Sales of small crossovers are growing rapidly, with the Peugeot 2008, Renault Captur and Nissan Juke all making hay, while the Vauxhall Mokka even made it into the top 10 biggest-selling new cars of 2015.

In only its first full year of sales, the Ford Ecosport was another crossover that enjoyed success. However, Ford has already moved to address criticisms of a car that, having been developed primarily for Brazil, wasn’t made with European tastes and requirements at its heart.

The large-scale revamp includes interior, exterior and engineering changes, the most obvious of them being the removal of the rear-mounted spare wheel. However, it can be refitted as a cost option.

Retuned suspension, a 10mm reduction in ride height, and optimised power steering and ESC systems are designed to improve the driving experience. It’s better, although still out of kilter with the rest of Ford’s
fine-handling range.

On the inside, the handbrake has been repositioned for better accessibility, while thicker sound deadening materials boost refinement.

In 125hp petrol form, the Ecosport is more refined and relaxed than its predecessor, while the interior tweaks, which include a restyled instrument cluster, give it a lift.

The cabin still trails rivals in overall quality, though. Whole-life costs are encouraging. Competitive pricing, residuals that are in the same postcode as the car’s rivals (if 1.5 percentage points off the Vauxhall Mokka, the best of the bunch) and reasonable emissions the Vauxhall cannot match, mean the Ecosport has an impressive cost per mile of 40.1p. That’s lower than every rival bar the Renault Captur.

It’s still challengingly tall, certainly not pretty and still not the best example of Ford’s improved product quality, but the Ecosport does at least make a case for itself on paper.