[blackasta]

Any idea / info / scoop if Ford is considering to launch the AT variant of the Freestyle in this year?

[phynix123]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Any idea / info / scoop if Ford is considering to launch the AT variant of the Freestyle in this year?

Ford already has launch of facelifted figo and aspire in their pipeline. Which should take at least a couple of months each. So I don't think AT freestyle will be launched anytime soon. Perhaps towards the end of the year, or next year.

[phynix123]

Originally Posted by nmenon

Thank you for your support @thoma and @hadoop.

I have currently contacted Ford customer care since the dealership had initially pestered me to may an additional down payment, which I was not inclined to pay and suspect that the may have given the initial unit they received to another customer who was ready to pay without seeing the car.

With freestyle titanium plus you will get four more extra airbags and tons of safety electronics. Whereas WRV SMT doesn't offer them. Moreover, I had a test-drive of WRV petrol (VX MT IIRC), I felt the engine a bit underpowered to be honest. Moreover absence of magic seats (I am a big fan of jazz's magic seats) in any of the variants was a deal breaker for me. Please don't make decision in haste.

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by phynix123

With freestyle titanium plus you will get four more extra airbags and tons of safety electronics. Whereas WRV SMT doesn't offer them. Moreover, I had a test-drive of WRV petrol (VX MT IIRC), I felt the engine a bit underpowered to be honest. Moreover absence of magic seats (I am a big fan of jazz's magic seats) in any of the variants was a deal breaker for me. Please don't make decision in haste.

Thanks for the advice.

I'm not a big fan of the WRV. And I don't intend to give up on the Freestyle that easily. I went for the Titanium Plus for the extra safety and will as far as possible see this through.

[Subby]

Thanks for this excellent review!

Ford Freestyle outsold Hyundai i20 active and Toyota Etios Cross put together, last month. It sold more than 3000 copies in the month of May and this month figure expected to increase in coming months.

https://autoportal.com/newcars/ford/...es-statistics/

Freestyle ticks all the right boxes and is with clear advantages over its competitors. Built well, rides well, performs well and priced well! Wish this model to be successful in short/medium term to keep Ford active in the race. Along with good product marketing, in my opinion, Ford needs to improve the regular maintenance service experience further with more service oulets to spread its reach alongwith proactive customer friendly approach.

BTW, wish Ford Freestyle would discard that chocolate themed dashboard in top-end model!

[murthy_p]

Video showing off-roading capabilities of Freestyle (and Endeavor), posted by one of the dealers of Ford.

https://youtu.be/HqN64leRhac

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by nmenon

Thanks for the advice.

I'm not a big fan of the WRV. And I don't intend to give up on the Freestyle that easily. I went for the Titanium Plus for the extra safety and will as far as possible see this through.

Just an update.

I had escalated this to Ford on the basis of the incorrect VIN provided.

On June 12th Ford Customer Care called me and promised action in 1 week. But haven't received any further updates.
And I had a call with the dealership who now came up with a new date of July 5th. Considering that I booked on 17th May and the fact that the dealership says a car hasn't been alloted or dispatched, I told them that I would have to cancel my booking if I don't receive any information or a concrete delivery date.
They are not even ready to commit a delivery date. Hence I will probably cancel my booking with this dealership, get a refund and consider going to Kairali Ford if my family still allows me that luxury ( I was the one advocating Ford where the rest of the family were leaning towards Maruti, Honda or even Tata). Else I'm looking at a Nexon XM Petrol which fits my budget.

I know I'm compromising in safety but I can't really wait forever and besides if this is the attitude to sales I shudder to think of the after sales. And having seen the few reports of the Nexon's build encourages me about the Nexon.

I will write to Ford that I'm disappointed in their customer care as well since they didn't even bother to follow up after my call to their customer care and requesting a call back.

I think I'm done with these so called global manufacturers. They just don't care about customers.

My experience with Tata for my Uncle's Tiago purchase and my previous experiences with Maruti and Honda are way better.

Sorry for the long rant but this is why Ford products don't always sell as well as they ought to. Due to the dealership attitudes

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by nmenon

And I had a call with the dealership who now came up with a new date of July 5th. Considering that I booked on 17th May and the fact that the dealership says a car hasn't been alloted or dispatched, I told them that I would have to cancel my booking if I don't receive any information or a concrete delivery date.

Expect the car to be delivered 2 months after booking. ie. 17th July.

For now, post it on their Facebook page. You will get a response.

[Dr.Abhi]

Originally Posted by nmenon

Just an update.

I had escalated this to Ford on the basis of the incorrect VIN provided.

This is such a pathetic attitude from Ford dealer. Instead of providing fast delivery of a new product, this dealer is testing the patience of customer.
Cant car companies have Company owned, Company operated sale and service outlet everywhere and remove the middleman from the chain? I think this is very much possible in todays era of internet, bar codes and biometric attendence and real time positioning assessment.

