Ford has launched the updated Aspire compact sedan. Additions to features aside, the model gets new petrol engines, a diesel engine tweaked for better efficiency, as well as a new automatic gearbox option. We analyse how the Aspire measures up to its key rivals, namely the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent, Tata Tigor, Tata Zest and Volkswagen Ameo.
Dimensions
To take advantage of the excise benefits on ‘small cars’, all the sedans measure just under 4 metres in length. However, at 2,490mm, the Aspire has the longest wheelbase, while the Amaze, Zest and Ameo come in at a close second, measuring 2,470mm between the two axles. With an overall width of 1,704mm, the Aspire is almost as wide as the Tata Zest. It is beaten only by the Dzire, which has a width of 1,735mm. The Amaze, Ameo, Tigor and Xcent have narrower bodies.
How do the exterior dimensions translate to cabin space? The Dzire, Zest and Amaze are the most spacious cars in the segment (in that order), while the Ameo offers the least cabin room. The Aspire slots in between its rivals. It is important to bring in the fact that the Dzire and Zest offer the most comfortable seating for three passengers in the back.
A word on boot space, too. The Aspire has one of the smallest boots in the segment, with a capacity of just 359 litres, besting only the Ameo’s 330 litres. Those indulging in frequent weekend getaways will find the Amaze and Tigor to offer the most room for luggage, as both cars offer segment-leading boots of 420 litres and 419 litres, respectively.
Of the other things, Ford has upsized the Aspire’s wheels to 15-inch rims. Resultantly, the Ford not only looks better but is also finally at par with the rest of the competition in this area.
Dimensions | |||||||
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Ford Aspire | Maruti Suzuki Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Tigor | Tata Zest | Volkswagen Ameo | |
Length | 3995mm | 3995mm | 3995mm | 3995mm | 3992mm | 3995mm | 3995mm |
Width | 1704mm | 1735mm | 1695mm | 1660mm | 1677mm | 1706mm | 1682mm |
Height | 1525mm | 1515mm | 1498-1501mm | 1520mm | 1537mm | 1560-1570mm | 1483mm |
Wheelbase | 2490mm | 2450mm | 2470mm | 2425mm | 2450mm | 2470mm | 2470mm |
Kerb weight | 1016-1103kg | 860-990kg | 905-1039kg | NA | 1035-1130kg | 1115-1185kg | 1027-1184kg |
Boot capacity | 359 litres | 378 litres | 420 litres | 407 litres | 419 litres | 390 litres | 330 litres |
Tyre size | 175/65 R14, 195/55 R15 | 165/80 R14, 185/65 R15 | 175/65 R14, 175/65 R15 | 165/65 R14, 170/60 R15 | 155/80 R13, 175/65 R14, 175/60 R15 | 175/65 R14, 185/60 R15 | 175/70 R14, 185/60 R15, 195/55 R16 |
Engine and Transmission
The big talking points on the updated Aspire are its new petrol engines. There’s Ford’s new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol mill that comes in place of the older 1.2-litre, four-cylinder unit. The new 1.2 engine’s 96hp and 120Nm of torque not only better the outgoing unit’s figures by 8hp and 8Nm, but also make it the most powerful of the 1.2-litre petrol engines in the segment. The Aspire only extends its advantage on the power scale when you take into account the new 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that is exclusive to the automatic version. The Aspire 1.5 makes 123hp and 150Nm, which are significantly more than the pre-facelift model's four-cylinder 1.5’s 112hp and 136Nm of torque.
Producing 90hp each, the petrol Amaze and Zest come closest to the Ford in terms of power. The Tigor, Xcent and Dzire aren't that far behind either. The Ameo's new 1.0-litre motor produces all of 76hp and 95Nm of torque, which is significantly down on the Ford's output figures. Do note, when you factor in the car’s kerb weights, it’s the Dzire with the best power-to-weight ratio of the manuals.
Except the Zest and Ameo, all other petrol-powered compact sedans come with the options of manual and automatic transmissions. In the case of the Aspire, the 5-speed manual is paired with the 1.2-litre engine and the 6-speed auto (now a torque converter as opposed to the dual-clutch unit on the earlier car) is mated to the more powerful 1.5-litre mill. The Xcent makes do with a 4-speed torque converter, the Dzire and Tigor use 5-speed automated manual transmissions (AMTs), while Amaze is the only one that employs a CVT.
