Team-BHP - Ford Aspire : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJN (Post 3824624)

Thanks for the details jowes. Do the sensor readings overlay on the camera video as well? If possible, please post some pics of the reverse IRVM. Actually I had requested the dealer to show me a demo but he is not able to do so (not sure why). On the other hand, if I buy from the accessories shops, I am not sure of the brands available and their reliability.

No, the sensor just gives a beep, nothing more... If the object is near, the beep frequency is high. I would personally not recommend going for only the camera. Sometimes my car vibrates when reversing and the camera vibrates along with it making the display useless. I am right now not in Bangalore so not in a position to post the pics. Will post it next week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Rationalist (Post 3824368)

Hi guys, My Dad uses a Figo and it runs on steel wheels. My Aspires's alloys are a match for Figo. I can give my alloys to his car and get 15 inch alloys and drive on them and at the time of service that is every 10000 kms can swap the original alloys and get Aspire serviced stupid: !That way I won't get into voiding warranty. Agreed its bit trouble to change the wheels but then I can't fight with morons at Ford who are adamant. They already have 15 inches as option for export! Any suggestions?
The Rationalist.

Hint: You can also get 15" Ford alloys from someone owns a Fiesta and wants 16" Momo for his car. ;)

Jokes apart, swapping wheels for service is not worth it. Check the warranty on suspension from Ford on the Aspire. I doubt it will be long. You can opt for a change once that is done with.

Ford is fuzzy about aftermarket wheels. So much so that, a service adviser once told a friend of mine that the slight noise from the suspension on his Fiesta was due to the 15" wheels that was on the car and they cannot honor the warranty due to this. Its another thing the service adviser had to swallow his words when my friend pointed out that the 15" wheels came standard from the factory on his S. :uncontrol So, be prepared for comments without reason once you go for a swap!

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetjohn (Post 3825159)

Its another thing the service adviser had to swallow his words when my friend pointed out that the 15" wheels came standard from the factory on his S.

Fiesta S with 15 inch wheels has different suspension springs/struts(and steering column too IIRC).

My guess is, the reduction in side wall height adds more stress on the already stiff suspension and thus figo/fiesta faced those issues: i have met many people who complain about suspension being shot after tyre upsize.

Since the new gen figo/aspire has slightly soft suspension, i think some leniency can be expected from them for upsizing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetjohn (Post 3825159)

So much so that, a service adviser once told a friend of mine that the slight noise from the suspension on his Fiesta was due to the 15" wheels that was on the car and they cannot honor the warranty due to this. Its another thing the service adviser had to swallow his words when my friend pointed out that the 15" wheels came standard from the factory on his S. :uncontrol So, be prepared for comments without reason once you go for a swap!

The exact happened to me as well, and the over confident SA required the service manager to step in and cut him to size! :Frustrati

And from my past experience, upgrading by an inch on a soft set-up car will not hurt anything, unless you have a car like the Verna, which is very soft, and the OEM wheels are already too close to the wheel arches.

I would not fret too much about the cons on the Aspire, as bigger wheels make the car look much better.,

All said, if the dealership guys decide not to honour your warranty, they would find all the reasons ( including the lemon in front of the car ) to blame the customer ! lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetjohn (Post 3825159)

Hi deetjohn,
Lol! I would love to. I have set my eyes on MOMO 15" black ones. Don't know whether black would go along with Red color. I don't know how upsizing would affect handling and ride, so bit apprehensive. The big trouble is I have 5 year warranty :Frustrati

The Rationalist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by d3mon (Post 3825364)

Got a yellow spanner warning on the dash as soon as I hit 250KM. Apparently, it indicates a Drivetrain malfunction. The car has gone into limp mode and doesn't cross 1750 RPM now :(

Bummer! Do you have an OBD-II device that you can connect, just to see what error codes have been logged?

When you take it to FASS, please ensure that they don't just clear the codes and return it to you, but have them also investigate and explain the cause of this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by heavenlybull (Post 3825556)

Anybody who test drove the 1.2? How does it compare with the 1.2s of the Amaze, Dzire and xcent in city conditions?

In City conditions, one should be prepared to work the gears. The car will refuse to move unless in the correct gear. It may be possible to move the car in 2nd gear in walking speed but it would take a relatively long time for the RPMs to build (in comparison to my dad's WagonR). Otherwise the car should be fine. The car's turning radius is low, so it's easy to move around in city traffic.

