[samaspire]

Bad news for owners/prospective buyers of Figo Base & Ambiente (Petrol & Diesel).
No Ant-Roll Bar - confirmed. Check the link posted in the Aspire Thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3836008

[dtox]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Awesome colour and design - it works perfectly well on white These are 195 mm wide tires, right? They fill up the fender perfectly, instead of sitting inside the body-line of the car.

Do give us a report about the Conti MC5s also. And a side shot of the car on the ground to see its stance. I bet once people see these pics of 195 tires on 15" alloys, they'll be sorely tempted, threats of warranty-voiding be damned!

I'm tempted already :-) ! In fact, I'm also thinking about changing my colour preference to white instead of black ( have already booked a black one).

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Total Drool karan and for that buddy

Considering the claimed 0-100 of under 10secs and your thirst at increasing the ponies under the hood, IMO RS badge can be skipped totally !!

How about a 'ST' badge??

Thanks Vik,

Oh yea, this car's performance potenetial is truly a surprise for this segment & yea a remap will surely make the car seriously quick

ST badge would do too

[Deep Blue]

With the Baleno pricing and Maruti badge, will Figo become a stillborn?

[ashwin489]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

With the Baleno pricing and Maruti badge, will Figo become a stillborn?

No, it won't and it shouldn't. At least, I don't see any reason why a sane person would buy a Baleno 1.2 CVT instead of Figo 1.5 DCT. Except maybe if Ford does not have a dealership in a Tier2 or Tier3 city/town.

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by ashwin489

No, it won't and it shouldn't. At least, I don't see any reason why a sane person would buy a Baleno 1.2 CVT instead of Figo 1.5 DCT. Except maybe if Ford does not have a dealership in a Tier2 or Tier3 city/town.

Not just the automatics, all the variants. The 1st gen Figo as an all round car, I felt was far better than the swift but after the initial good numbers it lost steam whereas swift is still going strong. This time around Figo has more competition to deal with(i10 grand, i20, Jazz, Swift,Baleno)Ford needs to market more aggressively. It seems to have completely stopped marketing Aspire completely. I hope Figo does well.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

With the Baleno pricing and Maruti badge, will Figo become a stillborn?

I think this is a very real risk for Ford. The Figo might not be dead on arrival, since the Figo's OTR prices are roughly cheaper by less than a lakh compared to the Baleno (see Bangalore price lists below). So for a person who's on a budget, or targeting the Ford's strengths (like the stellar 1.5 TDCi), the Figo will be a natural choice.

However, the Baleno will draw more people to it due to the badge, the nice gadgetry and features (colour MID, etc.), and humongous boot (80L larger) and premium branding (both the car itself and Nexa sales channels).

The other aspect is positioning - the Baleno is being compared against the Elite i20 and Jazz, but not against the Figo. The Aspire, as a compact sedan, is being compared against other compact sedans like the Xcent, DZire and Amaze, which means the Figo hatchback will be compared against the Grande i10, Swift and Brio respectively. On that basis, while the price makes it unfair to compare the Figo to the Baleno, the difference between the Figo and Baleno makes the Baleno a real threat. This segment is not as price sensitive as the entry level hatch (Kwid, Alto, etc.), buyers who are salaried will not mind an extra 1-2k EMI.

Ford must be ruing the fact that their thunder has been stolen by the Baleno in just a few weeks!

The good news for Figo buyers is that Ford might hold off on revising the Figo's 'introductory prices' for this reason. As always - more cars at aggressive price-points means the customer benefits

Originally Posted by ashwin489

Except maybe if Ford does not have a dealership in a Tier2 or Tier3 city/town.

Good point re. tier 2 and 3 cities. I'm curious to see how Nexa branches out there (i.e. a separate showroom, or a MSIL showroom split into Maruti and Nexa).

Originally Posted by ashwin489

At least, I don't see any reason why a sane person would buy a Baleno 1.2 CVT instead of Figo 1.5 DCT.

However, do bear in mind that within city driving conditions and stop-and-go traffic, CVTs and torque converters offer a smoother drive than a dual clutch (I mean in relative terms, not that a dual clutch is rough). Its only when you start stretching the legs will a dual clutch offer the performance of a manual gearbox, while CVTs exhibit rubber-banding and torque converters have power losses. And Maruti's K12 engine is no slouch.

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

The Figo might not be dead on arrival, since the Figo's OTR prices are roughly cheaper by less than a lakh compared to the Baleno (see Bangalore price lists below). So for a person who's on a budget, or targeting the Ford's strengths (like the stellar 1.5 TDCi), the Figo will be a natural choice.

