[agbenny]

No AT option. Will it be launched anytime soon in petrol?

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Also wonder why they did not even think about introducing the AT? i personally would have delayed the car purchase and picked one up if Ford was to launch the AT. Do they have a capacity issue with the new AT box?

Same thought/ same boat (almost, haven't bought anything yet).
Hope Ford monitors this thread, and responds. And I don't mean an AMT. Or CVT.

Regards
Sutripta

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by ownerofazkaban

Really unfortunate to hear, hope it's one off case. My Figo is going super strong at 107,000+ kms. No rattling, no fuss car.

Definitely not one off, this seems quite common.

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Unfortunate that you had such a premature failure, I don't even own a ford, but have seen plenty of Asipre Taxi with lot of miles clocked, and engine remains as good as new! Even the owners were happy about the running cost.

If they have rectified the issue on the new engine family used in the Ecosport, new Figo and Aspire, all is well.

But the injector failure on the first gen model seems to common as documented on team bhp itself

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ailures-3.html

Checked out the Freestyle as well, it's amazing but once bitten twice shy.

[y2ksrs]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

The low running cost part, I am not so sure. My Figo just had 2 of its injectors fail with a quote of 32K. I would not touch another Ford unless they solve it through goodwill warranty. Injectors failing on a 6 year old 75000 run car isn't acceptable in 2018.

My first gen i20 diesel also had injector failures at two separate occasions - first at around 55k kms on odo and 5 years of running and the second time after 6 months at about 60k kms on the odo. Each time Hyundai quoted 62k to replace the failed injector. Compared to this, Ford quoting 32k for two injectors sound reasonable to me.

[cogWheel]

Saw the Freestyle on display at my city’s dealership. No test drive available yet.
Must say it looks better in flesh than in images. The interiors are a clear upgrade over the Figo. The Sienna theme doesn’t look as bad as I imagined it would. But then I am not sure how it will appear in bright outdoor lighting. Legroom and headroom more or less like in the Figo, adequate. SA claims that suspension is tuned better than in the Figo. Will have to wait for a test drive / reviews for the ride and handling characteristics.
It will be hard to justify a Figo purchase with this car in the same showroom except probably for someone looking for a six bag car under 9L OTR. About 40K discounts are being offered on the higher variants of the Figo straightaway. There is no denying the value for money proposition of the Freestyle. If the Freestyle offered a good AT box in the six bagged diesel version, it would make great buy even at +75K price point over the current top variant.
OT: The Freestyle being displayed over a bunch of rocks is going a bit overboard in my opinion. Makes it difficult to get into the car for experiencing the interiors in the display cars.

[skanchan95]

I test drove the Freestyle 1.2 on Friday at Cauvery Ford, Kottara Chowki, Mangalore thanks to Mr. Karthik Hegde, the sales executive from Cauvery Ford who sold me my Figo.

Being a Figo 1.2 Petrol Titanium+ owner(outgoing 4-cyl 1.2 Ti-VCT), the drive brought a big smile on my face. Ford seems to have corrected everything that was perceived as a weakness in the Figo 1.2 petrol(engine specifically).

Apart from the fantastic external cosmetic additions and a new gizmos, my observations about the the car compared to my Figo, engine specifically are:

The Good:
1. The door shut with a far more assuring thud than my Figo.
2. The gearshift is fantastic. Reminded me of our 1st generation Swift's gearshift.
3. Clutch is light and short. The engine is very quiet, may be even quieter than than my Figo.
4. Throttle response is far better and the Freestyle picks up speed much faster than my Figo. There seems to be no lag or flat throttle response(a bad characteristic of the 4-cyl 1.2 Ti-VCT engine) when pressing the throttle.
5. The new engine pulls much better. Even on inclines where my Figo struggles to climb in the 2nd gear, the Freestyle was pulling quite well in the 3rd gear!!!
6. One bad roads and potholes, the car seemed to behave the same way or may be slightly better than my Figo.
7. The touchscreen is great. The feel and touch response is superb. Using Sync regularly on my Figo, the much improved Sync 3 is a great upgrade.The reverse camera display on the screen is crisp and clear.
8. Internal rear view mirror auto auto-dimming.
9. There are Subtle additions and changes to the speedometer which are nice too. But it still seems a generation old compared to rivals.
10. The smart key felt well built.
11. Sync lady voice sounded different.
12. The Horn is less shrill.

