26th August 2004, 15:26
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| Senior - BHPian  | Ford Ikon 1.6 SXi: NOW 8 Years 90,000 km UPDATE Model – Ford Ikon 1.6 Sxi Colour – Spanish red Purchased – Nov 2002 Dealer – Shakti Ford , Malad. Purchase cost – 8,35,000 Indian Rupees approx (Company registered, Thane) Here is the long term report of ma baby.... the story goes...... I decided to upgrade from a Santro dx(1999 model) and thus, began my quest for my new car. I test-drove the Palio 1.6 gtx ps and the Honda city 1.3/1.5/vtec. But owing to the budget constraints, the Vtec and due to the spartan interiors in the other models, the Honda City was out. I had finalized the Palio and then I saw the Ikon sxi ad in a newspaper, I was hooked, took a test drive and settled on the Ikon. Well the car has just crossed the 40000 km mark and touchwood, till date there has been no problems at all. The car came with an impressive list of accessories like 1) Black leather seats 2) 5 spoke alloys and Pirelli 185/70 R14 tyres *(the Oem( 175/70) tyres were changed at the dealer during delivery). 3) The music system consisting of the head unit with single cassette player,radio, a 6 cd-changer in the boot and 4 speakers. 4) Smaller sportier leather wrapped steering wheel and leather wrapped gear knob. 5) Spoiler. 6) The bumper with fog lamps and a chrome plated honeycomb grill. There were a lot of negative reviews and reactions from people when I decided on the ikon, but I am so glad to say that the car has made them all eat their own words. There hasn’t been a single problem (mechanical, electrical or anything else) till date. Not even rattling noises !!!!! Lets take the car apart one by one. Exteriors – The car is solidly built and gives a feeling of security even when speeding. The new clear lens headlamps with those round fog lights and inverted bumper add to the sporty look that the car possesses. Ford has also provided the chrome plated honeycomb grill. The car looks small when viewed sideways but it hides a big enough boot and loads of passenger space in the backseat. For this the designers at ford need to be complemented. The car looks far smaller than it really is. got the car the miracle finish done on the outside within a week of taking delivery. The miracle finish gave a 2-year warranty (it finishes in November this year) and I can say that it has been a good decision to go for it. The car still has the gloss and shine (though I get it washed everyday and vacuumed every week from the inside) And yes the car has a ground clearance of 175 cms (correct me if wrong) and it hasn’t scraped a bump yet.  Interiors - The switchgear looks and feels meaty unlike the ones on the palio/city (old). The steering wheel is a joy to use, it is small and sporty and provides me with the right amount of feel enhancing the driving pleasure. The dashboard with its silver finish provides the sporty feel inside the cabin. The white dials with the green lights gives it a racer feel. The front seats are comfortable but lack in supporting the lumbar muscles. The back seat is very comfortable and has loads of foot space. The positions of the remote boot unlocking button and the power window switches on the driver side are possibly the worst placed in any car. The miracle finish on the inside of the car also has done a fantastic job and the interiors still feel new.   The engine and handling – The rocam 1.6 ltr engine develops 91 bhp at 4500 rpm (correct me if I am wrong) and peak torque kicking in at about 2500 rpm. This gives the car immense driveability in the city. The gearing is short and the car shoots off the line pretty quick but loses out on the highway. Sometimes I feel the lack of the 6th gear in speeds excess of 140 kmph. *The gear throw is short and precise and I haven’t missed a single gear since I bought the car. The clutch feels hard but settles down nicely with use. *Overall the car begs to be driven fast. And for a fast driven car, good handling and a taut suspension is a must. The suspension of the car is quite hard and you can feel the hardness when u drop into potholes at speed but then it helps handling and that is what the car gives me. IT IS A PLEASURE TO DRIVE HARD AND FAST THROUGH CORNERS, till the brakes come into the picture. Now comes the worst part of the car. The brakes are positively PATHETIC, not useful at all for a car that begs to be driven fast. They lack the bite and feel to stop the car fast from high speeds. Ford certainly needs to work on this aspect for its future models too. Or else they might end up with the josh machine without any hosh !! that’s a bad pj. Overall a good engine, great handling fast car with the lousiest brakes in town.  