Petrol powertrain | |||||||
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Ford Aspire | Maruti Suzuki Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Tigor | Tata Zest | Volkswagen Ameo | |
Displacement | 1194cc (MT)/1497cc (AT) | 1197cc | 1199cc | 1197cc | 1199cc | 1193cc | 999cc |
Engine type | 3 cyls (MT/AT) | 4 cyls | 4 cyls | 4 cyls | 4 cyls | 4 cyls | 3 cyls |
Power | 96hp at 6500rpm (MT)/123hp at 6500rpm (AT) | 83hp at 6000rpm | 90hp at 6000rpm | 83hp at 6000rpm | 85hp at 6000rpm | 90hp at 6000rpm | 76hp at 6200rpm |
Torque | 120Nm at 4250rpm (MT)/150Nm at 4500rpm (AT) | 113Nm at 4200rpm | 110Nm at 4800rpm | 114Nm at 4000rpm | 114Nm at 3500rpm | 140Nm at 1500-4000rpm | 95Nm at 3000-4300rpm |
Power-to-weight ratio | 92.04hp per tonne/111.51hp per tonne | 92.73hp per tonne | 91.2hp per tonne | 81.5hp per tonne | 80.04hp per tonne | 80.72hp per tonne | 70.2hp per tonne |
Gearbox | 5-speed manual/6-speed automatic | 5-speed manual/5-speed AMT | 5-speed manual/CVT | 5-speed manual/4-speed automatic | 5-speed manual/5-speed AMT | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual |
Shifting focus to the diesels, the Aspire's diesel remains unchanged in terms of power, putting out a strong 100hp and 215Nm of torque. The Aspire’s power and torque figures are second only to the Ameo’s 1.5 unit, which makes a class-leading 110hp and 250Nm of torque. As in the case of petrol, the diesel Amaze and Zest follow close up on the heels of the Ford and Dzire, while the Xcent and Tigor are found lagging behind.
This time around, too, Ford has decided to skip on an automatic offering for its Aspire diesel. Those looking for a diesel-automatic will find their choices limited to just four cars – Dzire (AMT), Zest (AMT), Amaze (CVT) and Ameo (dual-clutch transmission).
Diesel powertrain | |||||||
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Ford Aspire | Maruti Suzuki Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Tigor | Tata Zest | Volkswagen Ameo | |
Displacement | 1498cc | 1248cc | 1498cc | 1186cc | 1047cc | 1248cc | 1498cc |
Engine type | 4 cyls | 4 cyls | 4 cyls | 3 cyls | 3 cyls | 4 cyls | 4 cyls |
Power | 100hp at 3750rpm | 75hp at 4000rpm | 100hp at 3600rpm (MT)/80hp at 3600rpm (AT) | 75hp at 4000rpm | 70hp at 4000rpm | 75hp at 4000rpm/90hp at 4000rpm | 110hp at 4000rpm |
Torque | 215Nm at 1750-3000rpm | 190Nm at 2000rpm | 200Nm at 1750rpm (MT)/160Nm at 1750rpm (AT) | 190Nm at 1750-2250rpm | 140Nm at 1800-3000rpm | 190Nm at 1750-3000rpm/200Nm at 1750-3000rpm | 250Nm at 1500-3000rpm |
Power-to-weight | 92.59hp per tonne | 75.76hp per tonne | 96.25hp per tonne | NA | 61.95hp per tonne | 63.29hp per tonne/75.95hp per tonne | 92.91hp per tonne |
Gearbox | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual/5-speed AMT | 5-speed manual/CVT | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual/5-speed AMT | 5-speed manual/7-speed dual-clutch |
The facelifted Ford differs from the former model in terms of fuel efficiency. The 1.2-litre petrol-manual’s official figures of 20.40kpl on lower variants and 19.40kpl on top spec trims, and the diesel’s 26.1kpl, are an improvement over comparable versions of the outgoing Aspire. Do note that the Aspire petrol-automatic does sees a slight dip in efficiency, with a figure of 16.30kpl. However, if the rising fuel prices are something of a concern for you, choosing the less powerful Dzire and Tigor will reap benefits in the form of lower running costs. The Maruti and Tata offerings have class-leading fuel economies of 22kpl (Dzire petrol), 28.4kpl (Dzire diesel), 23.84kpl (Tigor petrol) and 27.28kpl (Tigor diesel).
