[Flyer]

Ford Freestyle Accessories List

Originally Posted by 2cents

But even if it does perhaps Ford will bring their DCT, instead of a CVT which is my choice for maintenance and cost.

Not sure if Ford will offer an automatic in Freestyle in the future. Even if it does, it will be the torque converter unit currently on offer in the Ecosport and not DCT.

[knightrider_7]

I read on the EcoSport thread that Ford updates feature list based on customer feedback.

If that's the case, I wish the rear headrests and 60:40 split seats are offered atleast in the titanium+.

[hardoop]

Have booked a titanium plus diesel with Kairali Ford. OTR 8.94 Trivandrum. Exchanging my 2011 Figo D.
No dealerside offers or from Ford according to the SA. Not sure if I will get something if I bargain more. So far no luck.
Vehicle has reached the dealer yard which is about 150kms away. Remembered reading stories of new vehicles getting abused by drivers of dealerships somewhere in tbhp and so requested the SA that I will be the one driving it to Trivandrum to which he has agreed.

Expecting delivery next week.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by hardoop

Vehicle has reached the dealer yard which is about 150kms away. Remembered reading stories of new vehicles getting abused by drivers of dealerships somewhere in tbhp and so requested the SA that I will be the one driving it to Trivandrum to which he has agreed.

I had a similar agreement with the same guys, not Trivandrum, but the day before delivery they called up and apologize that their driver mistakenly brought it for delivery at my place. I was supposed to get delivery myself from their showroom 50km away. That was the only grouse in my delivery experience. So you just be doubly sure if you really want to drive it by yourself.

[hardoop]

Originally Posted by nmenon

That is exactly what I intend to do.

If they are ready to give in writing that they will refund the full amount if I cancel and allow me a PDI then only am I making the payment else I'll walk away and go to another Ford Dealership and if they also come up with such tactics I'm writing to Ford and then going over to Honda.

Hello sir

Have you taken delivery of your freestyle ?
If so, would like to hear from you more on the car.
I read from the now closed freestyle launch thread that Malayalam Ford is providing you with discounts on accessories. Sounds great because I am being told there are no discounts whatsoever since it is a very new model. I have booked a diesel titanium+ with Kairali Ford Trivandum.

Originally Posted by thoma

I had a similar agreement with the same guys, not Trivandrum, but the day before delivery they called up and apologize that their driver mistakenly brought it for delivery at my place. I was supposed to get delivery myself from their showroom 50km away. That was the only grouse in my delivery experience. So you just be doubly sure if you really want to drive it by yourself.

That was a great advice sir. Will keep that in mind. Hope you are all smiles while behind the wheels of your freestyle.

[RavenAvi]

Some better quality snaps of the Freestyle in it's Absolute Black shade, thanks to Jack Daimary.

Smokin'!

[snaseer]

100 km/h comes up at 2,950 rpm and 120 km/h at 3,500 rpm in 5th gear. The gearing is shorter than most of its competitors. What this means is that you'll hear the engine more than in its rivals at cruising speeds.


Can it cruise at 100km/hr all day long or the engine sounds stressed at that speed?

[adneeraj]

Great review.
I find it strange when this car gets compared with the Ignis. This is a much bigger car and I would still compare this with the Polo Cross, Etios Cross and the i20 Active.

Things I personally liked:

• 1.2 Dragon Petrol
• The alloys - just a nice chunky design - gun metal finish looks cool
• Good build quality (apart for the slightly off panel pictured)
• Fuller wheel arches (now i'm just trying to find some good things here..)
• A functional bumper - which extends out and really does what it should do - protect!!
• Traction control, HLA etc. That's good gadgetry on a 8 lac on-road car.. nice!

Things I absolutely disliked:

• That color of the dash - what were they thinking??
• Fixed headrests!! On the top end model?
• Infotainment system - everyone seems to be giving touch screen and gesture controls etc. For me, this just diverts the attention. Also, just too upright - they should have just given a tab holder and a tab with the car or should have seen a better way of integrating it - atleast push it back in like the Audis.
• Not enough cubby holes
• Door locks - Chrome? and look at the quality. These look like a straight lift from my generation old Fiesta Classic!!
• Very sad looking, basic instrument cluster. We're in 2018!!
• Look at that area under the dash... Is this a 3 lac rupee car?

It actually makes more sense to go for this than the Figo. And certainly a worthy competitor considering its price to many other types of cars too - read larger hatchbacks.
A facelift should fix all these issues.. so I'm guessing v 2.0 would be much better

[Dieselritzer]

I had written a note on this thread about my bad experience with a test drive that i had few weeks back. Yesterday i got a call from Kavish Ford as well as Ford Chennai asking me what went wrong. They were keen to hear my experience, asked for suggestions and also offered me a test drive vehicle at home. Its good to see that such forums are visited by concerned people in Ford and that they are taking customer experience very seriously.

