[tjacob]

Seems like the 1.0 liter Ecoboost engine will not make it to the Aspire:

Ford has ruled out the 1.0-liter Ecoboost for the Aspire due to cost reasons. “The injection system and turbocharger is really expensive and in this price-sensitive segment we feel it won’t give as much value as in the Ecosport” said a Ford insider.

The 1.2 liter petrol engine that will make it into the Aspire is same Sigma engine that is in current Figo but now features a four-valve head and twin camshafts with variable valve timing. The extra bits will help increase the power from 70 bhp to around 80 bhp.

Source

[shyampsunder]

Dual clutch automatic with a six air bag option in the compact sedan category sounds really good. Kudos to Ford for bringing this India. Hope they price it well and not concentrate on the export market.

[Hades]

The moment, Team-Bhp's "What you'll like" outweighs the "What you won't", I'm booking a car.

[Tushar]

Figo Aspire Compact Sedan

Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel and Ford's top executives unveil the car:

• The Figo Aspire is Ford's first sub-four metre sedan offering.
• The car has been confirmed for a launch in mid-2015, while the Figo hatchback's launch is expected soon after.
• The compact sedan will be the very first model produced at the Sanand facility.
• Both, the Figo Aspire and Sanand plant have a significant role to play in Ford's strategy to make India a major export hub in the region. Ford plans to triple its export levels from India.
• According to Ford, the compact sedan segment made up 45% of India's car market in 2014.
• The brand expects the segment to grow to around 1.6 million units in India by 2018.
• Figo Aspire overview: The car features a 4-slat, trapezoidal front grille, swept back headlamps with chrome highlights, front fog lamps, character lines on the body panels and bonnet, small faux air vents on the front fenders and door mounted, body coloured ORVMs with integrated turn signal indicators.
• The car also gets a raked back windshield, blackened B-pillars, 14-inch alloy wheels, front disc and rear drum brakes, a chrome strip across the boot-lid and the number plate will be placed in the rear bumper.
• Engine options will include a 1.2L TiVCT petrol and a 1.5L TDCi diesel.
• Safety features will include driver and passenger airbags along with the option for side and curtain airbags as well (Segment first!).
• The Figo Aspire will also get features like a device dock along with the SYNC with AppLink in-car connectivity system. Additional features are likely to include a day/night irvm, power windows, a rear defogger, height adjustable seat belts, front and rear adjustable head rests, adjustable steering wheel and a rear arm-rest. The rear seats could be foldable as well.

Overall design and styling is very similar to that of the concept revealed in the run up to last year's auto expo:


It drops features like LEDs in the headlamps:


Turn signals on the ORVMs. Nothing on the fenders though:


Front fog lamps. The concept had LEDs here too:


The now familiar hexagonal front grille. Note the tow hook slot in the bumper:


Slats in the air dam and front grille are spaced wide. They provide an easy look at the radiator:


Side profile shows the typical compact sedan "pushed in" rear, but it's a job well executed:


14-inch wheels and front disc brakes. The concept rode on 17-inchers:


Body coloured door handles:


Do Indians really like chrome that much? The reflective slat on the boot wasn't on the concept. Should've stayed that way IMO:


Titanium badging for the top end variant. Expect a Titanium (O) variant for the side and curtain airbags:


Maruti Dzire. Figo Aspire. We see what you did there Ford:


Fuel tank capacity should be around 38-40 litres:


A few official images:


Here's the sub-four metre Figo Aspire:


..And here's the full sized KA+. See the difference?:


The production model will have a similar interior layout as the Ford KA+ (seen here). Beige interiors will be an option if not offered as standard:


The device dock:

[devarshi84]

No ecoboost? Ford puts so much money on this engine and very few cars have it.

The New Ford Fiesta Skimped on it and so has the new Figo.

I understand that petrol has again found favour with the Indian public and hence find it tough to understand how Ford has decided to sideline their best engine here.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by prashanthyr

This is one of the first Ford products I would consider buying myself. The pricing will be key.

If you notice, the sub 4M sedans are almost at a price band where the likes of the City/Vento/Verna were just 3-4 years back. So am guessing anyone who has a budget of 10L is going to look a lot harder at going for an Aspire/Amaze/Zest/Dzire than stretch the budget to 12L to look at a City/Verna etc.

Its a price overlap infact, Prashant.
Consider this:
Dzire ZDi is at 9.59 lacs in Thane OTR.
Ciaz VDi is at 9.69 lacs in Thane OTR.

