Ford Ikon gets Duratorq Josh

Ford's first major success story in India, the Ikon, seems to have got a new lease of life with the Chennai-based automaker getting ready to launch a new version today. This will be an Ikon not just sporting a slightly spruced up look but there will be some substance incorporated below the bonnet in the form of the stonking Duratorq diesel drivetrain. The 1.4-litre Duratorq engine
and matching five-speed gearbox, normally found doing duty in the Fiesta and the Fusion will now also power the Ikon and in so doing bring the whole Ford range up to speed with this highly acclaimed engine.

It is not so much that the earlier diesel wasn't doing the business for the Ikon but with the advent of even more stringent emission legislation, getting the earlier engine to conform was a tough act and naturally the options were mighty limited to where and how much it could stay relevant. The answer was obvious in the Duratorq which is a family of engines developed jointly by Ford with Peugeot for a range of cars not just sporting the badges of these two car makers but also encompassing makes such as Citroen and Toyota as well!

The biggest thing about the Duratorq oil burner is not about its 68PS of power (at 4000rpm) or 160Nm of torque (made at a lowly 2000rpm) but the fact that this engine weighs just a tad lesser than the earlier diesel engine employed in the Ikon. This makes for a better handling front end and more importantly, thanks to the new subframe mounting for the engine-transmission assembly, NVH has been further reduced, making for a fine driving proposition.

And with the Ikon always having been touted as a driver's car, the fact that it weighs over a hundred plus kilos less than the similarlyengined Fiesta will mean sprightly performance on tap for the enthusiast driver. While we haven't put the car through a thorough comprehensive Zigwheels road test (we'll be doing that soon enough), the impression we got of the car in the course of a small 50km drive around Chennai saw the Ikon put the smile on our faces thanks to its lively behaviour.

Weight – or the lack of it – has not just helped with the performance feel but it will also translate into better fuel efficiency. Same power to move lesser mass always results in the fuel efficiency being hiked and this should be the case on the Duratorq-engined Ikon. Cosmetically there is nothing major to denote the Ikon differently from the original we saw about a decade ago.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com