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-   -   Overdrive's hatchback track test - Figo 1.5 diesel quickest! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/176587-overdrives-hatchback-track-test-figo-1-5-diesel-quickest.html)

Overdrive just took some of the hottest (and some lukewarm) hatches around on the Kari speedway and the results are quite eye opening.

The Ford Figo Diesel beat the Punto Abarth to the top position by a whisker (0.1 seconds) and left the GT TSI in the dust by being almost 3 seconds faster!

So much for the Abarth & the GT's handling prowess, especially compared to the Figo, which has gotten a lot of stick for the slight numbing down as compared to the previous gen Figo. Guess the numbers speak for themselves - if you want a hot hatch and laugh all the way to the bank, there's only one way to go! :)

Source: http://overdrive.in/news/affordable-...-introduction/

Call me stupid, but I will take a black de-badged / de-decaled Abarth Punto any day over a Figo. The 0.1 second hardly matters to me, and I would like something which tugs my heart strings by looking and feeling a million dollars as well.

I wonder if it would be the same on the Buddh circuit?
The track would have suited the Figo better.

Also 0.1 sec is as good as head to head which can change with different drivers as well.

I would any day drive an Abarth on the track and enjoy than pushing a Figo.

Put the same new engine on the older Figo, that would have had some track similarities with the Abarth.

The results are represented by Overdrive extremely poorly. Rather than tabulated together we have the times all scattered around in different tables. I was surprised how much poorer the results were of the petrol versions vs the diesel versions. The 1.5 Figo petrol is over 4 seconds slower than the 1.5 Figo diesel even though is has higher peak power? Somehow I don't trust these results or the driver completely. I do wish someone else does similar tests and includes more cars in the comparison. I read the profile of the driver but he seems to be getting better results on diesels perhaps cause they have better torque at lower rpms and doesn't know how to extract good lap times from petrol engines. Also check the last line in the article, it says the hatchbacks are running JK tyres and Mobil 1 oil. Why not stock??

I see a lot of skepticism in the results - some justified, other less so.

It's absolutely fair to say that the results will vary with different drivers/tracks yada yada - but that's taking an extremely myopic view of the situation.

Based on these tests, can anyone refute the fact that the Figo and the Abarth will always be within spitting distance of each other, miles ahead of the rest of the pack?

The very fact that a "commuter" hatch like the Figo can play in the same ball park as the Abarth is something to be celebrated and nothing should be allowed to take that away from the Figo. All this at close to 2/3rd of the price makes for a solid bang-for-buck package that appeals to both the heart and the mind. Well done Ford!

This is the overall summary of their shootout:

1. Figo diesel - 1:21.2
2. Punto Abarth - 1:21.3
3. Baleno Diesel - 1:23.0
4. Elite i20 Diesel - 1:23.1
5. Polo GT TSI - 1:24.1
6. Jazz Diesel - 1:24.3
7. BAleno petrol - 1:24.4
8. Figo DCT - 1:25.3
9. Elite i20 Petrol - 1:25.7
10. Jazz Petrol - 1:26.7

The 1.5 Figo petrol has a DCT transmission. As mentioned in their story, the DCT box was not responding to downshifts as a result it lost a lot of time. Secondly, the Figo with DCT has ESP which was kicking in too soon which means you can't push the car as much.

The driver is Aditya Patel, I wouldn't doubt his driving competence on diesel and petrol cars. Let's not just completely discount the whole event but look at data they have.

That's cause the track event is sponsored by JK tyres and Mobil 1. And all cars using JK tyres is a good leveller as that could be a variable that one car has better rubber than the other.

Why do we need a leveller? Is that how the cars are sold to consumers? Cars should cars use the same tyres and fluids that customers buy them with. Would you run a Ferrari on JK tyres and mineral oil if they get sponsorship from those companies? As far as I'm concerned, this invalidates the results to a large degree. It gives unfair advantage to some cars and unfair disadvantage to others.

This is fishy stuff. Something doesnt add up.

I can fully comprehend the figo keeping up with the abarth in a real world scenario. Reason being low down grunt, massively lower weight, snappier gearbox...etc

I can comprehend a diesel baleno keeping up with a petrol baleno easily in a real world scenario. Better low down grunt again being the reason.

