Ford Ikon Rally Sport - 25K km report - Team-BHP

rangaraj · 5th December 2005, 18:58

Hi,

After i bought my baleno (you will see a lot of comparisions with it as we go along), my wife wanted a car, a SMALLL car. I am relatively tall and insisted on a mid size car and we went and bought the Josh machine - a rally sport. Did not try any other car and having test driving this, fell in love with it and bought it.

My wife drives it and hardly clocks mileage, so it becomes a weekend car for me, so here is a report of driving it for 5 years and clocking just 25K kms!

It takes getting used to a high rev car and it is sort of like trying to control a prancing horse (naa. no punn or comparisions towards the ferrari intended!). My wife took some time to get used to it, but now we both enjoy driving it.

Before taking delivery of it, the dealer threw in leather upholstery, and i got rid of the silly rally sport sticker. After less than a month, the power steering pump leaked, and had to be replaced (within warranty).

Here are some impressions:

a. Driving experience - Sheer Pleasure!
b. Braking performance - good. Never had to contend with a panic stop as i did with the baleno, so have not tested high speed braking to zero - thankfully!
c. Power steering - still not as smooth as the baleno (the accent is a lot more easier than the baleno) - especially at slow speeds or during parking. The baleno i think has a speed adjusting power steering if i remember right.
d. maintenance - routine (~2K per visit every ~5K kms). Nothing major changed.

My wife complains of three things:
1. Bad rear view visibility - when you are backing up, as the boot is at a height, it is not easy to judge distance.
2. Wheel nut locks - as the rally sport has alloy wheels, the wheel nuts tend to rust/lock up a lot more easily than the other cars. It takes an enormous effort to unlock them when you have a flat tyre. Recommended that with every service, you ask them to open them up and that way they can rotate the tyres as well.
3. Fuel guzzler - 6-8 kmpl in the city. But then, at that point in time the josh effect overtook everything else ;-).. Its good to see newer cars these days having both the josh effect and having a good FE!

I noticed during one of the service visits (i went to drop the car of this time), the underside and the silencer was rusted. Strange in bangalore, especially that the baleno did not have this problem. Got a coating done, but it does not speak much of the quality of material used by ford.

One queer point to note - the front doors have a heavy thud when they close which gives you the sense of solidity, but the rear doors sound like a usual low end car!

Overall i would say it is a fun car to drive, decent space, average interiors finish, good performance, bad FE and is a great car to drive.

bhp · 5th December 2005, 19:03

nice report rangaraj ...
i was also a ikon owner and the negative aspect in the car was its breaks .. they are just pathetic to wat power the car and the problem has not yet rectified by ford ..

@rangaraj . all four doors of my car had that solid thud sound ..

Samurai · 5th December 2005, 19:07

Good review. Ford Rally Sport, I am not familiar with this car. I wasn't in India around 2000, may be I missed this model. Any photos please...

Usually members here go ga-ga over Baleno braking ability and pooh-pooh Ford (Icon) brakes, you seem to be having opposite experience. Strange.

Regarding nut locks, may be they used wrong pcd wheels.

rangaraj · 5th December 2005, 19:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

Good review. Ford Rally Sport, I am not familiar with this car. I wasn't in India around 2000, may be I missed this model. Any photos please...

Usually members here go ga-ga over Baleno braking ability and pooh-pooh Ford (Icon) brakes, you seem to be having opposite experience. Strange.

Regarding nut locks, may be they used wrong pcd wheels.

Samurai, i guess i have not really tested the ikon so it may not be an accurate assessment.

With regard to the nut locks - they are all factory fitted!

rangaraj · 5th December 2005, 19:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

Good review. Ford Rally Sport, I am not familiar with this car. I wasn't in India around 2000, may be I missed this model. Any photos please...

Usually members here go ga-ga over Baleno braking ability and pooh-pooh Ford (Icon) brakes, you seem to be having opposite experience. Strange.

Regarding nut locks, may be they used wrong pcd wheels.

With regard to Rally Sport - it is a variant to the 1.6L engine with a spoiler, sporting steering wheel, leather covered gear shift knob etc. More cosmetic i gather rather than a change in engine/tuning.

DCEite · 5th December 2005, 21:44

hmm.. never heard of Ford Rally Sport (so the RS was here before Skoda lol.. )..
anyways, nice review, well balanced. Keep writing.

