Blue Oval: The Ford Motor Company. Your Likes & Dislikes?

[Raja]

We have many ford cars owners here on the forum who have cars like Fiesta , FIgo , Ikon and now there will be huge tribe of Ecosport owners .

Owners , or lovers of Ford cars kindly post your likes and dislikes about Ford motor company , your suggestions , your compliments .

IMP - if debates happen kindly do them in a respectful way . As our mod ironrock says - " debate the view point and the content posted not the person " .

 

[K!NkY]

Re: Blue Oval - The Ford Motor Company your likes and dislikes .

Ford Figo - Diesel

Likes

- Very good driving dynamics in city.
- Solid built metal parts
- AC is a bone freezer
- space management
- sporty colours
- Recalls boldly

dislikes
- Rear suspension cannot withstand 3 adults. Always a thud in spead breaker
- Interior and exteriror plastics fade very soon.
- Cheap maintenance cost advertised but after 25k kms burns your pocket.
- Bad and untrained service centers.
- Diesel Engines are noisy like a truck
- Resale value

 

[ss80]

Re: Blue Oval - The Ford Motor Company your likes and dislikes .

I have driven my cousins Ikon quite often and test drove a few recently for my friend. Here are my views.

In general (not specific to Ikon)

Positives:
1. Solid build (especially bonnet)
2. Thud sound is awesome when you close the doors
3. First to introduce a few gadgets in cars like Electric boot release etc
4. One of the few companies who provided a Hydraulic Power Steering unit, that's a joy on highway and city
5. Suspension parts are usually much better than Maruti/Hyundai
6. Rusting happens only when not much care is taken, compare the rust in Ikons vs Esteem/Swift
7. My friend has a yellow board Fiesta Classic diesel, on highway with AC mileage is unbelievable - 23+ easily!
8. Small attention to detail can be seen the way the seat bolts are covered with plastics, quality of cushion material is good, Paint lasts easily 7+yrs
9. Few fantastic cars launched since this company came into India -Ikon 1.6, Fiesta Classic (diesel) and of course the Ecosport.

Negatives
1. Ergonomics is goofed up many times - for the typical Indian the boot release switch on dashboard is something to get adjusted to.
2. I searched for the bonnet release lever everywhere (first time in Ikon) then finally someone showed me its below the steering wheel - Is there no other space in the car?
3. If I am not wrong even in Fiesta, it is on passenger side and not the driver side (can someone confirm please?)
4. Some Ikon's were known for fuel pump failures (repested issues)
5. When some models flop, their parts are difficult to get even at Ford showrooms - Ford Fusion
6. Usually the plastic parts will be messed in one way or the other (shape of Ikon dashboard), the always rattling air con vents etc
7. Ford Fiesta classic although looks big, actual interior space isn't that great.
8. Although I never expect a well built car to give good mileage, Ford cars (petrols) are low on mileage.
9. Most of the time I find Ford cars to be well built & underpowered.

 

[1989rs500]

Re: Blue Oval - The Ford Motor Company your likes and dislikes .

much thanks for this thread @Raja bro, I was not able to control myself there, in Ecosport thread, see many may have issues with Ford but here in Trivandrum there isnt much of a problem as told by some of our members, I have seen even some Ecosport waiters telling "33000 increase for diesel Titanium, well thats a bit too much isnt it,, SA: Sir its company decision and its written on the booklet that price as specified on time and day may vary in accordance with time of delivery of vehicle", here many people told OK fine, I have seen only some petrol booked people frustrated, actually diesel bookies were not at all disappointed, they are always in the impression that they are going to run atleast 10000 kms a year and whatever investment they make will be rewarded while resale time as well as the vehicle is what most liked , I called Kairali Ford yesterday and out of 475 bookings as of now 83 delivered and only 8 cancellations so far, so majority is sticking with Ecosport.

About the fanboy post on Ecosport, I specifically mentioned that Volkswagen,Toyota,Honda etc could easily make it but they didnt make it naa, even Ecosport was a bit late but, even after the 1.5 years of gestation period and testing and hype nobody could make a product like Ecosport, see thats where I see Fords brilliance, Renault has CAPTUR in Europe and Peugot too has compact SUV, GM has OPEL Mokka or Chevvy Trax, but nobody could make it to Indian market.

I also got off the record information that Ford might bring Escort sedan(13-18 lakh range) to India instead of Focus because its cheaper than Focus which might get instantly killed by Octavia and Jetta since both offer better legroom and they are planning for Kuga(20-26 lakh range) too in India, also by 2020 Ford will have 20 new products in India, as of now by 2015 there will be 15 new ones

 

[nick_070]

Re: Blue Oval - The Ford Motor Company your likes and dislikes .

We have many ford cars owners here on the forum who have cars like Fiesta , FIgo , Ikon and now there will be huge tribe of Ecosport owners .

Owners , or lovers of Ford cars kindly post your likes and dislikes about Ford motor company , your suggestions , your compliments .

IMP - if debates happen kindly do them in a respectful way . As our mod ironrock says - " debate the view point and the content posted not the person " .

@ Raja, Thanks much for creating this new thread.

 

[draneeshpm]

Re: Blue Oval - The Ford Motor Company your likes and dislikes .

We have a Figo from past three years,though the vehicle has been niggle free,the service centres are below standard and can't hold a candle to the Maruti service centre guys in terms of knowledge and trouble shooting.PVS Ford and Kairali Ford are two pathetic service outlets for Ford here.I haven't tried Muthoot and Malayalam Ford.Ford has to train the guys better,there is no two words about it.If you don't get customers trust you can never be a reckoning force in India.After sales is the only thing that counts,if you have any doubt just look at the state of Fiat and Skoda.Both were early birds but are still at the bottom of sales charts.While I love Ford for the brilliant driving experience I won't recommend it to friends.At Popular every 6 months they still follow up my 13 year old Zen about services,even though I have stopped going there for two years.