[strawhat]

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

I had written a note on this thread about my bad experience with a test drive that i had few weeks back. Yesterday i got a call from Kavish Ford as well as Ford Chennai asking me what went wrong. They were keen to hear my experience, asked for suggestions and also offered me a test drive vehicle at home. Its good to see that such forums are visited by concerned people in Ford and that they are taking customer experience very seriously.

Although it is good to hear that Ford eventually got back to you asking feedback and offering you a TD, the fact that you had a much better experience with Maruti is damning. Given that Maruti controls more than half of the Indian car market you'd expect them to be complacent with a tinge of arrogance. But its exactly the opposite. Most buyers I talked to or members here only had positive things to say about Maruti/Nexa dealers. They work hard to create a down to earth and caring atmosphere and the result is more footfalls.

While most manufacturers have a shoddy A.S.S (either unreliable, bad or very expensive) to worry about, Ford has a cheaper and better service division. The issue is the showroom experience. For starters ensure that when a customer walks in he/she is attended to and cared. Doesn't matter if they booked a car or not. When that happens, mouth publicity will take care of the rest. At the moment, inconsistent showroom experience is pulling it down. Customers either have a great experience or really bad one. Sort that out first and they will slowly climb up the ladder. I know these points have been reiterated a lot. Just my 2 paisa. As a new Ford customer I only wish the best. Both for selfish reasons and a general empathy towards the brand.

[Nanolover]

Test drove the petrol one last week. I must say, I am astonished.

for 7.8 L on road trivandrum, you get 6 airbags, traction control, ARP, auto dimming mirror and that typical European handling. black headliner is fab and in many ways it reminded my wife and I of our bmw 1 series we had abroad.

Only downside is seats are a bit too soft ( not expected from a euro focused car) and the fixed headrest and lap belt for 3rd passenger. add another 10,000 to the price and give us this, as the UK version exported from India already has that !

Showroom experience was good and the sales person on purpose asked me to drive over bombed out drainage roads to show the suspension effectiveness.

All things considered if you want a European compact for the best price, this is it !

I would have brought it right off - only thing stopping me is the need for an automatic . Come on Ford - release the auto and I will be the first in Trivandrum to buy it

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Nanolover

only thing stopping me is the need for an automatic .

The same (the 6 speed TC AT from Ecosport to be precise) might finally convince me to trade in my current ride for this one.
All other options are pricier (without substantial equipment) / bigger (garage space restriction) / AMT / CVT.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Some better quality snaps of the Freestyle in it's Absolute Black shade, !

Thank you for sharing the photos. Feel the door stickers for a black car is not a good idea. They should have left it plain Jane to enhance the look.

They could have offered some customisations or options for customers to choose from. Am sure majority of people buying the Titanium Pluss would have actually preferred the black dashboard instead of the brown shaded.
Silver bars on a black car again.. An option for the end user if he/she prefers black or silver. And the rear headrests which has been covered in the review.

Does look VFM for sure, with the increased ground clearance does make it practical.

Instead of spending efforts to establish a new model called freestyle they could have considered it launching it as Figo+.

If they had an option to launch their export version as premium variant with a higher cost it would have made lot of sense.

The car looks sexy in black for sure and happy ford still offers it in this shade while the rest of manufacturers don't even offer it as a premium colour.

Thank you for the good review.

PS: marketing team really need to belt it out. Dealers will need to hire some user experience coaches if they have to sell well. Most of the sales staff seem to be laid back or passive people.

[MMV]

The review is truly inspiring. After reading the review I visited a dealer in Mumbai for TD along with a friend who is actively scouting for a car. The car is distinctly different from Figo (which was also on display) and the more you see both cars together the more you like Freestyle.

My twin objectives were 1) asking my friend to consider it as he was almost sure to toss between Swift and i20/Gi10 2) TD the car as I was also considering to buy it in my native.

No doubt the car is VFM and the SA explained in detail for more than an hour patiently about the USPs. Later my friend told that he will finalise in 1-2 months as the dealer was pushing for booking amount. Interestingly the SA then came back and said that TD car is going for an event, which was proven wrong as I still spotted the car in the showroom, on my way back 3hrs later.

Ford still needs to work on service aspect, especially after this 'judgemental dealer' , I will think thrice before going ahead with Freestyle.

[phynix123]

From yesterday's drive experience (approx 200km) I can say that, it can comfortably cruise at 100 km/hr. The engine doesn't sound stressed until 3500 rpm.