[shantyrocks]

congratz condor!

this is undoubtedly the best review that iv read on tbhp.
some really good pics to support your views mate

[shipnil]

[/quote]

Warranty :
Base wty : 2 years, 1L km

Have opted for a 1 year extended warranty at 7.8k, which stretches the total wty to the 3rd year & 1.2L km.

The other option was to take a 2 year extended warranty at twice the price – 15k, to go upto 4 years & 1.5L. Was not convinced about the pricing for the 2 year option.

Some more tit-bits from the owner’s manual, about the standard warranty :

pg 84- #6
“Any claim where the damage to a covered component is caused by a non-covered component … “
“… or claims of insignificant defect that do not affect vehicle performance (including without limitation) sound, vibration and fluid seepage.”

Don’t these two points create a biiigg Loooop Hole ?
What if Maruti had this second point in the Swift’s warranty ?! I hate to think of it.


[/quote]

Congrats Condor on you new car. I have read that warranty gets voided if you upsize/change tyres. So how does you still have warranty extension?

Second is what is this preferred companies' list? How do you get access to the same? Is it only Ford that has this scheme or other manufacturers as well?

Thanks!

[Jaggu]

Congratz Parvath! Thats an excellent write up also.

a) AC hot air blowing for few secs - Did you try switching the temperature knob from HOT to Cold in one clean turn? Will resolve if the heater is partially open.

b) Additional pair of horn: IIRC Look under the LT side of engine bay (from beneath the car) where mud guard ends / behind the bumper, there are some additional mounting points with threads et all. This is where the OE horns in old gen iKONS were and where i fitted the additional Bosch. Very less chance Ford has changed design here and is quite accessible from under the car, no need to remove bumper also.

[sammyboy]

Hi Condor, one of the best and unbiased review I have come across so far.
Congratulations. Regarding the A/C issue, I have faced it a few times and the way I overcome it is this : Keep the temp knob at the coldest whenever you start the A/C.
Once the cooling starts move it to the required temp.
Been doing it for the last couple of years and works everytime.

[condor]

THANK YOU !

It always feels good to share something useful, something that can be beneficial to fellow TBHP-ians. And being appreciated in such a way makes it doubly special. !

GTO : Outstanding review, and one written straight from the heart. The opening lines, especially, can originate only from the grey cells of a petrolhead.
rjstyles69 : Parwath congratulations and that's one heck of a detailed report. Heck who needs a TD on the new Ford TDCI with your report in place.

Riju & GTO, thanks again. You made my day !

rjstyles69 : why Aura ?

A combination of factors -this particular set, the warranty .. and getting both, the tyres & alloys together (at Nikhil's).

stable rock : How much did you pay for the alloys and the A-drives?

Alloys : 18125 for set of 5, and 3300 each for the A-drives. A TBHP special discount too. And some special attention was on the house.

Volt : Thats a superbly detailed write up mate. Congratulations are due both for your new ride as well as your writing skills.

AFAIK the Ikon's have hydraulic PS, wonder if they would go for a EPS for this one.
Mpower : The Ikon power steering is Hydraulic for sure, its an old platfrom. Even the Fiesta is.

@Volt, thanks. It doesnt feel like a EPS & the manual doesnt say anything either. Hence the thought.

vid6639 : Long time since we met.

1. The intake which does function like a CAI but has a serious problem. The intake pipe is located to the left fender just near the tyre. It is very easy for water to enter the intake if the road is water logged. Please be careful. My uncle lost his Fiesta TDCi engine after driving through a slightly water logged road.

aaggoswami : That Intake. We know Indian roads and what happens with even 4 inches of rain.

@Vid, thanks for that heads-up. Will remember this, and will also check if the setup in the Ikon is the same as in the Fiesta. Hopefully Ford has re-worked this.

Yes, quite a while since we met .. esp with you away on all your adventures in those beautiful places.

vid6639 : I stuck OSRAM dot-it led torch. You just push to turn on and they run on AAA batteries and last really long.

Will check out the OSRAM's for the Ikon. Plan to try the Benny-style DIY in the Sumo, which doesnt have a lamp in the rear.

BomBatt : Colour: Condor, what about black (my favorite)? I am sure black would look good too?

@BomBatt, Black is not a personal favorite. And the car is for parents, so was not considered.

BomBatt : Wipers: Does this mean you can decide yourself on the time delay between wipes w.r.t. intesity of rain? If that so, great !

Yes, exactly.
1. Do one cycle of the intermittent, and switch it off.
2. Wait the few seconds you want the speed to be, and switch on the intermittent again.

3. The clock starts as soon as you switch it on the second time : if you have waited 5 seconds before re-starting the wiper, the wipers will wait 5 seconds after you switch it on the second time and do the next wipe. And then the cycle starts : wipe, 5 sec delay, wipe ..

Wish every car had this ..

