[mnemonic]

Well Brethern,

Its been a while since posted since my intro in the forum, full credit goes to my client site which is not so well "linked".

Having decided that I am going in for a used car ( Given the nature of medium term plans ) in the coming month the question of which car has been hounding me for quite a while. Since Im looking for a set of wheels that will bring a smile onto my face everytime i step on the gas, the options became fairly limited. ( Induced Constraint: Budget of 2-3.5 L, i.e OHC VTec out of the window ) Infact that left me with just 2 contendors to ponder over.

1. Ford Ikon 1.6 Sxi:
After hearing all the hype of being a drivers car with a chassis that compliments the Rocam unit, i took a test drive of an SXi and i certainly was hooked on to the Josh of the machine. It certainly did have the pep i needed and turned into corners without much of a complaint. As the pundits rightly mention, the engine is slightly unrefined ( or am i being polite ? ) as the revs go up. However, that is not much of a concern as the powerplant does the job quite well. I found the rear seats quite comfy though we might not be using it much. Boot is quite to my liking as i look up hitting the road over the weekends. Overall, quite a fit to my requirements.

2. Fiat Palio GTX:

• Its Italian design .( The land of the Ferrari's, Ducati's...need i say more? )
• Its got a DOHC 100 Bhp powerplant! (My obsession with the 16 V, >=100bhp engines doesnt die...)
• Holds the road well and takes to curves as good as the Ikon.
• Its built like a tank ( Apart from the minor product quality glitches )

Who cares if the fiat service network sucks, the spares are expensive and all those I will never buy a FIAT stories that float around, afterall putting that little extra effort in your car never hurts!!!

Would like the views of the team on the duo that im looking at and any value added fundas from fellow enthusiasts.

PS: If the mods wont object, can someone show a pointer towards any used Ikons or GTXs in the NCR?

cheers

Ram

[jkdas]

Ikon days are over... parts??? Brakes ? but you get a boot

Palio; tata to take over service or maybe even sales. Its a minature ferrari. Palio anyday. Try to find S10

[S Pathak]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Ikon days are over... parts??? Brakes ? but you get a boot

???

Didn't quite get this. Ikon 1.6 is discontinued, but the 1.3 version, which apart from the engine assembly, is exactly the same vehicle, is still under production. The way it is positioned today, the 1.3 version is unlikely to be discontinued too soon.

For the discontinued vehicle which has sold quite well in the past, availability of highly replacable parts should not be an issue for next 5-7 years. Most importantly, the spares cost of Ikon, quite contrary to the belief of most here, is quite cheap. I wish I had the data handy, but quite a comprehensive cost comparison was carried out about a year back in one of the major auto mags. The Ikon spares cost was lowest in its category with corsa's being the costliest. Mileage - still above 10 with AC in city driving conditions and 11-12 without AC depending on driving style. Build quality is at par with Palio though the interiors are not great.

I drive the 1.6 version and just love it's handling, especially at high speeds. High speed cornering is just amazing but that part has also been helped by fatter tyres. Never faced any issue with braking - city or highway (again might be an attribute of tyre upsize and alloys, not sure). The Ford dealer in Bangalore had handled sales and post sales services in a competent manner and I do not have complains here either. You might need to do some check in your city. I do not care about engine noise or mileage as such and know for sure that the spares are not going to vanish in the next 5 years. Till then.....nirvana.

Palio GTX is a great vehicle albeit with costly spares and Fiat's ASS. Only if Tata does a decent ASS job, it should be a great vehicle to own. But that's a question that remain unanswered as of now.

[jkdas]

1.3 still sells but will it be there thsi thsi year end? 1.8D too isnt sold in many cities.

[S Pathak]

Well, your guess would be as good as mine. The same skepticism creeps in for Palio as well unless Tata does an amazing job to keep this driver's delight vehicle alive.

On a different note, why is the Baleno not being considered ? No ASS / spares issues at all. Not too sure whether it would fit in your budget, but do check out the prices.

[major]

Buddy

My suggestion choose any one - Palio GTX / S10 (Both are 1.6)

[amit]

The ghost of expensive spares and poor ASS refuses to leave Fiat. In my almost 2 years of owning a S10, I never spent more then Rs.650 for any service and ASS from Anuroop in particular and Angad was damn good. I,personally, don't think Fiat spares are expensive. They used to be but over the years the spare prices have been rationalised to a large extent.

As for the question, I would say go for the Palio 1.6 GTX or S10. It's a great car built with a lot of passion. The amount of passion gone into a family hatch really amazes me. Must hand it to the Italians. If you love driving, go for the Palio. It will not dissappoint you.

[moralfibre]

Go for the GTX/S10. Ikon 1.6 is a comparable vehicle but the performance of the hatch appeals better than the Ikon.