In highways, to get the best mileage: Maintain the RPMs at around 2000-2200 range in the fifth gear with just a gentle push on the pedal. This implies a speed in 80-95 kmph range and mileage of 18-19 kmpl. Would love to be corrected if a TeamBHP-ian has a better solution.

Update on my situation:

The car will be billed from the factory on the 18th, dispatched on the 20th and reach mangalore around 27th. So I should be getting delivery by month end.

In the end I decided to stick with the Aspire even though I'm not getting it on time as the competition is not good enough. The only good thing that came out this hullabaloo is that the ford GM now knows who I am ;) (apparently even he was in the loop trying to solve my problem - not that he could do anything about it).

Now that I'm buying the base model, I need to add an aftermarket ICE (which I already have). I have seen a functional Shark Fin antenna on Flipkart and I was wondering if I could install it on my car - but in the front. (As that is where the OEM antenna is)

Ford Aspire : Official Review-aspire-shark-fin2.jpg

I would like your opinion - if this is acceptable or if I should go for the regular antenna. Another option would be to buy a black shark fin antenna instead of silver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunphilip (Post 3825458)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aeroamit (Post 3825552)

@d3mon
Please check if you have tightened fuel cap tight enough after filling up diesel. This also may be one of the probable reason for limp mode.

Source: http://www.econofix.com/limphome.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by d3mon (Post 3825364)

I picked up my Aspire 1.5 TDCi Titanium Plus last week.
Had been enjoying it a lot, but this morning, it threw a spanner (literally) in the fun.

Got a yellow spanner warning on the dash as soon as I hit 250KM. Apparently, it indicates a Drivetrain malfunction. The car has gone into limp mode and doesn't cross 1750 RPM now :(

Has anyone encountered this on their Fiesta/Ecosport TDCi?

Will take it to the service center and see what the error code is.

Well the error went away on its own when I started up the car to take it to the service center. Car was out of limp mode too.
However, I still wanted to get it checked out - so I did show up at the service center.

The CRM at Elite Ford's Whitefield service center was waiting for me, as he'd been informed of the situation from the dealer.
They took in the car immediately and connected the scanner. It showed three error codes, two related to the fuel injection & another one related to the EGR. They were "old" error codes - weren't active any more.

I had them check the engine bay for loose wiring and clear the codes. They assured me that this was a transient error and that it wouldn't come up again. As there was not much else that I could ask them to do, I just took a pic of the error codes for future reference and asked them to fix my cabin light (which I had messed up slightly while trying to take it out stupid:) & to adjust the fog lamps to a higher level (They're useless at the stock setting as they illuminate < 1 car length in front of you by default). Both of those were carried out to my satisfaction.

Overall, it was a good first experience with the Ford Service.
Naveen.raju from the forum also had a similar error on his new ecosport from 2013, but it never showed up again, so I have hope!

Quote:

Originally Posted by methecupid (Post 3824715)

One of the comments on our drive back home from my wife was "why you driving like this?" She referred to the intermittent gear change jerks. I can be blamed for it partially, since I am not acquainted with the throttle response yet; but surely the 1.5 is not a substitute to the 1.2 TSI. Let's be reasonable in what we expect out of it too, the response isn't very bad. But if one expects to be the first one off the line at a signal, maybe the Figo will not suffice their requirements.

Hi methecupid, could you please share your initial impressions with 1.5 DCT? Maybe something on these lines:

1. What happens if you floor the accelerator in D mode? Does it help in a quick overtake or does it just revs unnecessarily (like CVT)?
2. At what RPM does DCT upshift in D mode?
3. Is the S mode any good? Someone mentioned that it always revs upto the redline in S mode. Is it so?
4. How fun is it to drive the manual mode? Or does the tiny +/- buttons render the M mode irritating?
5. How responsive is DCT in stop-go traffic? I have read on tbhp that Polo DSG is not its best in stop-go situations (creep mode).
6. Finally, what it the realistic fuel efficiency one can expect for a home-office daily commute? I believe you drive it in Mumbai?

Sorry if it looks like too many to answer. The reason is that I am not able to take a second TD as the dealer near my home gets the AT car only on Monday to Wednesday and it is impossible to leave office before 6 pm. Hence your inputs would be of great help.