[Gran_Tourer]

Originally Posted by thoma

Really true. I wanted to take the plunge this time; to try out a new manufacturer, of course if I like the product. The other pending will be a Honda now, Toyota is guaranteed to be no frills.



This is also true, you don't get the same characteristic of the old Figo for which people love it. But a diesel would be a different ball game.



Top most is the brake lights. Left is indicator, right is reverse lamps. The bottom most is night lamps + rear fog.



Nowhere near your hit movie on the Figo I have drawn a lot of inspiration to buy the Figo from your review, so thanks to you

Congrats Thoma!!

A passionately written review indeed!!

And the snaps are just delicious and a treat for the eyes!!

Very true on Karan's video which was just brilliant to watch. The drag race with the Polo GT Tdi was enthralling.

Between I too purchased the same spec Figo on 31.01.2017. Now, have to start the ownership thread !

[jayakumarkp]

Great thread thoma! Congratulations on your new ride.
I am also a fellow figo owner
Regarding the clutch, i personally have not felt the hardness to be an issue. I thought it was more or less similar or may be lighter than my friend's 65k run Dzire.
However, one dislike i have is about the rear parcel tray holders. Why did Ford cheap out on this one!! The old figo had much better arrangement. My kid's pram is a sort of tight fit and always hits the parcel tray which would come undone all the time while taking the pram out.
Had recently done a Goa trip from Pune and loved the ride all along. Effortless cruising at three digit speeds. Managed a 20+kmpl only. But i think it was mainly due to spirited driving, evening traffic on the way back to pune and single lane roads for around 200+kms midway. But neverthless i find 20+ to be reasonable.
I also find the music system sound quality to be amazing. Especially compared to the ones in Dzire, Honda Jazz, Hyundais. Tatas definitely have the best in class sound system. And i have not used the usb for playing music, guess it leaves a lot to be desired with the navigation etc.

[thoma]

So many All New Figo owners on the forum, but little reviews. Great, but come on guys, do put up at least a bare minimum review and some snaps too. Not that you can't hijack my thread, I have no issues; but you can make your thread as a log of your experiences with the car further on.

[vankito]

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

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

[abhinav.s]

@ vankito:

My earlier car was a Fiesta Classic 1.6 Petrol. Compared to that, in the TDCi, the difference to me is negligible with the AC on. In the city drives, there is absolutely no difference to the acceleration that I can make out. On the highways, i have not taken the car till 120 yet as I had only done 350kms when I took it out on the first high way drive last weekend. But at 90-100kmph, with the AC on, it was a very smooth and seamless drive without any impact to overtakes or cruising ability.

City drives ideally you cannot make out the difference between Polo & Figo much as you hardly get to go past gears 3 or 4. But the lesser turbo lag compared to Polo makes it easier to take off after a speed breaker or at traffic lights.

Test drive both the cars and also take them for slightly longer drives on empty roads to gauge the performance with the AC on long hauls. Take a call based on which you feel is the better car to drive. Polo while very premium both inside and out, has a bad reputation for Service and Spares at least here in Bangalore. So much so that there are many a bhpians traveling to Mysore from Bangalore to get the services done. With the Ford brand campaign and reduction in maintenance cost of even the diesel Fords, it is a good bet.

[thoma]

Man, today I got to taste the real beast of my Figo.

From day one, I had been complaining of requiring more effort on the accelerator pedals to get the car moving. This is apart from the heavy engine braking the 1.5 Tdci already have.

For the first year (10k) service, the SA denied any lubricating the pedals or the gear lever. This time, I took it for a complaint rectification before the regular service is to happen. And a new technician Rahim at Kairali Ford and my SA Joseph Thomas have been of help this time. They lubricated the pedals and the gear slotter so that I feel a lot of difference. Everything seems slicker now. Earlier the gear shifter too was no joy to use and I was wondering why every enthusiast is of full praise of this car. Still, I would say, highway is where the Figo shines truly.

I also had complained of excessive tire noise for the first year service which too was denied then. But, unlike other noises which could not be reproduced (rattles in 1st and 2nd gear momentarily while moving forward) at the ASC, the tire noise was so evident that they decided to write to Ford and I was given a 75% reimbursement on replacement of tires. Why I was not fully reimbursed is because the current odo is past 10k kms.

I insisted on Michelins and had to wait an additional day for those to be in stock. These XM2s are really comfortable tires yet not any dull in cornering. But these too have slight tire noise, though very much acceptable unlike the earlier MRF oem tires I had. Had a wide grin on my face cornering the car at 75-80 kmph speed today! Though I thought of upsizing the tires initially, had to drop the idea at the last minute.

