[akshay380]

Originally Posted by Torquedo

Akshay, my Dad retired from work in Jan 2011, post his retirement he wanted a small, basic car for his daily minimalistic chores and short weekend errands.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

Even though the figo is used by my mom i do get to take it to college and on week ends.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

I'm in same boat as you. Figo belongs to my dad. I hardly get to drive it.

It seems all the Figos are mostly driven by our parents and we use them occasionally.
My dads monthly average is less then 200kms. But when Im at home it crosses 700/800kms in 3/4 days

I really need 10bhp more somewhere around 3000-4000rpm in 5th. As of now overtaking in 5th is almost impossible on goan roads unles your are in right power band.

[A350XWB]

DevilsCry, that is a comprehensive report and I appreciate the pain you have taken to put it in words and pictures. Well done!

As others have told, I disagree on the ride part. I own a Apr '11 diesel Figo and it's one of the best riding hatchbacks available today in the Indian market. Two of my friends are owning i20's and there is no comparison when the going gets tough. On bad or broken roads, the i20 (especially the rear) gets unsettled easily. And in my limited experience with the Liva, I would tell that the ride is approximately equal to the Figo. Nothing much to differentiate.

I feel like alienated when I tell this, but I feel that at parking speeds, the Figo's steering should have little more weight. It's too light for my liking at parking speeds. I know that many people find even the current setup heavy. maybe I'm just old school.

My Figo never had the stalling issue but it broke the pipe which houses the thermostat and had to replace it under warranty. No other grouses yet.

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

I thought the fiesta( new and classic) where the best handlers south of 1 million rupees!!

Actually, I'm still wondering how's it possible. Swift better than Fords in handling especially new Fiesta?! Could GTO be wrong? We'll get to know when someone else compares their handling.

Thank you A350XWB for appreciating my review

Originally Posted by A350XWB

As others have told, I disagree on the ride part.

Yeah, now I feel that I need to sit in other cars and discover that Figo actually has best ride quality of them all.

Originally Posted by A350XWB

I feel like alienated when I tell this, but I feel that at parking speeds, the Figo's steering should have little more weight.

You must be used to your older non power steering cars. Sometimes I feel same too since my previous car was a 1995 Esteem.

And plus, I also feel that the ratio of steering rotation to wheel rotation is too much in Figo. At crawling speed, I've to keep rotating the steering like a bus driver keeps rotating his steering wheel. Someone else feels same too?

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

And plus, I also feel that the ratio of steering rotation to wheel rotation is too much in Figo. At crawling speed, I've to keep rotating the steering like a bus driver keeps rotating his steering wheel. Someone else feels same too?

Thats because of the long wheelbase, width and length of the car. Though the theoretical turning radius is only 4.9 m but the effective turning radius is much more due to above factors. Thus to avoid your car from hitting anything or make a sharp turn at park speeds, you need to apply more steering inputs.

[Blow Horn Ok]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

And plus, I also feel that the ratio of steering rotation to wheel rotation is too much in Figo. At crawling speed, I've to keep rotating the steering like a bus driver keeps rotating his steering wheel. Someone else feels same too?

On the contrary i feel the steering to be direct and agile. It shuttles the car in the direction I want as fast as it could (not much of a rotation required). May be because i have Graduated from an Indica, i feel the figo's steering to be sharper. I have considerably driven an i10 though its steering is butter smooth, the response is not as fast and sharp.

[Coolman]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

This is an ownership review of my Ford Figo 1.2L LXi (petrol) bought in Sept'11. The odometer as of now reads 3,200 km. In one line, my review is "Value for money with no compromise!".

@DevilsCry

I read your review in detail. Nice review!!!

Wishing you to continue to have a good time with your Figo.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Ride quality

• Suspension is a bit stiffer than optimal. My reference for optimal suspension is Toyota Etios (which has got amazingly soft suspension and yet has minimal body roll).

I agree.

Amongst the cars that I test drove in the last few months (old Swift, old Dzire, old Fiesta (not Classic), old Figo, new Swift, Ritz, i10, Liva, Etios, Vista) I rate Etios to be having the suspension of my liking - not so firm, not so soft, but shields most impacts from uneven roads, not that I did not appreciate the rest, but amongst the lot, Etios was the best. I haven't been around in a Manza, Punto and Linea, whose suspension people have rated highly, and I'll do that in sometime.

As per my experience Figo's suspensions do the job. With 2 sizable people people in the rear though, the suspension allowed the rear cabin to weigh down more than what i thought it should.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Opposite indicator stalks

When someone drives my Figo, the first thing I tell him is that its indicator stalk is on opposite side (at least three times) and yet he pulls the wrong stalker, initiating wiper. It pains me to see dry wiper grinding across windscreen. Why Ford? Why?