I agree that you will miss out the bells and whistles of the Dzire but effectively Ciaz is in the next segment.
For the chauvinistic alpha male ego, this is a major ego booster!!

There will be cannibalization of sales across both these segments but then the company stays happy as long as the sales are within their stable!!

[Vik0728]

Seems like Ford have finally "Aspired" to wake up!!

Motorbeam has reported the possible engine options that could be offered on the next launch by Ford, here.

The petrol Figo Aspire will be powered by the same 1.2-litre petrol engine as the current Figo but will now come with an increased power output of 80 BHP. The diesel Aspire will have the 1.5-litre diesel engine found in the EcoSport. Sources claim that the power output will be 100 BHP. These two engines will be mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Ford is also planning to offer a 6-speed dual clutch automatic transmission but that will be mated to a larger 1.5-litre petrol engine, producing 109 BHP.

Now, if this does make it to the production, we will have another "Fun to Drive" car for the Mango people.

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

...

Motorbeam has reported the possible engine options that could be offered on the next launch by Ford, here.

Now, if this does make it to the production, we will have another "Fun to Drive" car for the Mango people.

Sure - as long as its steering is not this kind which is reportedly offered in the Ecosport?

[swiftnfurious]

Just thinking loud - why would the compact sedan (diesel) have a higher output when the pricier Ecosport & Fiesta have the lower tune?? Would this mean the latter products too get an upgrade?

[JonSnow]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Just thinking loud - why would the compact sedan (diesel) have a higher output when the pricier Ecosport & Fiesta have the lower tune?? Would this mean the latter products too get an upgrade?

I was wondering the same. Or perhaps the Aspire, with safety features not seen in its segment and engines tuned for more power than Ecosport/Fiesta, might be priced much higher than what we were expecting before.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Just thinking loud - why would the compact sedan (diesel) have a higher output when the pricier Ecosport & Fiesta have the lower tune?? Would this mean the latter products too get an upgrade?

Being the owner of the new Fiesta, I have to say that I'll be extremely jealous and borderline angry if the Aspire gets the higher output diesel engine! Forget 100bhp, even if the 1.5 mill is in the same tune as the Fiesta, it'll still be faster due to its lower kerb weight.
In its class, only the Amaze produces 100bhp while the others are in the 70-80bhp ballpark, so every chance that it will be 75bhp. Coming to the Ecosport/Fiesta, Ecosport facelift is due to be launched and there are no talks of it getting an engine update. Same with the Fiesta. So, Aspire with 100bhp output looks bleak.
BUT, if they do launch it, then their intentions will be to kill 2 birds with one stone. Directly rival the Amaze with superior build quality and features and kill the Dzire with more power and better handling. Its gonna be the most VFM proposition in the segment as well!
It all depends on the pricing and how the Indian junta will react to it! Exciting times from Ford ahead!

[fz_rider]

Any news on ground clearance? From the pics, it seems to be around 160 mm. I wish its a little more. Also, the wheel size should be around 15 inches, looks more like 14 inches in the pics.

[RSR]

I heartily welcome more automatic options in this class of cars, but I hope the 1.5 lit. Ti-VCT with the DCT gets launched a couple of months after they launch the MT variants.

The 1.5 lit. petrol engine makes it ineligible for the sub-4m "small" car excise slab. Add the cost of a dual clutch gearbox to it, and it may get priced dangerously close to the larger C2 segment sedans. If it's launched along with the rest of the engine-gearbox combos, then some unaware people may think Ford has got greedy with the pricing by merely looking at the price of the top variant (which may well be the automatic due to the reasons mentioned before). A delay of a couple of months or so would also enable them to find out which variants turn out to be popular, and kit out the automatic accordingly.

[Tushar]

Originally Posted by fz_rider

Any news on ground clearance? From the pics, it seems to be around 160 mm. I wish its a little more. Also, the wheel size should be around 15 inches, looks more like 14 inches in the pics.

Clearance should be around 160 mm. Wheels are 14 inchers wrapped around by Apollo Amazer 3G Max tyres.

[Surya-TJet]

Is it just me, or do those horizontal slats resemble the erstwhile Amby's Front Grille, especially in this photo..??!!



Also, if Ford prices it right, my family might pressurize me to buy this over the Linea T-Jet (which I've been planning to buy, for such a long time)..!!