The other aspect is positioning - the Baleno is being compared against the Elite i20 and Jazz, but not against the Figo. the Figo hatchback will be compared against the Grande i10, Swift and Brio respectively. On that basis, while the price makes it unfair to compare the Figo to the Baleno, the difference between the Figo and Baleno makes the Baleno a real threat. This segment is not as price sensitive as the entry level hatch (Kwid, Alto, etc.), buyers who are salaried will not mind an extra 1-2k EMI.

Good point re. tier 2 and 3 cities. I'm curious to see how Nexa branches out there (i.e. a separate showroom, or a MSIL showroom split into Maruti and Nexa).

Thank you for the price comparision. 1 lakh difference is some comfort for Ford. But I feel buyers at this range would have a broader range and cross shop across hatchbacks, compact sedan, sedan, the small SUVs within a price range of 6 to 11-12lakhs.

Tier 2 and 3 cities actually require service centers rather than a full fledged 3S centres. Showroom visit is generally only once in the lifetime of the car when we buy but service visits are multiple. Maruti has that advantage as the cars are serviced in the regular maruti service centres which are widely available.

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

With the Baleno pricing and Maruti badge, will Figo become a stillborn?

Look at it this way. I am talking purely in Diesel terms. The all new Figo offers Grand i10 like prices with power/performance figures close to the GT TDi. Now this itself is a extremely good proposition. Ofcourse, it may not offer fancy features like Colour LED screens, AVN etc, but they are not deal breakers for me. It is extremely good VFM and now with Ford service improving, this is one sensible hatch to go with.

The masses and monthly dispatch numbers may not agree with me. But if I were in the market for a hatch, this would be my top pick.

[filhosdegoa]

Originally Posted by teemus

Thanks PravStar!

I took the delivery in the evening, during peak hours, so had to cross over to the other side of the city managing the traffic. To tell you the truth, it was a breeze! The way the car responds, you may be mistaken thinking it is a petrol engine. The clutch though is longish compared to my Santro and is not at all hard to use. Regarding highway manners, I have a trip planned to Mumbai for next weekend (not this one as I am yet to get the registration number). I will surely post my experience then.

I feel that the black color compliments the character of the vehicle and gives it an even more imposing presence.
Requesting you to post more picture of the vehicle!

[teemus]

Originally Posted by filhosdegoa

I feel that the black color compliments the character of the vehicle and gives it an even more imposing presence.
Requesting you to post more picture of the vehicle!

Yes, that's true!

And yes again for the pictures, this is nasty week ongoing, I am dying for the weekend and to spend more time with the black beauty!

Update: Last night finally received the registration number and will be getting the number plates fixed tonight.

[racer_ash]

There is a review by Motorbeam comparing the Fgigo against the Swift, Grandi10 and the Bolt. What is particularly interesting is the comparo of the 0-100 times, roll on speeds and braking test of these cars starting at aroun 3:20. Must say, am pretty impressed with the performance of the TDCi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ1V3xKiH-k

[arunphilip]

Courtesy of some (Ford Aspire : Official Review) detective (Ford Aspire : Official Review) work (Ford Aspire : Official Review) by fellow member samaspire who's booked an Aspire, he's found that the 1.2 petrol variant of the Aspire does not have an anti-roll bar (also known as stabilizer bar) in the front suspension:

Originally Posted by samaspire

BREAKING NEWS (Times Now style) flash flash flash flash flash flash
Just got a call from Ford CC - NO ANTI-ROLL BAR IN ANY VARIANT OF 1.2 PETROL

The Figo's website has also been updated to reflect this correction:

[Hammy]

I did read this the other day on the Aspire thread but I was thinking its some error and confusion of sorts on ETIS and Ford Website.

Being an ardent Ford fan, I think this is a cheap pathetic cost saving measure they have pulled off. I hope the concerned consumers sue them for the incorrect information on the website. Though the website stands corrected now the brochures still reflect the wrong data.

I also "think" the Base, Ambiente variants of Figo Diesel and the Ambiente variant of the Figo Aspire Diesel do not have an anti roll bar.
Prospective buyers please double check the specifications of the variant your planning to buy.

[goacom]

Folks, what is the consensus? Ford Figo Auto or Maruti Baleno CVT? I want to get a car for my dad. He is around 78 years old and enjoys driving. I want to get him an automatic so to make it easier for him as he gets older. We wanted to get a VW TSI, but there is no dealership in Goa at the moment (they shut down) hence we are now looking at the Figo Auto. Apparently the wait time is 45 days. Is this realistic or are they over promising. Total price OTD is just over 8 lakhs.

We are restricting the choice to hatchbacks for ease of parking in the city. In any case he does not make long trips.

Thanks.