Mpower : Good Review! I would recommend getting a nice chunky ORVM (from another car) and paint it and the door handles in body colour.
Also you might want to get side skirts done to dress it up.

ORVM's & side-skirts are in the list. Color of ORVM shell & handles will depend on the side-strips I will put. (Black / body-color / chrome-strips)

Mpower : I think the one second may used to operate the glow plugs (heater). Does it happen in the mornings or always?

I think you are correct. It happens always. But holding the key in the crank position till the engine springs to life is what I found not so normal. Esp because there are no other symptoms. Need to check with Budhiraj & others.

[condor]

GTO : Do opt in on an extended warranty right away.

Of course. I have taken a one year extended wty. The pricing for the second year was not linear, and I do not expect to cover that distance in the 4 years.

1100D : Few things, I have blind spotters on the ORVM's on my car, I have fit those on the lower inner corner of each mirror, that was I have actually utilised the not so useful reference zone, where you reference part of the body to know where the objects are in relation to your car).

. @1100D, pls post pics of this, showing how did you manage to put these B.Spot mirrors on the Ikon's ORVMs.

I have used a variation of this : instead of the ref zone, I found it better to have these B.spot mirrors on the same side of the ORVM's. IIRC, on a LHD vehicle, place them at the left edges. On a RHD vehicle, put them on the right side of the ORVM's. Top corners in both cases. This way, you get to see the ref edge + road + coverage for the blind-spot.

Do try it out. I had used the conventional positions the first time I tried them, but over a period of observing the mirrors, found the above set-up to be the best.

1100D : There is sound deadening on the 1.6, enquire about it from the workshop you'll get it.

+1 to my list of To-Do's.

1100D : I have a center console box/armrest and like you mentioned, the access to the recliner knob is from the rear. .. Required a bit of trial and error, but once done, very convenient.

@Benny, this one is for you.

1100D : Enjoy your Josh machine! The look will grow on us, dont worry.

The Josh machine is definitely growing on me. Guess the looks will soon be secondary.

aaggoswami : Power window switches. I hope they are back lit.

. Yes, they are.

aaggoswami : Now the other thing that amazes me is how your camera goes into space where even my hand cannot go with ease ?
Appreciate you effort.

Thanks ! Worth the effort if it helps us all.

Nikhilb2008 : Sorry I couldnt meet you when you brought the car here for the tyres/alloys.

Nikhil - np, man. You were still in touch. And good to see you going places.

Nikhilb2008 : Fantastic review man. I havent read such a good review in the so called professional magazines!

Thanks !

revhappy : Remember the 90k discount they were offering for 10 days for the exi,

@Revhappy, that 90k discount was only for the petrol versions. The couple of references with petrol vehicles were more w.r.t the cars itself. The focus has been on diesels.

Will post my comparo about the Fiesta EXi TDCi vs Ikon TDCi separately.

benbsb29 : P.S. : You could post the pic of both our cars together, just for the current model vs the old-model effect.

Benny, the pic you took with our cars together : your car is not very clear. Else wanted to post that one. Let's catch up again for that one.

Shipnil : I have read that warranty gets voided if you upsize/change tyres. So how does you still have warranty extension?

The extended wty & the tyres were taken separately. The up-size I have done is not very obvious : the OD of the tyre is still the same. It's a calculated change.

Actually, the owners manual says that if you go for a diff size like the 175/65 R14, then we need to go to the dealers to get the ECM re-programmed. This will resolve the speedo & odo error resulting from the bigger sized 175/65-R14's.

Another point is that, the 175/65-R14 has a bigger outer dia than the 185/60-R14's I have. Hopefully, no body will complain about the 185's I have. There is sufficient gap on the inside of the tyres.

Shipnil : Second is what is this preferred companies' list? How do you get access to the same? Is it only Ford that has this scheme or other manufacturers as well?

The company I work for, is a vendor / service provider for Ford. Also a big IT company. Ford has these special pricing for employees of such companies - Accenture, IBM etc. Other companies would also have this. Check with your dealer if there are any special pricing / corp discounts for the employees of the company you work for.

Jaggu : AC hot air blowing for few secs - Did you try switching the temperature knob from HOT to Cold in one clean turn? Will resolve if the heater is partially open.

This happens at any time other than initial start-up (cold engine). And happens even if the temp knob is at Cold (min).

Jaggu : Additional pair of horn: IIRC Look under the LT side of engine bay (from beneath the car) where mud guard ends / behind the bumper, there are some additional mounting points with threads et all. This is where the OE horns in old gen iKONS were and where i fitted the additional Bosch. Very less chance Ford has changed design here and is quite accessible from under the car, no need to remove bumper also.

That would have both horn units on the left side. Prefer one on the right too. But the engine bay is packed. Have located the spot where I can mount it. But need to figure out the wiring - dont know how to disconnect the current horn. The OE horn connector is different from what I have on the Sumo.

