Team-BHP - 2019 Ford Figo Facelift : Official Review

I enjoyed driving this little hatchback around Bombay. Looks & feels simple, but it sure is fun to drive, be it with that awesome 1.5L diesel or the surprisingly nice 1.2L triple-cylinder petrol. Very agile, very chuckable. I remember throwing its sibling - the Freestyle - from one corner to the other on my favourite ghat section and having a :D plastered on my face. The Figo (being lower) should only be better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiragM (Post 4599606)

In-Car Entertainment

As mentioned earlier, the Figo facelift comes with a 7.0-inch touchscreen head-unit system. However, Ford does not offer any variant with the Microsoft SYNC3 system found in the EcoSport, Aspire and Freestyle top end variants.

Superb review as always clap:

One correction, the SYNC3 is not by Microsoft.
Microsoft support ended with SYNC2.
SYNC3 is based on QNX.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiragM (Post 4599609)

• We didn't get to drive the 1.5L Automatic as it wasn't part of the fleet...
Ford doesn't seem too interested in selling this variant as it is not available for test drives at almost any dealership throughout the country based on BHPians' feedback.
.

Am one of those customers.:D Kept waiting for almost a month for the Figo AT test-drive vehicle. Aspire AT was available which I did test drove(experience) and mind you, its probably the BEST Automatic setup to drive this side of 10L barring the Polo GT. If Aspire experience is anything to go by, Figo AT, being lighter would have been mental, however Ford simply doesn't want to sell it. Since personally I don't like the sub-compact-sedan shape, so couldn't go for it & was waiting for Figo AT.

While discussing, SA was absolutely clueless about availability of test-drive car let alone delivery of Figo AT. A couple more BHPians from Bangalore also were trying but nobody could get lucky till now AFAIK. Removing Sync 3, not providing test-drive vehicles inspite of being launched more than 2 months back, am not sure what's going on with Ford management. Maruti is churning out those average AMTs in truck-loads and making hay whereas inspite of having such a superior setup Ford isn't able to see the potential. :Frustrati

P.S: The 1.2L petrol in Freestyle isn't bad either, infact enjoyed it in while test-driving. Wish Ford tried to mate it with the 6 speed TC box. That would have kept the costs in check(sub 4m exemptions) & would have made for a decently frugal AT option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4599854)

Being a proud owner of fresstyle 1.2 Titanium+, i can support your claim blindly. The car is actually fun to drive and is one of the best engines that i have ever driven. It feels safe inside the car with 6 airbags, ABS, ARP and other features. The car was rock solid at high speeds and the instantaneous fuel economy at such high speed was 15-16. Also the steering felt lot better than my Honda sisters(city-petrol & Mobilio-Diesel) as well as Maruti Ritz VDI. The body roll was not at all felt and all the time car felt rock solid. Zig-zagging through the highway traffic was a breeze and i could feel people giving side immediately with one single request.

One has to drive this beauty to feel what this car is actually made of. All the components fitted in this car are marked with either ford logo or FoMoCo. I will take this opportunity to mention the fact that the resounding thud with which the doors close is a lot reassuring and feels great.

As expected, this facelift does not offer anything exiting other than cosmetic changes. And they also discontinued sports edition and launched Blu edition :Frustrati. That is why I grabbed Figo S TDCI last year when a dealer offered 2 lakhs discount for the car which was lying at stockyard for more than 8 months.

Ford should have improved the handling and build quality of the car instead of putting fancy stickers all around.

I am not at all surprised that the facelift did not contribute anything to the monthly sales figure (roughly 500 units/month).

The thing that disappointed me most about the Figo Facelift was the deletion of Sync from the Figo.

