Another option for sedan-lovers
Another option for sedan-lovers
Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
What would you do if you had a brand-new car and an empty motor
racing circuit? Speed up for sure. No police officer to ticket
you, no traffic jam and no other cars overtaking.
That's exactly what we, journalists, did when PT Ford Motor
Indonesia invited us to the "Ride and Drive Ford Lynx" event.
Six new Lynx cars were waiting for us when we arrived at the
Sentul circuit in Bogor, about 60 kilometers south of here.
Though there have been older versions of Ford's Lynx cruising
Jakarta's streets, the Lynx has been more familiar to Filipinos
as the car is produced in the neighboring country.
The Lynx has a more luxurious appearance compared with its
earlier version. The new Lynx has rear lamps similar to those of
the Toyota Corolla Altis. The Lynx is something between a sedan
and a hatchback, with a trunk only about 30 centimeters long.
The front part of the car has an aerodynamic design, with the
front window laminated to reduce sunlight penetration by 97
percent. The Lynx is also equipped with projecting headlamps and
oversized bumpers with a chrome insert. Both front and rear
bumpers are resistant to low-speed collisions.
A parking sensor, whose alarm will turn on when the car
approaches another object behind it at a distance of less than 50
centimeters, is also available.
Offered with a choice of either manual or automatic
transmission, the Lynx is targeted at young professionals. Ford
believes that it can give the Altis, Honda Civic and Mitsubishi
Lancer a good run for their money, to grab a decent share of the
30,000-unit market segment potentially available.
Marketing and product planning manager of PT Ford Motor
Indonesia Johannes Saragih said the company had targeted 600
sales this year alone.
The company began selling the Lynx on May 22 to coincide with
the opening of its second superstore, Ford Jakbar, on Jl. S.
Parman, West Jakarta.
During the test drive, it was surprising to learn that the
Lynx substantially reduced noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).
Getting out of the paddock, the car could accelerate to 100
kilometers per hour (kph) within only 11 seconds. The car could
easily corner on the circuit's sharp bends at a speed of 80 kph
to 100 kph.
On the straight, the Lynx could accelerate to around 140 kph,
thanks to its new 1.8l DOHC engine.
The engine's distributorless ignition system enables it to
achieve a low fuel consumption.
Four-wheel disk brakes -- using the antilock braking system
(ABS) with an electronic brake distribution (EBD) system --
helped during the slalom.
The suspension is another area that has received a lot of
attention from Ford. The front suspension uses independent
McPherson struts, while the rear is equipped with fully
independent suspension.
Both types of suspension gave the Lynx stability at high speed
as well as during the slalom.
To improve passenger safety, Ford has built the Lynx using an
H-type chassis to support the roof, body and floor from any high
impact.
Lynx interior reflects its level of luxury, with two-tone
colors used on the leather seating and trim. However, the
dashboard is much too modest compared with its Japanese rivals or
even the French-made Peugeot 307.
The car is also complete with an Alpine cassette player and
six-stack CD changer located in the trunk, with six speakers and
two tweeters, enough to entertain you as you drive.
After establishing its image in Indonesia with the Ranger -- a
4x4 off-road truck comfortable enough for on-road use that 300
units have been sold -- Ford hopes to regain its position here as
a leading car maker.
With the plan to launch another two types of car -- the Escape
SUV (sports utility vehicle) and the Station Wagon -- Ford can
expect to be warmly received by customers for providing another
sedan choice.