 2018, the EcoSport has seen the introduction of the low-priced Nissan Kicks, which undercuts the Blue Oval offering, and the new Venue, which also dives below the EcoSport’s starting price. A base 2020 Kicks S begins at $19,965 after destination, while the Venue SE’s floor is pegged at $18,345. All three of these vehicles are front-drive in entry-level spec (and in the case of the Kicks, all specs).

Before long, the pint-sized Ford will have to contend with the larger and more powerful Chevrolet Trailblazer, a tweener model positioned between the subcompact and compact classes. That model, which in this writer’s eye looks a damn sight better than the EcoSport, just happens to start at $19,995 after destination.

Ford will either have to keep those incentives flowing or come up with a newer, better EcoSport.

[Image: Ford]