FORD MOTORS is one of the pioneer automobile company from the U.S, stepped into the indian market with their flagship model ’IKON’ known as the ’JOSH MACHINE’in the year 1999.Then the car was a hit, taking into account that it was one of the newest in its category.It made a few sales with the 1.6, 1.3 engines.But did not last long in the competition with the city, accent, lancer.Then the ford came up with the all aluminium engine called ’ROCAM’ -this was the car that really deserved the name josh machine.
it was a 1.6l, 91bhp@5500rpm, 130nm@2500rpm, 8 valves, the power is so much satisfying, that with its torque coming in at no time, it is pleasureable feeling to drive this car.It weighs around 998 kg & hence is powerful.The SOHC all aluminium engine has 0 vibrations at low & high speeds.
0-60 kmph comes in at 5 secs, 100 kmph comes in at 11-12 secs , touches a top end of 180 kmph , mileage of 10-14kmpl (overall avg)as per the company profile.
I have owned a ikon-zxi 2002 model, driven for 58, 600 kms & may be I have got to know the car very well as of now.Done a lot of kms in the city & this car really suits the indian roads very well .With McPhreson struts & heavy duty twist beam system at the front & rear suspensions respectively, this car really handles very well over bumpy roads, sharp corners & the worst speed breakers.With high low end torque this car is driveable over the jam packed roads with less gear changes.The power assisted rack & pinon steering wheel, this car does not strain the driver even at the peak hour driving on the city roads.
On the highway this car really rocks! it pumps out power so well , that its simply fun driving this car.One of my long journey was form B’lore-ooty-kodaikanal.It simply gave pleasure to drive this car & was a perfect holyday trip with no strain or stress driving.For the hillstations, ghat sections this was a perfect car for me.It pulls like bull over the hairpin curves & pushes over the steep & narrow roads.By the end of the trip the car returned to about 15kmpl & had no troubles on the way.It was silk smooth over high speeds.I was able to touch 170kmph & was astonished to know that there were very less vibrations & no body roll.It was very easy to over take the vehicles in front of me.But when the AC is on, the car lacks a bit of power.
The interors are nicely furnished with good quality plastic with a bit of silver finish.the AC ducts are very well placed, the gear box console is neatly designed with cup holders at the front, the gear knob has a
sporty look & is well in reach of the driver.the dash board is spacious, it has a lighter, ash tray;ash trays at the rear doors -well its what the men really need.The steering coloumn is really confortable for the driver, with neat meter board with a tachometer, tripmeter, odometer, fuelgauge, temp indicator.The rear defogger is something very useful, the AC is fast cooling & effective.The leg room at the front is good, but a bit cramped at rear.The power windows work well without any problems so far.5 people can easily travel in this car.It also has a company fitted casette player, which got it replaced by a MP3 player few months back.
The exterior design is simply superb with macho front looks & pleasant look at the rear.The headlight & fog lamps are well fitted in the front bumper & are bright enough.The bumper design on the sxi is really sexy.A spoiler at the back will really enhance the looks & make it more sexy.
The after sale services are good here in b’lore at the Metro Ford.This car is less on maintainance, but the spares are a bit expensive.Keeping all this aside this is a quality car & i’am satisfied over its performance.
With a more contemplory styling of the zxi & the sexy looks of the sxi, comfortable driving, 10kmpl in city & 15kmpl on the high way, enough power to race on the saturday nights, noiseless engine even at high rpm, powerful grip on slippery roads, good amount of torque output- this car has to be a real driver’s car.This is even one of the most successful car for easy identifying of the parameters on roads.On the total this a complete car.But after the overwhelming success of the 1.6 ikon, the ford people have with drawn this car & replaced it with FIESTA fitted with a duratec 1.6l, 101 ps, ABS which is technologically more refined than the ikon.BUT ITS REALLY HARD TO FORGET & SALE THE ’IKON 1.6’ for me!