Hello! I stumbled upon this forum by just inputting Ford Ikon in Google! I was like surprised because i’d never seen a site like this, about this car.
Oh well, I got this Ikon 1.6 ZXi as in 2005, 1st quarter. I had a choice of few other cars, but I chose this one because I liked it. I was in love with it when I got it, but there were some things which I did not know until later!
Brakes:
Shortly, few months after purchase, I was on a trip somewhere on a normal highway. On the way, at some place, while doing some 65mph (100 kph), a dog darted on the road, and I braked, the front 2 tyres locked easily, I had never tried the handbrake before, I use it only for emergency situations. I pulled up the handbrake lever thinking, the back brakes would help stop the car quicker.. (my previous car was a Esteem VX, had beautiful brakes. Many situations were there when it made braking easier) But it did not. I noticed very little braking force from the rear wheels. Alas, I hit the dog and my front bumper was partly broken and the fog lamp hanging. I also lost wheel alignment and balancing because of the impact. Poor dog! After coming back to Chennai, I went to Ford to give it in for repair. And woah, the dog didn’t brake only the above, but also a vital engine part. Don’t remember what was it.. Nuts! I got a whopping bill of around INR 20k. But insurance helped me. After this, I felt the bumper wasn’t strong??
I then came to know that the Ikon has a poor braking system- the brake discs are very light in the front, and the brake drums at the back ain’t any good! I even asked Ford if the option to fit ABS was possible.. If I had ABS, wheel locking wouldn’t have been there in the scene. Had no luck. Ford said it wasn’t possible. Sometime soon, I’ll fit disc brakes to the rear wheels too. Then it’ll be fine.
Mileage:
In the city, I get around 14~21 mpg (6~9 kpl).. Mostly, after service its around 14~16.5 mpg (6~7 kpl). After around a month or two, it comes back to 19~21 mpg (8~9 kpl) with a/c. On some occassions where the weather’s good and I don’t use the a/c, I get upto 26 mpg (11 kpl).
On the expressway, the mileage depends on my foot. If I’m steady at 75 mph (120 kph), i get around 30 mpg (13 kpl) with a/c. If I’m hurrying between home and workplace where my speed is mostly around or above 90 mph (144 kph), (my factory is 118 mi (190 km) away from home), I get about 27 mpg (11.5 kpl). I don’t mind it. But it could be better I feel.
A/c:
Recently, like a few months back, I began to get the problem which was there in another post, the a/c suddenly starts giving hot air. I told Ford about it only this month because it was coming more than before. They told it was a water valve problem or something. They rectified it without charge. They said it was under warranty. Its good now.
Acceleration:
If I want to apply a very slight touch on the accel, it takes a while for the engine to respond to it, that’s the thing I don’t like.. Same applies for releasing the accel.. There should be a solution for this! I’ll think about it. Other than that, love the acceleration. I’ve gone upto 5, 500 rpm. The sound’s so sweet. I love doing 5, 500 rpm in 2nd gear, and that’s mostly on the expressway. The sound’s also so sweet when you do a perfect shift from 2nd gear at 5, 500 to 3rd gear. The engine gives a lovely sound.
And yeah, today I ordered a K&N oem replacement air filter, (or) the AirCharger. I’ll fit it on tomorrow. Im expecting to see better response from the engine and better mileage.
I also think that, adding a cruise control system would make it more nice to drive this car!
Recently I gave it for 2nd paid service and they charged me INR 2185 for it. Its once in 6 months, so its ok.
Till now, my top speed in it is 115 mph (185 kph). I achieved it twice. In the expressway where there was very less headwind and downward sloping road.
Also I’ve to tell. Ford gave me the car with badly focussed headlamps. I had them re-do it, but was still in a bad state. Gave it at automark where they did a perfect focus.
I just love this car. Other people may give it a negative thought, but for me, its positive.
Update
After I installed the K&N AirCharger, after I started the engine, there was a slight roar from the engine and a noticeable better response from the engine. It’s little quicker now for response. Acceleration has increased. And it seems to be consuming lesser fuel. I’ve calculated the mileage now. I’m getting about slightly more mileage in the city, 22.4 mpg (9.5 kpl) and on the highway I’m getting 35 mpg (14.8 kpl) while doing 75 mph (120 kph). That’s a great increase!
Update
Till now the car is nearing 13, 000 km! Its going great. I’m getting a combined mileage of 30.7 mpg (13 kpl). I also began to feel that the headlight focus could be better, so I adjusted them myself. And they’re great. And yeah, I’ve fitted 90/100w bulbs in it.