[zenren]

Originally Posted by MYB

buy the car now with a temporary registration and get it registered a couple of weeks later so that it is a year newer on paper.

If a car rolls out of the factory in 2012 and sits with the dealer for the entire 2013 and finally gets registered in 2014, it would still be a 2012 model. The date when the car rolled out of the factory is what matters here. This is the reason you are getting heavy discounts from the dealers to clear off their 2012 stock.

The resale price would be higher for a Jan 2013 model than a Dec 2012 model. If the discounts/freebies you get can offset this difference, it would still make sense to go for a 2012 model in december.

[MYB]

Originally Posted by zenren

If a car rolls out of the factory in 2012 and sits with the dealer for the entire 2013 and finally gets registered in 2014, it would still be a 2012 model. The date when the car rolled out of the factory is what matters here. This is the reason you are getting heavy discounts from the dealers to clear off their 2012 stock.

The resale price would be higher for a Jan 2013 model than a Dec 2012 model. If the discounts/freebies you get can offset this difference, it would still make sense to go for a 2012 model in december.

Exactly my thinking. That is why I mentioned that it is not wise to buy in December but the only thing which made me think again was the discount but as you said I don't think it can offset the difference. A meagre 25K discount doesn't come anywhere close to bridging the depreciation hit taken by the car the moment it is out of the showroom. Thanks.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by zenren

If a car rolls out of the factory in 2012 and sits with the dealer for the entire 2013 and finally gets registered in 2014, it would still be a 2012 model. The date when the car rolled out of the factory is what matters here. This is the reason you are getting heavy discounts from the dealers to clear off their 2012 stock.

The resale price would be higher for a Jan 2013 model than a Dec 2012 model. If the discounts/freebies you get can offset this difference, it would still make sense to go for a 2012 model in december.

But I find it strange when people buy in december and get it registered in January. If i were to buy a used car, i wont give a damn if the seller says i registered in January !! What matters is the VIN translating to next year and not year of registration .. popular misconception

I guess if someone intends to keep a car for really long( in our case, 5+ years sound long) it doesnt really matter when you buy the car. better to get a good deal now than thinking of how to make a profit out of the car(we never will !!)

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

By changing the GC, the dynamics of the Figo would have been impacted. The USP of the Figo was the handling and rock solid feel on highways. This is the Figo's ultimate differentiating factor and Ford has rightly not tried to mess with it.

The GC is 168mm and I do agree that it is a problem when you have passengers in the rear seat. I have only scraped the car twice due to my negligence, else I have been very cautious over big humps.

Also, many people seem to think that the car scrapes even small humps. This is not entirely true. The plastic mud flaps scrape every small hump out there and can easily break off. Also whenever they scrape, there is a heart wrenching sound heard, leading one to believe that it's a hard hit whereas it's just the plastic scraping. The mud flaps are very low and are only 2-3 inches above the ground.

I keep hearing that the plastic mud flaps have been replaced with rubber ones that wont brake and are more flexible. I am yet to see this at the local Ford dealer here.

I used to drive around the old Figo and have used it for over 6 months, and absolutely loved the handling.
A major contributor to the handling performance was, IMO, the hydraulic steering. Is it confirmed that the facelifted version has EPS instead?

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I guess if someone intends to keep a car for really long( in our case, 5+ years sound long) it doesnt really matter when you buy the car. better to get a good deal now than thinking of how to make a profit out of the car(we never will !!)

Exactly Rajesh. I recently bought the facelifted Figo black color on Jan3rd this year and intend to keep it for atleast 5yrs. I wanted Exi and they dint have the color that I wanted.
As it was the 30th of Dec, they gave me a cool 35k discount on the Lxi which I think is a fantastic deal(they might not have the same margin on the Lxi as on the other versions) and went ahead with all the accessories that I needed.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

...Is it confirmed that the facelifted version has EPS instead?

The face-lifted version has hydraulic power steering, still! Had a TD yesterday, so can confirm it.

