The Ford Ikon was a superb driver’s car, and the most ‘personal’ lower mid-size sedan, the car you’d drive yourself rather than handing over to anyone else.
BHPian Shreyfiesta recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Ode to the good ol’ Ford Ikon, an enthusiast’s delight!
Introduction :
Ah, got that free time, have you? Sit back, relax and read this awfully long thread. The Ford Ikon was a superb driver’s car, and the most ‘personal’ lower mid-size sedan, the car you’d drive yourself rather than handing over to anyone else.
Ford India didn’t experience market nirvana with the launch of Escort in 1996. It was a capable car and sold in good numbers initially, but the sales department started struggling after the first year. A fair number of people had the financial means to buy premium cars like the Escort, they did not possess the will to purchase them. Everyone wanted a three-box at the price they could afford. It didn’t take time for car manufacturers to realize this fact. Most of them started introducing suitably priced three-box cars in the late-nineties. The introduction of Ford Ikon in 1999 alongside the Esteem and Cielo spawned the ‘lower mid-size sedan segment’.
The Ikon became an incredible success story for Ford India primarily because of its affordable price tag and also the way it played a dual role of a car to drive as well as one to be driven in. It was the hot niche that sat bang in between the Esteem gang and the upper crust Citys, Lancers and Astras. If fun was on the agenda, the Ikon 1.6 petrol was the perfect automobile to have blast with. The Ikon 1.8 diesel too was a credible effort, though the aged engine was not as strong as what everyone would’ve liked. In the overall context, Ikon was the best all-rounder in its class in the early-2000s and the fact that it came at a terrific price made it a convincing winner.
As time went by, the Ikon saw a couple of minor facelifts along the way. The fact remained that the Ikon was so popular that everybody had seen it, everybody knew what it looked like and no one was going to give it a second glance. That was when the NXT and Flair updates came in, almost five years after the Ikon conquered the hearts and garage spaces of urban India. Obviously the sedan still had a trick or two up its sleeve, the performance and dynamics package remained as a beauty. But that wasn’t enough to maintain interest in the Ikon and prevent it from going the vintage way. The sedan seemed immortal. Hondas, Toyotas and even Mercs came and went, but the Ikon was always around, in one form or another.
Fast forward to the late-2000s, rising fuel prices and a need for high-value utility brought diesel cars into focus. The Ikon stayed idle in its segment for a long time, but the imminent launches from Indian brands prompted Ford to come back into action. The company re-launched its ageing Ikon with a diesel engine borrowed from the Fiesta and refreshed exterior looks. For those who wanted an economical mid-sizer at a great price, the Ikon was still a no-brainer in the 2010s. As a family-used car which was what buyers of inexpensive midsizers largely were, the Ikon was not satisfying, primarily due to its aged platform and lack of features. The implementation of BS4 emission norms forced Ford India to discontinue the Ikon.
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