Tom · 5th December 2005, 22:05

yup the subject line is quite misleading
was expectin something on the Ford Focus RS (wrc spec)

filcord · 10th December 2005, 20:16

hi ranga, what was your experience with Ford service quality and cost of maintenance?
The Ikon sport is a sexy car, I particularly like the silver and the black. What colour was yours?

Shan2nu · 10th December 2005, 20:33

Even i don't remember any rally sport versions (except the 108bhp prototype displayed at a car show).

How about some pics?

Shan2nu

drifter · 10th December 2005, 21:12

There was a rally sport model for sometime...and if i remember correctly the differences were just cosmetic.

Drifter

karthik247 · 10th December 2005, 21:56

I think the Ford Ikon Rally Sport is available only in blue and black. Some differences from the normal Ikon are

1.Spoiler
2.Sporty 5twin spoke alloys
3.Rally Sport stickers on the sides.
4.It also has a big antenna on the boot, but not sure

lamborghini · 11th December 2005, 00:43

The Ikon Rally Sport was launched in the begining and was later replaced by the SXi.
I think it was a limited Edition with Narain being the brand ambassador.
It was available in Blue and Silver and had -
1. Rally Sport stickered on the sides
2. 5 spoke 13" alloy wheels
3. Spoiler
4. Leather seats.

It was priced similar to the ZXi but didn't have P/W. Had seen the car when we went to book our first ikon (a green 1.6 ZXi with alloys from outside. Looked HOT).

goldie_malhotra · 12th December 2005, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangaraj

c. Power steering - still not as smooth as the baleno (the accent is a lot more easier than the baleno) - especially at slow speeds or during parking.

The SXI version has a very small and sporty steering wheel, which is very smooth even at slow speeds. Found it better than accent or baleno. And made it much more fun to drive at higher speeds - just point and shoot

turbo_lover · 12th December 2005, 13:27

the Ikon 1.6 rally sport was out for a short period /sold less...
as lambo said available was only in Blue and Silver ...
the black Ikon is only available with the SXI trim which had the sporty bumper ,was nicknamed Pathera Pardus (black panther in the newspaper/billboard advertisements)

sjcherian · 14th December 2005, 19:49

I have seen a coule of the blue and silver rally sports in Chennai. Did they come with the side black strip removed ?

The smaller steering wheel was also available on the ZXI trim as well. After having used that wheel every other car with a slightly larger wheel feels like a bus's steering wheel.

5th December 2005, 18:58	#1 (permalink)
rangaraj BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 524	Ford Ikon Rally Sport - 25K km report Hi, After i bought my baleno (you will see a lot of comparisions with it as we go along), my wife wanted a car, a SMALLL car. I am relatively tall and insisted on a mid size car and we went and bought the Josh machine - a rally sport. Did not try any other car and having test driving this, fell in love with it and bought it. My wife drives it and hardly clocks mileage, so it becomes a weekend car for me, so here is a report of driving it for 5 years and clocking just 25K kms! It takes getting used to a high rev car and it is sort of like trying to control a prancing horse (naa. no punn or comparisions towards the ferrari intended!). My wife took some time to get used to it, but now we both enjoy driving it. Before taking delivery of it, the dealer threw in leather upholstery, and i got rid of the silly rally sport sticker. After less than a month, the power steering pump leaked, and had to be replaced (within warranty). Here are some impressions: a. Driving experience - Sheer Pleasure! b. Braking performance - good. Never had to contend with a panic stop as i did with the baleno, so have not tested high speed braking to zero - thankfully! c. Power steering - still not as smooth as the baleno (the accent is a lot more easier than the baleno) - especially at slow speeds or during parking. The baleno i think has a speed adjusting power steering if i remember right. d. maintenance - routine (~2K per visit every ~5K kms). Nothing major changed. My wife complains of three things: 1. Bad rear view visibility - when you are backing up, as the boot is at a height, it is not easy to judge distance. 2. Wheel nut locks - as the rally sport has alloy wheels, the wheel nuts tend to rust/lock up a lot more easily than the other cars. It takes an enormous effort to unlock them when you have a flat tyre. Recommended that with every service, you ask them to open them up and that way they can rotate the tyres as well. 3. Fuel guzzler - 6-8 kmpl in the city. But then, at that point in time the josh effect overtook everything else ;-).. Its good to see newer cars these days having both the josh effect and having a good FE! I noticed during one of the service visits (i went to drop the car of this time), the underside and the silencer was rusted. Strange in bangalore, especially that the baleno did not have this problem. Got a coating done, but it does not speak much of the quality of material used by ford. One queer point to note - the front doors have a heavy thud when they close which gives you the sense of solidity, but the rear doors sound like a usual low end car! Overall i would say it is a fun car to drive, decent space, average interiors finish, good performance, bad FE and is a great car to drive.

