Used Ford Ecosport cars for sale or finance at 10.9% APR

The Ecosport is available only as a five-door compact crossover. Look out for Active trim if you want to dial up the crossover style. Earlier models tried to look rugged with a 4x4-esque spare wheel holder on the tailgate, but newer models go without this and come with a tyre repair kit instead.

Measuring 4.1 metres long, the Ecosport is teeny by SUV standards. That makes it easy to see out of, and easy to drive in tight city streets and winding country lanes. Headroom is really good and there’s plenty of space for your feet under the front seats, although legroom is tight and it might be difficult to get young children in and out.

The boot is a nice, square shape, and its 335-litre boot is a little bigger than what you get in a Fiesta. Just make sure that you don’t park too far back if you want to get in the boot, as the tailgate swings open to the left rather than opening upwards like most cars.

You can find diesel Ecosports, but you’re much more likely to find a petrol engine slotted in a car this size. The petrol is Ford’s 1.0-litre Ecoboost unit, available in three different power outputs. It might be small and efficient, but it’s also punchy.

All models are front-wheel drive and equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox, unless you hold out for an automatic used Ford Ecosport – which pop up in our range occasionally.

There are almost no bad cars in the Ecosport's compact SUV class because sheer competitiveness has weeded out the weaker models.

The Ecosport itself isn't quite the best to drive, nor is it the most practical option here, bested by the likes of the SEAT Arona and Skoda Kamiq.

It does, however, have a unique selling point thanks to its more traditional SUV styling. Most cars in this class look and feel like slightly overgrown hatchbacks but, with its lofty driving position and a retro side-opening boot lid, the Ecosport has a unique Tonka-toy-like appeal.

Earlier versions of the Ecosport were available with four-wheel drive (4WD) but, even when it was an option, it wasn't especially common. The majority of Ecosports left the factory with front-wheel drive. Ford has since dropped the four-wheel-drive version entirely, leaving only front-wheel-drive Ecosports on sale.

In practice, almost no owners would really benefit from four-wheel drive because the Ecosport was never intended to tackle the kind of serious off-roading where 4WD would be needed.

If you want to make sure your Ecosport copes through the UK's colder months, consider fitting a set of winter tyres. These will give you more than enough grip to use front-wheel-drive Ecosports all year round.

While Ford's performance as a brand in reliability surveys is fairly mid-pack, the Ecosport has tended to perform a little better with the likes of Driver Power ranking it highly for dependability.

Many of the parts and engines are shared with older Fiesta models and most of the common problems have now been worked out.

You can save yourself from the stress of unexpected repair costs by adding an extended warranty to your Ecosport when you purchase it.

All recent Ecosport models are only rated to tow a braked trailer weighing up to 900kg. That means, unless your caravan is very small, you'll probably be better off choosing a larger and more powerful tow car.