[pratika]

Originally Posted by tharian

It is a NA engine. From when it was introduced in the new Fiesta, it did not reach the benchmark the Classic 1.6 had made.
On the Aspire, I am guessing since the car is lighter, it will perform better.
Torque is were this engine will loose out when compared to the GT TSI

Just for sake of comparison, I looked up torque numbers for a humble Baleno. Its engine is rated at 130 Nm @ 3000 rpm.

GT Tsi Polo's engine is rated at 175 Nm 1500-4100 rpm. This one is turbo charged hence excellent torque so low down rpm range.

Swift DZire's engine is rated at 115 Nm @ 4000 rpm.

So Aspire should pull better than DZire (assuming weight is similar), close to or slightly between Baleno, and significantly lower than GT Tsi Polo. I assume weight of Aspire is lower than Baleno but more than GT Tsi Polo.

Based on these numbers alone it seems that Aspire will pull nicely all the way to 4k+ rpm and hopefully DCT is also programmed to hold gear till peak torque kicks in, in performance mode at least.

[adimicra]

I think some people misunderstood my earlier post.

Some clarifications -

I never said power windows are more important than airbags. Never. period. Please don't put words in my mouth.I said that a person looking to buy a car in this segment would probably want some basic features like rear power windows (along with airbags) and therefore, might not want to buy the base version.

While I applaud Ford for providing dual airbags in the base version, why not a rear defogger? It's sometimes impossible to drive without a rear defogger. Also, a driver seat belt reminder is a very basic safety feature. So, these 2 basic safety features are available in the Titanium onwards. Wouldn't be nice if Ford provides those in the base version itself may be at a slightly higher cost. Ford has done a commendable job but could have been better.

[vijayvelprakash]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Also, the design is decent but doesn't have any WOW factor. My prediction is - this will be a decent hit in the market. We can expect volumes of 4-5K. Amaze, Zest,Xcent will be affected most and also some but limited impact on Jazz,I20.

You are absolutely right. Even with mixed reactions about Jazz's price, its sales will not be affected because of Aspire's price.

It is same as i20 sales not being affected by Xcent.

[witwiky]

It is a naturally aspirated engine. However, on paper the horses are more than the TSI, will be TD'ing in the evening. Will update on the experience.

Originally Posted by pratika

The DCT version of Aspire has following ratings (as per TeamBHP news section):
110 bhp @ 6300 rpm
136 Nm @ 4250 rpm

Is the 1.5L engine naturally aspirated or turbocharged? If latter seems like torque should have been higher.

In either case, peak torque coming in at 4250 rpm seems like the peak pull might not be experienced at all in the city. If someone has TD'd the DCT, can they comment on how good the pull is around city rpms (2k-3k maybe)?

Thanks for the feedback from the TD. Though I have booked the diesel T+ version of Aspire, I also have i20 Active as a contender. Any thoughts on which of them are better?

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Done the test drive of the 1.2 Petrol & I shall talk about the value proposition it offers so that it might help those of you considering the Figo Aspire. Now first off the Aspire is not the typical compact sedan, it has many things much better sorted & then some aspects that aren't. A few things in detail below

[prakash_ajp]

I am very impressed with the way Ford has lined up their variants and features. Really smart of them to also bring the AT in a reasonable price band, albeit at the cost of the additional airbags. But keeping the Indian standards in mind, it would be harsh to criticize this. Also it should be noted that generally people who shop in this segment are price conscious.

I am also surprised that people pointing out the absence of rear power windows when they very well know that Ford had to be insane to provide all that + both driver and passenger airbags and still price it below 5L. If this is not greedy, I don't know what is! It is not like Ford is not providing it at all;if one feel it is important, they can very well go for the next higher variant. Or they can always get a DZire LXI at the cost of airbags. It's a choice and it can't get clearer than this.

[Grand Drive]

Ford Figo Aspire Brochure

Source : Official Website

[jetti]

I think the variants and the number of features offered in each is quite balanced. They may introduce the Titanium+ in AT at a later point looking at the response. Introducing it right now would make its price range go beyond a limit. And once that perception is set, it will remain forever. So, not a bad move by Ford.