Now have to check bad road absorbance/performance of the new tires and in-city slickness of the car. And the car will be due for 2nd year service this month itself.

[thoma]

Michelins seem nice on bad roads also. Lubricating the controls have done much good, but my original complaint of rattling while releasing clutch in 1st and 2nd gear is still persisting. This can be recreated by slowly releasing the clutch in 1st gear with the hand brake fully applied (so that the car does not move while replicating the issue).

https://youtu.be/b-3EkoN5OY8

In the video you can also note that the ECU automatically increases the RPM to avoid stalling at around 29 sec, which avoids the rattling also, but it is not happening always! Why?

What has disappeared after the service is a rattling in reverse, I still cannot believe that has gone for good, as the reverse gear experience has become a smooth one now. And I sincerely hope Ford solves the irritating rattle in the forward gears too. To me it seems like something being hit on a pipe inside the dashboard.

[thoma]

Collating all the issues faced with the Figo before service:

1. Tire noise on speeds anything above 40 kmph.
   
2. Momentary rattling (as if a pipe or cable hitting the body) when the clutch is released in 1st and 2nd gear.
   
3. Squeaking noise from the rear (doors?) when the car twists on slow uneven surface/incline/humps. Had it on my Vento, for which it was a known issue to VW.
   
4. Rattling from near the AC duct inside the dashboard around 2000 rpm (on tarred surfaces which has lost its smoothness).
   
5. AC flap actuator motor screeches while ignition is turned on.
   
6. IRVM holder loose and vibrates blurring the vision at times.
   
7. Requires more effort on the accelerator even without engine being on. Same with clutch pedal and the gear lever.
   
8. Headlamp reflector getting faded on the top part.

Issue #1 is a known issue to Ford and the solution, which is satisfactory, is mentioned in the previous post. Issue #2 is the most irritating as I am not able to freely release the clutch without fear of rattling. Still not resolved fully. It has taken away most of my new car feeling.

There is no directive from Ford on Issue #3 though the service centre acknowledged it. Issue #4 was not reproducible by service center and hence I didn't persue. Issue #5 is a known issue and for the first time the actuator is greased and if it persists it will be replaced. Issue #6 will not be covered under warranty I don't know why, but SA told he will get an IRVM from some totalled car.

Issue #7 was solved by the ASC for good and has transformed the drivability vastly. Issue #8 is a known issue by Ford for which the solution is to replace the headlamps, but even the replaced headlamps will have the same issue after some time and so I decided to live with it for the time being.

[thoma]

Ford has indeed kept their promise of service costs. 2nd year / 20000 km service was done last week which included change of engine oil, filter and drain plug, air filter and brake fluid. Forgot to mention beforehand to skip windshield washer as I had some in stock with me. Total cost came to 4888/- including labour charges. In fact, lesser than their quoted 5148/-.

Did a 150 x 2 kms drive and to get the best fuel efficiency in Kerala traffic is a difficult task. But the Figo, as per its MID, (found to be 20% deviation with actual figures on the return leg) returned 24 kmpl and 31 kmpl to and fro. For the onward journey, I was happily overtaking and doing max speeds as per law (80 kmph) and a bit more, though I didn't floor the pedal. But on the return journey, I made a purposeful attempt at extracting the best figures. Didn't start the onward journey with a tank-full but filled up before and after for the return journey. The actual figures stood at 25.9 kmpl (MID 31kmpl), more details here (What is your Actual Fuel Efficiency?).

Ride was indeed smooth with the new Michelins and lubricated pedals. Thanks to Rahim, my service supervisor at Kairali Ford, Kottayam for patiently dealing with my frustration on the Figo's not-so-easily-reproducible-but-irritating rattles. The rattle in 1st and 2nd gear has reduced but not completely gone; may have to have another trial with him, hopefully the last to resolve the issue for good.

Checked another Figo at the service and found its gear lever as hard as mine was earlier. So I would definitely recommend Ford to advise lubricating the pedals and gear lever for every customer during service. I always felt so light and easy on the pedals, gear lever and steering after every service on my sister's Polo.

