[samaspire]

Originally Posted by teemus

So what's the update about your Aspire? Got it mended?

What was the quote for the repairs and how was the experience with insurance company?

The car's still at the body shop - waiting for parts to arrive. They are taking their own time and for various reasons. First the insurance surveyor went on a holiday, then Chennai had Pongal holidays (some parts have to come from Chennai). Today he tells me, wrong parts have come and they have to replace them.

The timelines has been changing like a government infrastructure project - Jan 15, Jan 20, Jan 22, Month end... now its 'little later than that'. But I'm not pressurising them too much as I want the work to be done properly and its the 1st Aspire they are working on. Also I have a Spare Car Clause in my insurance that gives me Rs.400 per day the car is getting repaired . But the insurance guy, or his office doesn't seem to know anything about this.

The estimate is 1.5 lakhs. I have to bear the Rs.1000 - 1500 claim amount + cost of consumables (nuts, blots, bushes, oils, etc.)

As for the insurance procedure - things are going on smoothly (and slowly). The body shop manager had informed the surveyor the same day and got it inspected the next day. A week went by and I was told that I would have to give an Affidavit - which took another week.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by sudhirnam

Those tires look great on your Aspire. Did this improve the handing of the car? I guess you feel more confident while cornering owing to better grips these tires offer.

Thanks

I didn't drive much to comment if the handling has improved. But from my brief experience, the steering feedback has improved. Car feels a bit more planted. It still feels floating above 100 kmpH but the intensity has reduced.

The ride has become a bit hard though. But considering the fact that the suspension is anyways tuned for comfort there isn't much to complain on the ride.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Thanks
Car feels a bit more planted. It still feels floating above 100 kmpH but the intensity has reduced.

What's this floating feel that you refer to? Could you please describe it more ?

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by amalji

What's this floating feel that you refer to? Could you please describe it more ?

I come from Ikon and Fiesta (aka Classic) which feel very planted on the road at high speeds and I don't actually feel the speed. You'll have to see the speedo to realize the kind of speeds the Ikon, Fiesta (Classic and new) do. Not the same with the Aspire. The car doesn't feel as planted and even though the NVH is good, we could easily feel the speed which isn't a good thing IMHO.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Here's our 3rd Ford in 10+ years Ford Aspire 1.5L AT.

While as much as I'm able to relate to typical Ford traits in the car, it's quite obvious that some trademark Ford elements were given the pass in favor of Mass Market preferences.

Congrats on the new Ford!

From the 1.6 Fiesta to the 1.5 Figo AT, I would love to hear your views on the engine comparison of both .

When I did the test drive, I felt the low end was not all that great, but I am sure the mid and top will be good(assuming)

Waiting for the ownership report.

[novicefreak]

hi, if I can put forth my experience of driving TDCi and MJD, this particular engine on Aspire has lot of torque in initial RPM range which kind of makes one jittery when compared to "linear" torque the MJD offers. I my opinion this is something evident when speeds are higher too and supposedly this is cause of car-in-air feel.

All this is gone when driven more and adapts to the engine power on offer!!
Simply put, the engine on Aspire TDCi is amazing and pleasure to drive!!

I drive B2B traffic in peak hours and MID mileage is around 18.9. (Almost no AC or at best intermittent) With AC it just drops a decimal point or two. Give more time to "adapt" and surely there is plenty of enjoyment. Play with torque on offer and rev only when required is my mantra!!!

Enjoy TDCi!!!

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by tharian

Congrats on the new Ford!

From the 1.6 Fiesta to the 1.5 Figo AT, I would love to hear your views on the engine comparison of both .

When I did the test drive, I felt the low end was not all that great, but I am sure the mid and top will be good(assuming)

Waiting for the ownership report.

The car is for my parents. So I won't be driving it so much to put an ownership review.

The 1.5L TiVCT has more horses per se than the 1.6L Duratec but you'll be literally searching for them most of the time. The 6-Speed DCT gearbox is nowhere near the VW DSG gearbox in the Polo GT in terms of performance. The DCT hates to downshift.

On the positive side, the 1.5L TiVCT sounds sweet. Especially when the DCT blips the throttle and downshifts in S Mode. And I suppose it should give better mileage if driven in D Mode

The bottom line is, I miss the peppiness of the 1.6L Duratec (Fiesta Classic) and 1.3L ROCAM (Ikon) engines badly. They were absolute fun. While the 1.5L TiVCT likes to be a relaxed cruiser rather than a boy racer.

If it's an Aspire and not an Automatic, it should be the 1.5L TDCi. Gem of an engine. Outshines it's petrol counterpart.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by kiku007

If it's an Aspire and not an Automatic, it should be the 1.5L TDCi. Gem of an engine. Outshines it's petrol counterpart.

Of course!
Which is why at first when I saw the picture posted, I thought it was the diesel you went for since I read somewhere your 1.6 was up for sale.

But now since I know the car is for you're parents, makes sense.

Yes, there is a world of a difference between the Dct and Dsg and trump card of VW being the turbo. I wonder if the 1litre eco boost engine would have made better sense with the automatic here. Keeping costs aside.

[kiku007]

Yes, the Fiesta was sold :(

In my humble opinion, the 1L Ecoboost is an overrated engine. Didn't enjoy it in the Ecosport.

The Polo GT TSi would still be my pick wrt performance and if budget wasn't a consideration.

[dragonov007]

I have this experience about rattles to share-

When I drove the car back from the showroom there wasn't a single rattle.Next day when I took her out to my workplace driving alone,the moment the left front wheel went over a rough patch, there was a 'drrrrrrr' sounding rattle coming from somewhere near the front left window area.I thought that the front window glass wasn't fully closed and somehow was rattling.But making it open and close for a couple of times didn't work out.So I left it at that for the time being.