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

I am also surprised that people pointing out the absence of rear power windows when they very well know that Ford had to be insane to provide all that + both driver and passenger airbags and still price it below 5L. If this is not greedy, I don't know what is! It is not like Ford is not providing it at all;if one feel it is important, they can very well go for the next higher variant. Or they can always get a DZire LXI at the cost of airbags. It's a choice and it can't get clearer than this.

Even the DZire LXI/LDI doesn't come with rear power windows Looks like Ford has done its homework well.

[JD1]

Received the first change to pricing from Elite Ford (Marathahalli - Bangalore). No, there is no change in ex-showroom price
Road tax is increased by couple of thousand, Incidental charges/handling is reduced by 1750/-, zero dep cover is added as optional. But the most important change from yesterday evening's pricing is that today's price only has 3rd year warranty as optional (Rs 5654/- for ALL Petrol variants and Rs 7,054/- for ALL Diesel variants) whereas yesterday's price list had 3rd year+4th year (Rs 13,053 for ALL petrol and Rs 18,654 for ALL diesel variants).

Most importantly - the SA told me that it's possible that they will get AT test drive vehicle today evening. So all those interested in Bangalore, please check with your dealership regarding AT test vehicle today evening.

[Wildy]

Everything is fantastic. But they should have offered 'ABS' in trend trim, atleast as an optional. Apart from that, this is truly great move by Ford. I wish them good luck and looking forward to their forthcoming Figo hatchback facelift.

[kvish]

4 additional airbags, my key, 4.2 inch MFD display, leather seats, sync, CD MP3 player for 56K! That's surprising indeed. Something is not adding up. I think the AT deserves the titanium plus as well.

[RSR]

Mod Note: Moved this post into its own thread here.

Airbags and affordability

In the developed automobile markets, even the base variants of most economy cars come equipped with 6 airbags and ABS as standard features. Unfortunately, thanks to the typical Indian attitude towards safety, many manufacturers in India throw in a couple of airbags and ABS on the top variants (as if they're doing a great favour to those who're safety conscious).

Thankfully, we have some manufacturers who're beginning to get rid of this attitude, and are now offering safety features as standard even on the base variants.

If front airbags in India are meant for those who're safety conscious, then side airbags & curtain airbags must be meant for those who're absolutely "paranoid about safety", I suppose. Thus, we have the shockingly pathetic situation in India where side & curtain airbags happen to be an unheard of feature in most cars that fall in the affordable price range for many.

With the new Figo Aspire, Ford India have thankfully raised the bar for safety, by lowering the entry barrier for buying a car with the very welcome 6 airbags and ABS! (yeah, raising the bar & lowering the barrier at the same time does not happen to be an oxymoron).

-------

The following happens to be a current list of the most affordable vehicles in India (less than 1.5 million rupees) that come with a bunch of safety features (6 airbags & ABS) that buyers of even economy cars in the developed markets take for granted. All these prices are ex-showroom Chennai, and would vary in other cities:

Ford Figo Aspire 1.2 Ti-VCT Titanium+ 5 MT - 7,38,743

Ford Figo Aspire 1.5 TDCi Titanium+ 5 MT - 8,40,522

Ford EcoSport 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium(O) 5 MT - 9,88,924

Ford EcoSport 1.5 Ti-VCT Titanium 6 AT - 9,91,366 (also gets ESC, EBA, TCS & HLA)

Hyundai Verna 1.6 Gamma dual VTVT SX 5 MT - 10,37,191

Ford EcoSport 1.5 TDCi Titanium(O) 5 MT - 10,39,812

Hyundai Verna 1.6 U2 CRDi SX 6 MT - 11,79,626

Hyundai Verna 1.6 U2 CRDi SX 4 AT - 12,51,037

Hyundai Creta 1.6 U2 CRDi SX(O) 6 MT - 13,84,337 (also gets ESP, VSM & HAC)

Volkswagen Jetta 1.4 TSI Trendline 6 MT - 14,40,360 (also gets ESC, ASR, EDL & HHC)

Mahindra XUV5OO 2.2 mHawk W8 6 MT - 14,40,461 (also gets ESP, RM, HH & HDC)

-------

While the availability of 6 airbags becomes more common as one crosses the 1.5 million rupee mark (ex-showroom, Chennai), it's really sad to see only 11 variants among 6 vehicles from just 4 manufacturers offering front + side + curtain airbags within the 15 lacs mark.

