New Ford Ikon TDCi diesel to be launched in India

Ford India plans to launch the new Ford Ikon TDCi diesel on November 5, 2008, in India. The new Ford Ikon TDCi diesel sedan is likely to be priced at Rs 5 lakhs.

Update: New Ford Ikon Dura Torq diesel launched (Nov. 5, 2008)

The Ford Ikon has been in desperate need for a makeover, given the dip in sales, since its last makeover in 2003. You can read our earlier story on the upcoming Ford Ikon diesel here

As we had mentioned earlier, there is no news yet of the Ford Ikon TDCi getting better safety features such as airbags and ABS. As a car that was originally designed almost a decade ago, we are very suspicious of its crash-worthiness too. Despite however modern it looks, and however much I love the car, I am tempted to give a thumb down to the new Ford iKon diesel when its launched due to those factors. Here is hoping that there will be some improvement on those fronts.

New Ford Ikon TDCi diesel launch photo

The new Ford Ikon TDCi diesel sedan will sport substantial changes in the exterior.

New headlamps and a front bumer with a short grille gives the new Ford Ikon TDCi diesel an aggressive look. In the rear, the tail lamps have been tweaked a bit.

The interiors of the Ford Ikon TDCi will come with a new instrument cluster.

The Ford Ikon TDCi will get the Ford Fiesta’s 1.4 turbocharged diesel engine. The new engine will improve the performance of the new Ford Ikon TDCi substantially, since the Ford Ikon is lighter than the Ford Fiesta. The 1.4 diesel engines gives a maximum power of 68PS at 4000RPM.

The Ford Ikon TDCi diesel will compete with Maruti Suzuki’s Swift Dzire, Renault Logan, and Tata Indigo CS.

In April 2008, after the launch of Maruti Suzuki’s Dzire, Ford India reduced the price of its Ford Ikon by Rs 36000, to Rs 4.49 lakhs through a limited edition offer. The new Ford Ikon came with high security lock sets for doors and boot lid, central locking, power windows, new instrument cluster graphics, boot light, and steering column lock.