Which car to buy ;Ford Ikon, Swift Dzire or Logan
Buying a Sedan in India for anyone is a tough choice given the variety of brands and the intense competition among the Indian and foreign manufacturers that have penetrated the consumer base. When i first planned to buy a sedan ,my personal criteria of my Sedan were as follows.First aspect that i was looking as any other Indian would ,was about the fuel efficency of my car. As i drove long distances , my natural choice was to go for a Diesel car. While fuel efficency was a point to consider (Click to read how to improve the mileage of your car), I also needed my car to agree to my commands.Meaning when a car listens to you by accelerating and braking whenever you need it to,then you know that you are sitting in your car that agrees to your driving style. The next main attribute was of course the looks for when one graduates from a hatchback to a Sedan , looks do matter . Another aspect was the good old indian space that every family craves for.
Coming to the first car i test drove, I had called the Mahindra Renault Logan personnel to send me a Diesel Car .But Logan straight away lost the bait by sending in an old Petrol car for a test drive that behaved like an old truck while accelerating and braking. The personnel admitted to his mistake but he had already lost a customer as i was’nt impressed by the Petrol version either .Though i give full marks to the spacious cabin and the boot that no other car provides, I would use a Logan only if i only plan to have use it as a taxi.Of course Logan scored full marks for its spacious interiors but Mahindra – Renault could have done a lot more to improve the bland interiors and the sharp box design.
I next chose the Swift Dzire as i had the desire to drive a car.But shortly after the Dzire’s test drive, i found that too many Indians had the desire to drive the Dzire. The car was booked for the next 6 months and I realised that Maruti still had a vice like grip on the Indian car market.Coming to the performance of the Swift Dzire, the car is pretty smooth and has enough space but was smaller than Logan in the interior. Though it accelerated at will, there is this noticeable lag in the acceleration of the Swift engines as they lack a turbo charger. Hence whenever you drive a Swift diesel variant, you know that the car listens to you but with a delay of 2 seconds. The immense waiting time coupled with the lack lustre Ambassador looks and the turbo lag provoked me to keep Swift Dzire on hold .
www.marutidzire.com
While i scavenged the auto market for a car of a similar price range, I came across the Ford Ikon that has been present in India for quite some time. From the previous feedbacks , I had heard that Ford Ikon had an awesome power(Josh machine) but scored low in fuel efficency, servicing costs and spares. I was almost rejecting this car but somehow decided to go for a test drive. I drove the Ford Ikon that is now fitted with the new common rail Turbo charged Engine (Same as the Ford Fiesta which is a big hit) and I had to change my previous thoughts. The Car bursts across with an acceleration that cannot be compared to either the Dzire or the Logan. While the turbo engine makes sure that i get the required acceleration, the 1.4 L Common rail diesel engine does give a good mileage(Click to read how to improve the mileage of your car) .In addition , I always liked the looks of Ikon. The only scare was the servicing /spares cost but the dealer informed me that the Ford parts are now being manufactured in Chennai at reduced costs. Though being smaller than the chubby Dzire and the out of the box Logan ,I finally chose the Ford ikon. An extra point was that the Ford ikon is lighter than the Fiesta and comes fully loaded with power windows, AC, power steering features that are not available with the overpriced Logan and the low end variants of Dzire. Finally owing to the Ford’s competitive pricing that scored over the Dzire and Logan ,I bought the Ford ikon.
http://www.india.ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1178851583208&pagename=Page&c=DFYPage&site=FIPL
It has been 6 months since i bought my Panther black Ford ikon and being true to its name, it has given me an iconic pleasure in terms of driving comfort, control, mileage and maintenance. But then, I still need to wait and watch for a few years to certify the overall performance of the Ikon.But till then , I rather enjoy my ride.
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Hey, I have tried all the 3 cars. After coming back from US, I was in a delimma to choose a car in India. As Ford does not carry a good name in US nor Suzuki is a good brand in US. It was just Honda and Toyota’s…
I drove Logan. It is a good car… and knowing many taxis like Meru on the road use Logan.. so it was a turn off.. Looks not great either.
I tried Ford, but since my US experience was not great with Ford Taurus, I called off.
Then finally I picked up DZire… a brand new 10 km driven for TEST DRIVE. I loved it because of Mileage (Km/Ltr) is good and Looks wize not bad… Not macho as others like IKON. But good enough.
What attracts me towards Suzuki is the Service station in every part of country and easily accessible spare parts. Spare parts our cheap as well. In last 1 year, I have driven 32,000 Kms with nothing more than Service required. I have 100,000Kms warranty or 4 years. So it is good. I got ZDI as I wanted Dual Air Bags.. Must if I drive so much.
Well these are just my views.
Cheers,
Suvigya
It’s true even i am owing Ford ikon diesel… its been a pleasure and i am impressed by the pickup.. only issue that i feel is it’s little heavy on first and second gear… but after that it’s fun driving… Correclty said… i am also keen to see how it performs over the time as i am also scared by the general feedback by friends on cost of ownership…. Happy driving to all:)