[AKTRACK]

The cluster gives a sedate a feel to a car which in real life is a performance one. A good sporty one will take the driving pleasure ahead.
Between, I have got the Ambient Lights installed in my Aspire and whenever I feel like having some serious fun, I turn them to Red. Man, the feel in the cabin is awesome at night with the Red interiors adding that extra zing. Mostly they remain Blue or Green.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by AKTRACK

Between, I have got the Ambient Lights installed in my Aspire and whenever I feel like having some serious fun, I turn them to Red. Man, the feel in the cabin is awesome at night with the Red interiors adding that extra zing. Mostly they remain Blue or Green.

That sounds interesting. Can you share a few pictures of interior with these ambient lights? What exactly have you installed and cost of same?

Btw, I love the soothing blue screen of stock screen of dashboard and odometer console and looks pretty contemporary and futuristic

[d3mon]

As the official review mentions, my only complaint is that the tacho is two sizes too small.
Unlike many other cars where you can see the tacho move through the corner of your eye, you really have to take your eyes off the road to see where you are in the RPM range in the Aspire.

The saving grace here, of course, is that the torque provided by the engine right from 900RPM to 4000RPM means that you can get away with not looking at the tacho at all

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Unlike many other cars where you can see the tacho move through the corner of your eye, you really have to take your eyes off the road to see where you are in the RPM range in the Aspire.

The saving grace here, of course, is that the torque provided by the engine right from 900RPM to 4000RPM means that you can get away with not looking at the tacho at all

To be honest, in my 12+ years of driving cars, I have never ever felt the need to glance at the tacho.

In fact, I had to remind myself so many times before entering my current car that I need to check the tacho to see what rpm it is on certain speeds.

I do the gear shifts based on the feel and never have felt the need to glace at the rpm.

But then I have never run in a car and maybe it is required during run in. Both my cars were pre-owned. This is the only reason that I might need to check the rpm counter.

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

To be honest, in my 12+ years of driving cars, I have never ever felt the need to glance at the tacho.

Most people here on team-bhp don't 'need' to glance at the tacho to get around. It's just that we 'want' to watch the needles dance around the counter, while extracting that sweet, sweet power from an engine.

[theredliner]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

I totally get what you're saying, because I too find the instrument cluster in the Figo/Aspire to be jarringly outdated, and out of step with the Sync console.

Ford might have done this for one of two reasons:

I think it is mainly to differentiate than to cut costs considering how some entry level cars and motorcycles get good looking clusters.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

What might have been a smarter design? While they might not have wanted to use the EcoSport's cluster, I don't know what prevented them from using the old Fiesta/Classic's instrument cluster instead:

Totally agree. The Classic's cluster looks modern even today barring that green backlight. With the new white/blue color combo, it'd look super cool. Here's one more crude photoshop job just to support the imagination :



^^The sizes of the tacho, fuel gauge etc. are perfect. The presence of temperature gauge is a boon.

One good thing they have done with the current cluster is the color combination. The white/blue combo makes the cluster look quite decent during the night.

[fz_rider]

Seeing a lot of yellow plates nowadays. And this started even before the price cut !

All the diesel Aspire owners, how would you rate the NVH levels ( especially higher speeds ).
Also do you notice swirling when there is excess wind speed? It doesn't feel solid against the crosswind.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

To be honest, in my 12+ years of driving cars, I have never ever felt the need to glance at the tacho.

In fact, I had to remind myself so many times before entering my current car that I need to check the tacho to see what rpm it is on certain speeds.

Originally Posted by d3mon

Most people here on team-bhp don't 'need' to glance at the tacho to get around. It's just that we 'want' to watch the needles dance around the counter, while extracting that sweet, sweet power from an engine.

Agree with D3mon here. I hardly glance at the speedometer as I enjoy glancing at the tachometer and out of habit I do that pretty often as I change gears based on this parameter

The fun of driving a manual is to enjoy watching the tachometer and decide at what rpm you wish to change the gears. To give you an example

1. If I'm in a sedate mode, I normally change all gears at 2000rpm in Aspire

2. If there is an urgency/need for thrill/enjoy the power of engine, then I change the gears between 2.5K rpm to 3k rpm. I never felt the need to change gears beyond 3K rpm as 2.5K rpm zone itself is plenty of power and makes the car feel really fast. So imagine changing gears at 3K rpm

I'm a slave for OPTION 2

Originally Posted by fz_rider

All the diesel Aspire owners, how would you rate the NVH levels ( especially higher speeds.Also do you notice swirling when there is excess wind speed? It doesn't feel solid against the crosswind.

