2018 Ford Aspire facelift will likely go on sale on October 4 with updated styling and a new petrol engine
The facelifted Ford Aspire has been spied testing on Indian roads for several months and it is expected to go on sale on October 4. Having entered international markets, the 2018 Ford Aspire features a number of cosmetic updates and feature additions in response to the growing competition in the subcompact sedan space currently led by Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Honda Amaze.
Although being a capable sedan with brimmed safety features, Ford could not be able to find a sweet spot in sales since its market debut in 2015 Fast-forwarding three years, the American auto major is looking to make a strong impact with the updated model and we reckon it could do so.
Riding on the positive response for the Figo-based Freestyle crossover variant, Ford is expected not to make big change in Aspire’s pricing compared to the outgoing model, which is currently priced between Rs. 5.81 lakh and Rs. 8.78 lakh (ex-showroom).
Within a month of its potential market appearance, the 2018 Ford Aspire has been spotted undisguised revealing all the necessary information. The top-spec Titanium variant in the picture gets a brand new honeycomb front grille finished in chrome, restyled headlamp unit, newly designed front bumper, wider air dam, and revised fog lamp unit.
The silver accents in the bumper make for a neat touch while the rear end features tweaked bumper and a chrome strip running across the trunk. The reverse parking camera is positioned on top of the number plate housing as well and the newly designed alloy wheel add for the sporty visual quotient.
The interior gets largely influenced by the EcoSport facelift and boasts a bi-tone black and beige theme. The new centre console houses a floating touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and the central AC vents have been repositioned. The dashboard with less number of controls brings a cleaner and more premium vibe to the sedan.
The major mechanical change has to be the introduction of 1.2-litre three-cylinder Dragon series petrol engine that produces 96 PS and 120 Nm on the Freestyle. The tried and tested, 1.5-litre diesel will continue with no change in performance – 100 PS and 215 Nm. A standard five-speed manual and a six-speed auto will do the transmission duties.