Ford Ikon Flair

[manson]

Initial impressions:



Well well well , it had been couple of months since we ha been thinkngof goingin for a mid-sizer around the 5-6 lakh budget . Car was meant to be bought for occasional use and not hard-core running which my scorpio and the zen have the job to do . Running being limited fuel efficiency wasn't a great issue .

The search had come down to two cars the baleno and the flair.
I know it isn't really fair to compare the Flair's 1300 cc engine to the baleno s powerhouse , but the car was going to be purchased mainly for my dad's use , so power was not really required , why spend that extra 1 lakh for a 1.6 engine , benefits of which is never going to be put to any use at all .

Now it was maruti's goodwill v/s ford's aggressive marketing .
I was extremely confused as it was a bigger car with better fuel efficiency and refinement levels and the likes of any other maruti .
and there was a ford ikon which had a plus point of looks & a cheaper price tag .My father had been inlove with the compactnes of the Ikon's exterior since its launch .

Got my dad to almost buy a baleno when he decided not to go for one simple due to it's orthodox and bulky looks .

So the choice was made , a Ford Ikon Flair . Deals were called from Shaman and Shakti (ford dealers) . Shaman beat Shakti by thowing in some goodies like a spoiler & fog lamps apart from the usual car cover , mud flaps , etc .

The delivery took 10 days more than the expected date due to foolishness on part of the Shaman employees , anywasy overall the service was good enough (considerin the deal they gave me ) .

30th March 2005 the silver mist ikon rolled into the family , alas finally .

Well a little about the car : ( little as the car has done as little as 160 kms till now due to its limited use )

The exterior of the car is just great , clear headlamps , all white tail lamps , spoiler , mags(K-SPEED 13 INCH) on Bridgestone G-3'S 185/70 . It is kept in the cover most of the time .But trust me even after doing so much and taking all the pains to keep it clean some biscycle guy scratched the rear left side door minutely when it was parked .That was extremely frustrating but then it 's bombay ,, you really can't help it .

The interiors are good enough , best in a 5 lakh saloon i'd say except for the power window control , which is infact in the worst position ford could have thought of .The armrests offer great support for some long driving .Reversing is a little difficult due to the high tray for the speakers and the raised boot of the ikon , but then these are things one can get used to.

The drive of the car initially was pretty normal to me , just like any other car , as i had not driven the car much. But later my views about the same changed very soon (that's the reason i'm writing this review at almost 6 am after getting back from a a club not very far away ).

The handling i had always heard about was now experienced , it was amazingly crisp (though after driving a Scorpio or any other suv every car saloon feels ). The throttle response was something that i cannot express in words . Did 130 for a moment as a couple of people on the forum have advised to do so a couple of times for light moments .The speed was done on the sea-link and the long left-hander was taken efforlessly on a 110 kmph .

The brakes and the suspension are something that Ford could work on .

Overall i'm really satisfied with the car and think it is a great package at an even better price . Has all one could think of in a base model , power windows , electric boot , central locking , etc .I'd suggest this car to anyone looking for anyone looking for a car at this budget without a second thought .

Manson .

[typeOnegative]

Nice write up manson. The Flair is a decent enough car which has goodies to make up for its lack of performance (when comapred to 1.6 L cars). BTW, weren't Shaman and Shakti offering the Anniversary edition?

[jesal]

u got the car already i dint know only. post the pics man.

[revtech]

hey dude nice write up.
would like to see some pics.please put them up soon.

[drifter]

Congrats on the purchase dude...and yeah post some pics. how abt a debut of the ikon at the next meet?

Drifter

[nitrous]

nice to read the review. i dont think the flair comes with 185/70 r13 tyres. are u sure??

btw, do be careful with the brakes.... u never know when the wheels lock. i use MRF ZVTS for the ride and dissatisfied with the grip during braking. don't know which one to blame... the brakes or the tyres.

anyways happy revving. drive safe.

[drifter]

nice to read the review. i dont think the flair comes with 185/70 r13 tyres. are u sure??

No dude he's upgraded the tyres. I think originals are 165s.

Drifter

[manson]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

Nice write up manson. The Flair is a decent enough car which has goodies to make up for its lack of performance (when comapred to 1.6 L cars). BTW, weren't Shaman and Shakti offering the Anniversary edition?

yeah they were , but it wasn't worth that extra bit of cash for me as i would throw that music system strraight out of the window and it had a couple of other things too including imitation leather which i'm not a great fan of .

manson .

[manson]

Originally Posted by drifter

No dude he's upgraded the tyres. I think originals are 165s.

Drifter

It comes with the 175/70 Mrf's with tubes that too

manson .

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by manson

yeah they were , but it wasn't worth that extra bit of cash for me as i would throw that music system strraight out of the window and it had a couple of other things too including imitation leather which i'm not a great fan of .

manson .

Oh okay. That made sense. I know of two colleagues who went in for the Anniv special just for that extra stuff.

[manson]

Originally Posted by jesal

u got the car already i dint know only. post the pics man.

would love to but no cam , maybe you could do the clicking for me !

manson .

[manson]

[quote=nitrous]btw, do be careful with the brakes.... u never know when the wheels lock. i use MRF ZVTS for the ride and dissatisfied with the grip during braking. don't know which one to blame... the brakes or the tyres.

QUOTE]

have already changed them to G3'S so now i know who to blame for bad braking

manson .

[manson]

Originally Posted by drifter

Congrats on the purchase dude...and yeah post some pics. how abt a debut of the ikon at the next meet?

Drifter

drifter there aint any three digit speeds going to be happening for quite some time , just some light moment ones , so guess you shouldn't expect much except a great looking car if i get it

manson .

[Revvmaster]

Really an eye-opener of a review there Manson.

Congrats on your acquisition. The Flair, unlike the Endura engined Ikon of erstwhile has upped the stakes. My small go in the car after a torrid experience once in a 1.3 Pushrod made me open my eyes to this car.

Did 130 for a moment as a couple of people on the forum have advised to do so a couple of times for light moments .The speed was done on the sea-link and the long left-hander was taken efforlessly on a 110 kmph .

What kinda rpm were you doing? Because you seem to be hitting beyond 4000 rpm by the look of it. Avoid going that high just yet. Stick to the 2000-2800 rpm range to ensure better longevity for your engine till the 3000 km mark. Gradually going up the revv range while you clock the kilometers is good for your engine. Its just a suggestion.

Keep Revvin (TM)
Revvmaster

[manson]

thanks for the suggestion revv , infact i ve been maintaining the 2000 rpm mark or less usually but i had heard somewhere that once ina while a lill dash for a moment helps .
haven't done that more than once , even the left hander done was while i was goin in for the 130 kmph mark .

manson .