Opening
Ford Figo Diesel Review: Value for Money deal?
It’s an all new year ahead of us with loads of resolutions and commitments ahead. The car makers all over are also geared up for this New Year as they line up various face lifts, upgrades and new launches for all.
Ford had launched the Figo in 2010. This small car did the trick for the American giant by finally making its presence felt. Figo offered fresh elements in terms of looks and performance and offered customers a value for money proposition.
If you have been pondering with the thought of buying a small car lately, then only two names must have surfaced very strongly, the Ford Figo definitely being one of them with no prizes for guessing the other.
Figo got a mid-life garnish recently to keep the flavor of Figo afresh with competition. We encountered the petrol variant earlier and this time around it’s the diesel version we drive in our quest to find out if this small car is really a value for money deal.
Appearance Exterior
The highlight of the Figo has to be its simplicity yet not boring design. It looks very much in proportion without any unnecessary lines and flairs running on it. It has always looked like a “big” small car.
So what all changes does the 2012 Ford Figo facelift bring?. Visually, there is not much that makes the car completely different from the earlier version except for some minor changes.
Eyelids of the headlight have finally opened and now the headlights look a lot fresher with better and larger reflecting surface. The headlights now flow towards the side with a wrap around effect. The front bumper now incorporates the hexagonal grille which shows its bold design. Fog lamp design has also been revisited.
Side profile gets new alloy wheel design. There are precisely two new alloy wheel designs that the 2012 version gets. The mild shoulder line runs across the side profile from the front wheel arc to the rear tail lamps. Sloping roofline and the rise in the shoulder line gives a nice contrast in design lines. The poster color of the earlier generation Squeeze has been called off and instead the Figo has got two new shades Kinetic Blue and Bright Yellow.
Roofline ends with a spoiler integrated with it. Minor changes have been done in the tail lamp design as well. Thus, there have been host of minor updates throughout on the car to keep it afresh and keep on battling the competition. This is a midlife upgrade because in 2014, the Figo will get a complete makeover / successor.
Appearance Interior
If the change in lines marked the facelift in exteriors then the change in colors and patterns in the trims and materials is what the new version offers. The interiors of the Ford Figo have always offered decent comfort qualities.
The front seats are very comfortable with proper lumbar support. The legroom and headroom for the front row passengers is good even for taller passengers. The rear headroom is decent too in spite of the sloping roof line. The blue colored fabric on seats brings a refreshing change on the Titanium variant. The seats could have offered a slightly better under thigh support for added comfort.
The steering does not get a steering mounted control but then instead there is an Audio Stalk. The Auto stalk is a small console situated on the bottom left of the steering wheel. It offers volume control, mode change as well as track change options on it. No doubt it is handy; however the only issue of it is its weird positioning. For some reason while driving I sensed the volume of the track being played going down automatically the reason for which I realized was my left leg rubbing against the volume control. Just wish the Audio Stalk to have been located on the right (Similar to the one on Fluence).
Inside the Figo, the interiors are a mix of Black and Silver. The AC vents are done in sliver grey and so are the bits on the central console. The quality of plastics and buttons feels strong. The Titanium variant comes with an integrated music system. The sound quality offered by the music system is good. To plug in your USB device, it has to be connected via a cable which gets out from the glove box. The user interface of the music system is extremely simple and very user friendly. It also offers speed sensing Volume control option.
The greenhouse area of the Figo is decent. A small nagging issue is the absence of power windows for the rear passengers but then this is cause of the fact the rear windows go down by just 50%. The comfort in seats is decent. About the feel inside, the Figo feels very confident with its interiors. The trim quality, fit and finish of materials or the leather clad gear stick everything gives a superb feel.
There are different storage options on the central console as well as in the glove box. Front door pocket has enough provisions for a bottle to slide in but the rear door pockets do not have any sort of pockets. The bootspace that the Ford Figo offers is 284 liters which is decent if not generous as the Hyundai i20 offers close to 295 liters. Overall, the interiors of Ford Figo leave a very positive impression.
Performance Drive
I have always loved the Ford Figo for its performance. Its petrol unit is a very refined and offers an impressive performance. Since, the petrol is a tried and tested unit we decided to test the diesel to find out if it still retains the good performance car tag set by the petrol counterpart.
Obviously, the diesel is not as swift and nimble as the petrol. Instead the diesel feels a lot lazier in response. Overtaking on highways needs some serious downshifting. On a positive note the torque offered at mid range and above is impressive. Gear shifts aren’t feather touch and need a good shift effort to engage in different gears. Even the horn needs to be pressed with some effort.
