Black Donkey 1.2 Exi Figo finally delivered! 10,000 kms update

[Captain Slow]

Buying a new car today has become complicated and harder than looking for a wife at Jeevansathi or shaadi.com!

After numerous trials of most cars decided on the Figo as the overall package offered was the best.

Dealer - Metro Ford Bangalore
Getting a test drive and booking the figo was a walk in the park.
After that the nightmare starts! false promises made by the dealer, stories about the car reaching the yard and then the car not being unloaded and some more tales!

Finally after an agonizing 15 days after booking the figo we got delivery on 31st March. As usual the delivery wasn't smooth but rushed through filled with tension and surprises. More on this later.

Enough about all this now lets get back to the car itself.

The version I have is the 1.2 Exi petrol that pumps out about 70 bhp.
On road price in Bangalore 4,52L - No freebies, NO discount.
Mats + mud flaps + 3rd year extended warranty also included.

Promised time of delivery 6pm actual time of delivery 9.30pm.
Around at 9Pm the car reaches metro ford. Finally I get to see my car for the first time!
My car had done exactly 16KM on the ODO! I got the Good year GT3 tyres. Some also came with apollo.

The Donkey looks really stunning in Black!
The car had the low fuel warning light. AT shell she drank exactly 35.5L of fuel. SO i guess the car had about 9L in the tank during delivery.

Things I like about the car.

Handling and steering.
From the time I test drove the figo I really liked the way it handles. The Figo comes with Hydraulic power assisted steering which gives plenty of road feedback to the driver. The car Handles really well.
From the inside the car doesn't feel like a hatchback. Gives you a big car feel.

The Aircon
The aircon on the figo has to be the best aircon in this segment. I would also say the aircon is as powerful as a civic or corolla minus the climate control. Even with the blower set to 1 (lowest setting) it chills the cabin within a couple of minutes and this is on a typical hot summer afternoon in bangalore.

Space
For a hatchback this car is quite spacious on the inside. The boot is the best in the segment 284L!
Even for someone as tall as me. I'm 6ft there is enough leg loom at the back.
But if the driver is also 6ft tall them its going to be a tight fit!

Dashboard
The dashboard looks really neat and well done with a sliver finish. The Aircon ducts can be fully closed or opened when you need them. This is useful feature if you often travel alone like I do.

Visibility -
The car has almost 0 blind spots! It really gives you confidence when you drive. Rear visibility is again amazing!
Unlike the Ritz which has horrible rear visibility and some blind spots.

Over all Fit and Finish.
I cant say that the figo's fit and finish is the best in the class or outstanding. The fit and finish is just above average. It is better than the swift but its not outstanding. But then again for a car in this price range its pretty good. The doors seem very thick and close with a proper thud! Its not flimsy like the swift or other maruti cars. The Build quality seems solid and hopefully shouldn't rattle as much as the swift. Overall build quality is better than the
swift and ritz.

Headlights -
Compared to a swift and ritz the figos headlights are way better. This could be just a feeling but then again this is what I observed.

Goodies!
As standard this version comes with
Day and night rear view mirror.
keyless entry
Music System (MP3/CD/FM) player + 4 speakers
Both of which are very decent. The Music system on the figo is really good. Speakers sound ok and doesn't sound cheap.
I was paying a CD and even on bad roads the music did not skip or pause. The Ritz and swift doesn't come with anything.


What I dont like

Engine and 1st, 2nd gears-
On paper it claims to have 70bhp. But start driving this car and you wonder where the horses suddenly went? If you want to make the car move fast you need to take out a big whip and star whipping it hard and only then does it start to move fastly. 70 horses yeah right! Feels like 70 whiney donkeys under the hood!
Maybe its because of the gear ratio's. First gear is practically useless. The moment you start moving you need to shift to 2nd. this means a lot of gear shifts in heavy city traffic conditions.
The engine is whiney and and a bit harsh. This could be because its new?
Its no where close or as smooth as the K-series from Suzuki.

Ride Quality -
The suspension is on the stiffer side. The ride quality is quite bumpy. I tend to like softer suspensions.

No Power Windows in the rear
This is one a major one for me! I know the rear window doesn't roll down fully but they should have given power windows.
Cost cutting?

No real bumpers?
Initially some bhpians pointed out the car doesn't have a bumper as such. The AC condenser or the radiator is very close to the front grill. I suspect that even a small impact at 20km can cause heavy damage to the car.

Rear Headrests -
For those long distance drives anyone sitting in the back is going to be tortured! Lack of rear headrests is a big thumbs down!

