[PrideRed]

Hello all,
This is my first post on Team-BHP and a right time for a longterm ownership report.
To begin with a short intro
The Car: Ford Figo 1.4 TDCi(ZXi)
How old: 2years and 2 days
Mileage(or KM’s on ODO): 25233
Car Color: Colorado Red
Well that’s a short description about car.
It all began on 2009 Dec 7, the day I started working. Right from schooling college days I wanted to buy a car on my own. And I did not lose focus and on May 2010 the booking was done. The car was delivered on June 4th.

Selection,Booking ,Buying and Dealership Experience

This was not going to be my first car but was going to be a special one as the car would be bought from my earnings. The hunt for the car began the day I started working.

Contenders Swift,Ritz,Polo,Figo
Well as usual what to go for Petrol or Diesel? Given that rising petrol prices and my madness for travel diesel had to be the one. However Petrol pleasure still kept me pulling. Budget was 5.5-5.75

Swift
Test drove the swift(VDi) was quite happy as long as I was in driver’s seat but after moving to rear seat vouched never to sit again. Being used the rear benches of Ikon,Optra,Innova the swift felt like bouncing ball. Also swift was due for upgrade and was straight away moved out of competition.

Polo
2010 and came in Mr.Polo .Brilliant is what is said when I saw it on paper, net. Went to showroom and still it was brilliant. The prices were announced and thought Polo is just GOOD . But the looks,finish was one to die for. So Petrol it had to be. Went to showroom and the a H/L petrol Polo was ready. Cranked the engine, the SA see my face and I see him. Well I ask him are sure this is Petrol? Well engine apart the ride was good and felt sturdyand T/L it had to be. Then came the bomb- 6 month waiting period. Mr. Polo was put on hold

Ritz
This was only option left. Never test drove the car. But since it is the last option decided to go for it.5.72 was the price quoted for VDi in my hometown and free security system. I wanted more and they resist. Checked in Bengaluru showroom and requested for Test drive. The car doesn’t come on said time. Now I am pissed off.

Figo
The Mr.Cool (aka Figo) was launched in the meantime. The Ritz and Figo go neck to neck with Polo looking like a dark horse. My Uncle gets his Ford Figo and get positive feedback. The Bengaluru Marti showroom SA doesnot send test drive mule and I am pissed off. Went straight away to Lathangi ford,and the car is read for TD. Impressive I say after TD,though looked a lil small. Checked the price and EXI it had to be. Now the Ford SA bowls a bouncer infact two. Waiting period and was not sure of loan sanction as I had less than a year work experience.

Call my dad and get the car booked at Cauvery Ford Mangalore. 3-4 Weeks was the waiting period.I said ok. Somewhere in the last week of May SA calls and tells me there is RED Figo ZXi avail in mysore yard and if I am willing can get it in 3-4 days. I say close the deal. The car was driven from Mysore to Mangalore and finally I get my car delivered on June 4th 2010.

Price: 5.94lacs
Freebies: Mats,Mudflaps and extended warranty
Accessories :None

Dealership
Cauvery ford is like my extended family. We were one of their first Ikon customers and I am delighted about buying the car. Well just one word to Cauvery Ford-Brialliant. I still find one of the best delearship experience at Cauvery ford in M’lore though the VW M’lore(from where our vento is bought) is giving a stiff competition.

I have got my first service done here and they were pleasing. So far have got my car serviced at 3 different places (Metro, Elite and Cauvery) and all the three were good, prompt and spot on.

