But before we begin, a question first. Why do people prefer SUVs over sedans? These are large, intimidating, and brawny machines that have proven to be extremely desirable over the years across the globe. What is the prime reason behind this?
You see, on our particularly bad roads, driving an SUV gives the driver a certain advantage. While sedans and hatchbacks do struggle a fair bit to tackle broken roads, SUVs easily glide through without even giving the driver the heebie-jeebies of scraping the underbelly. While this may only prove to be a valuable consideration for our market, SUVs in global markets are popular because of their road presence and commanding view while driving. Also valid for Indian roads.
Now, if we talk about the full-size SUV space, in particular, the variety now makes the decision to buy an SUV quite difficult. There’s the Toyota Fortuner – the leader of the pack – followed by the Ford Endeavour, the Mahindra Alturas G4, and the brand-new MG Gloster.
For today, however, we’re only going to be talking about the Ford Endeavour. The Endeavour has been, hands down, the most engaging SUV to drive in this segment, with an equal blend of performance, agility, and off-roading manners.
Updated in early-2020, the Ford Endeavour received a very small cosmetic update alongside a new BS-VI approved powertrain to retain its presence in the Indian market. However, the minor cosmetic upgrade only included a pair of new projector lens for the similar headlamps and new Endeavour badging on the front fender in place of ‘3.2’ or ‘2.2’ from the earlier model. That’s literally about it. On the inside, the Endeavour received the ‘FordPass’ connected car tech, and that’s about it.
However, the biggest change was under the hood. The big and brawny Ford cars now gets a new 2.0-litre engine, which is capable of making 168bhp and 420Nm of torque. It comes mated to a 10-speed automatic gearbox. This might seem like a huge downgrade in comparison to the earlier powertrains, but the Ford still remains peppy to drive nonetheless.
Now that you’ve heard about the 2020 Endeavour, its cosmetic upgrades and the all-new BS-VI compliant powertrain, let’s hear about the new Sport Edition, which is the newest addition to the otherwise ageing model.
Starting with what’s new on the outside, the Endeavour Sport, compared to the standard model, features a few cosmetic changes to the exterior. Starting with the front-end of the Sport, it now gets smoked finish for the headlamps, updated piano black finish with honeycomb pattern three-slat grille on the face, the skid plate too is now finished in black and all of the chrome detailing too has been darkened.
On the side, the Endeavour Sport gets a pair of new alloy wheels – which are also black – fender vents, roof rails, and outside rear-view mirrors. At the back, the Endy Sport gets black trimming instead of silver and chrome trim, and the tailgate now features a new Sport badge. Lastly, it is available in a choice of three colours – Absolute Black, Diffused Silver and Diamond White.
Step inside, and the Endeavour Sport visual remains similar to the standard model. For a car that’s completely blacked-out from the outside, the Endeavour Sport, surprisingly, features the same black-and-beige interior layout with its standard derivative. The feature list, too, continues to be the same as it gets LED headlamps, powered front seats, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, dual-zone climate control, hands-free tailgate opening, cruise controland more. It also comes with the ‘FordPass’ connectivity suite, which was introduced first with the BS-VI update. The safety net of the Endy Sport includes 7 airbags, ESC, traction control, tyre pressure monitor, hill descent control and more.
On the powertrain front, too, the Endeavour Sport continues to be powered with the same 2.0-litre mill, which is expected from a cosmetic upgraded limited-edition trim. So, the only changes to the Endeavour Sport are minimal cosmetic upgrades and all-things blacked-out from the outside.
For this, you’ll have to shell out an extra Rs 65,000 more than Titanium+ 4×4, which comes along as an equally equipped variant. Priced at Rs 35.10 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the limited-run Endeavour Sport only makes sense if black is your favourite colour.Also, grab the latest info on the new cars, only at autoX.
