Oh Henry!
I wasn’t impressed by Ford’s first car in India, the Escort. To begin with, it was oddly shaped. It had a rounded nose and a rectangular rear. And then, while it drove well, the wheezy pushrod 1.3 engine could barely run the air con. It drove like it was dragging anchor. Ford and GM at the time only gave their cars single-point fuel injection. Daewoo, on the other hand, went straight to multipoint fuel injection or one injector per cylinder. The Koreans understood us so much better, even then. The uprated Ztec from Ford promised much with its twin-cam setup, and it was better, but it too ultimately disappointed as the tune was way too conservative.
Then came the Ikon, remember that, with its killer 1.6 Rocam engine and its ‘to die for’ steering. That was ’99, and after that followed a string of some truly great cars. The Fiesta was epic, the Fiesta S still remains the best driving affordable car to go on sale here, ever, and then came the Figo, another driver’s delight. Speaks volumes about how well the chassis and various other systems were built. And this goes for today’s Figo as well; also easily the best car to drive in its class.
Ford, over the years, however, hasn’t had enough bestsellers. This is the bitter truth. It hasn’t understood the Indian customer as well as others have. The Koreans and MG especially, both of whom have quickly figured out that if you deliver size, space, value and plenty of features, you are well on your way.
