Team-BHP - Ford Aspire : Official Review

Mod note: Back to back posts, use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead. Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiku007 (Post 3886473)

Here's our 3rd Ford in 10+ years :) Ford Aspire 1.5L AT.
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Replaced the stock wheels and rubber with Momo Revenge + Conti MC5.

Your new cars looks stunning.clap:. Those new tires and alloys makes it even better! Congrats. Happy and safe driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKTRACK (Post 3885324)

I have done 9700 kms so far in the car in since 6th September last year. Am I the first Aspire owner to reach that number?

I guess you are. Mine is still few km shy of 5000 though I got my Aspire mid-September, 2015. That is because I share my driving with a Punto:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 3886445)

This is the same as Ecosport. I didn't see any difference. The brakes are over servoed and at slow speeds are difficult to modulate. Even a light tap on the pedal results in hard braking. It gets better as speeds build up and I haven't had any issues in more than 2 years. However I had the problem initially when I got into the Ecosport from my Corolla. First 2-3 times would be like brakes jammed. I got used to this now but whenever someone else drives my car, the first thing they do is jam the brakes as they are not used to them being over servoed.

This doesn't take more than a couple of kms to get used to but when they go back to their own car, they complain that their own cars brakes now don't feel as good.

Basically braking is not progressive at slow speeds and has an on/off characteristic.

Since you owned a Figo before, how do the brakes of the ES compare with those on the Figo? I'm asking because after getting the Figo in 2012, I found my Fiesta's brakes not grabby enough. They need more pressure at slow speeds to stop the car quicker, unlike the Figo, where a mere jab will instantly make the brakes bite.

I was thinking that the Fiesta's brakes were not on par, but on reading these posts, have ended up confused! Perhaps the Fiesta's brakes are normal, and the Figo's are over-servoed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vnabhi (Post 3886887)

Yeah the Figo's brakes are better than the Fiesta (old/classic). They fixed this as a conscious effort in the Figo.

If I had to rate the 3, the Fiesta would be at the bottom being under assisted. The Figo is the best of the 3. It's not over servoed but exactly right. And finally the Ecosport which is over servoed and grabby.

The new Figo is similar to the Ecosport but I haven't driven it long to rank it. Will need some more kms.

I feel opinions regarding brake-servo can vary from person to person and is rarely conclusive.
With my limited knowledge,I can imagine these 3 situations mentioned below-
1. The Brakes are weak and over-servoed- Manufacturers may resort to over-servoing of brakes to mask the underlying weak brakes in their cars.This gives the feel of a quick initial bite and a sense of pseudo-powerful brakes,but during sustained braking operations they will soon show fade and will not be able to help shed speed quickly.

2.The brakes are powerful and servoed just right or a wee bit over-servoed- The brakes will bite quickly and in a progressive manner and will help the driver slow down from high speeds within a short distance and without any drama.

3. The brakes are powerful but under-servoed- In this age of over-assistance of every mechanical function in the modern car,and light controls a top priority among customers,I feel no manufacturer will willingly engineer their mass market car brakes like this,because during short test-drives drivers will feel such a brake system to be somewhat spongy and requiring a larger effort to give the desired braking force, and will conclude that they are not-powerful enough.

I feel Aspire TDCi's brakes are more close to situation no.2.I haven't driven my Aspire TDCi extensively as some of our fellow BHPians. I can only say that as per my feelings, the brakes in my ABS equipped Aspire bite in quite a linear and progressive manner within the 100 kph ceiling(90kph is the highest I have ever taken her to, yet). I have always managed to stop her totally smoothly.Now when I move back to my Getz 1.3 petrol, its brakes feel much less servoed and somewhat spongy compared to the Aspire,while my Santro Xing's brakes feel quite grabby during the initial pedal input.So brake modulation,I feel,is a matter of getting used to as you drive a particular car.

