[Neo.]

Need a car within 6.5 lakhs, for use only within city limits.

requirements :

-really good performance.
-driveability and manoeuvrability.
-pretty good FE, need 10+ at the least ( daily usage 40+kms ).
-resale value

Because of the high road tax in Bangalore, Baleno and Ikon 1.6 are the cars which fall within my budget.Not really interested in second hand cars.Would have gone for the Getz only if it had a better engine.

The Baleno is the car i am eyeing currently, as it has some pretty good discounts.Both the baleno and ikon come upto the same price after discount, but i will have to upgrade the tyres on the Baleno.All across the Maruti range the cars have been given an upgrade on the exterior, with the exception of Baleno. Is there any news of changing the tail lamp portion of the Baleno, if so could wait for a while.

Was waiting for the Swift to be launched and the Fabia in hatchback trim.Is there any news at all, on these two, as to when they will be launched? Last i heard, the swift may come in June, is there any confirmation? And is Skoda planning on the Fabia hatch or the sedan?

Can i go ahead with the purchase or wait for the two cars to be launched. Can wait at the most till April. Particularly interested in the Fabia hatchback.

[Dippy]

Hey Neo

The Baleno suits your requirements except maybe the resale value factor. The Baleno LXi is a good buy and a tyre upgrade would do your car a whole lot of good. Its got a great engine and tranny , good FE and since its a Maruti you have peace of mind.

If you can wait till April and the Swift comes out by then you could check that out . There is no news of when the Fabia will be launched but once it is I'm sure diesel Fabia would be a good proposition with good build quality and FE as well

Dippy

[normally_crazy]

Dude

both cars are not at all good in the resale value ! so both are same in that dept.

the ikon looks much better than the baleno.

performance wise the baleno mite have a slight edge , the ikon is rite up there in the handling stakes.

FE of both around same.

A.S.S - Everybody says maruti is good but with me ford has been as good as maruti if not better

So, take a exhaustive test drive and choose

my call would have been the Ikon.

ps- its the 1.6 ikon im talking about !

[speedsatya]

i suggest you take a test drive of both the baleno and the ikon 1.6 and then decide.ASS of both Ford and maruti should be good.
even though the baleno is available at an attractive price,the parts of the baleno are still expensive.last heard in june 2004 that the front axle costs about 16k.
dunno about the ikon ,NC is the right person to answer on an ikon.

or else wait for the swift.???

[lamborghini]

go for an ikon
it has better resale value, good discounts, more fun to drive factor but FE will be 9 ish with a.c in traffic
my ikon 1.6 has done 60kkm and is still going without any problems

[drifter]

I'd pick the ikon...its a tough call with the baleno involved...
actually test drive both the cars thoroughly before making the decision...buy the one which you like better...because theres not much that seperates these two cars...
n yes the ikon looks much better than the baleno...that is what shifted the balance towards the ikon.

Drifter

[X-Machine]

Well,Baleno and Ikon are very much in the same league.
Both are equally good on performance,handling etc etc.The only place where Baleno loses out is the Exterior Design.The Ikon looks more stylish.
But then Ikon loses out on FE(if thats ur thing).
As Nc,Ss and Drifter said,take a thorough test drive of both and then decide as to which one appeals to your persona the most.
Keep us posted with ur results.

X

[Neo.]

I just cant decide between the two cars, the final price for the two cars are as given below

Baleno Lxi: 6,79,000 on road & 6,23,000 after discount

Ford Ikon 1.6 Exi : 6,45,000 on road & 6,00,000 after discount

The Ikon lacks the following features namely:
-tilt steering
-exterior mirrors are not electrically controlled
-AC not as good as the baleno's

The Baleno lacks the following features namely:
-Ikon has 175-65-R14 while Baleno has 165-80-R13 so the ikon basically just needs alloys while the baleno needs alloys and tyres
-seat height adjustment not available in lxi
-the looks are really bland especially the rear and the stupid spoiler costs 15k.
-doesn't come with a music system not even a cassette player let alone an MP3 player.

I am basically looking at the black colour in both the cars. I have driven both the cars before ( a couple of my cousins have these 2 cars ), but that did not stop me from taking not one, but 2 really long test drives on the ring road in the last couple of days.

The ikon is really responsive the kind of throttle response that will help me in the city traffic.But the braking is pathetically bad and the boot is a bit too high to reverse.The baleno has a much better torque spread and amazingly powerful and touches 140 kmph in 3rd and the brakes are really powerful compared to the ikon.

At the end of all these i just do not know what to purchase.Would have been easier only if the Baleno looked better.

