"Wow..!!! so u're 25 now..!!! What do u want as a gift, dear???!!"
"I guess being an icon as I am, an Ikon wud do..... :p .... Hehehe... "
That was my better half reminding me of my age, as my birthday approached, and below was my cheeky lill reply... :d. Little did I know that this was to be the beginning of our endeavour with the ford Ikon Flair.......
The Ford ikon had captured many an imagination, when it first made its arrival with the "josh Machine" tagline... the ads only served to stretch the imagination, and revived many a hidden motoring dream, during the days when the indian motoring fraternity was restricted to the Ambys and Marutis. While me n my better half were during our dating days, we took a test run of the Flair in Hyderabad. We were impressed no doubt, and there began our quest to lay our hands on this machine.
While we were in the process of deciding which vehicle to narrow down upon, taking into mind logistics, as well as finances, we dilly daddled with the idea of a second hand Scorpio , or Accent Diesel too at one stage. After we were disuaded from going for a second hand vehicle by our respective families, choices narowed down a bit. Finally it was a choice of finances over the heart's pull, and we gave in to the latter, in the form of the Ikon. Its not always that u get to live for urselves.
We initially planned on the Platinum color for our car, but decided to opt for the Jewel Violet version at the last moment. It turned out to be the feather in our cap, with accolades pouring in from all quarters.
Looks :
Looks wise, the Ikon Flair has no match in its category, the modified bumpers, the front grille, as well as the well-shaped fog lamps beating down all competition to take the honors, and how..!!
The raised boot, and well shaped rear lamps along with the clear indicators offering a smart rear end. Saftey has been enhanced by providing a high-positioned stop lamp too.
interiors :
inside, the seat upholstery cud have been better, and the new cup holders dont really seem to serve the purpose. They seem to have been put there as a last minute addition, just for the heck of it.
The steering wheel is indeed sporty, and so is the gear lever, which sports chrome addition. The short gear plays make for a sporty feeling during gear shifts. The steering wheel position makes getting in and out of the car kinda difficult as has been mentioned on various other reviews on this product. If only they had provided a steering position adjustment, this cud easily have been taken care of. Infact, among the first questions I had asked the dealer during my test drive was if the steering was adjustable. While this is indeed a flaw, u can control the steering wheel on long straight stretches resting ur arm on ur lap, so is comfortable that way.
Options :
The Ikon Flair comes with power options as standard..... ie power windows, power steering as well as central locking. Naturaly, u wud also assume that boot opening wud be provided from inside... but no..!! I was in for a shock when I realized that the boot needed manual opening from outside. There u are... another flaw which cud easily have been avoided. Another point I noted was that the power window controls on the driver's handrest are located in a slightly uncomfortable position, which means, u wud need to take ur eyes off the road, though momentarily to adjust the windows.
Engine Responsiveness :
Engine responsiveness on the Flair is gud, however u do feel the slight loss in power with the AC turned on. Havent really been pushing the car till we reach the 1000 kms mark.
Luggage capacity :
Luggage space is pretty good, and while I do not remember the exact boot dimensions, I was convinced of its capacity, when bro n myself had a bet on whether a bulky piece of his luggage wud fit in the boot or not. Guess I neednt remind u who won. :-s
Comfort :
Rear seat is pretty comfortable, and I wud be willing to be on record when I say it feels even more comfortable than an Accent in that respect. Views wud differ, but I beg to disagree.
As our Mike (as we christened him), is pretty new, and the novelty hasnt worn off as yet, we havent done any mileage tests as yet. Will update this review as and when we muster courage to undertake the same. ;)
Updated on 25th October
Diwali weekend, and we decided to stay back in Bangalore, rather than get caught in the strong currents of fellow travellers. Naturally, it wasnt meant to stay cooped up at home, and so we decided to venture out to places on the outskirts of Bangalore. It was during these trips that we decided to try out the mileage figures that Mike was returning.
As the kms we clocked were not totally highway based, it was rather a mix of city as well as highway. Our Ikon returned pretty good figures of 13.6 kmpl!!!!
Driving style : No rash driving, keeping steady speeds of abt 90 kmph while on the highway.
Engine loads :We had a staple load of 3 passengers throughout, and 5 people while on the highway trip. During the trip, even wifey decided to take a shot at the wheel.... strained the engine a bit with lower gears for higher speeds. Still returned the above values...!! Hosur road traffic needs no mention, and we were stuck up in it for quite a long time with the A/C running.
A/C Usage :We used the A/C for almost 80% of the journey, while the blower was turned on throughout.
Fuel used : Shell unleaded (normal).
P.S. : Our car hasnt even gone through the first service as yet.... hence no mileage related tuning has been undertaken.
Updated on 9th November
1000 kms plus on the odo, and that means its time for Mike's first service.
Made a booking with Cauvery Ford for a weekend slot, and we set out.
There was an inspection for any exterior damage or sctatches, and soon the car was lifted to observe for any underbody damage. We were informed about the exterior body teflon coating, as well as under-body anti rust coating, but I decided against both of them. My experience with my Pulsar enlightened me that teflon coating has no major use as such.
Got back the car by evening, and with a ZERO rupees bill to go with it. Hows that??!!
City driving returned 13.2 kmpl with 80% A/C switched on.
As of now, I am a happy man.
Meanwhile, its Happy Motoring to us, as we plan our first long journey soon enuff.... and to all the earnest readers, plz do not forget to pour in ur comments, as well as ratings. Will help me to dwell further on topics I may have missed to touch upon.