The plastics are definitely economy mode, decent ride, neat NVH levels (though engine is NOT silent, the turbo / engine noise is well within limits (similar to Swift D levels). There is NOT much lag either.

One thing that stuck like a sore thumb was the height of the gear lever. I found it to be a tad higher than I would have been comfortable with. Ditto with the Fiesta Classic too! I had to lift my hand more than a comfortable position to reach the top of the lever.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

I used to drive around the old Figo and have used it for over 6 months, and absolutely loved the handling.
A major contributor to the handling performance was, IMO, the hydraulic steering. Is it confirmed that the facelifted version has EPS instead?

The facelifted Figo has no mechanical improvements over the older one. Steering remains the same hydraulic one and even the GC is unchanged.

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The facelifted Figo has no mechanical improvements over the older one. Steering remains the same hydraulic one and even the GC is unchanged.

I recently purchased the facelifted Figo and can confirm that the GC is increased by a mere 10mm. Though practically what you said is somewhat true.
But I do hear from friends those who drove the previous version, the 10mm makes a good difference is most places where the old one used to scrape.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Originally Posted by swami.n

I recently purchased the facelifted Figo and can confirm that the GC is increased by a mere 10mm. Though practically what you said is somewhat true.
But I do hear from friends those who drove the previous version, the 10mm makes a good difference is most places where the old one used to scrape.

Are you sure? i can see the spec still demands it as 168 mm, it was the case before facelift.

Im telling this from my experience, the newer car will not scrap the speed breakers in which the older one tends to scrap. But later after some run in, the scenario changes. I think the suspension lowers a bit after some run in. I may be wrong, but its what i experienced

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by DRIVE_ADDICT

Are you sure?

One of my cousins works for Ford here in Chennai and he was the one who stated that they have raised the GC by 10mm. Currently he is in the parts sourcing for the Ecosport.

[rajeev k]

The ground clearance of Maruti Alto is only 2 mm more and it do not scrap in speed breakers with four adults. Alto is likely to scrap only if there are craters and potholes near speed breakers. The reason the Figo scraps could be attributable to the additional 300 mm length.

[limited-edition]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

The ground clearance of Maruti Alto is only 2 mm more and it do not scrap in speed breakers with four adults. Alto is likely to scrap only if there are craters and potholes near speed breakers. The reason the Figo scraps could be attributable to the additional 300 mm length.

May be Alto and Figo has same GC, when they are not loaded. Figo, is having a slightly softer suspension than what MSIL has. So what happens is, if you load Alto with 4 adults, GC may have become 160 from 168, but in case of Figo it comes down to 155 or so(Values are just for illustration purpose only).

Second thing is, Figo is not scrapping its underbody, its just the Mudflaps, Alto have slightly smaller mudflaps than Figo, so it adds to it.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by swami.n

I recently purchased the facelifted Figo and can confirm that the GC is increased by a mere 10mm. Though practically what you said is somewhat true.
But I do hear from friends those who drove the previous version, the 10mm makes a good difference is most places where the old one used to scrape.

If they did raise it, let me assure you that Ford would have advertised it like mad. They haven't even updated the specs which show 168mm still.

If your friend at Ford can confirm that the suspension springs/shocks are of different part numbers then it is possible else they are the same.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

The ground clearance of Maruti Alto is only 2 mm more and it do not scrap in speed breakers with four adults. Alto is likely to scrap only if there are craters and potholes near speed breakers. The reason the Figo scraps could be attributable to the additional 300 mm length.

Not much to do with the length, it's mainly due to the wheelbase. A longer wheelbase will scrape easily than a shorter one.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Originally Posted by limited-edition

Second thing is, Figo is not scrapping its underbody, its just the Mudflaps, Alto have slightly smaller mudflaps than Figo, so it adds to it.

Exactly!. The culprit is mud flap. See the mud flap design of Maruti, If we get the same in Figo this GC thing will not come into discussion.

[9thsphinx]

Anyone heard about the Ford Figo Celebration version? Limited edition stuff, but for a change looks decent.

Here's the Yahoo link for more info:

http://in.news.yahoo.com/ford-india-...094015265.html