After changing the stock tyres, NVH levels have reduced predominantly and car feels silent until about 140kmph. Post which there is a bit of engine & road noise seeping into the cabin. It's a minor irritant which can be solved by Pink Floyd/Gun's N Roses or any other of your favorite rock bands

Never experienced the car swaying in crosswinds so cannot really comment on that aspect

[arunphilip]

Ford Aspire full-size sedan scores 4-stars in Latin NCAP

I've not seen any mention of this previously in this thread despite it being tested in November 2015. Some caveats:

• The car tested in the Latin NCAP was manufactured in Brazil and might not be built structurally identical to what we get in India (unlike Global NCAP).
• This is the full-size sedan, not the compact sedan we get in India. It shouldn't have much bearing on the result, as this was a frontal crash test.
• The tested version has 2 airbags.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Rcr0bcYDU

Results

• 4 stars for adults, 3 stars for children.
• The body shell was rated as stable (this specific point has been the undoing of many cars tested in the Global NCAP, including the Scorpio).
• Interesting to note that only the driver gets a seatbelt pretensioner, the front passenger doesn't get one.

Source: Latin NCAP test results for Ford Ka+ (PDF)

[johannskaria]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Post which there is a bit of engine & road noise seeping into the cabin. It's a minor irritant which can be solved by Pink Floyd/Gun's N Roses or any other of your favorite rock bands

I absolutely love the way you've put it!

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Ford Aspire full-size sedan scores 4-stars in Latin NCAP
[*]The body shell was rated as stable

.

If the Latin cars are made locally them where do the export models made in India go to?

I can vouch for the fact that the Indian made export models get thicker sheet metal (I have seen and felt it) but I can only assume that the body shell is same for all versions.

The report says side impact test not performed, but I have actually banged the side of my car at about 60 kmph and came out unscathed. And this was the Indian version. So I guess I can safely assume that it will get similar ranking for that test when it is conducted.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by samaspire

If the Latin cars are made locally them where do the export models made in India go to?

Ford India exports the Figo/Aspire to the Middle East and South Africa, that I know. Logistically too, both these markets are reasonably close by to ship to.

Originally Posted by samaspire

I can vouch for the fact that the Indian made export models get thicker sheet metal (I have seen and felt it) but I can only assume that the body shell is same for all versions.

On the topic of sheet metal, take a look at the following crash-test video of the full-size Aspire sedan, by an insurance company. I've created a thread about this company, the crash tests they perform, the methodology and reason (link to thread).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_i2bGKHSa0

[d3mon]

10000 km service update:

Cost: ~2000, with air filter replacement at my request.

The excellent experience with Ford A.S.S (Metro Ford, Lingarajpuram) continues. The second service was smooth and cheap! I reached the service center at 9:30 and was out by 12. This is impressive by any standard, more so on a weekend!

Tip: I had them lubricate the gear selector with a 3M lubrication spray of some sort and it did wonders to the gear shifting action. While the gearbox still retains its characteristic notchiness, it did get noticeably smoother, and I'm having far more fun shifting gears now. In fact, the gears are smoother than they ever have been, even more than when I first took deliver of the car. The gear selector is located behind a plastic flap, just behind the front bumper and can be accessed while the car is lifted up. Highly recommend everyone to do this, especially if you feel that the gears are a little notchy!

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Tip: I had them lubricate the gear selector with a 3M lubrication spray of some sort and it did wonders to the gear shifting action.

Highly recommend everyone to do this, especially if you feel that the gears are a little notchy!

Its like you read my mind. I was just about to post this query regarding the slightly hard notchiness of the gear shifts.

I love the way it shifts, but would prefer it a bit smoother - polo is my benchmark for that.

I guess you have found a solution for that. Keep us posted on how long the smoothness last.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Tip: I had them lubricate the gear selector with a 3M lubrication spray of some sort and it did wonders to the gear shifting action. While the gearbox still retains its characteristic notchiness, it did get noticeably smoother, and I'm having far more fun shifting gears now. In fact, the gears are smoother than they ever have been, even more than when I first took deliver of the car. The gear selector is located behind a plastic flap, just behind the front bumper and can be accessed while the car is lifted up. Highly recommend everyone to do this, especially if you feel that the gears are a little notchy!

Nice input! I dont think the gears are notchy at all but, it's a matter of depressing the clutch to full extent for gears to engage smoothly.

This car doesn't allow you to engage gears with half clutch mechanism

But, only place where I'm a bit unhappy is when I engage reverse and this is where it gets stuck most of the times. I mean have to focus to ensure it's engaged smoothly else it takes more than one time effort

Btw, do you have a picture of the area where the gear selector is located in the car and also of that 3M spray? I'm due for 3rd service in 800kms