5th December 2005, 19:03	#2 (permalink)
bhp BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: lokhandwala mumbai Posts: 643 View My Garage	nice report rangaraj ... i was also a ikon owner and the negative aspect in the car was its breaks .. they are just pathetic to wat power the car and the problem has not yet rectified by ford .. @rangaraj . all four doors of my car had that solid thud sound .. __________________ 05 suzi baleno 07 city vtec 08 swift DDIS Live Life in the Fast Lane "vvvrrrooooommmmmmmm"

5th December 2005, 19:07	#3 (permalink)
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: KA-20 Posts: 8,271 View My Garage	Good review. Ford Rally Sport, I am not familiar with this car. I wasn't in India around 2000, may be I missed this model. Any photos please... Usually members here go ga-ga over Baleno braking ability and pooh-pooh Ford (Icon) brakes, you seem to be having opposite experience. Strange. Regarding nut locks, may be they used wrong pcd wheels. __________________ Samurai The only Super Car in my book -Bowler Wild Cat

10th December 2005, 20:16	#8 (permalink)
filcord BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: goa Posts: 751	hi ranga, what was your experience with Ford service quality and cost of maintenance? The Ikon sport is a sexy car, I particularly like the silver and the black. What colour was yours? __________________ Baleno Vxi 05 Ritz Zxi 09

10th December 2005, 21:12	#10 (permalink)
drifter Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,325 View My Garage	There was a rally sport model for sometime...and if i remember correctly the differences were just cosmetic. Drifter __________________ Slow Everything Down And Feel Like God - Tata Safari

5th December 2005, 21:44	#6 (permalink)
DCEite Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 2,187 View My Garage	hmm.. never heard of Ford Rally Sport (so the RS was here before Skoda lol.. ).. anyways, nice review, well balanced. Keep writing.

5th December 2005, 22:05	#7 (permalink)
Tom BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore, India. Posts: 396	yup the subject line is quite misleading was expectin something on the Ford Focus RS (wrc spec)

10th December 2005, 20:33	#9 (permalink)
Shan2nu Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnataka - India Posts: 4,793 View My Garage	Even i don't remember any rally sport versions (except the 108bhp prototype displayed at a car show). How about some pics? Shan2nu

10th December 2005, 21:56	#11 (permalink)
karthik247 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD Posts: 2,558 View My Garage	I think the Ford Ikon Rally Sport is available only in blue and black. Some differences from the normal Ikon are 1.Spoiler 2.Sporty 5twin spoke alloys 3.Rally Sport stickers on the sides. 4.It also has a big antenna on the boot, but not sure __________________ Mitsubishi Cedia - Pearl White Skoda Octavia vRS - Magic Black

11th December 2005, 00:43	#12 (permalink)
lamborghini Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai/RI, USA Posts: 3,065 View My Garage	The Ikon Rally Sport was launched in the begining and was later replaced by the SXi. I think it was a limited Edition with Narain being the brand ambassador. It was available in Blue and Silver and had - 1. Rally Sport stickered on the sides 2. 5 spoke 13" alloy wheels 3. Spoiler 4. Leather seats. It was priced similar to the ZXi but didn't have P/W. Had seen the car when we went to book our first ikon (a green 1.6 ZXi with alloys from outside. Looked HOT). __________________ ¢нєєяѕ ℓαмвσ

12th December 2005, 13:27	#14 (permalink)
turbo_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Windsor Posts: 1,292	the Ikon 1.6 rally sport was out for a short period /sold less... as lambo said available was only in Blue and Silver ... the black Ikon is only available with the SXI trim which had the sporty bumper ,was nicknamed Pathera Pardus (black panther in the newspaper/billboard advertisements) __________________ Every weapon needs a master

14th December 2005, 19:49	#15 (permalink)
sjcherian BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chennai Posts: 122 View My Garage	I have seen a coule of the blue and silver rally sports in Chennai. Did they come with the side black strip removed ? The smaller steering wheel was also available on the ZXI trim as well. After having used that wheel every other car with a slightly larger wheel feels like a bus's steering wheel. __________________ -Sushil (A car nut who blogs at cars.zimbly.com)

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