My respect for Ford has gone up tremendously because the Figo Aspire now becomes the least expensive car to get 6 airbags by replacing another Ford (the EcoSport) that held this wonderful safety honour till now!

If Ford can get the new Figo hatchback to replace the Figo Aspire as the least expensive car with 6 airbags yet again, then it would mean that Ford becomes the default manufacturer of choice for those who want the superb surround safety offered by half-a-dozen airbags in an affordable car!

Bring out the new Figo hatchback with 6 airbags as soon as possible, Ford!

[KreativeGeek]

Visited Talera Ford dealer near Gunjan Cinema at Yerwada today morning, saw decent number of prospective buyers visiting to check out the new Ford Figo Aspire, I was attended by a sales person in short time and took a TD of the top end variant for 2-3 kms.


Initial TD observations
• Metallic Red looks little flashy and it does manage to grab attention of the onlookers on the road.
• Interior feels plush and cabin is airy with decent head room, beige look feels premium with the leather seat covers.
• You can hear the typical diesel engine rattling sound once the car is in the 1st gear, however you won't feel it once you are driving properly on the road, this indicates engine is well refined and NVH levels are well under control.
• Steering feels too light and I am not sure if it would give enough confidence while driving on highway at high speed, clutch and accelerator felt stiff to operate (could be because the car is new)
• I must admit that there is no compromise on power, this car packs enough punch on 2nd gear to allow overtaking in traffic and torque seems to climb up rather fast as you shift to higher gears.
• I could hardly feel any weight of the car while driving, automatic climate control cools the cabin instantly however the controls are slightly on the lower side of the dashboard to operate and can be distracting while driving.
• Rear windshield is more slanted in shape to adjust to the aerodynamics of this car, so I found it tad difficult to adjust my concentration and side view mirrors feel too small.
• Music system has excellent sound output quality, I checked the "My Dock" feature on the Titanium variant and it locked on to my phone properly giving it a firm hold between the panel and Bluetooth pairing was seamless.

Once the TD was over, I had to get my Chevy Beat (Petrol LT) assessed for exchange option, the price he quoted was way too low from what I was expecting for a 5 year old car however I was prepared for that kind of evaluation and the executive advised me to go for Titanium variant going by my interest already swinging towards this variant.

Ford definitely has a winner on its hands to improve their share and brand image in the Indian automobile market, I could sense the sales executive's eagerness to get my booking done as soon as possible to avoid delivery hassles and with the enquiries picking up pace from this weekend they are anticipating booking queue to add up on to the waiting period which may go up to minimum 90 days also considering how bad the situation was during Ecosport's launch and he admitted they are treading cautiously this time around to match up to demand with sufficient supply.

Ford has surely won me over with Aspire and If everything works out well in terms of finance and initial down payment and most importantly getting my wife convinced, this one would be in my parking by Diwali.

Price details below as per the pamphlet shared by dealer, I found prices across all diesel variants slightly inflated for ex-showroom price from what Ford has on their website for Pune.

I would edit this post later to add some pics from the showroom.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by pratika

Based on these numbers alone it seems that Aspire will pull nicely all the way to 4k+ rpm and hopefully DCT is also programmed to hold gear till peak torque kicks in, in performance mode at least.

The Ford website still lists the specs of the now-discontinued Fiesta AT:



It's the same engine-gearbox combo in a significantly lighter car, so am thinking the performance should be way up there. Besides I haven't heard complaints from Fiesta AT owners (Khan_sultan is one) about the car behaving laggy when pushed.

[KreativeGeek]

Sparkling Gold shade looks elegant, I thought it was too blingy going by shade used in brochure

[rider60]

Here is the price list from a Hyderabad dealer for the ford figo aspire.

The top model diesel titanium plus costs 10.08Lacs on road. spot on competitive pricing from ford. My test drive is planned for tomorrow, let me see how it goes.