The modifications – this is my favorite part. So lets start…. a) The music system – I gave back the music system including the 6 cd-changer to the dealer at the time of delivery. So then the configuration I have in the car is, 1) Head unit * * * – Pioneer DEH P7450mp indash single cd mp3 player mosfet 50x4 2) Amplifier * * * * * – Sony 444 ( 4 channel amp) 3) Sub woofer * * * – Pioneer TS W 304C 12 inch 600w, Max 300w nom  4) Rear speakers * *– Pioneer *TS A6995 4-way 300w Max , 80w nom  5) Front speakers * – Original ford speakers (in the door) 6) Tweeters * * * * * *- Dapic on the front glass in the top corners. b) Then I got a K & N filter and a free flow from Automech Exhausts in Nov 2003, that gave the car a boost in power not to mention the throaty, sexy exhaust note. The car definitely feels that it has liberated a bit of more power from the engine. I have written my experience with the free flow on this site so I won’t go into detail.   Fuel efficiency - Coming to the fuel efficiency, it has consistently given me between 11 – 12 kmpl ( 60% highway + 40% city) and the air conditioning on all the time. Using speed 93, the cars feels more smooth and powerful but I have decided on reliance petrol 91 octane. No problems on the fuel efficiency front. After Sales Service - I was surprised with the people at Shaman Ford who called me up twice to remind me that my service was due. Not only that, the service engineers took interest and got the servicing as per instructions. I was satisfied and then, guess what? Shaman actually calls me up after 3 days to ask me if there was any problem after the servicing. I was zapped and happy too that Ford has improved it’s service. Though I had a problem with Shakti Ford for the 1st service, Shaman hasn’t given me any cause for complaints. So it’s been 40000 kms. of *tender loving care working both ways. I take care of my baby and my baby takes care of me. Never has the car given up on me till today and today I am a proud owner of a Ford Ikon that has me satisfied fully (if only the brakes were a bit better) The positives of the car – the engine, the handling, the rear comfort seat , the driver seating position. The negatives – the brakes are lousy, the odd placement of the power window switches and the remote boot unlocking button, the hard suspension (I don’t mind it all) so there it is guys.... cheers |
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26th August 2004, 15:42
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26th August 2004, 15:45
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| Senior - BHPian | |
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26th August 2004, 15:54
| #4 |
| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 63
Thanked: Once
| dude, great review. a ford ikon 1.6 is what i have always wanted to buy but couldnt afford. so had to settle for the 1.3 version. of course now the base model is available for 5.5 lacks ex-showroom and i paid 5lacks for the 1.3 just 6 months back  |
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26th August 2004, 15:56
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26th August 2004, 16:04
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26th August 2004, 17:02
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26th August 2004, 17:06
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay
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26th August 2004, 17:25
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: hyderabad
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| hey a reliance petrol bunk opened in bangi??? when? where?  |
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26th August 2004, 19:22
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27th August 2004, 14:46
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| BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: New Delhi
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| Nice pics & write up there ! my fav. color with the ikon has been the spanish red or silver. One of my friends just bought a silver sxi. Guess what ......he got (apprx) 50k discount. One of his close associate is a partner at ford dealer so was obliged. Initially it was hard to believe, however after reading a post here which described the margin dealers had and their means of making money, i had to. I drove it and must say that it was absolute nirvana pulling that baby. Although i do feel that if ford does add more valves per cyliner, the engine would be comparable to free reviving balenos or older citys. Quote: the 1.3 is sluggish to say the least ... thats wat a doctor frnd of mine told me after he drove my ikon.  ..anytime if you compare it after driving 1.6, however, the 70ps 1.3 flair is not that sluggish as compared to older pushrod 1.3/58 bhp ikon. Has improved by leaps and bounds i think now its a more balanced choice than other offerings in the same segement. Tarun |
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27th August 2004, 20:22
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| BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bangalore
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27th August 2004, 23:28
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30th August 2004, 02:52
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30th August 2004, 12:21
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