[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

As 'budget' is my aim, I don't want to spend 1.5 lakhs more than the Figo only for better looks and build (add GC to this list). I'd have surely given it a shot if Fiat A.S.S. was better, and the niggles were fewer (I've read all the ownership reports on this forum).

Not just looks and build. Take into account bigger cabin space, lots of bells and whistles like the automatic climate control, blue&me, or something as basic as rear power windows which the Figo lacks . Then you have bigger alloys and wheels, 25PS more power (68 vs 93), 40Nm more torque with the VGT technology, better handling and a bigger car itself overall. I don't think these 2 should be compared in the first place. It is unfair on the Figo to be compared with something which costs 25% more (and this includes i20 too), they are a segment apart. Figo wins hands down as a budget diesel hatch in the sub 7L segment. There is simply no competition at this price point. I found it to be very fun to drive in the city.

I tend to agree with you on this decision. The Figo suits your needs better and should be your choice considering your needs. Anyway you are already familiar with the Ford's service centre / staff, etc. so you should be more comfortable with the Figo itself.

P.S - I don't think its fair to compare niggles faced in Palios with today's world. Today's Puntos and Lineas are far, far better. I am quite a satisfied owner from almost 1.5 years, with no niggle to date! And this is coming from a past Maruti / Hyundai owner *lol*

[narayan]

Guys
I am also looking out for a budget DIESEL hatch but as a used car.

I would prefer single owner driven post 2006 models. I see a significant difference in the resale of India Vista Vs Ritz/Swift.

what is the key reason ? apart from the TATA brand ?

also I am new to Diesel cars. what is the typical mileage threshold when major expenses can be expected for these cars ? For e.g if a car is run 40000, do i foresee any major planned expense in the near term ?

please assist

[vishnurp99]

@vnabhi. personally i have found figo's space and overall ergonomics much better than the punto's.

Punto is a great car and marginally better than figo for the price. The greater power of punto is handicapped by the much heavier build. Greater torque by the greater turbo lag.

Punto scores on looks while Figo has sold 2 lakhs and *** and resale will be much better.

Punto's Handling is marginally better while Figo is more chuckable. When i went for the Figo Titanium, I was getting the punto Emotion for around 35K more ex-showroom because of the discounts.

Guess our experience with Palio for 5 years and subsequent resale value dissuaded . 43000 Kms later on the Figo, i don't have any cause to complain except for the GC and headlamps.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

@vnabhi. personally i have found figo's space and overall ergonomics much better than the punto's.
....Punto is a great car and marginally better than figo for the price. The greater power of punto is handicapped by the much heavier build. Greater torque by the greater turbo lag.
....

Not true. Sorry to be nitpicking here , but both the Figo D and Punto Emotion 75HP weigh 1130 kg.

Power specs :
Punto Emotion 75HP - 76PS @ 4000rpm
Ford figo - 68PS @4000rpm

Punto will have a better power-to-weight ratio since both weigh the same.

Torque specs :
Punto emotion 75HP - 197 Nm @ 1750 rpm
Ford Figo - 160 Nm @ 2000 rpm

I do agree that the figo is almost lag-free and linear within the city, although Punto 75HP beats it on paper. I don't doubt the fact that it is peppier at city speeds. Where I find it lacking is on highways, the figo's excellent chassis simply begs for more power. The Punto 75 is no rocket either, but it does feel better at the high end. When comparing prices, we need to remember that Punto comes with 'distinguished' rear power windows, bigger 195/60R15 tyres, automatic climate control, better ground clearance also, and is a bigger car in dimensions and road presence.

Ergonomics are subjective. I for example, wasn't happy with the Figo's ergonomics and felt the car was too low and crouched for the driver. Punto's driver seat cockpit is large and airy and tall drivers would be comfortable, but a downside of that is the rear seat legroom which is cramped. If the car is mainly solo driven, that would be a factor I would consider. Anyway, ergonomics are something best left to the buyer to decide I guess, so I have no comments here.

