Hatchbacks hold a considerable share in the Indian market. In recent times Ford and Chevrolet has come with fresh upgrades for the Figo and Beat hatchbacks. Ford took the country by storm a while ago with the Figo car from its production line. The car was an instant hit owing to efficient engine, good space and lucrative price tag. At the recently held Auto Expo event in the country, American automaker Ford had announced the arrival of 2014 edition Figo with in-car connectivity feature, commonly known as Wi-Fi. The feature is available under a 'Special Value Pack' offer by the company that can be availed at an additional cost of Rs. 9,790. The latest Beat version from Chevrolet was unveiled at the recently ended Auto Expo 2014. The car has received some interesting cosmetic upgrades whereas the basic engine configurations have been retained.
The new Ford Figo has retained 1.2 Litre petrol and 1.4 Litre diesel engine. The petrol version generates about 71 Ps of power with 102 Nm of torque, whereas the diesel version generates about 16 Ps of power with 160 Nm of torque. As per ARAI test results the petrol version delivers a fuel efficiency of around 15.33 kmpl, whereas the diesel version delivers around 19.99 kmpl. As per sources, the company has also introduced a new shade called "Mars Red" to its existing line up colors available on this particular version. The 2014 car shall be available in EXi, ZXi and Titanium versions. The company aims at selling this car through an interesting campaign known as “Smart is the New Cool” theme.
The base EXi version offers Bluetooth Connectivity, 2 DIN Audio -- CD, FM, MP3, Aux-in, USB and 4 speakers and roof antenna as part of the standard offering. The ZXi variant is loaded with interesting features such as Driver Side Airbag and Power Adjust Mirrors. The top end Titanium version comes loaded with all the list of interesting features that is available in the Figo line. The 2014 Ford Figo is now available in seven different exterior shades including Kinetic Blue, Diamond White, Moondust Silver, Chill Metallic, Panther Black, Sea Grey and Paprika Red.
The new Chevrolet Beat is powered by 1.2 Litre petrol and 1.0 Litre diesel engine. Speculations have been doing the rounds that the new version may feature an automatic transmission. For now, Beat's engine has been mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. The petrol hatchback features a SMARTECH II engine that has been mated with Port Deactivation technology, empowering the car to generate about 79.4 bhp maximum power output with 108 Nm of torque. This engine has claimed to deliver a fuel efficiency of up to 18.6 kmpl. The diesel version features an efficient XSDE SMARTECH Common Rail diesel engine that generates about 57.6 bhp of maximum power with 150 Nm of top torque. The diesel version returns an impressive mileage of 25.44 kmpl.
The new hatchback features an upgraded bumper that looks a bit bigger than the earlier version. The front grille looks smarter and the roof spoiler adds up to its sporty quotient. The interior is different too as it takes on a new center console, the storage space is now bigger and looks better with a change of color. A new set of alloy wheels compliment the new design pretty well. As per sources the face-lifted Chevrolet Beat shall also sport a central rear height-adjustable headrest. Petrol version of Beat starts from Rs 4.06 lakh to Rs 5.25 lakh, the LPG version starts at Rs 4.59 lakh, and the diesel hatchback version is priced between Rs 4.89 lakh and Rs 6.1 lakh.