Plastic Around the handbrake.
while booking the car they only had the titanium in the showroom which had the plastic around the handbrake. This doesn't serve any practical purpose but the interiors looks better with it.
All the Lxi, Exi, Zxi don't come with plastic around the handbrake.


Dealership experience -
Ford's sub-par dealership experience!
(Taken straight from GTO's review) !
This is very true. Read on

METRO FORD Bangalore!
From TD to booking everything was smooth. But then things turned bad. When I asked them if I could see the car before registration they refused and said it wasn't necessary. I was even ready to drive down to their yard to see the car. They refused this too. I asked him if they could bring the car to the showroom. Again it was a big no. They seem to think to think they are doing me a favor by delivering the car.

Read here about delivery experience from the dealer.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post1814391
I got my delivery late in the night. Insides of the car wasn't clean.
Pics and details here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post1816204

Today to take pictures of the engine I opened the hood and to my shock guess what I found? The half wit who put the ribbon on my car had left the scissors inside the bonnet. See pictures attached. How irresponsible can they get? What if some major wires or tubes got damaged? Ford dealers are hopeless!


Some of you must be wondering why I have chosen to call this car a black donkey! I saw several threads about linea and manza owners calling their cars black beauty or snow white. Now the figo is not a beauty contest winner among any of the newer hatchbacks. Heck I would even boldly say its as ugly as it can be. Or am I being too bold here?
The Figo is practical no nonsense hatchback.
Another reason for calling it a donkey is the Engine. On paper it claims to have 70bhp. But start driving this car and you wonder where the horses suddenly went? The 70 horses should be changed to 70 donkeys!

F.E?
I still don't know how much F.E the car is giving but by the DTE I guess its around 11 in the city with A.C on all the time. This seems rather low for a small car powered by 70 donkeys.

The car is a black donkey but I still like her and will keep her :d

Would I recommend the Figo ?
Definitely yes! Practical no nonsense hatchback.

Would I recommend Merto Ford Bangalore?
Heck no ways! After all that they did? Please go to Lathangi!
Revvy Another Bhpian just came back from Lathangi after doing a pre registration check on his figo. If Lathangi allows this why cant metro ford?




Special thanks to Mustang and all you Bhpians who were here supporting me while I was running up and down to get the car.
Thanks guys.

[1100D]

Hey congrats!! Coincidentally Black Donkey is the name I also call my Black Panther coloured Ikon ZXi!! Although, I have not mentioned it on the forum, its normally a spoof on other people indulging in glamorous nomenclature of their rides!!

Get rid of the ribbons. This car looks classy in black. It would look menacing if you take the wheelcaps off and display those black rims.

[anekho]

Nice review, captain! Congrats and wishing you many happy miles!

Black and white have got to be the best colours for figo - don't know why ford marketed it with squeeze green!

Some tints and nice white alloys and your donkey will look really cool!

btw, why are you threatening the donkey with scissors?

[khan75]

Looking great there man. I've said this earlier as well - the Figo looks best in black or white.

Put some smoked headlights and fogs in the 1st snap and the car could almost get mistaken for a proper sports car.

What are the three streaks on the rear bumper as seen in the 3rd and 5th snaps?

Any mods in the pipeline? I think a light grey racing stripe and some chrome/silver alloys would get it some mean credentials.

[Mustang.101]

@Captain : Congratulations & have fun, I find the horses to by adequate for the city & would certainly not call it a donkey but yes its no trophy horse either. Lets call it the Black Pony (with no relavence to pony cars). Nice pics btw & you get complimentary scissors from the dealer! woohoo!

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Hey congrats!! Coincidentally Black Donkey is the name I also call my Black Panther coloured Ikon ZXi!! Although, I have not mentioned it on the forum, its normally a spoof on other people indulging in glamorous nomenclature of their rides!!

Get rid of the ribbons. This car looks classy in black. It would look menacing if you take the wheelcaps off and display those black rims.

Thanks 1100D. HAHA! I know post people wouldn't be comfortable calling their cars donkeys

Ribbons come off first thing tomorrow morning.
You know I was thinking exactly on the same lines! Removing those wheel caps!

Originally Posted by anekho

Nice review, captain! Congrats and wishing you many happy miles!

Black and white have got to be the best colours for figo - don't know why ford marketed it with squeeze green!

Some tints and nice white alloys and your donkey will look really cool!

btw, why are you threatening the donkey with scissors?

Thanks Anekho,
I liked the white/Black/Red Figos!
Tints are coming up within a day or 2. Only problem I dont know which shop to go to.