About tyre squeals,I have this experience to share-
Since I drive in maddening Kolkata streets,I have had my share of panic braking,albeit at low speeds,a few times.Once I was coming down a flyover at around 50 kph and this guy traveling in a cycle in the opposite lane decided to swerve and cut to my side of the road.I spotted him early,braked hard and heard a tyre squeal briefly.But the car did not give a sudden jerk or lose composure, nor did the wheels lock up and slide(yes mine is an ABS equipped one) and I could steer the car safely to avoid him by a wide margin.

I have also noticed that Ford uses different brake modulation settings in its cars which are similar. I have a Ecosport and 2014 Fiesta, the Ecosport has a very sharp pedal bite like the new gen Hyundai's, it is indeed over servoed and i think it has been done to impress the masses which feel that the braking is excellent.

Fiesta on the other hand has none of this jerky brake modulation and the brakes bite very progressively, i love progressive braking and not this on/off switch type. You would not expect them to differ things on Fiesta/Ecosport but they did so it is not a surprise to me if Figo/Aspire are different.

My 1.5P Titanium AT is going great and it's first service is due soon. Below is a list of minor issues experienced by me till now:

Rattling noise near rear door especially when taking turns
When steering is turned completely on one side for U-turn, I feel noticeable increase in steering vibration
The engine runs at 1000 rpm even at idle. Is that normal? (might be silly question but I am driving a car with tachometer for the first time :))
Unable to download phone book from my Android cellphone
Unable to play songs using USB port (tried 2 pendrives but get USB error)
Is there a detailed manual available for audio unit e.g. I am still not able to make out what is the use of alphabets on audio unit keypad?
Seat belt reminder notification has stopped (might be related to seat cover installation)

I would appreciate if fellow Aspire owners can share their experience or advice so that I can take up the "real" issues during service centre visit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJN (Post 3888632)

My 1.5P Titanium AT is going great and it's first service is due soon. Below is a list of minor issues experienced by me till now: [list][*]Rattling noise near rear door especially when taking turns

I have a rattling noise from the passenger seat belt area, which I haven't had had time to get fixed yet. During first service, they greased the rubber beadings and the door latches and tried looking for the source of the sound, but could not isolate it.
If you do manage to get this noise fixed, please do let me know how they tackled this. Thanks!

So! The reading says 1675.
Its been 17 days being with us. Yes, I'm talking about Ingot Silver 1.5D Titanium Aspire.
It all happened pretty quickly. Booked it on 16th, was at home on 30th. It was a nice experience with Sequel Ford. The buying experience was smooth.
Swapped the shoes immediately, MRF's were gone and in comes the 185/65 Yoko Earth 1's. I am not going to talk about the drive experience right away, since plagued with tyre pressure issue. I was assuming that the tyre is filled with Nitrogen, but it wasn't. And it ruined my 1K+ trip to Hyderabad.

Good points :

Fuel Efficiency: Its showing 20 right now. That includes city, highway, nearly non-existent roads. So I'm satisfied with it.

NVH: People at the back seat can't tell its a diesel.

Driver Seat height adjust: Has a healthy range. Took it to top most position while driving on highway, the experience was like driving a SUV.

Audio: The sound quality is quite good for a standard fitment.

Not so-good points:

Getting ideal seat position takes time. The recline on the front seats is a bit too much.

The refinement at idle is not to my liking. May be I'm used to MJD's , which are refined at idle. Also, it shudders quite a bit when you turn the key off.

Squeak from left C- pillar. Need to be rectified on first service.

I hope I can come with a detailed ownership report, but looking at quality of work of some fellow members, scares the hell out of me :D

Some pictures to share:

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiku007 (Post 3891969)

Some pics of the car. Hate the rear of these compact sedans. Nevertheless the car is a looker in most angles.

Those tires look great on your Aspire. Did this improve the handing of the car? I guess you feel more confident while cornering owing to better grips these tires offer.

Recently my car MID showed 'SERV ON' indicating a service reminder. The car was serviced at 2500 km and next is due only at 10 k or 12 months. I had it checked at Ford. It seemed to be a software error which they managed to solve after working for an hour or so. They gave a free wash for the car clap:
Have any Aspire owners seen this error?