The Bad:
1. The steering wheel could have been refreshed like the Ecosport
2. Adjustable rear seat headrests are still missing.

**A front armrest could have been added(or atleast given as an optional accessory). Having installed one on my Figo, it was the only thing I missed while driving the Freestyle.
**The brown interiors didn't look as bad as I thought. In fact, I liked it.
**I really liked the light golden beige colour of the TD car.



















Its heartwarming to see that Ford has listened to market feedback and tried incorporating changes to the Freestyle(some of which I hope will make it to the facelifted Figo as well). I for one was upset that the reverse camera IRVM accessory did not have auto-dimming option. While in the Freestyle they have moved the reverse camera display to the touch screen, the IRVM now gets auto-dimming function(which they could have easily skipped and given conventional manual day/night mirrors). The car now has body coloured reverse parking sensors(which was one of other gripes about the car).

It is the new 1.2 petrol Dragon engine however that I am truly happy about and kudos to Ford for having worked hard on trying to eliminate the Figo Petrol's engine weakness. I hope the new petrol engine finds its way on the new Figo and Aspire along with some new feature additions that are there in the Freestyle. Ford deserves a break now and I hope this car along with facelifts of the original Figo twins do well in their new avatars.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

2. The gearshift is fantastic. Reminded me of our 1st generation Swift's gearshift.
3. Clutch is light and short. The engine is very quiet, may be even quieter than than my Figo.

Great to hear that the gear shift and clutch qualities have been improved over the existing Figo / Aspire versions. This was one of my main complaints when I test drive both, the gearshift was just not upto the mark in terms of feedback, and crispness.

Would you be aware if the TDCI version gearshift has also been improved similarly in the Freestyle? Or was your test drive restricted only to the petrol version?

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Would you be aware if the TDCI version gearshift has also been improved similarly in the Freestyle? Or was your test drive restricted only to the petrol version?

I test drove the petrol only as I wanted to see how the new 1.2 3-cyl Dragon petrol engine was in terms of drivability and throttle response compared to the 4 cyl 1.2 Ti-VCT engine in my Figo.

So I don't know if the diesel has an improved gearshift or not.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

.

Would you be aware if the TDCI version gearshift has also been improved similarly in the Freestyle? Or was your test drive restricted only to the petrol version?

Both the engines have the new gear box.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

I test drove the Freestyle 1.2 on Friday at Cauvery Ford, Kottara Chowki, Mangalore thanks to Mr. Karthik Hegde, the sales executive from Cauvery Ford who sold me my Figo.

Today itself I also checked the Freestyle, the best things I liked were:
1) Black roof liner
2) The changes made to the interior of Figo, it looks better now

Thanks for your observations, mine are also in line with yours.

What shocked me? The button just ahead of the handbrake that reads 'TCS OFF'!! I was like when I discovered that this baby is equipped with even a TCS too!!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by VKumar

... I discovered that this baby is equipped with even a TCS too!!

You won't find a button for it but it has hill-hold assist too, and some other electronics for rollover protection.

For safety equipment, T+ variant is as equipped a car as one can get in this segment and the next two.

[Sarvodaya]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Today itself I also checked the Freestyle, the best things I liked were:
1) Black roof liner
2) The changes made to the interior of Figo, it looks better now

Thanks for your observations, mine are also in line with yours.

What shocked me? The button just ahead of the handbrake that reads 'TCS OFF'!! I was like when I discovered that this baby is equipped with even a TCS too!!

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

You won't find a button for it but it has hill-hold assist too, and some other electronics for rollover protection.

For safety equipment, T+ variant is as equipped a car as one can get in this segment and the next two.

