Ford Ka hatchback and sedan spotted testing in Brasil

The next-generation Ford Ka, which will be launched here with the Figo moniker, has been spotted testing in Brasil. While the Brazilian launch of the car is just around the corner, the Indian audience will have to wait for some time. The Indian-spec Figo sedan concept was first shown to the Indian public at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, in February.

The test mules snapped are Brasil-spec cars and the Ka sedan seems to be longer than four metres. Cars in Brasil need not adhere to the sub-four metre length rule like those in India. The same was observed with the Brasil-spec EcoSport, which is longer than the Indian version. The Figo sedan, which will be sold in India, might look similar to this version, but will definitely measure less than four metres in length, to avail the government’s concessions. 

Design wise, the production model will be very similar to concept, though Ford might reduce the equipment and features to keep the price tag competitive. The car will retain the Aston Martin-esque front grille and the sleek headlamps, penned along the lines of Ford’s global design language. The car’s rear features wrap-around tail lamps, similar in design to the Ka hatchback, as well as a bootlid spoiler, which tries its best to blend in the trunk and make it look natural. 

The Figo sedan is expected to be offered with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, though this might increase the price of the car as the engine is expensive to manufacture. Besides this, the car is sure to get the 1.5-litre TDCi diesel engine, which produces 89bhp and 204Nm of torque. The engine will power the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. 

The competition is slowly heating up in the compact sedan segment. Though the segment was started by Tata Indigo CS, it is currently dominated by the likes of Honda Amaze, Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and the new Hyundai Xcent. Also with the Tata Zest set to join the club soon, Ford will have a tough time competing against these popular cars, when it will be launched sometime next year.