Available in Ambiente and Trend Plus variants, Ford Aspire CNG is now available across India
With fuel expenses surging and emission standards reigning strong, CNG powered vehicles sound very sensible for both buyers and manufacturers. Ford Aspire CNG gets two variants, both for Ambiente and Trend Plus. So you get CNG power with decent packaging with satellite navigation, touchscreen infotainment with Bluetooth connectivity. What caught my eye is the ‘suspension type cylinder fitment’ which according to Ford India frees up boot space as needed in CNG cylinder cars. Price for Ambiente is Rs 6.27lakh (ex-showroom) and Trend Plus is Rs 7.12lakh, now available across India. You also get 2 year/100,000km warranty to ensure support after purchase.
The 1.2l petrol engine is an excellent unit with smooth power delivery and a lovely exhaust note. New Ford Aspire CNG version should carry similar characteristics and will perform at 46 paise/km maintenance. Since fitting a large CNG cylinder compromises boot capacity Ford has come up with this suspension type fitment. This essentially frees more space inside the boot which normally diminishes in other CNG equipped cars. Will get a closer look at this hocus pocus when I drive one. But as far as I know, Ford Aspire 1.2l is a genius effort which will certainly be more economical and polar bear friendly with CNG without reducing that Ford driving pleasure. The front has a stabilizer bar for more rigidity countering more weight of the cylinder and CNG system works with the ECU of the car to control gas flow in each cylinder.
The service interval is one year/10,000km and you’ll have to get the sequential CNG setup cleared by Ford every 2 years/20,000km. Not really an effort as this is standard procedure in all cars which you must do for the drivetrain at least. Ford hasn’t pulled its punches with equipment either. A 7-inch touch screen which can display satnav, has a rear view camera and the climate control is automatic.