Actually, wanted to come by Koramangala after getting the car. Could have shown you the set-up too, apart from a drive. But work's been keeping me busy.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by condor

Of course. I have taken a one year extended wty. The pricing for the second year was not linear, and I do not expect to cover that distance in the 4 years.

But you would still need the warranty, even if you cover say 30k kms, if something goes wrong in the 4th year.

And going by the personal experience I have had with Ford, I would suggest you take it. You will thank me later

[condor]

Eddy : But you would still need the warranty, even if you cover say 30k kms, if something goes wrong in the 4th year.

A logic I cannot find fault with.

As per the sales person, I can extend the wty to the 4th year before the 3rd year wty expires. I hope she had her facts right about that one.

Importantly, I am not convinced with Ford's pricing. if 3rd year wty is 7.8k, a fair price for the 4th year wty would be about 3.5k additional. Esp since the base wty is already for 1L km. Not many people would cross this even after 4 years. So Ford is actually charging for extending the coverage into the 4th year.

Considering that the base wty is already for 1L km, the 3rd year wty itself should not have been more than 5k. Here again, the price of the extended wty is to extend the time period of the wty.

Even if the odd customer does cross 1L km, there will be much bigger number who would have done may be 70-80k in the 4 years, and will make up for the first group.

Another argument can be : if the base wty is for 1L km, and if most people dont even cross 50k in 2 years, how is Ford justifying even the 3rd year's wty ?

[sajands]

Parwath Sir,congratulations on your new car and super duper detailed report. Your report has put Autocar, Overdrive and Top Gear to shame the way they do a Review's maybe they need to check out your review.

Do you also get that Ford 24 hour road side assistance??? Is it included or is it a additional purchase like an extended warranty.

When are you plannig to get the car ICEd and is the josh machine getting stanely leather or somethign better than that.

Will drop in soon to check out the car and how about a verna vs josh machine review

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by condor

As per the sales person, I can extend the wty to the 4th year before the 3rd year wty expires. I hope she had her facts right about that one.

They are typically wrong.

My MSIL sales person told me the same. the MD of the dealership told me I can opt in within a month, and the extended warranty booklet clearly said that once chosen (or not chosen), the decision was final.

And boss, the insurance for a 60 year old guy for the next 30 years is alot more than for a 30 year old, no?

Ford has priced in probability of screwups and cost of repairs. Please go for it - the car is anyways inexpensive!!

[sanjayatarizona]

At the risk of repeating, excellent review my friend. Should be good reference for all those folks looking at the Josh diesel

[nityanand.s.s]

Excellent review !!!

Booked Ikon TDCI last month but did not take the delivery as I was travelling...Will go for it sometime now

Wanted to know how much it costed for the alloys & upgraded tyres ??

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by condor

Another argument can be : if the base wty is for 1L km, and if most people dont even cross 50k in 2 years, how is Ford justifying even the 3rd year's wty ?

Condor, I agree that Ford is overcharging. But you do not have a choice do you ? Trust me, repairs in a 3.5 yr old Ford are EXPENSIVE. Probably the reason of higher priced extended warranty options.

[condor]

sajands : Do you also get that Ford 24 hour road side assistance??? Is it included or is it a additional purchase like an extended warranty.

Will drop in soon to check out the car and how about a verna vs josh machine review

Thanks, Sajan. Come over anytime. You wouldn't even have got your engine warmed up by the time you reach !

The 24 hour road side assistance is available in metro cities only, per sales person. Radius of 50km only.

phamilyman : They are typically wrong.

I had a gut feeling that the sales person was not entirely correct, even as she was telling me about it. The warranty booklet should reach me tomorrow, so I will know for sure.

phamilyman : And boss, the insurance for a 60 year old guy for the next 30 years is alot more than for a 30 year old, no?
Eddy : Trust me, repairs in a 3.5 yr old Ford are EXPENSIVE. Probably the reason of higher priced extended warranty options.

Humans age with time, vehicles age with running. If they can already provide a 1L km coverage, then they should be able to provide an VFM coverage for additional time, right ? And the wty's limitations are "which ever is earlier" .. They should have been pricing the extended wty this way - or is it their strategy ? Like what's said about doctors .. "cure you with their pills, but kill you with their bills .."

phamilyman : Ford has priced in probability of screwups and cost of repairs. Please go for it - the car is anyways inexpensive!!

I will soon be able check the booklet myself and know for sure if an extension is possible.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by condor

Humans age with time, vehicles age with running.

I know its your decision but just want to say this. Sometimes, Ford vehicles do not age with kms, but with years and in some cases like mine, within months.

I have spent close to 40-50k on maintenance in years 2 & 3 of my ownership of the Flair. I may have got a lemon or I may have driven rough (which I didn't) but I will always go for the extended warranty on each vehicle I buy, and more so if its a Ford.

All the best