Next day when my wife was in the passenger seat,the sound vanished,only to return again when I took the car out alone.Perplexed ,the first thing I checked was whether there was something loose in the front passenger seat base.I adjusted the seat and during doing it,it slid back a notch with a 'click' like engaging sound.As I couldn't find anything loose on my inspection, I decided to ignore it for then and drive.But to my surprise the sound was gone!

Few days later someone had sat on the passenger side and had adjusted the seat to his liking,and when driving alone the next day the same 'drrrrrr' sound returned.I adjusted the seat again, until I could hear a locking click.Thereafter the sound vanished again.

So I think the seat sometimes doesn't gets fully 'locked' to its position in the seat rail and that is causing it to rattle,specially when the seat is empty and there is no load-bearing.So those who are experiencing rattling from near the front left window or B-pillar regions, can try to do the same and check.My two cents.

[teemus]

Originally Posted by dragonov007

So I think the seat sometimes doesn't gets fully 'locked' to its position in the seat rail and that is causing it to rattle,specially when the seat is empty and there is no load-bearing.So those who are experiencing rattling from near the front left window or B-pillar regions, can try to do the same and check.My two cents.

To add to that, in the above case, if the passenger seat is empty you can actually see it vibrating, the back especially. I was very surprised to see it doing so as I haven't seen anything of sorts in my 14 year old Santro.

Here I am talking about Ford Figo but since these are sister cars the seat frame must be identical.

[AKTRACK]

Just saw some nice Ford ads on You tube, posted sometime last week. Strangely, I have not seen any of those on TV. They are exactly the ads Ford should bombard the TV with. Absolute no nonsense stuff, which will directly hit their target clientele - the intelligent enthusiast. Felt good watching them!! With launches happening every other day, I am not sure how Ford is going to stay relevant without good marketing.

If my memory serves me, one of the ads boasted of a 5 layer paint process. Is this unique to Fords? Between, my aspire did not come with a under body coat. Not sure if it is missing just in the Ambiente variant. Got it done from 3M Rajouri garden along with the engine coat and exhaust coat.

My little solution to the rattling problem some of you are facing - see if it is the passenger side seat belt buckle rubbing against the B pillar plastic.

[bhargavgunreddy]

Hi everyone,

Had anyone installed rear view camera for aspire. I looked at accessories list and it is priced at around 12k( close to 14k with labor charges as quoted by dealer). I am not sure if its genuinely priced ? If not could anyone please provide me leads to procure the same.

Thanks

[vamsi2390]

Hello guys,

Though i do not own a Figo aspire, i did manage to drive a self driven figo aspire(titanium) for about 900kms during a two trip from hyderabad to hampi recently.
I think i am in love with that diesel engine. Shame they couldnt get a better gearbox on that
Not that the one is any bad, but when i compare it to the gearbox of a swift or even to the one on my alto800, it does feel rubbery especially the 3rd gear (may be an issue with the self driven car that i have taken. people who actually own the car might have to confirm). But, yeah, nothing that you cant live with.
The ride and feel did feel pretty planted and the steering precision and weight was alright as well.
The one thing i hated though was the headlight throw which was pretty scary when i was doing a narrow single lane 100km stretch. My alto800 has Philips diamond vision on them and I'm pretty sure that they have a much better throw and spread. And the worst part was that there were blind spots on the headlight throw for whatsoever reason (even on the left side which did not make any sense. I mean left throw is supposed to be better than on the right for the benefit of opposite traffic i believe). Well at least the near was alright with the fog light switched on


Saying all that, if there is one car which i would like to upgrade in a year or two down the line, it would be the figo(/aspire) which seems to be the best bang for the buck especially the trend(/+) variants. Too bad they dont come with ABS though. Hope FORD offers them as optional packages on all the variants by the time i would be able to afford one.


And this is my first post on team-bhp(Iv been a stalker since ages ) so please do go easy for any errors/misinterpretations that I might have put in.

Regards,
SV

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by vamsi2390

I think i am in love with that diesel engine.

Welcome to the forum and also for falling in love with that engine. I own one so I can relate to how you feel about it

Originally Posted by vamsi2390

Shame they couldnt get a better gearbox on that Not that the one is any bad, but when i compare it to the gearbox of a swift or even to the one on my alto800, it does feel rubbery especially the 3rd gear (may be an issue with the self driven car that i have taken. people who actually own the car might have to confirm). But, yeah, nothing that you cant live with.

Your observation is spot on. Even I feel the gear box is not buttery smooth and is lagging behind other good shifters out there. If only Aspire had short throws and precise shifts, it would have doubled the pleasure

Originally Posted by vamsi2390

The one thing i hated though was the headlight throw which was pretty scary when i was doing a narrow single lane 100km stretch. My alto800 has Philips diamond vision on them and I'm pretty sure that they have a much better throw and spread. And the worst part was that there were blind spots on the headlight throw for whatsoever reason (even on the left side which did not make any sense. I mean left throw is supposed to be better than on the right for the benefit of opposite traffic i believe). Well at least the near was alright with the fog light switched on

Yet again spot on. I have been cribbing about this as one of the main drawback. Headlights are not sufficient to travel at speeds above 80-90kmph at nights on 4 lane highways as the spread and throw is really bad

Upgrading the bulbs to more powerful one like for e.g : 90/100 is the only solution

Originally Posted by vamsi2390

Saying all that, if there is one car which i would like to upgrade in a year or two down the line, it would be the figo(/aspire) which seems to be the best bang for the buck especially the trend(/+) variants

Save up fast and join the Aspire club soon