The Car
People say Ford car is expensive to maintain. Well I say it is you who decide how expensive you want your car to be. We had Ford Ikon and I don’t remember any instance of it burning hole in the pocket. The Figo has done 25K and I have not spent a single penny on repair. The service costs also were less(compared to swift,i10,i20 etc). at around 10K one of the horns went off and was replaced for free at Metro Ford.
Now the list of accessories ,changes till date:

1. Alloys(set of 5): Cost 15850. The alloys are of Stallion brand and have come good so far. Have potholes at very high speeds and no cracks so far, though there have been significant scratches due to the design. The alloys not great looking ones but was in my budget and since it protrudes slightly has enhanced the appeal of the car

2. Bosch Wiper Blades: Don’t remember exact price but was not more than 700. Decent enough for the price. They aren’t as the same size of original ones. But they do their job and are cheaper than OE.

3. OSRAM night breaker Plus headlamps(stock rating): Cost 1000 . Really good I must say. They offer atleast 30% more visibility compared to stock. I have removed the metal reflectors inside the headlight and hence further improved vision

4. Rubber Mats: Cost 450: just a normal mats nothing to talk about.

5. Matte finish paint: Cost 3000:The black plastics in bumper,doors were all fading and needed some treatment. Got the original look matte finish done. Looks great for initial 1 month however I am already seeing them fade. But much better than the previous faded look.

6. Front bumper guards: Cost 100: Had some minor scratches in front bumper and so to hide got the guards. Just plain black ones.

As mentioned earlier all the 3 service centers were very good and had no issues whatsoever. I would like to specifically mention about Metro Ford here, they have offered excellent service so far and have come really good in my case atleast. Every time I been there, they were prompt, timely and resolved issues I had.

Some of my issues sorted out

1. The oil sump had leakage: The tank was hit by a stone and had slight leakages. It was resealed and issue is resolved.
2. Left horn stopped working: Replaced under warranty
3. Squeaks from c pillar: Adjustments made by removing c pillar plastics have resolved the issue.

In the coming lines I would speak about my 25k experiences, thought about figo

Styling
Well frankly figo is not a stonker to look, if its all about looks for you then stay away from it. That doesn’t mean it looks ugly, except for tail lamps it looks neat .A good set of alloys should enhance the look. The figo looks best from the side to me and also the c-pillar area. The car doesn’t have much road presence and infact looks much smaller than it really is. Had the roof not been slanting, it would be much better.

Performance
Figo is neither a hare nor a tortoise. I would say its intermediate. It would have been tortoise if it had body, suspension, steering of i20. Thanks to brilliance of Ford. Now how fast the figo is? Well it will easily hit 140 and may be 150 but slows down there after.160 is possible and even 170-175 but needs a slight inclination and A/C turned off. The rollover acceleration is good and so is acceleration from standstill. The car is superb fun to drive and everytime I am on drivers seat , figo never fails to make me smile.
On a track Figo should definitely make it to the podium when competed against the current diesel hatches in India.

Just an example from my experience: I am in travelling at 150 with 5 people on board on 4 lane National highway. A Fluidic Verna almost zips past( may be at 160-170). A little further it goes there is speeding curve( a slight curve) and I am at 120 and the Verna drops back(may be 100-110). That’s all about Figo’s dynamics which makes up for lack of power.

Braking
This one part of Figo I hate the most. The stopping capability is quite good. But it makes a grinding noise when braking particularly you are on a long journey that too after some high speed driving. This reminds me of our 1.6 Ikon which suffered from the same. Also now that tires have done 25K, on lose soil/sand that is on road the car skids liberally on hard braking. I know I don’t have ABS but braking could have been better.
Also on hard braking the car stalls. Ford calls it a safety feature but I am quite not sure if it indeed is a safety feature. I would rather like to have this disabled.

Comfort
The front seats offer plenty of support be it thigh, shoulder or back. The rear seat also does offer but lack of rear head restraints come as a big blow. The current head restraints are enough people with smaller frame, taller people will suffer. Also all know how annoying is lack of rear power window. That said the ride is pretty good and not bumpy like the swift(o)/ritz.