 

[1989rs500]

There are a lot of things about service that we should understand, Maruti has been in India for almost 50 years and thats what made them what they are now, also lots of R&D too are done in India which Skoda,Ford,VW etc cant do here, also I am not justifying these brands as Honda and Toyota even though are not fully Indianised they still provide better service, indicating the typre of engineering they do, Its light weight engineering vs heavy engineering,, all Euro manufacturers do heavy engineering which has is more difficult to understand and engineer while Japs,Koreans,use a kind of light weight engineering which is kind of easy to maintain and understand, I once had a chance to see a busted Honda City and at another instance a Skoda FAbia, the Fabia is 2x to 3x times more complicated in its engineering side when compared to a city, the body shell and the bonnet region are 2 separate parts in Fabia while its like a single piece roll caged in Honda city through doors, and the engine takes impact and force is distributed in a very different way rather than a simple way used in City, so there is lot of difference in engineering standards as well

 

[draneeshpm]

Maruti has been here for 32 years, if you don't know stuff just check up things please, rather than feeding nonsense.So Ambassador would be the most complicated car to make and service?I have been getting cars serviced for one a and half decades and should a know a thing or two about service before making a statement.Every car has a basic way of working,it doesn't matter if the door is heavy or not.The doors being made of Boron steel doesn't make big engineering prowess.Don't act as if you are a know all one.I have given my reason for likes and dislikes and I don't care a hoot if the Ford experience was good for you.When I pay for service I expect the same standards in service irrespective of the manufacturer.

 

[TSIVipul]

Blue oval...hmm, some days back I disliked it.

Then one day I drove an Endy 2.5 and I went gaga over the way the engine roared when I pressed it hard. Then one day I drove a Fiesta 1.6S and let me tell you people that I can write a complete book about that car. It was just mind blowing. Not interested in Figo nor in Ecosport(It has got a puny engine fitted with the mother of a turbo...this engine has no displacement and there is no replacement of displacement).

At the end, I read "American Icon - Alan Mulally and a Fight to Save Ford Motor Company" and I was floored, then I read about Henry Ford and model T and I was floored even more on this company. I like the blue oval today.

 

[sankalp_1980]

Ford Ecosport Titanium (TDCI)

Likes
- Everything.

Dislikes
- Nothing

 

[MSN1]

I trust Ford the Company, But not the Dealers

Everything is fine with Ford, but they don't know who is important is it the dealer or the customer

 

[Figoian]

I trust Ford the Company, But not the Dealers

Everything is fine with Ford, but they don't know who is important is it the dealer or the customer

I second MSN1. They make real good products, but that good work stops just there...

However, there is another perspective about FASS. Until Figo era, they wouldn't have been that busy like any fellow brands. Remember, how many years they took to sell 1 Lakh Ikons which they did in flat 1 year with Figo... Were they equipped enough to manage such an expected or unexpected mass? Probably not? Well, that's just a perspective and not an excuse! If you are selling a product to a customer, especially a mechanical one, and the one costs in lakhs, you should obviously be in a position to maintain it well as well. It's a point to worry even further with ES being a hit already!

Another pain point, purely out of my own experience, they never, never have fixed an issue in just one go. You got to make multiple visits again, again and again to even sometimes not to have it fixed. Here is my story... http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/technical-zone/12681-figo-tdci-low-fe-need-suggestions.html This is just one and present, but many such were in the past too. They should really learn to value customers' time, effort, money and most importantly experience as well.

No matter what, they should get their dealership tightened and have skillful, well trained, and experienced staff to handle these good products. Else, the successful revival won't be for long.

I am consciously not comparing FASS with MASS or any other brands. The age, experience and market knowledge of others are different and of course, all have both sides.

Otherwise, I really admire the Blue Oval for the best of their products like Fiesta (Classic), Figo & ES. They are much ahead of the competition of it's segment and provides a good package to the customer. Undoubtedly, saying Fords are "Drivers' Car" is absolutely a perfect statement

 

[draneeshpm]

For who are blind here comes the gift
Ford Recalls 1.66 Lakh Units Of Figo Classic | MotorBeam – Indian Car Bike News & Reviews
Regards,
Aneesh.

 

[1989rs500]

I consider recall as a good thing, its how a company develops trust and its how a company grows with mistakes, mistakes can happen, the worlds most reliable brand Toyota had more than 80 crore Corollas recalled in year 2010 I guess for a brake issue, that actually costed lots of life itself but was diagnosed very late, Volkswagen the worlds most powerful automaker had huge recalls and nobody complained, it just showed their commitment to rectify the wrongs

 

[K!NkY]

I consider recall as a good thing, its how a company develops trust and its how a company grows with mistakes, mistakes can happen, the worlds most reliable brand Toyota had more than 80 crore Corollas recalled in year 2010 I guess for a brake issue, that actually costed lots of life itself but was diagnosed very late, Volkswagen the worlds most powerful automaker had huge recalls and nobody complained, it just showed their commitment to rectify the wrongs

Doing a recall is good attitude by Ford. But is the recall completely free of cost? They charge you on all consumables even it was their error of engineering. Is this a bold move? And recalling a car twice ohh boy something is realy going wrong with Ford. Why should we buy such a troublesome car and worry when they would recall them.