[rageshbhaskar]

Regarding Fiat, I had my colleague's Palio with me for 6 months when he went abroad. It took me 2 weeks of frantic efforts among 3 dealers to get a fuel filler cap. I dread to think of similar issues if I go for another Fiat.[/quote]


Couldn't agree more.if after sales is a criteria , Dont even think of Fiat. But a new car if carefully managed with just fluid change can be of less trouble

[vnabhi]

Guys, the quest has now ended.

Having resisted the company-lease scheme this long, I finally succumbed to my mind and booked a Figo Titanium tdci last week (Diamond white). I'm taking the old model as I'm getting attractive discounts, and we all at home feel it looks better.

It took a week to get all approvals, and finally the car will be delivered tomorrow.

Details are as below:-

Ex-showroom price :570279 (compared to 6.05 Lacs normal price)
Road Tax (Co-paid) :80089
Registration (Co-paid) :2500
Handling(L&F) (Co-paid) :5500
EW :3550 (ouch, i gotta pay for this)
Insurance (Co-paid) :5220 (till march end)

Note: The car will be used by my kids and I'd still use my Fiesta, and my wife the WagonR. We might decide to sell the WagonR after few months, after evaluating its use and need.

I'm going to change the tyres soon after delivery to Michelin XM2s. I'm glad that the dealer has okayed my idea to upgrade to 185/65/14 tyres in place of the 175/65/14 stock size. And it costs only Rs 50 more per tyre.

Freebies being offered are flaps and mats (Rs 2500), teflon coating (1500), leather vinyl seat covers (9000), body cover(1500), pillow set and sun film(2500). I told them I would like to swap the sun film and body cover for some other accessories, and they are ok.

Waiting with bated breath. Will update soon.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Ergonomics are subjective. I for example, wasn't happy with the Figo's ergonomics and felt the car was too low and crouched for the driver. Anyway, ergonomics are something best left to the buyer to decide I guess, so I have no comments here.

I couldn't agree more. I grew up mostly driving in cars that had low seating and it is the vehicles I am most comfortable in. Unlike a cousin of mine who chose to mothball, though not sell his Corsa (too low sale price) and buy a Bolero because of the higher seating. It is therefore very difficult to say the ergonomics of a vehicle are good/bad without it becoming about your personal prejudices.

@vnabhi - I see the dealer offered you tint (free of cost, but still). How does that work. Aren't people concerned that they will get fined when out driving. I understand people not removing existing tint, but putting it on fresh is not really sensible, especially if you get stopped and fined because of it.

There seems to be disagreement on this, but the opinion mostly seems to be that underbody and teflon coating is a waste of time and money. I understand that if you get it free, why complain, but wouldn't you be better off getting other accessories for this amount. Just my humble opinion of course.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Freebies being offered are flaps and mats (Rs 2500), teflon coating (1500), leather vinyl seat covers (9000), body cover(1500), pillow set and sun film(2500). I told them I would like to swap the sun film and body cover for some other accessories, and they are ok.

vnabhi,

I'd rather suggest you to skip the teflon coating for some other accessory. It's pretty worthless. keep the body-cover instead. You'll never know when it might come in handy.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

keep the body-cover instead. You'll never know when it might come in handy.

Totally agree here. The dealer gave me the body cover and it was kept unused in my car's boot for 1 year. When I left the city on an assignment, it came in as very handy.

[Marlon]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Having resisted the company-lease scheme this long

Off Topic..

Can you please provide the details of Company Lease Scheme like EMI, Period , Residual Value... What made you choose this option compared to the bank loan.

Request your thoughts since I am confused on opting for a company car lease.

You may post the details in this thread or on

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...etter-you.html

Rgds
Marlon

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

finally the car will be delivered tomorrow.
I'm going to change the tyres soon after delivery to Michelin XM2s.
Freebies being offered are flaps and mats (Rs 2500), teflon coating (1500), leather vinyl seat covers (9000), body cover(1500), pillow set and sun film(2500). I told them I would like to swap the sun film and body cover for some other accessories, and they are ok.