Originally Posted by S Pathak

???
Didn't quite get this. Ikon 1.6 is discontinued, but the 1.3 version, which apart from the engine assembly, is exactly the same vehicle, is still under production. The way it is positioned today, the 1.3 version is unlikely to be discontinued too soon.

I guess he is looking for a performance vehicle which puts the 1.3 out of competition.

[gr8guzzler]

Chances that you get a well maintained Ikon 1.6ZXI/SXI are much higher than you getting a good Palio 1.6 GTX/S10.

Go for the Ikon...

Cheers!!!

[suman]

Originally Posted by S Pathak

???

Didn't quite get this. Ikon 1.6 is discontinued, but the 1.3 version, which apart from the engine assembly, is exactly the same vehicle, is still under production. The way it is positioned today, the 1.3 version is unlikely to be discontinued too soon.

For the discontinued vehicle which has sold quite well in the past, availability of highly replacable parts should not be an issue for next 5-7 years. Most importantly, the spares cost of Ikon, quite contrary to the belief of most here, is quite cheap. I wish I had the data handy, but quite a comprehensive cost comparison was carried out about a year back in one of the major auto mags. The Ikon spares cost was lowest in its category with corsa's being the costliest. Mileage - still above 10 with AC in city driving conditions and 11-12 without AC depending on driving style. Build quality is at par with Palio though the interiors are not great.

I drive the 1.6 version and just love it's handling, especially at high speeds. High speed cornering is just amazing but that part has also been helped by fatter tyres. Never faced any issue with braking - city or highway (again might be an attribute of tyre upsize and alloys, not sure). The Ford dealer in Bangalore had handled sales and post sales services in a competent manner and I do not have complains here either. You might need to do some check in your city. I do not care about engine noise or mileage as such and know for sure that the spares are not going to vanish in the next 5 years. Till then.....nirvana.

Palio GTX is a great vehicle albeit with costly spares and Fiat's ASS. Only if Tata does a decent ASS job, it should be a great vehicle to own. But that's a question that remain unanswered as of now.

with all you have said; there is this misconception about Ford spares being costly. No longer, guys! I have a 1.6ZXI for almost 5 years now & I've been VERY HAPPY with performance & maintenance costs. Excellent road-holding, have done a lot of hill driving as well to Manali, Kalpa, Sangla, Sarahan, dalhousie, Khajjiar, Shimla etc and its been a pleasure to drive, on the highways & in the rough.

Now, after driving our new Fiesta, I realize the difference in brakes - the Ikon brakes could always be better but they are not inferior in way to the Palio's.

I would always say - GO FOR THE IKON!

[suman]

Originally Posted by jkdas

1.3 still sells but will it be there thsi thsi year end? 1.8D too isnt sold in many cities.

JK, they are discontnuing the 1.6 but not the 1.3

[GTO]

Your entire post shows an inclination toward the Palio 1.6. Though I wouldnt recommend a new one, the mouth watering prices on used Palio 1.6s makes the ASS seem insignificant.

Listen to your heart and go for the 1.6.

GTO

[anarchist]

I dont think they are discontinuing the Ikon 1.6, it will be available as made to order only

[S Pathak]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I guess he is looking for a performance vehicle which puts the 1.3 out of competition.

I never recommended the 1.3. All I am saying is apart from the engine assembly, the 1.6 shares its parts from the 1.3 version in terms of all other spares. The 1.3 is still running and it is extremely unlikely that the parts related to the engine assembly for the 1.6 shall suddenly become unavailable. This is further considering Ford's commitment towards the Indian market with recent launches and the improvement in service levels.

Thanks Suman for helping out in clearing the misconceptions here.

[prince85]

S.Pathak, i guess you own a ford ikon looking at the way you are defending it, i can understand it, i mean we are soo passionate about the vehicles we have. Look, coming to your point that the ikons parts are cheapest in the mid size category. I think you are wrong. Cheapest spare parts in the mid size category vehicles are maruti esteem which is closely followed by the hyundai accent, tata indigo. Yes i agree that the spare parts of the opel corsa are the costliest but the ford ikon is cheaper than the corsa in terms of maintenance but not by much. I would like to know in which issue of which car magazine is the ikon considered to have the cheapest spare parts. I have read comparisons of spare parts in atleast 2 car mags, i think it was overdrive or autocar. And the data covered in it is
1.esteem
2.accent
3.indigo
4.ikon
5.corsa

And another thing is that the mileage of the ikon s***s big time. I have a lot of friends who have owned the ikon 1.6 and they never get anything more than 7kpl in city conditions. Maybe the figures you talking about are highway but then that doesnt count much. Ikon 1.3 is slightly better at say 8.5-9kpl. Infact one of the strongest reasons for the ikon not doing soo well as much it could have is the mileage.

No doubt its a great performer with good build and the best rear seat in the mid size segment but then mileage is a big problem given the prices of petrol and spare parts are way too expensive.