Ford Figo A Sensible Buy

 

Exterior Looks compact from outside, attractive and stylish. No weird looking abruptly bent areas anywhere. Not as good looking as i20 but way better than the Ritz.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Road view is superb even for a person with 5' 5" height. Steering is hydrolic so not as soft as Maruti/Hyundai but gives a solid, confident feel (you know where the wheels are and where the car would be going). Cabin and seats very much comfortable for front and rear occupants. Very good leg room. Rear seat lumbar support is excellent. Front seat also feels comfortable if you properly adjust the height and back tilt. I felt the steering column a little obstructing when getting out of the car. Also find little less space for left foot to rest on long drives (no dead pedal). Quality of plastics and upholstry is good. The black dashboard causes reflection in bright sunlight (may be because of its matty shiny finish - but due to this it doesnt become very hot also - my guess). Unlike what some people reported for the initial versions, I didnt find any problem with rear window glasses rolling down on their own etc.

The quality of the Ford music system is very good. It has got speed sensing auto volume increase/decrease, bluetooth connectivity for phone. You can pair 5 phones (but only 1 can be active at a time). When all the windows are closed, even people in the back seat can speak without raising their voice or leaning forward. iPod/CD support is standard. USB support is there but you need to buy a separate accessory for the socket. 

Internally adjustable electric mirrors are very good and provide an excellent allround view. Feels very confident in city as well as highway. Mirrors do not fold completely however, so need to be a bit careful while driving in city.

Bonnet release lever is positioned on the passenger side but I do not see it as a major problem (nobody needs to open bonnet while driving or at the fuel station every time). Boot release is conveniently placed on right side of dash. Fuel lid release is at lower right near floor like most cars. Boot doesnt open with the button unless the car has completely stopped. Good feature.

Not much space to keep things on the dashboard but its good anyway as loose items kept there can be safety hazard in case of sudden braking especially for children.

Indicator stalk is on the left unlike other cars in indian market which is initially inconvenient but you get used to it soon.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The 1400 cc TDCi develops 160 nm torque at 2000 rpm and has a max bhp of 69 at 4000 rpm. This means for optimum power, mileage and driveability you need to maintain the rpm around 1800. This gets a bit used to especially if you are shifting from petrol car (revving hard in wrong gear is not going to pull her better). The engine noise is quite audible but not very much if you roll all the windows up. And even if you dont roll up the windows, the noise is not irritating, you start liking its meaty roar slowly :-) (whats the point in spending 1 lac over petrol and not able to "hear" your car? :-)) 

There is absolutely no vibration however, the steering/gear lever remain perfectly vibration free.

Fuel economy is excellent (just keep the rpm tip in mind). I got 19 kmpl on Pune Kolhapur highway with 100% AC and I was driving with 90-100 speed. This might improve after first service. I didnt calculate in city but guess its definitely not less than 15-16 which is good. If you drive around 5-10 km daily and do not use your car for a week in a month, then you should go for petrol, otherwise diesel is better. I went for diesel not only because the petrol version gives 10-12 mileage in city but because it lacks the power to pull if you are going uphill with AC on and 4 adults in the car. Diesel engine has uniform pull even with AC in all conditions (but remember the golden rule of right gear and rpm - a petrol can come to your rescue in wrong gear with half-clutch and revving but a diesel will simply stall there). Driving a diesel is a different art but you will get used to it very quickly and will enjoy the reward as well.

Gear-box is smooth, though the gearshift for petrol version is slightly better than the diesel one (may be my own perception but I noticed it for the TD cars as well as my own diesel and friends petrol car). Reverse gear needs to be shifted with care with full clutch depressed.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Ride is a bit bumpy/tossy when the speed is very low but the moment you drive past 30-40 km/hr it improves dramatically. At 60-70 and above, those unexpected potholes simply dont matter. The car is stable even at 120km/hr, braking is good and the ABS/EBD work very well. You feel like driving the car continuously and the occupants also dont get tired for 2-3 hours at a stretch. People have talked about scraping the underside on speed-breakers (as the wheelbase is larger) but I didnt find it a problem at all with 4 passengers and medium size speed breakers (around 5" height) if you slow down and pass them carefully (which is what they are meant for). Its not a major concern at all as per my experience (1000 km in 1 month).

 

Final Words A very good value for money family car which has little bit of good things from all others (spaciousness like Vista, not as beautiful as i20/punto but moderately good looks) and above all best in class boot space (284 ltrs). I was concerned about service and spare cost, but as they have invested a lot in the new plant at Chennai where 80% parts are indigenized and because of child component concept, you dont have to replace the whole assembly, maintenance might not be an issue unlike Ford Ikons (especially 1.8D). If you are buying a Ford however, do check the reputation of the dealer for peace of mind. Mine is Planet Ford from Pune for whom I got very good references, so I got my car from them. The delivery and after sales experience was good.

 

Areas of improvement I wont say rear windows, fog lamps, allow wheels as then it doesnt remain value for money. Dead pedal for driver, indicator stalk on the right. It would be good if radio antenna is retratable/foldable.

 

Very good balance of features, quality, power and pricenothing major - minor ones mentioned in the detailed review