2018 Ford Aspire | First Drive

It’s Enter the Dragon Part 3. After the Figo and the Freestyle, this new sub-4 metre Ford Aspire too has got the same 1.2 litre TiVCT 3-cylinder petrol engine mated to a new 5-speed manual gear box. There is also a 1.5 litre TDCI diesel engine with a new 5-speed manual transmission. Ford India also has a 1.5 litre 3-cylinder petrol engine from the Dragon family mated to a six-speed automatic transmission on offer. We drove the top end versions, the Titanium + of the 1.2 litre petrol MT and the 1.5 litre diesel MT models.

EXTERIOR DESIGN AND FEATURES OF 2018 FORD ASPIRE

The front of the new Aspire has been tweaked a bit. There is a big three-dimensional cellular grille. Automatic headlamps in the new Ford Aspire feature a black encasing to give a sporty look. Unfortunately, there are no DRLs and no LEDs in this car. Chrome surrounds the new fog lamps and this in turn is integrated into the front bumper.

At the rear, not much has changed, except for a tweak in the design of the tail lamps. The bumper is more or less the same, except for a small design cavity with black rubber on either side. Well, it’s a style quotient whether you agree or not.

The new Ford Aspire also features premium alloys and bigger 15-inch tyres. The profile of the tyre reads 195/55 R 15. Mind you this is only in the Titanuim and Titanium + variants and for the Ambiente, Trend and Trend+ variants, it is steel wheels with 175/65 R 14 tyres.

INTERIOR DESIGN AND FEATURES OF 2018 FORD ASPIRE

The cabin of the all-new Ford Aspire is bright with its beige coloured upholstery. The plastic used around the dash area is of decent material. The dash area looks very clean and uncluttered and has an easy right flowing design to it.

 The fabric seats have good support for the back and under thigh. The cabin comes with convenience features including a reverse parking camera, automatic climate control system, two USB slots, push-button start/stop, electrochromic IRVM and rain-sensing wipers. The steering wheel comes with basic controls like volume control and voice command. This electric power assisted steering wheel can be tilted but is not telescopic.

The rear seats too are comfortable, although I feel with people around 6 feet or above in height may have a tad discomfort in terms of head room and knee room. Since the top-end variant comes with 6 airbags, there are no grab handles for those seated in the vehicle.

The Inner door panels of the vehicle have ample storage space in its skin with two bottle holders and some extra space. At one end of the dash you have a cavity where you can tuck away your keys, as this model has a start stop function. There is a plain Jane looking centre arm rest for the rear passengers.

The car features the SYNC 3 in-car infotainment system with a 6.5-inch touchscreen which allows drivers to control their entertainment and connected smartphone using voice commands.

SYNC 3 system is Apple CarPlay & Android Auto compatible and will allow drivers to use navigation through their iOS or Android paired phones. It also offers Emergency Assistance, a technology that automatically calls emergency services from a paired phone in case of an accident.

SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE OF 2018 FORD ASPIRE

I took turns driving the diesel and the petrol variants. The diesel is peppy like hell. It’s a turbo charged one and you really do not get to feel as it kicks in around the 1200 rpm level on the tachometer. This is where the torque comes into play big time and the vehicle gets going in a hurry. The road handling of the diesel variant is so superb, even at high speeds and on bad roads it stayed planted to the roads. At higher rpms you do get to hear the diesel engine grunting and the noise percolating into the cabin. But that can surely be overlooked because it’s not so bad. The car has disc brakes in front and drums at the rear.

The all-new, three-cylinder 1.2L TiVCT petrol engine in the Ford Aspire is not at all a push over compared to its diesel bro. No turbo here but simply naturally aspirated, it’s spirited though it lags a wee bit at the early stages of the drive but when you push the accelerator, it surely catches up with its diesel bro in performance. Both engines are paired to an all-new, five-speed manual transmission. I am truly impressed by this transmission because shifting comes so easy in this vehicle and the engine seems to be perfectly mated to it. According to the company, this new manual transmission is almost 15% lighter and helps improve fuel economy while reducing NVH. It requires 40% lesser gear oil than its predecessor.

I am a stickler for safety. In the top end of the Ford Aspire the company is offering six airbags. The car has Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD). Features like Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Hill-Launch Assist feature and Traction Control System only come in the sole automatic version.

VERDICT

All in all, the new Ford Aspire is a worthy contender in the sub-4 metres car segment in India. If inspirations are what finally lead to aspirations, there is a lot this new car has in terms of inspirations that can lead a person to aspire for this all-new Ford Aspire!