[Rohan24]

Many congratulations on your Aspire Sports, mate!
I used to follow your old thread about a year back, when I was looking to buy a used Figo petrol, and the mods you did on that car are wonderful! I know it must have been very sad for you to let it go. But onwards to better things, I guess. Wish you many happy miles in this beast.

I can relate to your point on the steering feel. Not just this, but I don't think any other car except the Fiats have a steering feel that could rival the last-gen Fords! I just bought a used Fiesta 1.6, and after driving that and the Verna back to back, it's just in a different league. Nothing in that segment provides that pure, unadulterated feel of connectedness.

[scwagh]

Congratulation for bringing Rubicon home. As a fellow New Figo TDCi owner, I can assure you that you will enjoy the diesel and not miss your older ride. If only they had launched the Sports Aspire in Red color (like the earlier Figo) and not in Maroon . Nicely written review too. I can relate to your comment on thickness of paint, I also have a line of paint scratched out on the door front after a small scratch from a parked 2 wheeler.

One query, was the bulb change a simple swap? I am also unhappy with the current headlamps and planning to change to Philips Extreme Vision or Osram.

Wishing you many happy miles with Rubicon.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by scwagh

One query, was the bulb change a simple swap? I am also unhappy with the current headlamps and planning to change to Philips Extreme Vision or Osram.

Yes, it's straightforward. You can refer the manual for the steps.

Originally Posted by Rohan24

I can relate to your point on the steering feel. Not just this, but I don't think any other car except the Fiats have a steering feel that could rival the last-gen Fords! I just bought a used Fiesta 1.6, and after driving that and the Verna back to back, it's just in a different league. Nothing in that segment provides that pure, unadulterated feel of connectedness.

Yes, however the bigger wheels on the Sports have made things slightly better. The car does track well on a turn, except that the steering feel is not in the level of a hydraulic unit. It's too light. I am still learning the limits of the car, so I'm pushing it on familiar roads. The lean becuase of the overall height of the car is what spoils the turns. The springs on the Sports were altered to keep the GC and height in check, not exactly for the sports factor.

[Rohan24]

Originally Posted by tharian

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The lean becuase of the overall height of the car is what spoils the turns. The springs on the Sports were altered to keep the GC and height in check, not exactly for the sports factor.

Oh okay. That's insightful! I thought that the Sports' had stiffer suspensions, and therefore would roll less compared to the normal Figo.
Maybe switching to Bilsteins when these shocks are at the end of their life cycle, would help.

[blackwasp]

Congrats on the latest acquisition. With the last gen Figo spoiling you, I'm sure it would have been a problem to find a suitable upgrade. The Figo twins are one of my favourite diesels. Whenever I have to book a Zoomcar, Figo is my first choice. I'm also glad you went for the diesel over the petrol. Compared to the 1.5 TDCI, the 1.2 Petrol is nothing.

Would love to know your plans with the Hella lamps. Here's a crude photoshop image for you to think over:


And wishing you many many happy kilometers with the Rubicon.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I'm also glad you went for the diesel over the petrol. Compared to the 1.5 TDCI, the 1.2 Petrol is nothing.

Would love to know your plans with the Hella lamps. Here's a crude photoshop image for you to think over:
Attachment 1664395

And wishing you many many happy kilometers with the Rubicon.

Thank you for the rendering.
It would be something like this with probably 2 lamps to start off with. On my old Figo, the main reason to go for external lamps was because the stock lamps were really bad, it got a little better after I put in 100w bulbs. Later on when I wanted to a change in look, I added the other two, although only 3 were connected out of 4.

Yes, it had to be the diesel and I am getting used to it as the I pile on more kms.


I have hit 3000kms as of today and it has been around 11 weeks since I got the car.
All the initial annoyance like the diesel clatter and thrum have reduced. The gear shift as well has smoothened out and is a joy to use, although not as smooth as my old Figo.
I am finally slowly getting to be one with the car.

Only other nit-pick is that even on the slightest wet road, the sides get dirty due to the big wheels and non-existent mud flaps.

Some pictures showing the all black dash and the center console in the dark.
The sides showing the rally look on a trip.
Side by side with an old gen Figo.

[MCR]

Congrats on a really good car. Wish you many more safe miles ahead.

Some questions;
1. Is it possible to swap the Alloys in the Titanium+ version with the alloys from the Sport version?
2. Is reverse camera available as a standard accessory at Ford dealerships?
3. Have you swapped the headlight bulbs to 100/90 type? If yes, have you seen any blackening effect on the headlamps?
4. Is the GC sufficient for tackling the bad roads?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by MCR

Congrats on a really good car. Wish you many more safe miles ahead.

Some questions;
1. Is it possible to swap the Alloys in the Titanium+ version with the alloys from the Sport version?
2. Is reverse camera available as a standard accessory at Ford dealerships?
3. Have you swapped the headlight bulbs to 100/90 type? If yes, have you seen any blackening effect on the headlamps?
4. Is the GC sufficient for tackling the bad roads?

Thank you.

1- Yes, provided Ford is selling it. You will have to change the tyres as well since the alloys are 15 compared to the 14 dia on the Titanium.
2-The one on my car is from Ford and is over-priced and the sad part is it is not auto dimming nor has the flip option. Cheaper options are available in the after market.
3-It is Philips Xtreme Vision plus in stock rating.
4- GC is not a problem, even with the car loaded. Just have to be careful of the front lower lip on steep inclines due to the rubber wind deflector.

[Yasasri]

Hearty congrats on getting Rubicon home. Car looks stunning in Red colour.

