Hi All,
I am 27 & working as a Sr. Project Engineer. After so many research and checking out many cars and depending on my pocket size, I became the owner of a second hand Ikon 1.6ZXI!
As I started driving my car, I started falling in love with my beast baby! I have completed 11, 000 kms in my car so far in just 9 months.
Power.Yeah, I am calling it as a beast, because, I can rule the road in my Ikon. 92 horse power, 1600cc Ikon flies like a rocket on highways. I can confidently overtake any vehicles. Believe me, the way the engine responds to ur feet(foot on accelerator) is just mind blowing! Its very very powerful! And at the same time brakes are extraordinary! Once when I was going for a long drive with my family, I just asked my uncle to have a look at speedometer. And he was surprised and yelled "160!" Yeah, if you don’t look at the needle, you’ll never know the speed. The vehicle is that stable on road! So far I have touched 160 many times and reaching 140kmph in Ikon 1.6ZXI in highway is as easy as reaching 40kmph in our 2 wheelers!
Driving comfort. again I give full marks to my lovely Ikon! I drive in Bangalore! Everybody know the traffic in Bangalore. But I never had any problem in my Ikon. I can squeeze through gaps very easily, because handling Ikon is like handling a bicycle. Turning radius is small and steering responds just as we want. Sometimes I myself get surprised and ask myself." How did I do that?" Driving in heavy traffic is damn easy. Accelerator is like a feather touch! Clutch release is also very easy(just need to rise your feet max by 1.5 inches), unlike TATA vehicles. When ever my friends drive my car say "this car doesn’t need accelerator in city!" Its so powerful that, it starts moving if you just release clutch. Again, parking my sedan Ikon was not a problem at all.
Mileage. I am happy with the mileage. In highway, if you drive at a speed between 100 & 140kmph, the mileage would be 13 to 14 with out AC. If the speed is less than 100kmph, the mileage would be17 to 18! And in Bangalore city, I am getting a mileage of 10 to 11. Ofcourse, it greatly depends on the driving. I say, for a sedan, this mileage is much satisfactory! What do you say?
Shock observers. Its awesome. I drive for hours but never got back pain or body pain even driving in worst roads!
Maintainence. I have given for service just once so far, and spent 9K! My mechanic said it had some minor problems and had to be fixed and previous owner hadn’t bothered! My mechanic also mentioned that it will not exceed 2K from next service. So far, no problem. So I hope his words will be proven! And I am strongly suggested by all my friends not go to for Ford service station, as they mint money for no reason. So, I go to my reliable mechanic, who services even Benz!
Looks. Its stylish, passionate, great shape(good aerodynamically designed). I feel everyone agree with me. Its a car for young hearts. the car of youth:-) I agree that many good looking cars are around like Civic, Cedia etc. But still, Ikon is stylish!
Negative.
Road noise(below the chassis) can be heard inside the car so clearly that I get irritated! Even slightly uneven road can also be made out! Noise of small stones thrown by tyres etc are all very clear:-(
Shifting to reverse gear is always a trouble. It refuses to engage! I have observed the same problem in Fiesta too. Heard its a common problem in Ikon:-(
Power drops considerably when AC is on! Experienced same problem in Fiesta too and again heard it as a common problem in Ford by other owners:-( Haven’t found any other problems so far(touch wood!)
Compared to pros, cons are nothing in Ikon.!
I recommend this car to all with great satisfaction:-)
Happy Driving!
Mahesh DJ
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UPDATE:
16 Dec 2011. 10 years old Safira(My Ikon). completed 1, 10, 000 kms
Am still not finding any reason to change my car. also, difficult to part with her!
Mileage: City: 11 kms in city and Highway: average 14 and max. 17(It’s still the same)
Power: She loves plying at 160 km/hr. max. speed I could touch is 175 km/hr. but could never reach 180 km/hr even though I tried:-(
Just got left rear shock observer replaced and silencer 1 year back. Running on 3rd set of tyres(Bridgestone) and may have to change after max. 10, 000 kms. Can hear some rattling sound inside the car near dashboard which is negligible(I heard more than that in other new cars itself:-)
Overall, I can still scream and say. I love my baby. SAFIRA. u rock:-) muuuaaaahhh.
Happy driving!
Take care
Mahesh DJ