But how does the petrol cars get left behind in a track day where you are at the redline all the time. Diesels are literally dead at the top end so, their low down torque advantage wouldnt matter very much.

Was this done at some sort of go kart track?

Agreed.

Lets us just take the results as it is (As there is no other way to prove it otherwise). Figo diesel won against all other premium hatchbacks. Well done Ford. clap:

Here's a summary of the results -



Figo Diesel v/s Punto Abarth -

The advantage on track for the Figo diesel is 0.1 seconds. This is after downgrading of tyres on the Abarth and might be the original Alnacs on the FIAT would have helped matters here. But, taking the 0.1 seconds as it is - Abarth still retains a wonderful steering and a fully communicative chasis balance as mentioned in the article itself. Figo diesel might be faster, but which one would be more fun to drive?

No credits taken from Ford though. Absolutely brilliant show there. I love fast diesels which are light on the pocket as well. :D

Which one would I buy?
Unfortunately - I'd need a diesel for my usage. And hence Figo diesel seems to be the best bet.

Which one would I pick for an occassional joyride?
Punto Abarth. Eyes closed.

Polo GT TSi -

Lol. This was supposed to be competition to the Punto Abarth and with so many numerous heated debates on our forums about how the DSG would make up for the power deficit, i least expected Polo GT TSi to be competing and losing against Baleno and i20 diesels and barely managing to stay ahead of the Jazz diesel. Punto Abarth and the Figo diesel is way faster.

Baleno diesel / Elite i20 diesel -

Surpising to read the remarks. Guess weight helps matter here!

Battle of premium hatchbacks - Jazz / Elite i20 / Baleno

Be it petrol or diesel variants, looks like Baleno > Elite i20 > Jazz.

I think Kari track is designed like that. There's high speed straights and theres slow speed corners. The slow speed corners will be better for cars with good torque.

Besides, the 1.2L petrol motors are hardly impressive in the Elite i20, Baleno and Jazz. They lack low end torque and except for the Honda don't have much top end whack as well.

The diesels in the Elite i20, Figo and Baleno are all brilliant engines in their own right.

If we had older hot hatches like the Palio 1.6 or the Swift 1.3 then the story would have been different. The current 1.2L petrols are tuned for one thing only i.e. fuel efficiency.

What exactly does this statement mean for the gt tsi.

That can't be right, why would it need multiple taps to drop a gear?Also not very clear if the gt and Ford DCT were driven in D,S or Manual mode. One part of the article indicates that it refused to give the needed downshifts on corner braking which indicates one of the AT modes. Then we have the above statement which indicates a manual mode.

It means they were driven in manual mode. This is normal behaviour of the DSG, even your Vento will do this.

Basically on track or when driving very aggressively when you enter a corner, you have to downshift to the lower gear for that corner and to be able to power out. However when you carry more speed approaching the corner and try to downshift, the DSG will deny the downshift as the rpm in the resultant lower gear will be too high. For example you're in 3rd gear approaching a corner but need second to power out, the DSG will say "sorry, if I shift down to second, the revs will be close to redline and that's not good for me. Reduce your speed further if you want a downshift"

There are some gearboxes that will give you the downshift and then bounce of the rev limiter in the lower gear. I recently drove a BMW 530D which almost always gives you a downshift even if you're doing high rpm's in higher gear.

On a track this makes you lose insane amount of time. I've found it very frustrating in some cars when driving aggressively.

If I've understood the correctly the way these automatic gearboxes operate, actuating the gear shift button or paddle only requests the ecu for a shift to the next higher or lower gear. The ecu only shifts the gears when the internal algorithm calculates that it is safe to do so. If shift is unsafe, the driver gearshift request is ignored.

All these driver assistance devices are surely a double edged sword - giving you convenience but taking away control.

I couldn't get it clearly. Is the top speeds restricted due to the track or are these the car's maximum capacity?

Ah. Thanks. Makes perfect sense now. So the DSG, which is a perfect match to the TSI on the road fails it on the track.I assume a manual TSI would have given a much better fight to the Punto and Abarth.

Wish they had got a GT TDI into the mix too. Would have been interesting to see how that fared.