The first gear maxes out at 5000 rpm and produces enough pull. However, the second gear does not keep the momentum for long and instead urges to be shifted quickly. From third gear onwards the power delivery gets linear.
Diesel unit of the Figo gets very noisy especially for the front row passengers as the grunt in lower rpms gets very evident which vanishes as the tachometer needle travels higher. At high speeds, the vehicle doesn’t lose on confidence and instead sticks to the road very confidently. The braking quality is superb. Suspension setup has been improved when compared to the ones when launched. On rough roads, the suspensions do manage to eat on the uneven surfaces but then there is enough rattling in the interiors.
Turning and maneuvering the Figo is not at all as issue as this one has a turning radius of 4.9m. The diesel unit is powered by a 1399cc 8V SOHC Duratorq engine which makes 69PS at 4000 rpm and produces a torque of 160Nm at 2000rpm. We got a real time fuel efficiency of 14 kmpl. The upgraded performance is a tad better than the earlier version which is impressive as this one was not just a cosmetic makeover.
Tech Specs
| Technical Specifications | ||
| Make | Ford | |
| Model | Figo | |
| Variant | Titanium | |
| Engine Displacement (cc) | 1396 | |
| Power in PS / RPM | 69/4000 | |
| Torque in Nm / RPM | 160/2000 | |
| Transmission | 5/M | |
| Tyre size | 175/65 R14 | |
| Brakes Front | Disc | |
| Brakes Rear | Drum | |
| Fuel Tank capacity | 45 | |
| Dimensions in mm | ||
| Length | 3795 | |
| Width | 1680 | |
| Height | 1427 | |
| Wheel Base | 2489 | |
| Ground clearance | 168 | |
| Minimum turning radius | 4.9M | |
| Boot Space in L | 284 | |
| Claimed Mileage Kmpl | 16 | |
Features
| Features | LXI | EXI | ZXI | Titanium |
| Ex showroom Price Mumbai | 481999 | 520999 | 550999 | 599999 |
| Power steering | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Air conditioning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Front Power windows | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Driver seat height adjust | No | No | No | Yes |
| Tilt adjust steering | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Music system | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Steering mounted audio control | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth phone interface | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Intelligent Central locking | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Rear wash and wiper | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Rear Defogger | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| ABS | No | No | No | Yes |
| Dual front airbag | No | No | No | Yes |
| Fog lamps | No | No | No | Yes |
Competition All Specs
| Specifications |
Ford
Figo |
Maruti Suzuki
Swift |
Toyota
Etios Liva |
| Variant | Titanium | ZDi | GD |
| Ex showroom Price Mumbai | 599999 | 713434 | 584161 |
| Engine Displacement | 1399 | 1248 | 1364 |
| Power in PS / RPM | 69/4000 | 78/4000 | 68/3800 |
| Torque in Nm / RPM | 160/2000 | 190/2000 | 170/2400 |
| Transmission | 5/M | 5/M | 5/M |
| Tyre size | 175/65 R14 | 165/80 R14 | 185/65 R14 |
| Brakes Front | Disc | Disc | Disc |
| Brakes Rear | Drum | Drum | Drum |
| Fuel Tank capacity L | 45 | 42 | 45 |
| Dimensions in mm | |||
| Length | 3795 | 3850 | 3775 |
| Width | 1680 | 1695 | 1695 |
| Height | 1427 | 1530 | 1510 |
| Wheel Base | 2489 | 2430 | 2410 |
| Ground clearance | 168 | 170 | 170 |
| Minimum turning radius | 4.9M | 4.8M | 4.8M |
| Boot space in L | 284 | 300 | 251 |
| Claimed Mileage Kmpl | 16 | 22 | 18 |
| Features | |||
| Power steering | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Air conditioning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Front Power windows | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Driver seat height adjust | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tilt adjust steering | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Music system | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Steering mounted audio control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth phone interface | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intelligent Central locking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rear wash and wiper | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rear Defogger | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ABS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dual front airbag | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fog lamps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Conclusion
Priced at closed to Rs.6 lakhs (Ex-Showroom Delhi), the Figo offers a host of features. The features paired up with fantastic handling and performance along with decent interior quality makes the Figo one of the most sort after hatchbacks in the country.
The Figo has already established itself as a low on maintenance vehicle and already is a tough challenger to Maruti Suzuki Swift. Fantastic fuel efficiency figures, strong dealership backup and a good resale value of Ford together help the Figo attain a successful as well as a popular car in its segment. All this makes us happily conclude that It indeed is a value for money deal.