Its high time that Ford marketing team wakes up and works harder to wake India to have a look at the New Figo free style. 6 Air bags, Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, Rain Sensing Wipers, 14 bhp more power all for 50,000 less than the segment leader Swift Zxi plus.

[Prathiiik]

Test drove the Freestyle at JSP Ford, Bangalore.

Initial impressions:

1) 3 pot, 1.2 L dragon series engine is extremely refined. At city speeds, almost no engine noise enters the cabin. Of course, after 4500/5000 rpm there is quite a bit of sound entering the cabin, but it has a sporty note to it.

2) Chocolate brown interiors look, and feel good. No more worrying about beige becoming dirty.

3) The clutch felt very light, gearshift quality was spot - on too.

4) The engine has a decent low end. Pulled cleanly in 3rd gear, less than 20 km/h

5) Rear legroom is quite good. Not as good as the Baleno, but almost there.

6) Build quality, though not as good as the older Fords, is decent. Feels much better built than the competition.

7) The 257 litre boot was fairly accomodating. Perfect for those weekend getaways.

8) Ride quality was G-R-E-A-T. The car just glided over Bangalore’s crater filled roads.

9) Acceleration was very, very good. The 1.2 has a good low end and an excellent top end.

The Drive

Start the motor, and there is little or no noise entering the cabin. The showroom staff switched it off thinking that the engine wasn’t switched on. Slot it into first gear and the gears fall perfectly into place - no notch gearshifts.Gently leave the clutch and the car chugs along slowly. A slight dab on the A pedal and the Freestyle pulls cleanly. Acceleration is excellent. Slot her into 2nd, press the accelerator and the car just pulls and pulls and pulls until the redline. Tried slotting her into 3rd and 20 km/h and the car still managed to pull well.

Over bad roads, the Freestyle performed great too. The suspension was well tuned for ride comfort and nothing was felt inside the cabin. The added ground clearance is a boon too. Easily the best suspension in this segment.
The Steering was very light at city speeds, felt good to hold too.


Likes:

1) All rounder engine. Great top end and a decent low end too. Refinement is spot on.

2) Cabin is fairly spacious, headroom and legroom are more than adequate

3) Suspension. Mind blowing ride quality and handling. 190 mm of GC helps too.

4) Safety features - 6 Airbags, TCS, ESP, EBD, HHC and a solid build.

5) Feature loaded - Sync 3 head unit, push start stop etc.

6) VFM Package - All the above mentioned safety and convenience features for an extremely competitive price.

7) Fun to drive - Steering feels good, handling is great and the engine is excellent.

Dislikes:

1) Materials used in the Cabin could have been better. Not as bad as the Swift, not in the i20’s league either.

2) Build quality is not as good as the older Fords. Feels built to a cost.

3) Steering too, isn’t as good as the older Fords.

4) Spare wheel is not an alloy. A steel rim is what you get.

Verdict

A Ford that has the ability to set the sales charts on fire. A proper drivers car, once again.


Here are some pictures of the car that I took :

A view of the side:



Front view - new grill looks great

[nmenon]

To those who have test driven the Freestyle, I have a query.

How is the ingress and egress. Especially considering elder people. Is it low or is it higher than an average hatchback. I'm not expecting a Wagon R or Ignis level of ease but is it better than say a Baleno or Swift or Alto or something like a Verna/Ciaz/City

[Prathiiik]

Originally Posted by nmenon

To those who have test driven the Freestyle, I have a query.

How is the ingress and egress. Especially considering elder people. Is it low or is it higher than an average hatchback. I'm not expecting a Wagon R or Ignis level of ease but is it better than say a Baleno or Swift or Alto or something like a Verna/Ciaz/City

Getting into the Freestyle isn't a tough job. You don't sit very low, nor do you sit as high as you would do in a WagonR. Ingress/Egress is quite easy, you do not have to crouch and get in. Getting in isn't as tough as a swift or a Honda city. Even Egress is quite easy in the Freestyle.

Older people wouldn't find it very tough to get into the Freestyle due to the raised height. Personally, my Grandfather (68) found it easy to enter and exit the Freestyle.