As i have mentioned before its just a city car, while the honda does the job on the highway, so i think i will have to decide based on the FE ( daily travel 40+kms ).I hope the ikon is not very bad on FE or maintainance.May just go for the ikon, the 20k saved on the car price and another 10k that will have to be spent on tyres in the case of baleno can be better spent on stanley leather maybe.

Anyway will have to sign on the dotted lines by this weekend.Your inputs will be highly appreciated.Thanks a lot for your response.

[RX135]

Your criteria seem to be like following :

1. Decent performance.
2. Good looks.
3. FE.

Performance wise both cars will be almost equal in city but Baleno is definitely better any day. I guess, you don't like Baleno rear But in black color, it looks alright and put a spoiler on it, it looks far better. You HAVE to put on better tyres on Baleno. On FE front, Baleno should win hands down.

Baleno seems to be better choice (you said only if it was better looking) if you can put on better tyres and spoiler. It will be more expensive, so see if it fits in your budget.

[muni]

Neo asked about any modifications that can be done for Baleno's tail lamp...the tail lamps looks crap both lookwise and quality wise..Are there any known modifiactions that has been done??

Even am lookin out for a nu car in the same lines as of neo and have the same opinion..

The Baleno seems to better than Ikon!

Baleno plusses..over the ikon
1) Nice torquey engine
2) decent space + effective A/C
3) Better looks except the rear

Minuses..
1) Poor fuel economy relatively( i think!)
2) Tail lamp badly designed
3) slightly pricey with bad set of tyre options


Ikon plusses

1) Nice to drive in the city..
2) slightly cheap
3) relatively Fuel efficient

Ikon minusses

1) No resale value..
2) Too many ikons on bangalore roads
3) Not a very gud lookin car

Getz i think is a better allround car but there is a sort of image of hatchbacks as cheap cars!

[RX135]

Originally Posted by muni

[b]
Minuses..
1) Poor fuel economy relatively( i think!)

Ikon plusses
3) relatively Fuel efficient

Ikon minusses
3) Not a very gud lookin car

I may be missing something, but I always thought Maruti cars have better FE. Baleno should be able to give more FE than Ikon. I hope you are talking about Ikon 1.6 and not Flair. (Even in this situation Baleno should match it). Personally, I find Ikon far better looking than Baleno, especially in black with Ford alloys.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Neo.

I just cant decide between the two cars, the final price for the two cars are as given below

Baleno Lxi: 6,79,000 on road & 6,23,000 after discount

Ford Ikon 1.6 Exi : 6,45,000 on road & 6,00,000 after discount

The Ikon lacks the following features namely:
-tilt steering
-exterior mirrors are not electrically controlled
-AC not as good as the baleno's

The Baleno lacks the following features namely:
-Ikon has 175-65-R14 while Baleno has 165-80-R13 so the ikon basically just needs alloys while the baleno needs alloys and tyres
-seat height adjustment not available in lxi
-the looks are really bland especially the rear and the stupid spoiler costs 15k.
-doesn't come with a music system not even a cassette player let alone an MP3 player.

Pal,

i can sort out a couple of issues u have with the ikon !

Tilt Steering - u dont need it in an ikon - the steering and controls are perfectly placed and fall to hand easily !! and besides u have seat height adjustment !

Exterior Mirrors - good thing they are not electrically controlled - just imagine the coast of repairs id they are broken ( and in India ppl just walk by and bend ur mirrors backwards )

AC - the AC is just fantastic !!! check it out during the test drive ! yeah i have heard the baleno's AC is awesome but i have no complaints in 2 years on my Ikon's AC - the cooling is the same like it was when i got the car !


PLUS - the ikon is better tyred - has a mp3 player - tubeless tyres and is more responsive in the lower RPM range that is perfect for the city ! and yeah looks much better than the baleno.

regarding FE - u drive normally with the RPM not exceeding 2500 , u can easily get 10 KMPL in the city !

and with the prices u mention its cheaper too !!

so dude - my choice would be the IKON by a large way !!

its ur call !

cheers

ps- let us know finally which way u swing !

[Neo.]

Finally booked the ikon in black today.

Thought of delaying it tilll the budget, then decided to go for it.I am just hoping that my instincts are correct and the duty cuts in the coming budget does not effect the ikon price after discount.May be if they do reduce the price, the discounts will go, i guess essentially it might work out to the same price or they may not reduce the price at all inorder to absorb rising steel prices.

[Neo.]

Thanks a million, you guys have been a great help in making the final decision.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Neo.

Thanks a million, you guys have been a great help in making the final decision.

Enjoy your ride and dont forget to post pics. Black Ikon with alloys looks damn sexy ;-)