Fuel Efficiency
I am quite happy with the FE. It delivers almost 13-15 consistenly in bengaluru traffic which is quite impressive. On a highway the best I got is a little over 21 and worst is a little less than 15. The FE depends on drive speed, road conditions and use of A/C. When I travel from b’lore to hometown and complete in 4-5hrs the FE is somewhere 15-17 which good after all those hard accelerations,3 digit speed do take toll on FE. But if driven at around 100 18-20 is what I get. I was never able to maintain speed of 70-80 on highway which should ensure better FE.

Practicality
I would give 8/10 for the figo for practicality. It is good infact very good for a family of 4(2 are kids).But for a family with 4 adults and a kid not quite there. GC will be one of the bigger problems. Elderly would like to have a little more leg room at rear. Having some more essential features would have given it higher scores, however what makes it still good is its VFM proposition.

Well take this:
Will a youngster be happy with Figo? Yes.The dynamics will definitely make him.
Will a middle aged be happy to buy? Why not its VFM ,comfortable for a small family.
Will a Women driver buy? Majority of them would not. Hydraulic steering is the culprit
Well i would say Figo Is practical to most of them but some would give it a miss.

Verdict
Well Figo is good car and yes may not tick all the checkboxes and so do other cars. I am definitely not regretting my decision of buying the car and figo has kept me quite happy and have never let down till date. I always wish figo had its negatives rectified but not all the wishes come true. Well that said i would like to put a full stop.

Queries suggestions,improvement are most welcomed.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Will a Women driver buy? Majority of them would not. Hydraulic steering is the culprit

Hi!

Extremely well written review. More pictures are welcome. Figo is an excellent choice without any doubt. Face lifted Figo is due soon. Any confirmed news?

How heavy is the hydraulic steering at parking speeds. Is it a real pain? On highways, what is the comfortable speed you can maintain all day. How is the insulation level inside the cabin, road/wind/tyre noise? I had a short TD of a Figo diesel. It sounded more coarse than the old-gen Indica to me, reason why I dropped it from my shopping list. Was is due to poor maintenance of the car or is Figo that way? I have heard that AC of Ford cars are the best in business. How is the performance in the ongoing Summer heat.

Enjoy the car.

Cheers

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Chitta Pradhan

Hi!

Extremely well written review. More pictures are welcome. Figo is an excellent choice without any doubt. Face lifted Figo is due soon. Any confirmed news?

How heavy is the hydraulic steering at parking speeds. Is it a real pain? On highways, what is the comfortable speed you can maintain all day. How is the insulation level inside the cabin, road/wind/tyre noise? I had a short TD of a Figo diesel. It sounded more coarse than the old-gen Indica to me, reason why I dropped it from my shopping list. Was is due to poor maintenance of the car or is Figo that way? I have heard that AC of Ford cars are the best in business. How is the performance in the ongoing Summer heat.

Enjoy the car.

Cheers

SO far i haven't heard of facelifted figo.
On Hydraulic steering let me give an example: After driving Optra,Innova i found the steeing in Figo comfortable a little lighter infact.
However 2 months back Optra was sold and Vento made in. I was driving Vento for 3-4 days and then drove figo. I felt the steering is too heavy and thought there was a problem and took to service center. The SA test drove it and said the steering is very normal and smooth by Figo standards

To if you are used to hydraulic earlier u will not find the one in Figo heavy, but if your used to electric PS earlier then you will end up saying Figo's got heavy steering.
That said it was manageable and absolute brilliant of highways and twisty roads.

100-120 u can maintain all day without stressing the car.

Insulation is not that great but decent and yes Engine shouts quite loud. But even some other diesel cars i found same issue(Vento/Micra). And Polo Diesel is worst i have seen so far.

A/C is good and i find it better than in the Vento.

[GTO]

Your Figo's looking great in red and the funky alloy wheels make it stand out. This Ford is the all-rounder from its segment, and is well priced too.

1. The oil sump had leakage: The tank was hit by a stone and had slight leakages. It was resealed and issue is resolved.
2. Left horn stopped working: Replaced under warranty
3. Squeaks from c pillar: Adjustments made by removing c pillar plastics have resolved the issue.

If those are the only issues you faced in 25K kms, I must say your Figo is proving very reliable.

Congratulations and do drive safe.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by GTO

Your Figo's looking great in red and the funky alloy wheels make it stand out. This Ford is the all-rounder from its segment, and is well priced too.



If those are the only issues you faced in 25K kms, I must say your Figo is proving very reliable.

Congratulations and do drive safe.

Thank you GTO. I agree with you Figo is good all-rounder.
Also Figo/Fiesta are improvement from Ford in comparison with Escort,Ikon when it comes to reliability.

[carfreak]

@PrideRed,

Very well written review!!hope you continue on with the long-term reports!!

I am currently in the process of getting my own Colorado Red Figo Titanium tdci!!

I completely agree with you regarding the dealer-Cauvery Ford is the best i have seen in Mangalore when it comes to being customer friendly. Volkswagen too is fine but i think Cauvery Ford gets the first prize!!

[PrideRed]

Some more pics. These are not current pics around 6-7 months old. The last one is taken during the delivery.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Hello all,


Braking
This one part of Figo I hate the most. The stopping capability is quite good. But it makes a grinding noise when braking particularly you are on a long journey that too after some high speed driving. This reminds me of our 1.6 Ikon which suffered from the same. Also now that tires have done 25K, on lose soil/sand that is on road the car skids liberally on hard braking. I know I don’t have ABS but braking could have been better.
Also on hard braking the car stalls. Ford calls it a safety feature but I am quite not sure if it indeed is a safety feature. I would rather like to have this disabled.


Queries suggestions,improvement are most welcomed.

I had a Titanium 1.4 tdci (August 11) with ABS, I feel that the brakes were quite adequate. I had around 7500 km on the car when I sold it never faced the stalling issue.
I think Ford has fixed that problem in the newer version check for ECU software upgrade.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by tj123

I had a Titanium 1.4 tdci (August 11) with ABS, I feel that the brakes were quite adequate. I had around 7500 km on the car when I sold it never faced the stalling issue.
I think Ford has fixed that problem in the newer version check for ECU software upgrade.

Thank you. I will check this in service center when i take it for next service.
Though the stalling is bound to happen once in 5000KM may be, is quite annoying when it happens. Its like disconnecting from the car.

[sansvk]

Good to always hear from a happy Figo owner. Congrats.
My Petrol ZXi Figo just completed 25K last week. Planning to take it for regular service next week.
For the brakes, I would advice you to get the pads replaced under warranty.

[rajneeesh]

My Figo has 28K + on the clock. No issues so far. The Mileage is good, the turbo spools pretty quickly. The suspension and steering are the icing on the case. It is an entertaining car to drive in the city and perfect for point and scoot stuff. The cround clearance can be better though. tHe Mileage does drop significantly with the AC on . That said, the AC is a chiller.

[nvldvr]

Nice and crisp review. Have you faced the figo diesel engine 'stall' issue ever? From what i know, a number of figo owners face this problem. Figo is a great car, but the engine stall issue seems like a big worry for the prospective buyers.

[JRD]

Very well written and unbiased review. Your figo looks very figo in red. I really liked the fact that you cleared the myth of fords being expensive to maintain. People need to get this in their head. Enjoy your car.

[shubhu3112]

Good unbiased review. Even i am a proud owner of Figo 1.4 ZXi and it has never failed to bring a smile to my face when i crank it up. It definitely is a driver's dream.

[shadow]

Originally Posted by nvldvr

Nice and crisp review. Have you faced the figo diesel engine 'stall' issue ever? From what i know, a number of figo owners face this problem. Figo is a great car, but the engine stall issue seems like a big worry for the prospective buyers.

What is this stall issue you refer to? Have just booked a Fido Tdci so am very curious.