[SPARKled]

This is an initial review of my Ford Figo Titanium in Panther Black. The Ford Figo IMHO is the most value for money car in its class at present and the current Titanium model is a fully loaded model with loads of equipment that can put many cars to shame that masquerade as fully loaded diesel hatches at its price point.

The handling, the fast precise steering, the drivers view and the grip on the road were just phenomenal. All those things that I wanted when I bought the Ritz last year but did not get. Many a times I have had to slow down my Ritz at places that I thought I never slowed down when I owned an Ikon and I guess the same thing will repeat in the Figo. I just had to get a car with all those familiar traits of an Ikon back in my garage.

The Titanium model gains a Blue tooth USB music system, alloys (only 4), ABS EBD, Front airbags, power side view mirrors, rear wash wipe, 6 speed intermittent wiper, steering height adjust(not sure if the swift has it) and 175 section tyres over a comparatively priced swift Vdi and value for money was my primary focus when I bought home this beauty.

Yes it does look a bit dated, no doubt about that, but the alloys and a darker color shade mask its age pretty well.

I took delivery of the car on 17th June and did my first long trip yesterday to Shirdi and back.

The freebies that came with the car were the usual mats, flaps, perfume, car cover, idol, steering cover, teflon coating.

My father wanted the side strips and the reverse parking sensor but these were fitted in an auto accessories shop along with seat covers.

Now for some inevitable comparisons between the Ritz and the Figo:

The Ritz has some serious power. I mean serious. The Figo is just too tame in comparison. the rush and the acceleration after 1900 RPM in the Ritz is awesome and it will leave the Figo gasping for breath. You need to time your over take manuvers in the Figo but not the Ritz. At around 2000 RPM in a Ritz, you are in the turbo zone and just a quick flooring action will take you beyond that slow vehicle up ahead.

But then when you reach the ghats and twistys, the Ritz as many other cars in its class can be quite a handful. In a Figo, its a joy to see all those cars in front braking and adjusting to keep up on track whereas in a Figo its just simple point and shoot. Awesome road manners this car has. The terrific view with almost zero blind spots and the brilliant chassis, begs you to attack those curves with just a little more speed than you are doing.

In the city, there is no contest. The Figo is a far easier car to drive with lesser turbo lag. Its easier to pick up in second after that speed breaker in a Figo, than it is on a Ritz. It is also much easier to potter around in third than in a Ritz.

The seats of the Figo are narrower than the Ritz which imho are some of the best in the business. But Figo seats a pretty good too. The back support and the thigh support are fairly good, only the width of the seat is a slight problem. Leg room is ample and I think the newer Figos do not have height adjustment but this has been compensated with a tilt steering.

I must mention the Blue tooth music system, which by oem standards is quite impressive. My other cars have Focal and DLS speakers so I sure do know what I am talking about. The sound is not bad at all and I could live with this system for a little while for sure.

I covered about 500 kms during my Shirdi trip and the tank in only half empty. So I think I got some pretty decent fuel efficiency figures for sure even though my car had done only 250 kms before this.

The AC deserves a special mention and so far even on sunny hot humid days, I have never exceeded 2 on fan speed dial. This AC is a chiller no doubt.

Another thing that i should surely mention is the rear wash wipe. It was raining at a lot of places when I was driving and the rear wind shield got quite muddy and was almost impossible to see through from inside many a times. But the rear wash wipe was a life savior here and I just cant understand I lived without something like this all these years.

One thing I noticed that around 1900 rpm when the turbo kicks in, there is a different note to the engine which is felt on the gear knob too. It is a kind of a faint drumming sound that I am unable to explain better. Not sure if this is normal but atleast its consistent. Will have this checked out in the first service.

Another question that i have is whats the optimum pressure level for the tyres. The manual says anywhere between 32 to 41 but I am not really sure. I did my trip on 33 all around.

Now for some pictures taken during the Shirdi trip.

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

the Titanium model gains a Blue tooth USB music system, alloys (only 4), ABS EBD, Front airbags, power side view mirrors, rear wash wipe, 6 speed intermittent wiper, steering height adjust(not sure if the swift has it) and 175 section tyres over a compartively priced swift Vdi.

Let me the first one to congratulate on your new acquisition.
Figo's now come standard with fog lamps and alloys for the titanium version ? or you got them from dealer .

Also from the pictures looks like you got some nice seat covers of your car, post some pictures of those also .

Regarding the handling of Ritz, once you plan to change the tyres of you ritz move to 195 section rubbers, you will see the difference in handling .

Drive safe .
Cheers

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Figo's now come standard with fog lamps and alloys for the titanium version ? or you got them from dealer .

