2019 Ford Ecosport vs Renault Captur

What's the difference?

We live in a strange time, where cars are going the way of the dinosaur and SUVs will take their place as the primary offerings of the worlds oldest and biggest car companies.

Look at Ford, the brand that literally wrote the book on automotive mass-production will soon no longer sell cars in its home market of America (apart from the Mustang, of course…) There’s a story your grandpa won’t believe.

It makes SUVs, especially small ones like the EcoSport all the more important. Customers who once would have considered the Fiesta small hatch (on which the EcoSport is based) would now rather hop into one of these. At least, that’s what the data says.

So, is the EcoSport a worthy successor to the hatchback mantle? Is it even economical or sporty? And what happened to the spare wheel on the rear door? Read on to find out.

The Renault Captur is stupendously, ridiculously popular… in Europe.

So popular, in fact, that it’s not quite enough to have just one Renault Captur, to they sell another one - a de-specified, Dacia-based Renault Kaptur – that looks exactly the same.

Bizarre. But then, the Captur is a bit bizarre. It’s as if it comes from an alternate dimension where style trumps practicality, and vibrant colours and tight dimensions are more important than, say, a cupholder.

The point is, in Australia at least, buying a French car tends to be a deliberate and not necessarily value-based choice. With so many keenly priced and well-specified Japanese and Korean competitors, a car like this requires a buyer who wants something genuinely different.

So, can the recently updated Captur appeal to buyers wanting something a little left of centre in one of Australia’s most hotly contested market segments, or does it play second-fiddle to the small SUV market leaders? I spent a week in one to find out.