Team-BHP - Ford Ikon TDCI Versus Tata Indigo

Hi Folks,
I have been planning on purchasing a Diesel Sedan for a few months now & have been regularly going through the opinions on the forum... Initially i was kind of zeroed in on a Tata Indigo based on my budget of ~6 Lakhs. But now the Ford Ikon TDCI has also come into my reconning. My anticipated driving is about 2500-3000 Kms per month.

I have heard quite some positive remarks on the Ford Ikon TDCI in terms of fuel efficiency, performance, durability etc

However, i havent heard too many good remarks on the Tata Indigo.. most people told me that the car starts making a rattling noise in a couple of years, fuel efficiency is not as good as the ford ikon. and so on..

On the personal front, i liked the look sof the Indigo CS better than the Ford Ikon... also a fully loaded Indigo CS is cheaper by atleast 75K to 1 Lakh as compared to the Ikon.

I would like to have your advise which would surely aide my selection.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys..

Cheers..
Peets.

Between the 2 cars, I would suggest go for the Ikon. Both the car and the engine are proven entities - reliable and hassle free. The engine has enough juice. The Ikon also happens to be one of the best handlers ever in the Indian car market.

Avoid buying the Indigo. Tata cars seem good value for money in the short run - considering the features offered and the price. But in the long run, they turn into headaches, with small niggling maintainence problems cropping up time and again. I can vouch for this from personal experience.

If you enjoy driving, it has to be the Ikon. It is quite comfortable on long drives as well. The TDCi motor is a breeze in the city with hardly any turbo lag as compared to the competition's CRDi engines.

The Dzire makes a strong case for itself. It's a Maruti, has a better engine (albeit some turbo lag). Test Drive both to see whether you prefer the handling and ride of the Ford or the Maruti.

The Indigo is a decent car, but I don't find it VFM anymore after these two cars. And i hate that high-set steeing wheel!

Dzire should be the best choice considering its a modern car with the best engine,refinement,FE,pickup,features(Zdi) etc.

Ikon is a decade old and its age is showing now.

However,it has a fabulous engine and is much better than the Indigo in every way.

Logan is a competent car provided you get over the looks :)

Hi Folks
Thanks for all your advice. I finally zeroed in & have bought an Indigo CS. Basically compared the maintenance costs plus cost of spares of the ikon TDCI versus the Indigo & that gave me a clear choice on the Indigo CS.

The car is an Indigo CS LX silver in colour. First service done & 2500 Kms up. A good experience this far.

Cheers.
Peets.

there is no specific indigo user group, and the cars are essentially identical except for the rear end.
Same mechanicals, body parts, interiors....
so the problems we face are the same, and any information about indicas also applies to indigos

I was talking about the first generation indica, since peets' Indigo CS is virtually the same.

The new indica vista has almost nothing in common with the old indica, except the name, and probably the TDi engine ( which has now been discontinued in the first generation indica, but still available with indigos) , and the dicor engine which will be one of the engine options in the vista sedan.

The current vista does have a 1.2L FIRE engine. The vista sedan will have a 1.4L FIRE engine (the one available in the linea) , which will have a different ECU and gearbox, obviously.

The vista sedan petrol will also have an option of a 1.4 petrol engine , similar to the ones found in the now discontinued xeta GLX, and found in the indigo sedans, but with A DOHC head - the same engine in the Indigo XL petrol.

So yes, all these cars are inter related, somehow or the other.

Of course, safaris and sumos are an entirely different cup of tea

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn (Post 1328119)

I was talking about the first generation indica, since peets' Indigo CS is virtually the same.

I am not a mind reader , so how should I know previously what you meant by Indica. Actually First generation Indica was different , what you are referring to is 2nd gen and Vista is 3rg gen. I am saying this because Indicas did exist before V2 came out. In case you were comparing Indigo CS with those that came out before V2 , let me tell you that a 10 year old auto-rikshaw and a Nissan 350Z are not the same thing. :uncontrol It's like comparing apple with orrange.

Indigo CS won't be totally discontinued after launch of Vista sedan , but production will be lessened and perhaps they will stop selling the hire end variants - like they did with V2 once Vista came out !