Ford started offering front Fog lamps and alloys as standard with the Titanium version long back (Maybe a year or so), the same time they stripped the ZXI of the rear wash/wipe and defogger.

@SPARKled: Congrats on the car, mate. Drive safe.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Let me the first one to congratulate on your new acquisition.
Figo's now come standard with fog lamps and alloys for the titanium version ? or you got them from dealer .

Also from the pictures looks like you got some nice seat covers of your car, post some pictures of those also .

Regarding the handling of Ritz, once you plan to change the tyres of you ritz move to 195 section rubbers, you will see the difference in handling .

Drive safe .
Cheers

Thanks!! The Titanium now comes with alloys and fogs as standard. Yes I plan to change the tyres of my Ritz after 25k kms and will surely go for fatter tyres then. I don't have pictures of the seat covers as of now, but will get them soon.

[MAS]

@Sparkled

Nice crisp well written review, especially the comparison between the Ritz and Figo.

I loved the third photo of your black Figo. Looks like it is a much bigger car.

Congrats on buying a Ford; the good manners and handling is very addictive. Drive safe.

[drsnt]

Note from Mod: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the board experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[sumeshmani]

Congratulations on your new Figo!!
This is a very practical and yet fun car to own. I keep recommending it to anyone seeking my advice. Enjoy every mile you travel in this car

[nvldvr]

congrats on your new machine. great looking car. happy driving. i am keen on figo as my second car. have a little worry about the stall issue some owners have faced. your views on that?

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by nvldvr

congrats on your new machine. great looking car. happy driving. i am keen on figo as my second car. have a little worry about the stall issue some owners have faced. your views on that?

Thank you!! Its too early to judge whether the stalling issues are still present, but from what I have read here, Ford has a new ecu update that has taken care of this problem. All the new cars already have this update and older cars are being updated to this. So it should not be a concern any more. I did decelerate a few times quite rapidly from 80-90 to crawling speeds due to some idiots on the narrow road from Shirdi to Sinnar but the car never stalled. Hope this issue is gone for good.

[itsgeox]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Another question that i have is whats the optimum pressure level for the tyres. The manual says anywhere between 32 to 41 but I am not really sure. I did my trip on 33 all around.

SPARKled. Keep your tyre pressure at 30 psi all around. If you are gonna have 5 people on board with full luggage keep rear tyre pressure at 32psi otherwise it will bottom out at speed breakers.

The Service center guys highly recommend 30 psi as the ride quality of Figo is heavily dependant on the tyre pressure since it rides on stiffer springs. 32psi is good only for full smooth highway runs.

I keep at 30psi and I can vouch that its the best compromise b/w ride quality at low speeds and handling at high speeds.

[S_U_N]

@SPARKled: Nice quick review. The alloy wheels look really good. I am glad that Ford included this and the fog lamps by default (though I think they increased the price somewhere in between as well).
But the car was incomplete without these earlier.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

@SPARKled: Nice quick review. The alloy wheels look really good. I am glad that Ford included this and the fog lamps by default (though I think they increased the price somewhere in between as well).
But the car was incomplete without these earlier.

Thanks!! Yes the price has almost gone up by about a Lakh rupess from 2011 summer when I was looking for my first diesel car. I remember the Titanium was some where around 5.95L then. But I guess its not just the price increase by Ford, but the different hikes in duties that has made it so expensive.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[KL01BE]

Hi Sparkled, congratulations on the acquirement. My friends - one of them bought a Black Ritz VDi and the other Grey Figo Titanium. I drove these two today and found that though Ritz had more power to offer, the refinement comes down tremendously once you push the vehicle hard. Also the noise increases and the engine emits a stressed note. In comparison, the Figo's pickup is more linear and smooth. The fell you get when accelerating on the second gear is something to feel.

Regards
KL01BE

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by KL01BE

Hi Sparkled, congratulations on the acquirement. My friends - one of them bought a Black Ritz VDi and the other Grey Figo Titanium. I drove these two today and found that though Ritz had more power to offer, the refinement comes down tremendously once you push the vehicle hard. Also the noise increases and the engine emits a stressed note. In comparison, the Figo's pickup is more linear and smooth. The fell you get when accelerating on the second gear is something to feel.

The Ritz feels pretty smooth and silent at around 2k rpm and one can't really make out if its a diesel so easily. But this has become noticable only after I moved synthetic engine oil. I haven't pushed the Figo too much beyond 2k but I feel it has lesser sound deadning at higher revs compared to the Ritz. It will probably smoothen out later but its much more silent at lower rpms and at idle.