The fierce competition among automobile manufacturers in India is now becoming more interesting. There are big established players like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai which account for around 67 per cent of the market sales. And then there are others. In recent times Honda, Ford, Renault, and Toyota have all had their wonder cars. And they all have been trying to capitalise on them to get a bigger share. After all, the Indian automobile industry is set to become the third largest passenger car market by 2020. It is as lucrative as it gets. And, as competitive as it could be. The smaller players are now starting to understand the market better. Amidst all this competition, the customers get spoilt with choices. The case in point here is of Ford India.
Tracing the US car maker Ford’s journey in India we bring to you a brief on the recent off-road event that Ford conducted to showcase the strength and capability with their flagship car, Endeavour.
The experience near the Gurgaon-Faridabad road was reflective of the boost in confidence that the U.S. car manufacturer is experiencing. And why not! There is the all new Figo hatchback in which we rallied on to Agra earlier in the year. That is one powerful car that has been received well in the market. The Figo Aspire sedan with the hint of Aston Martin front also seems to be great value for money.
But, the new generation face-lifted Endeavour is what Ford India is most excited about. You sit inside it and it makes you feel all covered and protected. No wonder, it has a massive presence on the road. To gauge how it navigates on divergent roads, we drove around in a secluded farm. It had a laid out track to offer challenges to the beastly car. There was slush, hill climb, descent, sandy patches, and rocky terrains.
For our convenience, marshals were deployed in the co-passenger seats to help us out in the otherwise-difficult quick change of drive modes. Even then it was a bit complicated affair to put on the sand mode or the rock mode as we drove our 4X4 vehicle with the constant eye on track for the task ahead. Luckily, the car once set in the right mode did not fail to impress. It was indeed pleasing to see how the 18-inch alloy wheels with the ground clearance of 225mm rolled and danced round the track in a smooth and sturdy way.
No problem at all. The off-road test completed. The verdict on the car – powerful and capable. Getting more and more price competitive, Ford India slashed the new Endeavour prices recently with the 3.2litre automatic now available at Rs. 25.93 lakh.
