2018 Ford Aspire (facelift) to launch on October 4

Ford India looks all set to launch the mid-cycle facelift of the Aspire on October 4. The 2018 Ford Aspire (facelift) will carry several styling updates, new features, and a new petrol engine.

The front-end of the 2018 Ford Aspire (facelift) will look identical to that of the 2018 Ford Ka+. It carries a new grille with a chrome finish for the mesh, updated headlamps, and a new bumper that gets chrome inserts around its foglamp housings. The car will remain unchanged in the side profile. At the rear, it will get a revised bumper with faux air vents at its edges. It should make the car look a tad sportier.

On the inside, the 2018 Ford Aspire (facelift) will feature a new dashboard that will look a lot like the one on the Freestyle. The SYNC infotainment system of the current car will be replaced with the SYNC3 touchscreen unit. The instrument console will be carried over from the current model. The interior could get an upholstery change, but the beige & black dual-tone colour theme will be retained.

The current 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine will be replaced with a new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder motor from the Dragon series of engines. This is the same motor that debuted on the Freestyle. It produces a maximum power of 96 PS and a peak torque of 120 Nm. The engine will come mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The diesel variants will continue to draw power from a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that outputs 100 PS and 215 Nm.

Ford has tied up with Mahindra for the development of future products. As per reports, Mahindra and Ford have been jointly working on a Ford Aspire EV that could launch sometime next year.