I and a couple of my friends found this amusing and a little irritating while taking the rounds, but most of us were all new to Ford and GM. One of us who runs around in a Chevy struggled when we were trying out the Marutis and Hyundais. . Ford and GM can possibly do it for India, but until then, just a matter of getting used to, I presume.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Ground clearance problem?

No ground clearance problem observed in my case. My Figo hit its belly only during my experiments with a wooden block. In real life, I never hit Figo's underbelly. I believe that this was a problem in older Figo which somehow has been fixed in newer Figo's.

Owners that I spoke to haven't rated this as a problem as such, but have always added a word of caution "try and be a little slow on harsh speed bumps".

I haven't heard about any change to Ground Clearance in the upgraded Figo that came in towards the end of 2011.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Brakes performance

• Unlike most of cars, you've to slam a bit hard if you want to brake hard. It's not progressive, for example, like an i20.

I agree.

The Figo that I test drove, didn't inspire me in terms of braking. They weren't progressive. On quite a few occasions, for every progressive press of mine they were like 5, 5, 10, 10, 80, 100, if you see what I mean! Could have been a problem with the vehicle I test drove.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Interiors: Space and comfort

• Thigh and lumbar support is poor. Rear seats are a bit too straight-up. Should be more inclined.

Rear Seat has a raised portion in the middle, when asked what's with this, the Sales Guy had this to say "making 3 sit comfortably in the rear is a challenge for any car-maker, so we went ahead and raised the hip level for the person sitting in between, to liberate some amount of seating space.".

While this partially addresses the problem, I wasn't very comfortable sitting in the middle, not because of the raise in the seat, but because this raise did not allow me to lean against the backrest comfortably.

Thanks,
C_

[DevilsCry]

Thank you very much Coolman. Even your reply is so detailed!

Originally Posted by Coolman

Amongst the cars that I test drove in the last few months (old Swift, old Dzire, old Fiesta (not Classic), old Figo, new Swift, Ritz, i10, Liva, Etios, Vista) I rate Etios to be having the suspension of my liking.

Finally someone agrees with me on this! I can't praise Etios' suspension enough.

Originally Posted by Coolman

The Figo that I test drove, didn't inspire me in terms of braking. They weren't progressive. On quite a few occasions, for every progressive press of mine they were like 5, 5, 10, 10, 80, 100, if you see what I mean! Could have been a problem with the vehicle I test drove.

Exactly! I get what you mean. I press brakes a bit (say 5), it's not effective? Keep holding on 5. Then 10. Hold on 10. OMG! We'll crash! Brake hard now! 80! 100! Though now I've got used to it, I still would like it to be progressive like in i20.

I don't think that my Figo or your test Figo had brakes problem since I had observed same in other Figo's too. I think it's a problem in Figo's. I still wonder why no one else raises this issue.

Originally Posted by Coolman

I wasn't very comfortable sitting in the middle, not because of the raise in the seat, but because this raise did not allow me to lean against the backrest comfortably.

I find problem in side seats as well. The ergonomics are just not correct. The backrest is too small. There's no place to rest head against. And one has to sit quite uptight. If anyone finds it normal, he should sit in front seat and compare! The huge boot allows space to recline backseats which can also make room for a taller backrest.

[NSK123]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Battery down? Start by pushing wouldn't work | Ford Roadside Assistance experience

Once my Figo's battery got depleted when its daylight and tail-lights were mistakenly left running all day. Even after pushing so much, it would not start. It puzzled me since my old Esteem always started on pushing. Upon phoning the roadside assistance, a guy arrives on a motorcycle within half an hour, charges up the battery and I'm good to go. No charges taken.

Experience - satisfactory

I had the same problem in my previous Maruti 800 too.

Fiat does a good job. When you remove the keys, head lights turn off automatically. If you want to turn on intentionally, you have to switch off/on again. After the key removal, any other light / stereo, gets turned off after 30 minutes unless you turn it on again.

Except for the parking lights. Another battery saver for parking. Depending on which side of the road you have parked, you can turn on either right or left side of the parking lights. saves 50% battery on parking lights too.

[ashish.uno]

Thanks for a very interesting review DevilsCry, found it particularly so since we own a Figo as well and its a lovely car to drive. (My other car is a fusion by the way).

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

I myself had a bit difficulty at start, being used to Maruti. So I guessed that Figo could be difficult for new drivers.