Congratulations Venu sir. Finally a Fordian never want top leave the Ford genes. Good Choice, a total VFM buy.
Good decision to change the tyres, but was the upgrade neccessary? Would it not void the warrantyfrom Ford (not from dealer)? Instead of Teflon coating & Sun films (now that they are banned) you should opt for maybe sporty pedals, body claddings, Under body anti rust coating etc.

Waiting for an ownership thread soon with lots of pics. BTW what colour have you opted for on the Figo?

[bullet-tooth]

Congratulations on your purchase! The Figo is truly the most VFM car in the market. The Diamond white is the best looking color in Figo in my opinion. Please opt out of the Teflon coating and get some other accessories. Wish you a hassle free experience.

[vnabhi]

Thanks guys for your wishes. I'm certainly not going for sun films as Hyd cops are distributing pamphlets announcing a crackdown on films from Oct 25th. Might go for scuff plates/ sports pedals instead.

I've also said no to body cover because I have covered parking both at home and office. I've never had the need on my existing cars either for the past decade.

The only item the dealer was unwilling to exchange was the Teflon coating. As he's giving me other freebies, I am not inclined to make an issue out of it.

I'm upsizing tyres to Michelin 185/65/14 because they give better GC, grip and handling, though negatives are a slightly heavier steering and marginal FE drop.

@Marlon---I shall update the lease part later in the day. In a nutshell, though I may pay around 3% more interest, the company pays for life tax, insurance and registration and handling. It also pays insurance for the period of lease, which is 48 months in my case.

This apart, out of an montly instalment of Rs 16 K, nearly 10 K I get back via income tax releif towards instalment, fuel, maintenance and chauffeur charges.

[John Jacob13128]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Guys, the quest has now ended.

Having resisted the company-lease scheme this long, I finally succumbed to my mind and booked a Figo Titanium tdci last week (Diamond white). I'm taking the old model as I'm getting attractive discounts, and we all at home feel it looks better.

Well agreed your getting better discounts,and hence makes sense to go for the older version.But have you considered an upgradation for the headlamps ? Since you mentioned your kids will be driving the car, it would be advisable to upgrade the stock headlamps to a higher watt maybe a 100/90W ? You will have to change the entire wiring relay and all also on the downside it might void your warrenty. But IMHO you need to change the headlamps.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by John Jacob13128

Well agreed your getting better discounts,and hence makes sense to go for the older version.But have you considered an upgradation for the headlamps ? Since you mentioned your kids will be driving the car, it would be advisable to upgrade the stock headlamps to a higher watt maybe a 100/90W ? You will have to change the entire wiring relay and all also on the downside it might void your warrenty. But IMHO you need to change the headlamps.

I do have headlamp upgrade on my cards, but want to check the stock bulbs first. I'll arm-twist the dealer again on the warranty part, as I did for the tyres upsize. Perhaps I'll try changing the bulbs of stock intensity first to something better like Osram Night breakers or Philips Night Vision. A few team-bhpians in Hyd did try this out last week for their cars (i-10, Beat, etc) and said there was a 30% improvement.

Meantime, I took delivery of the car. Was a very smooth process and the salesman was really professional, and helpful. He explained all features of the car, opened the bonnet, boot, etc and took pains to explain,despite knowing that I had a Fiesta.

The odo was 24 at the showroom when I took delivery. The DTE was showing 41 kms.

I drove to the tyre dealer, a mere km away, and upsized to Michelin XM2s. I had to pay Rs 7200 as an exchange price for my 4 Appollo Accelleres. Price included wheel balancing and nitrogen filling.

Topped up at a reputed bunk later, and a fill of 41.8 litres cost me Rs 2100. Cheers to diesel!

Here are a few pics. Will start an ownership thread in a month's time.