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by samaspire

Expect the car to be delivered 2 months after booking. ie. 17th July.

For now, post it on their Facebook page. You will get a response.

If they'd quoted a 2 month waiting period I'd happily wait.

With their repeated pushing of the dates and extensive misinformation (lying might be a bit harsh hence misinformation) I don't have any faith left in them.

I suspect it is because I refused to make the down payment they requested since they weren't ready to give it in writing that they'd deliver the car on a specified date.

Why should a relatively simple exercise of buying a car require escalation and shouting?

The dealership had requested till 6PM today i.e June 20th I'll wait till then for an update, beyond which I have decided to cancel and maybe look at a different vehicle from a different manufacturer.

[ashis89]

Posting on behalf of a relative.

Any users of Freestyle Petrol, what is the real world FE that you are getting? I read 8-11 kmpl figures on the Ecosport thread which is underwhelming. I would expect 12-14 in the city and about 17-18 on the highway since this is a lighter car. Is it too optimistic?

Anyone who has TDed the Petrol and Diesel, how is the performance gap between the petrol and diesel?

[shifu]

Originally Posted by nmenon

If they'd quoted a 2 month waiting period I'd happily wait.

With their repeated pushing of the dates and extensive misinformation (lying might be a bit harsh hence misinformation) I don't have any faith left in them.

I suspect it is because I refused to make the down payment they requested since they weren't ready to give it in writing that they'd deliver the car on a specified date.

Why should a relatively simple exercise of buying a car require escalation and shouting?

The dealership had requested till 6PM today i.e June 20th I'll wait till then for an update, beyond which I have decided to cancel and maybe look at a different vehicle from a different manufacturer.

This is ridiculous!



Did you post this thread from TBhp on their fb and twitter page? They should respond back to you within 15-20 mins. That is their SLA as per their MD.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Posting on behalf of a relative.

Any users of Freestyle Petrol, what is the real world FE that you are getting? I read 8-11 kmpl figures on the Ecosport thread which is underwhelming. I would expect 12-14 in the city and about 17-18 on the highway since this is a lighter car. Is it too optimistic?

Anyone who has TDed the Petrol and Diesel, how is the performance gap between the petrol and diesel?

One can certainly expect better figures on a lighter car with a smaller engine. 12 in the city with AC on should be achievable, and 17-18 on the highway is also definitely possible - considering that my 1.6 Fiesta petrol with a light foot manages around 15 kmpl.

The diesel is definitely the more impressive of the two motors on the Freestyle as it is larger and is turbocharged too. However for city duties the new 1.2 L Dragon petrol has enough grunt and low-end torque to keep the driver adequately happy.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

One can certainly expect better figures on a lighter car with a smaller engine. 12 in the city with AC on should be achievable, and 17-18 on the highway is also definitely possible - considering that my 1.6 Fiesta petrol with a light foot manages around 15 kmpl.

The diesel is definitely the more impressive of the two motors on the Freestyle as it is larger and is turbocharged too. However for city duties the new 1.2 L Dragon petrol has enough grunt and low-end torque to keep the driver adequately happy.

The problem is light foot. The user has a pretty heavy foot and loves driving.

And yet he wants some good FE. For an average user, the daily running cost seems a bigger deal than paying 1L extra upfront for the Diesel. So, unless the petrol FE is 'good enough', the Diesel would be the better bet for now. This car would be kept for a long time (~10 years) and the monthly usage should be low. No fear of Diesel ban as the car would be in a small town.


Waiting for feedback from some users regarding FE.

[phynix123]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Posting on behalf of a relative.

Any users of Freestyle Petrol, what is the real world FE that you are getting? I read 8-11 kmpl figures on the Ecosport thread which is underwhelming. I would expect 12-14 in the city and about 17-18 on the highway since this is a lighter car. Is it too optimistic?

Anyone who has TDed the Petrol and Diesel, how is the performance gap between the petrol and diesel?

I have bought a Freestyle petrol titanium on 1st June. Present odometer reads approx 900km.
The mileage figures have increased gradually.
So let me divide the mileage figures into three sections:


1. Odo reading 42km to 200km :
Immeditely after taking delivery I got a mileage of 8.5-9kmpl within city traffic. (With a heavy feet. You know how you have to immediately close the gaps if you don't want 10 numbers of other cars overtake you from the wrong side.)

2. Odo reading 200km to 420km:
For the next 200km (when I drove back to my town) in single lane highway I got mileage just above 15kmpl.

3. Odo reading 420km to 915km:
The MID shows 14.4kmpl right now. (I live in a smaller town with limited traffic. However the roads are not the best. Requiring frequent driving in 2nd-3rd gear).

I think in city practical mileage figure should be around 12kmpl. Whereas highway (proper 4lane ones) practical mileage should be around 16-17kmpl.

PS: all figures with 100% AC.