I too am a proud owner of the Aspire in the same trim, since March’17 – however, not the Sports version and colour. Mine is ‘Ingot’ Silver and I prefer this, as it is easier to maintain and scratches are not as visible, as is the case with dark colours

Having migrated from Swift Dzire VDI, I would rate this car much better than Maruti in terms of build quality, though I would agree with you (and as echoed) by many T-BHPians that the current gen. Figos does not represent the Ford DNA

Having covered nearly 6000 Kms., I am enjoying every bit of the ‘stonker’ of a diesel engine that this car has. The NVH levels are much better than Swift and while it tends to get a bit ‘throaty’ post 100 km/hr., however, the power that is available on the tap is quite exhilarating. My 2 cents to all that you have stated under ‘Likes’ except the ‘All black interiors’ – since mine is a beige black combo. Under the ‘Dislikes’ here too I agree to all that has been stated, except Gear Shift feel not smooth – as I never experienced this with my WDM2 (as I prefer to call my car)

On the ‘Kitna deti hai’ front, WDM2 has not been disappointing either. I get a steady 17-18 km/ltr. In the city and around 22-23 km/ltr. On the highway runs. Mileage has been measured on Tank full to Tank full method using ‘Fill Up’ app. as suggested by one of our T-BHPians. Surprisingly this was the same mileage that I used to get from my Dzire and fail to understand as to why Ford is not promoting the frugality of their engines just the same way they are amplifying lower maintenance costs

So far so good and would keep posting more as WDM2 keeps chugging and munching miles.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Yasasri

On the ‘Kitna deti hai’ front, WDM2 has not been disappointing either. I get a steady 17-18 km/ltr. In the city and around 22-23 km/ltr. On the highway runs.

So far so good and would keep posting more as WDM2 keeps chugging and munching miles.

I have been getting 15kmpl in city and 17 on highways. Should be due to the bigger wheels and tyres on the Sports and the driving style.

WDM2 is a suitable name for this car. Smokes a bit , but keeps firing with no issues.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by tharian

WDM2 is a suitable name for this car. Smokes a bit , but keeps firing with no issues.

Blame it to the SOHC configuration, smoking is inevitable. The Figo was a strong contender when i was car hunting. The only thing that put me off was the nokia style dashboard which for some reason I couldn't accept . Nevertheless, hoping that the Figo too gets the same updated dashboard as that of the upcoming Ecosport facelift.

[Kishen.padiyar]

Congratulations Tharian! You've picked up one of the best VFM cars in the CS segment and the S variant makes the deal even sweeter! Like they say once you drive a Ford, you're most likely come back to Ford no matter what choices we have.

I used to own a Fiesta Classic in the 1.4 CLXi trim which I had to sell as it was on loan and my running had come down drastically. 3 years later I united with the brand again by picking up my father's friend's Fiesta 1.4 ZXi with about 1,30,000 kms on the ODO. The car still runs as good as new and gives a feeling of built to last!

Wishing you many more happy miles with your Ford!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Blame it to the SOHC configuration, smoking is inevitable. The Figo was a strong contender when i was car hunting. The only thing that put me off was the nokia style dashboard which for some reason I couldn't accept . Nevertheless, hoping that the Figo too gets the same updated dashboard as that of the upcoming Ecosport facelift.

The TDCi is already powerful,smooth, revs good enough and not noisy as well. Wonder how much more better it would be if it was DOHC.
I was okay with the dash since I don't give much importance to the looks, I would have liked a rectangle piece rather than a heart shape one though.

Originally Posted by Kishen.padiyar

Congratulations Tharian! You've picked up one of the best VFM cars in the CS segment and the S variant makes the deal even sweeter! Like they say once you drive a Ford, you're most likely come back to Ford no matter what choices we have.

Wishing you many more happy miles with your Ford!

True, for some reason I wanted to be with Ford.
The S variant sealed it. Of course it cannot be compared the actual S, but is somewhere there.

[tharian]

Trips are becoming a habit with this car.

In less than 3 months , I have done 3 trips the latest one being to Sringeri covering 750kms.

This was a mixed bag because of the long weekend traffic which was a fly in the ointment. I normally don't head out on long weekends because of the extra ordinary traffic on the highways and the same traffic discipline like on city roads. Thanks to the car, I was able to negate most of that by quick overtakes and managed to keep a good average.

The enjoyable part was the stretch from Chikamaglur to Sringeri which are winding , well surfaced narrow roads. The curves are something else on this road which made me gauge the Sports to the fullest. It changed my perception up by few notches. I am waiting for the Alnac's to wear out to move to something more stickier. The Alnacs are good enough on grip but the rear tends to fishtail on hard braking and sudden steering inputs at high speeds. The lean on curves was annoying but I am getting used to it. I keep my left leg pinned to the centre console so as to not shift much on the seat. But apart from the lean, the turn can be taken confidently as I did over and over again. I pushed it quite a bit , both on straight roads and curves and I got a efficiency of 18 kmpl which was with some hard driving on the traffic ridden Birur-Tumkur road.

There was a moment when I had brake hard when a van decided to cut to the left lane on a 4 lane road and there was a two wheeler on the extreme left. Thank God for the good brakes , but the rear was all over the place just like a bike on hard braking.

The ABS is a hit or miss as I found on few occasions. When there was gravel on the road, the front right locked up. Other times, it activates even on medium pressure on the pedal.

It is fun to take on some high powered cars with this average Joe's car

Car has run 3,800 kms

[tharian]

Not the actual S, but still deserves the tag.
Aspire S

Received the badge today from Aliexpress and it went on the car immediately and off came the RS badge.