The scissors? I posted about it. Well thats thanks to metro ford.
See this picture carefully!

Today to take pictures of the engine I opened the hood and to my shock guess what I found? The half wit who put the ribbon on my car had left the scissors inside the bonnet. See pictures attached. How irresponsible can they get? What if some major wires or tubes got damaged? Ford dealers are hopeless!

Thanks khan75!
No mods nothing planned for now. I dont want to mess around with ford and their warranty system. As it is I'm worried about service and support any mods would mean no support from the dealers at all.
Umm those lines I think were done during the Puja for the car.


Thanks Mustang!
lol! Ohh yeah complimentary scissors along with a figo
sigh dealers like this spoil Fords name. I wish I had taken my car from Lathangi.

[pulsar56]

LOL! I like the name you have given to the Figo!

Captain Slow, I have been reading about your agonizing wait for the Figo since you started posting here on T-BHP!
Congrats of finally getting the car delivered.

Drive Safe...

[scanD]

Cute review... very well summed up.
Your story reminds me of the kannada saying "Raayara kudure katte aagtide" , a crude translation of which is "Mr. sombody's horse is gradually turning into a donkey.. indicating the dip in performance" However, in this case its the other way round.. (donkey becomes horse @ higher rpms)

When i took the TDs .. i liked the Diesel and my wife liked the Petrol car. Later on when we were deciding on Petrol Vs Diesel Figo, i was ready to compromise and get a petrol... but my wife reminded me of all the things i had thought aloud during the petrol TD (like, "oh, no, this won't do for me" , "can't believe it is struggling on this slope..", "turning off the AC is not helping either !!", etc. etc.) and finally we decided on Diesel thinking that it is more important for the driver to like the car as compared to the passengers.

well, the reason i was okay for the compromise is that .. i was more comfortable with the performance towards the end of the petrol TD.. perhaps, it needed a little settling-in time to lower my expectations.

IMO, you got:
1) A nice car with a pleasing colour
2) at the right time (prior to tax hikes in Karnataka)
3) at the right time (though belated, it makes a fabulous birthday gift)

Do post some night-time pics. Expecting more stories "Straight from the Donkey's mouth"

[vikram999]

ha ha lol... nice donkey.
seriously very true feedback.& review.. i like it..
thumbs up for you brother.

[Vid6639]

Congrats Capn Slow.

That is so cool, Ford gave you a pair of scissors free with the car.

[Mr_Bean]

Congrats!!, keep her gleaming all time, probably a wax session on the donkey once in a week.

You need to take a serious thought at why they place that scissor in the engine bay.. Can ford be taken to court becos of this?

[RGK]

Congrats. Car is fantastic... happy motoring...
<<<Plastic Around the handbrake>>>
I asked in the accessories department of Chennai Ford. They say it will be available after sometime. I think it is a useful one.

[RGK]

<<<Maybe its because of the gear ratio's>>>

@ mustang & other gurus : Does gearbox play the spoil sport in Figo at highspeed also. When I drove Ikon TDCi around 90+, the full fledged power of 1.4 TDCi could not be seen (took time to reach 90 (with A/c on) from 60 after sudden braking). will it be the same in Figo or any change can be expected.
GTO review also confirms "Either engine is lacking in outright performance. Neither engine can exploit the car's dynamics"
Is it the engine or the gearbox??

[mjothi]

Congrats. And nice you managed to get a freebie for a newly launched car.

Yes, the scissors!!!

[condor]

Congrats !

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Buying a new car today has become complicated and harder than looking for a wife at Jeevansathi or shaadi.com!

So Captain, would you suggest that people get married than buy a car ?

Headlights - Compared to a swift and ritz the figos headlights are way better. This could be just a feeling but then again this is what I observed.

I have felt the same about my Ikon's headlights. Wonder what's Ford doing differently here.

Day and night rear view mirror.

Standard fare today. Would have been a glaring slip if they had not given this.

First gear is practically useless. The moment you start moving you need to shift to 2nd. this means a lot of gear shifts in heavy city traffic conditions.

Why do you say the first gear is useless ? The lower the gear, more the power. You downshift when you dont have sufficient power .. but here you are saying the opposite. If the first is not going to give you enough pull, the second never will.


Agree with you on the lack of space at the front, and about the rear head-rests. Have the same issue in the Ikon, but can atleast do some jugaad in the Ikon since there's some metal-sheet support behind the rear seats. In the Figo, you dont have any support behind the rear seats to think of anything.

Btw, you did get a freebie - the scissors !