Looking for a highway car? Look no further. Highway is where the Figo shines, it's smooth and powerful. Overtakings are fun, so are curves but the steering feedback could have been better. In-gear acceleration is the best part, downshifting and sudden acceleration is a bit jerky though. Highways is where it returns best FE figures too. And if you are looking at in-city runs mostly, you will be welcomed by jerks in the lower gears; not at all smooth. You need extra effort and extra care to minimise jerks. Ride comfort on slow speed potholes is not upto that of the Swift or Liva.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by thoma

Looking for a highway car? Look no further. Highway is where the Figo shines, it's smooth and powerful. Overtakings are fun, so are curves but the steering feedback could have been better. In-gear acceleration is the best part, downshifting and sudden acceleration is a bit jerky though.

What do you mean by the jerks during downshifting and acceleration? Is it something happening because of not doing the rev matching?

[thoma]

Originally Posted by pavi

What do you mean by the jerks during downshifting and acceleration? Is it something happening because of not doing the rev matching?

I thought rev matching is for double declutching vehicles. Didn't have this issue on other cars I had, some sort of thud and a jerk is felt in the Figo if you do it real quick.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by thoma

I thought rev matching is for double declutching vehicles. Didn't have this issue on other cars I had, some sort of thud and a jerk is felt in the Figo if you do it real quick.

Rev matching could be done when ever a downshift is made so as to have a smooth transition to the lower gears. So any of the below mentioned things noticed while such jerks are happening,
1. Rpm shooting up?
2. Feeling of car getting slowed down?
3. You head nods forward?

[thoma]

Originally Posted by pavi

So any of the below mentioned things noticed while such jerks are happening,
1. Rpm shooting up?
2. Feeling of car getting slowed down?
3. You head nods forward?

I don't think I've noticed RPM shooting or car getting slowed down. What I'm talking is when you are already overtaking but need more speed you downshift pretty quick and step on the gas again, that's when there's a slight thud from the gearbox and a jerk.

Even while upshifting to 3rd, I've experienced slight jerking. 1st and 2nd, of course yes, unless you are extra cautious on releasing the clutch. This cautiousness makes the drive cumbersome, not an enjoyable(free/open, whatever) one, especially in city.

On top of the jerk, I've got momentary rattling while releasing the clutch in 1st and 2nd, which makes the whole experience unsatisfactory as major portion of my drives are in-city.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by thoma

I don't think I've noticed RPM shooting or car getting slowed down. What I'm talking is when you are already overtaking but need more speed you downshift pretty quick and step on the gas again, that's when there's a slight thud from the gearbox and a jerk.

Even while upshifting to 3rd, I've experienced slight jerking. 1st and 2nd, of course yes, unless you are extra cautious on releasing the clutch. This cautiousness makes the drive cumbersome, not an enjoyable(free/open, whatever) one, especially in city.

On top of the jerk, I've got momentary rattling while releasing the clutch in 1st and 2nd, which makes the whole experience unsatisfactory as major portion of my drives are in-city.

I think I know what you are talking about.

Something which I have felt occasionally on my car is that, after a downshift , it feels like the turbo rpms did not drop, so when I accelerate , there is a surge of extra power initially for which I have to control by half clutch. But this does not happen often but it takes the driver by surprise since it is a strong surge of power. I feel it is to do with the design of the turbo plumbing. But if it happens very often, it is an issue.

if it is the jerk of the clutch biting when releasing the clutch pedal, it is not an issue as such and in my car, (Aspire TDCi) it doesn't happen often and now it almost never does since I have learnt how to get a smooth shift and clutch release and the plates would have bed in as well over time. My car is nearing 15k kms.

As for the rattling issue, it is an issue. I would suggest asking someone to do that same what you did in the video to replicate the issue while you stand beside the car and check in the engine bay for the origin of the rattle. It will be difficult since there are a bunch of cables and pipes near the firewall, but atleast an idea as to what the issue is.
The clutch switch which shoots up the rpm, which is as per Ford is the anti-stall feature, does not work consistently in two Ford's I have driven.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by tharian

It will be difficult since there are a bunch of cables and pipes near the firewall, but atleast an idea as to what the issue is.
The clutch switch which shoots up the rpm, which is as per Ford is the anti-stall feature, does not work consistently in two Ford's I have driven.

It's the jerk from the clutch plates is what I've felt. 1.6 Vento had a similar jerk on downshifting but it was much sugar coated.

A hell lot of pipes which Ford never have thought of avoiding rattles. The layout is okay if designed along with sturdy bushes and holders. I'm wondering how well will the Figo/Aspire age?

Exactly. The RPM being raised by the anti-stall feature is never consistent.