Fuel efficiency | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ford Aspire | Maruti Suzuki Dzire | Honda Amaze | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Tigor | Tata Zest | Volkswagen Ameo | |
Fuel tank capacity (petrol) | 42 litres | 37 litres | 35 litres | 43 litres | 35 litres | 44 litres | 45 litres |
ARAI fuel efficiency (petrol) | 20.40kpl (MT - Ambiente, Trend, Trend+) 19.40kpl (MT - Titanium, Titanium+) 16.30kpl (AT) | 22kpl | 19.5kpl (MT)/19kpl (AT) | 19.1kpl (MT)/16.1kpl (AT) | 23.84kpl (MT)/20.3kpl (AT) | 17.57kpl | 19.44kpl |
Fuel tank capacity (diesel) | 40 litres | 37 litres | 35 litres | 43 litres | 35 litres | 44 litres | 45 litres |
ARAI fuel efficiency (diesel) | 26.1kpl | 28.4kpl | 27.4kpl (MT)/23.8kpl (AT) | 24.4kpl | 27.28kpl | 22.95kpl (75PS-MT)/20.65kpl (90PS-MT)/21.58kpl (90PS-AT) | 21.66kpl (MT)/21.73kpl (AT) |
Price
A look at the price charts reveals Ford’s pricing strategy is aggressive. The Aspire undercuts all its key rivals, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Honda Amaze and Hyundai’s Xcent. However, the two Tata compact sedans – the Tigor and the Zest – do start with a lower price tag.
Variant-wise prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ford Aspire | Maruti Suzuki Dzire | Hyundai Xcent | Tata Tigor | Tata Zest | Honda Amaze | |
Base trim (petrol) | Rs 5.55 lakh | Rs 5.60 lakh | Rs 5.65 lakh | Rs 5.06 lakh | Rs 5.54 lakh | Rs 5.81 lakh |
Mid-spec trims (petrol) | Rs 5.99-6.79 lakh (Rs 8.49 lakh AT) | Rs 6.48-7.10 lakh (Rs 6.95-7.57 lakh AT) | Rs 6.34-6.92 lakh (Rs 7.20 lakh AT) | Rs 5.41-6.18 lakh (Rs 6.23 lakh AT) | Rs 6.25-6.44 lakh | Rs 6.61-7.21 lakh (Rs 7.51-8.11 lakh AT) |
Top-spec trim (petrol) | Rs 7.24 lakh | Rs 8.00 (Rs 8.47 AT) | Rs 7.68 lakh | Rs 6.49 lakh (Rs 6.65 AT) | Rs 7.04 lakh | Rs 7.69 lakh |
Base trim (diesel) | Rs 6.45 lakh | Rs 6.58 lakh | Rs 6.57 lakh | Rs 5.94 lakh | Rs 6.49 lakh | Rs 6.91 lakh |
Mid-spec trims (diesel) | Rs 6.89-7.69 lakh | Rs 7.46-8.08 lakh (Rs 7.93-8.55 lakh AT) | Rs 7.32-7.85 lakh | Rs 6.27-7.06 lakh | Rs 7.28-7.55 lakh (Rs 8.15 lakh AT) | Rs 7.71-8.31 lakh (Rs 8.51-8.79 lakh AT) |
Top-spec trim (diesel) | Rs 8.14 lakh | Rs 8.98 lakh (Rs 9.45 lakh AT) | Rs 8.61 lakh | Rs 7.37 lakh | Rs 8.06 lakh (Rs 8.97 lakh AT) | Rs 9.11 lakh |
Also see:
2018 Ford Aspire price, variants explained
2018 Ford Aspire launched at Rs 5.55 lakh
2018 Ford Aspire facelift image gallery
Dzire vs Tigor vs Xcent vs Ameo vs Amaze vs Aspire comparison
SHIRISH GANDHI
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