Ahead of its launch on October 4, bookings for the Ford Aspire facelift are now officially open, with the booking amount being set at Rs 11,000.

In terms of visual changes, the Aspire facelift gets an Aston Martin-esque grille, which features a chrome surround and so do the revised fog lamp housings. The headlamps are the same shape as before but are internally redesigned and get a smoked effect. However, LED DRLs are not on offer. The front bumper sees mild tweaks as well. Also new are the alloys wheels, now 15-inch multi-spoke units.

The cabin of the refreshed Ford Aspire gets the Freestyle’s new dashboard along with a 6.5-inch touchscreen display with Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment system, which is expected to feature Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Ford has equipped the new Aspire with push-button start, two USB ports at the front, steering-mounted audio controls and an automatic climate control system. However, rear AC vents seem to have been given a miss. In terms of safety kit, the top-spec Titanium+ trim will likely get six airbags and ABS with EBD.

A highlight of the new model is that it will be powered by the new 96hp, 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, which made its debut on the Freestyle. The motor will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox (again, from the Freestyle), but Ford could replace the current 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with a more cost-effective torque converter unit. The 100hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine will continue unchanged. A diesel-automatic combination is not expected to be offered on the Aspire facelift at launch.

Expect the Aspire facelift to be priced at a slight premium over the current model, which retails at Rs 5.82-8.79 lakh for the petrol models and Rs 6.93-8.56 lakh for the diesel variants (all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi).