[AMG Power]

Used my connections within Ford for a test drive of the Figo Sports.

Got the Aspire Sports Diesel for a long test drive. My observations:

The engine in the Aspire Sports does NOT appear to be in the same state of tune as the regular Aspire.

We drove to the test drive area with an Ecosport Diesel and a regular Aspire Diesel.

In comparison The Ecosport felt as if the handbrake had been pulled – it had just 50 kms on the clock so was new but in comparison to the Sports the Ecosport engine was just revving without resultant acceleration. It felt extremely sluggish in comparison. Yes, the Ecosport weighs about 250 kgs more so there is an adverse power to weight ratio but not to the extent experienced.The regular Aspire Diesel felt like the usual 1.5 engine with good acceleration but not anywhere close to the engine in the Sports.

The Sports engine had just 20 kms on the clock and so was brand new yet was shooting away from the minute the accelerator was touched. We went to a closed road and at speeds where the regular Aspire Diesel would have decided to call it a day the Sports was accelerating hard! Forget the regular Aspire or the Ecosport, this car was faster than the Rapid 1.5 diesel too! No lag, no hesitation, its linear and pulls hard until 4000 rpm after which it will still pull hard but you would realise its best to move up to make even faster progress. Of course, it is no where close to the explosive 1.6 Vento / Rapid but it’s the closest any engine has come to that in this category.

Does the car put down the power better because of improved traction through the differing tyres, wheels and revised suspension ratings? A small part of it could be but it wouldn’t have such a marked difference. Or is it because this particular car had a better set engine and the others didn’t? Still wouldn't entirely explain the marked difference in acceleration.

High speed stability – the car gives the stability that you get in a regular Aspire at about 30 – 40 kmph higher speeds.

Cornering – the car just waits to for a corner to come up and the ease at which it darts into it brings back memories of the Ford DNA.

Apparently, neither does the 1.2 Petrol Sports appear to be in the same state of tune as the regular 1.2.(this was confirmed by a friend who tried out the 1.2 Sports)

Took a few pics on the route to the test drive area:

[jkdas]

Adding video. Its a walk-around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prEbQhBxltM

The +
- looking really nice
- the engine (I drove the regular)
-chilling ac
- Price

The -
- misses the 6 airbags
- could have given it better plastics.

[rambo1o1]

Just saw a couple of pictures of the black Figo s.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/520468...33614400125666

Looks good but I feel better alloys would make it stand out even more.😁

Anybody has test driven the petrol figo s? Would like to how if there is any improvement in the engine pickup. Our old petrol figo maybe up for a change, not in a real hurry but the current Figo sadly will not make it as the replacement since we need a petrol and the current Figo petrol is poor plus we dint like the interior design.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

Just saw a couple of pictures of the black Figo s.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/520468...33614400125666

Attaching pics from the same post. IMO the alloy wheel paint scheme makes the car standout from the regular figo.

[Prodigy07]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

Attaching pics from the same post. IMO the alloy wheel paint scheme makes the car standout from the regular figo.

IMHO the alloys on the Black Figo look too Loud. Ford could have done away with those white inserts.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

IMHO the alloys on the Black Figo look too Loud. Ford could have done away with those white inserts.

On Black I agree to some extent, however if you look at the other colors on the review page, the full black alloys look quite ordinary and somewhat aftermarket. IMO this paint scheme on alloys looks really good and should have been standard on all sports edition models of figo and aspire.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

IMHO the alloys on the Black Figo look too Loud. Ford could have done away with those white inserts.

I prefer the alloys, but hate the other white elements on the car which are spoiling the looks, like the decals, mirror and roof.

With only the alloys breaking the black monotony, the car would have looked brilliant in my opinion.

[jetti]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I prefer the alloys, but hate the other white elements on the car which are spoiling the looks, like the decals, mirror and roof.

With only the alloys breaking the black monotony, the car would have looked brilliant in my opinion.

Agreed. I have a similar taste. Are the decals removable? Would a 3M Care Center be able to remove them without damage to paint? What about the roof - is it Vinyl? Can it be removed without much damage?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by jetti

Agreed. I have a similar taste. Are the decals removable? Would a 3M Care Center be able to remove them without damage to paint? What about the roof - is it Vinyl? Can it be removed without much damage?

The S-Decals are removable as they are stickers. The roof though appears to be painted in the pics at least. The mirror trim should be easily swap-able with the body colored part as that too appears to be painted and not vinyl.

[deetjohn]

The AC compressor will thank that white roof on the black Figo Sports during summer time.

Jokes apart, I don't like the white inserts anywhere. Looks very weird. They should have left it all black. Don't know why Ford spends so much effort on these little differences between variants.

Just imagine the toll on the supply chain, assembly lane, sales, document writers etc for very little return. Just keep the black roof, alloys, mirrors standard across the Sports variant - even if its a black car.

Keep it Simple!

[jkdas]

More pix and price details.

Guess buyers can also look at buying Titanium (O) and add better alloys and bilstein etc later.

[HOTROD]

If the ground clearance is the same and the change to springs is only reduced by 10mm, the car still has the same cg right(due to the bigger wheels)? Correct me if i am wrong. How has this helped the car have better high speed stability ?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by HOTROD

If the ground clearance is the same and the change to springs is only reduced by 10mm, the car still has the same cg right(due to the bigger wheels)? Correct me if i am wrong. How has this helped the car have better high speed stability become better?

The change of the wheels and tyres to 195/55 - R15 adds 10mm to the current GC of the normal Figo. To offset this the springs are lowered so that the GC remains the same. But just lowering it does not work and they have to be equally stiffened to ensure the car does not bottom out. So this stiffening of the suspension, wider contact patch with bigger tyres & the beefed up anti-roll bars all add to this stability at speeds compared to the normal Figo with 14 inch 175 section width tyres and a comfort oriented suspension.

[harry10]

The red color in Aspire S looks different than the one in normal Aspire. Or is it the lighting conditions in the showroom playing with my eyes?

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by harry10

The red color in Aspire S looks different than the one in normal Aspire. Or is it the lighting conditions in the showroom playing with my eyes?

It's the same Ruby Red shade that the regular Figo and Aspire have. I have seen the car personally and it's the same shade as my Ruby Red Figo.The colour starts to look different under different light conditions.