It is commendable that Ford has listened to market feedback and installed adjustable headrests for the rear seat. But deleting one of Figo's strengths i.e Sync is baffling. When I bought the Figo in 2016, I chose the 1.2 Titanium+ purely because of Sync and the convenience it offered, the additional four airbags was a bonus. At that time even the i20 didn't have choice command feature, while the cheaper Figo had it. While Sync 1 wasn't perfect, I learnt to use it and quite enjoyed using it for making phone calls, changing audio tracks, listening to a particular an album/ artist using voice commands etc.

Frankly, I think retaining Sync and deleting additional four airbags probably would have made more sense in attempts achieve more sales. The much improved Sync 3 would have attracted more customers to the Figo. The Figo still has the most powerful AC in its segment and the 1.2 dragon is far better engine compared to the old 4 cylinder 1.2 petrol engine. Opportunity to increase Figo sales missed by Ford I feel.

Most of the comments in this thread are pointing out to the exclusion of many features(the Sync3 prominently) from the Figo. While I am not trying to defend Ford here, but for all practical purpose, the Freestyle is the actual Figo facelift, with (almost) all the bells and whistles and the updated 'crossover' styling. Ford knew that they could do little about the dwindling sales of the Figo hatchback.

The Freestyle was the best decision they could come up with(considering what they already had), whereas Figo was the laziest effort they could come up with. The Freestyle would attract customers with its crossover styling, safety features, good engine and excellent pricing, while the Figo would continue to exist as a 'Me too' car in the segment with its price as the main USP. It would be brought by a select few, helping Ford in getting just that extra bit more return on investment.

Great review ChiragM. clap:

I'm one of the first customers of facelifted Figo in Kochi. I drive a Titanium TDCI Moondust silver colour.

Its been 1500 kilometres in the ODO and a few of my observations during this period with my car are,

My car is Titanium trim and equipped with 14" wheels with 175/65/r15 MRF ZVTV's which makes bad road noise at higher speeds.
Suspensions are solid, provides great comfort.
There's a Max AC mode with the climate control which helps when the car is parked under direct sunlight for hours. The car instantly chills with a button and it goes back to the same old temperature with another click.
With the passive keyless entry, helps to lock the car keeping the engine in idle mode while taking breaks at long drives.
The car emits a heavy amount of Black-Smoke if it goes above 2.5k RPM.
Sadly it does not get an engine cover for the 1.5 diesel.
I'm getting 16.7 Kilometers of average FE in the city.
FlyAudio plays video files in High-Resolution resolution without any flaws, and it stops when the car starts moving. but it's fine to use all other functions while driving, even the dial pad.

Extra accessories added are,

Ford Genuine window shades for rear doors and boot.
Rear Spoiler from Ford itself.
Xiaomi Mijia Dashcam.

after clocking 2.5k kilometres and first check up with ford, the car will have a tailor-made remap along with EGR delete.

Here are some pictures of my car.

Thank you,
Joseph.

when I checked with a local tyre-shop dealer to swap Eco-Sport titanium trim wheels to new Figo.

Wheel Size - 16" 100x108 pcd.

Tyre size - 205/45/R16

Tyre Make and model -Accelera PHI-R.

Amount quoted by the tyre shop is 15k with my 14" stocks and tyres.

Thanks,
Joseph.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neil.jericho (Post 4601293)

Joseph, which tuner have you approached for the remap and EGR delete? Also any plans to upgrade the tires from the OEM ones?

Hi Neil,

I approached Code-6 and Wolf Moto for the remap and EGR Delete. I only got a chance to discuss with them through phone, will be visiting both shortly.

Prices are the same for both, 18k. but there's a difference with the figures.

When I checked with my friend's circle, there are cars with both remap. thus I'll only decide after test-driving both. As I use my car daily for my office run, I'll be picking a map having good drivability.:)

Thanks,
Joseph.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiragM (Post 4599605)

The MID also shows warnings when the doors are open. But unlike the Freestyle and Aspire, regardless of which door is open, the symbol always shows the front passenger door. This feels like a step backward. facelift

Strange then that I found this (with the actual drivers door open in the picture) in one of the YouTube videos. But, this is of the Titanium variant though..