With prices starting at Rs 5.55 lakh (ex-showroom) the 2018 Ford Aspire facelift gets refreshed exterior styling, a host of new features and a new petrol engine.
The 2018 Aspire compact-sedan gets redesigned front bumper with sharp chrome bezels surrounding the fog lamps, a new grille and larger 15-inch alloy wheel design. Though the headlamps look the same, they now feature blacked-out trim to make it look more upmarket. Unfortunately, there are no LED DRLs, a feature that some of its competitors have.
The cabin has also received some tweaks and now gets tablet-like 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system which will support SYNC3, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The car features automatic climate control, push-button start, illuminated USB ports, and a new beige interior. It comes with dual airbags as standard and the top variants get six airbags for additional safety.
The compact sedan will be offered in two petrol and one diesel engine options, with the highlight being the new 1.2-litre ‘Drago’n series petrol unit that was introduced on the Freestyle crossover. The new three-cylinder, 1.2-litre Ti-VCT petrol engine produces 96 PS and 120 Nm and is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The diesel version continues to be powered by the 1.5-litre TDCi engine that makes 100 PS and 215 Nm of torque. The petrol delivers a claimed fuel economy of 20.4 km/l while the diesel returns 26.1 km/l. There also a 123 PS, 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol automatic option which comes mated to a six-speed torque converter transmission.
“The New Ford Aspire has been tailor-made for those who don’t follow the crowds, desire beyond the ordinary and want more out of their car experience. They are driven by a desire to lead and make their own mark,” said Rahul Gautam, Vice President – Marketing at Ford India.
Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi):
2018 Ford Aspire Petrol
– Ambiente (1.2-litre) at Rs 5.55 lakh
– Trend (1.2-litre) at Rs 5.99 lakh
– Trend Plus (1.2-litre) at Rs 6.39 lakh
– Titanium (1.2-litre) at Rs 6.79 lakh
– Titanium (1.2-litre) Plus at Rs 7.24 lakh
– Titanuim (1.5-litre) Automatic at Rs 8.49 lakh
2018 Ford Aspire Diesel (1.5-litre)
– Ambiente at Rs 6.45 lakh
– Trend at Rs 6.89 lakh
– Trend Plus at Rs 7.29 lakh
– Titanium at Rs 7.69 lakh
– Titanium Plus at Rs 8.14 lakh
With these introductory prices, Ford has managed to not just undercut most of the other compact sedans available in the country but is cheaper than the outgoing model, and has gone ahead and offered five years / 1,00,000 km warranty on the new Aspire range.
