Night rider

Why change something that is not broken? Porsches has been using the same philosophy for years; closer to us Maruti has successfully applied the strategy for its best sellers like the M800 and the Alto. But Ford has changed the Figo already. It still sells in decent numbers, so why choose to embrace change?

The Figo has always been one of the best cars in its segment – easy to drive, economical, spacious and value for money, though I’ve never liked the way it looked (the rest of the team has been trying to get me to change that line, but to each his own, I say.) The Figo in its facelift avatar is still all of it, but with a few changes to bring freshness that will assure continuity of sales. Oh, and it is now much better looking.

The exterior changes are very noticeable – the Figo looks a lot gentler. (Again, the team insists that it is more aggressive. Again, we shall let the judgement of the looks remain subjective.) The car has lost even the tiny bit of aggression that it had and now it is somber with big bulbous eyes and a smiling face. In bright yellow from certain angles it could be a Pokemon character. Ford has incorporated their Kinetic design philosophy with a hexagonal grille into the hatchback. It’s just that in all new models like the EcoSport and the Mondeo it adds to the aggression, but here the effect is quite the opposite. There is also a new headlamp cluster with an extra bit of chrome; the indicators have moved to the inside of the headlamp with overall design similar to that of the Fiesta. The fog lamp surrounds have also been modified – Ford calls it ‘bezel treatment’, and their design is aligned to shape of the headlamps.

There is hardly any change to the side profile, apart from the Y-pattern eight-spoke alloy-wheels; and if you preferred the previous wheel design then they are still available as option. The story is similar at the rear; the tail lamps have been reshuffled – the indicator and reverse lamp move to the lower half, while the brake lamp moves to the top.

The most exciting change in new Figo is addition of two really bright colours – Bright Yellow and Kinetic Blue. The former stands out even in low light and is my personal favourite, while the latter is typical Ford blue that is an all-time classic and looks nice on all their models. Oh, and the flagship Squeeze Green of its predecessor has been discontinued.

The cabin is more welcoming without the dual-coloured dashboard. If you like the dual-tone, though, a dark blue and black combination is on offer in place of the previous colour scheme that aped the Mustang’s interior colour scheme. The front seats now offer better lumbar support and the new fabric feels nice and is very elegant. Ford has also added steering column mounted audio controls that are very useful – however, they might come in the way of your left knee if you are tall.

The improvements that might go unnoticed include engine recalibration and tweaks to smoothen the gearshift. Ford says the calibration changes make a striking difference in the initial pickup of the petrol Figo and unfortunately I spent time only with the diesel on the drive; but I will vouch for the smoother shifts.

To sum up the new Figo facelift – it has a better looking front, awesome new paint colours, refreshed interiors with new steering-mounted audio controls and minor tweaks to sort out the performance niggles. Ford says ‘Change is a wonderful thing’ – but there aren’t too many and frankly I am glad; because this still is the best hatchback in the segment.