Although you are spot on on most aspects, I beg to differ on a couple of points. I drove my brother's Wagon R intermittently for 3 years and never quite got the hang of it. In contrast Figo is smoother and an easier car to drive.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

But I observed that there's no point revving beyond 2,400 RPM. Do you observe same too?

Secondly I in fact found the inverse of above to be true, there is actually no point keeping revs below 2,400 RPM. Simply no grunt and not enough power and on a highway it is awfully inadequate. I hardly ever drive below the 3,000 limit.
Other owners feedback on this will be much appreciated

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by ashish.uno

Secondly I in fact found the inverse of above to be true, there is actually no point keeping revs below 2,400 RPM. Simply no grunt and not enough power and on a highway it is awfully inadequate. I hardly ever drive below the 3,000 limit.
Other owners feedback on this will be much appreciated

Yes the 1.2 mill does not have the grunt in lower RPM. say if your in third and your speed drops down to 30 due to traffic.If you want to quickly overtake then thats going to be a slight problem. The car takes its own sweet time to pull before one feels the surge of power,which BTW is not much!! Now a days i mostly rev the engine hard to get max power.As you said the car pulls well if you revv it past 3k RPM! I tried going from 20 to 70 in 2nd gear and it does pull hard,Engine doesn't protest if you revv it up!!so thats great but i guess if one drives like this then your going to burn a bigger hole in your pocket when it comes to fill up!!


@devilcry
The rpm meter in test mode is not that great! Since the screen is small and the numbers keep on changing, its not practical to look at that small screen and then change gears!

[rohing]

I wonder if it possible to fit the fogs (as shown in the Fiesta pic posted in the review) in the Figo. The fogs offered on the figo dont look good or help much in terms of illumination....

[IRS]

A brilliant exhaustive summary! Excellent work.

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

[*]Honda Jazz owners please report actual mileage by full tank method and not by looking at instant FE meter on their dashboard then I will consider their figures.

Honda Jazz gives 12 kmpl city driven with AC.
By the way, FE meter is pretty close.

[DevilsCry]

Thank you ashish.uno for appreciating my review.

Originally Posted by ashish.uno

I drove my brother's Wagon R intermittently for 3 years and never quite got the hang of it. In contrast Figo is smoother and an easier car to drive.

Before Figo, I used to drive a 1995 Esteem. Hardly drove another car beyond 1km. May be my limited experience led me to write a wrong observation. A friend of mine who has owned only Maruti cars, commented that Figo was quite smoother than any of his Maruti's and was quite easy to drive.

Originally Posted by ashish.uno

Secondly I in fact found the inverse of above to be true, there is actually no point keeping revs below 2,400 RPM. Simply no grunt and not enough power and on a highway it is awfully inadequate. I hardly ever drive below the 3,000 limit.

Perhaps you drive a Figo diesel? Mine is a petrol one and hence doesn't need turbo to kick-in. But then again, my experience is limited to 1995 Esteem which is quite underpowered compared to Figo.

Thanks for disagreeing with two points. I'll observe again and make corrections.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

The rpm meter in test mode is not that great! Since the screen is small and the numbers keep on changing, its not practical to look at that small screen and then change gears!

I know. This is also quite dangerous to drive with focus on that tiny screen. Looks like there's indeed no replacement for a real tachometer. My purse says "Sigh! Please no!"

Originally Posted by rohing

I wonder if it possible to fit the fogs (as shown in the Fiesta pic posted in the review) in the Figo. The fogs offered on the figo dont look good or help much in terms of illumination.

Isn't it easy to simply get any fog lamp of your choice and tell mechanic to cut the plastic area around fog lamp to suit the fog lamps? Just wondering.

[RGK]

Wonderful Review Devilscry. I have never read a Figo Petrol review completely before. I did yours now. Figo is a true VFM car and best in white.

Happy and safe Motoring.

[pganapathy]

Brilliant write up DevilsCry.

Am just wondering which cars you TD'd when selecting the Figo. Part of the reason they can keep the price low and the car VFM is they use a 1.2L petrol engine and avail of the sub 4m 10% tax rule. However, that is not to say that Ford couldn't have improved the engine. The Honda Brio is a perfect example of what good packaging and engine can do for handling. TD that and I feel you will prefer that to your Figo in city handling. The engine is also way better. Unfortunately, it is definitely not VFM when compared to the Figo. In Bangalore the OTR prices go from 4.92L to 6.37L

The indicator wiper stalks are just a case of cost saving for manufacturers. If you keep it standard it is easy to just move the whole unit into both LHD and RHD cars. It must be painful when you see the windscreen getting a dry wipe.

The Figo really should have more power and it will then be the pick of cars at VFM +-4L