[tharian]

After 7 years of experiencing a Ford, and feeling disappointed that I could not get a Ford that would be similar to my 2010 Figo, came the Sports edition of the Figo twins.

There will be a lot of comparisons with the old Gen Figo since that was my previous car.(Red Rascal)



The itch has been ongoing since the last two years. To scratch it , I kept changing and adding parts on my Figo. A perfect one being the change to Zlo 195 section tyres which was a hoot to drive on for the last year.
Finally the itch was too deep to scratch and having got hitched in the beginning of this year, took the leap for an upgrade too.

Must say here that since I am an avid motorcyclist too, there was a confusion between a 2 wheel and a 4 wheel which also delayed the buying. Finally decided that a 4 wheel makes sense for now and I can always pick up a 2 wheel, except that it wouldn't be a premium one, later on.

The Figo I had was a 1.2 , 2010 model, 51,000 kms ,looked after like family and was running just fine.
(http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...51-000-km.html)

The thought of upgrading came into the picture since I was getting quite frustrated, as observed by my wife, on trips due to the engine not producing that many horses required by me, especially when the car was loaded. Add to that, out of town trips were on a all time high in the last year and before I got peanuts for a well maintained car and started spending on parts as the car had crossed 50k kms, I decided to let go, which was another difficult decision as well.

The cars in contention:

At the start I had decided that my next car would be something special and would not be below a 100bhp or should be turbocharged or both. Special because my old Figo was an enjoyable drive throughout the 7 years and I wanted something similar on which I need not have to do any work to make it enjoyable.

There was another important factor which made the choosing easier for me from the niche list- budget, not to go over 8-8.5 lakhs on road. But we all know how much that stuck.

With this in mind I finalized a list which consisted of;

Baleno RS:

I was waiting patently for this launch since I was bowled over by the space of this car when I first checked it out. But didn't bother then since it was going to be a common sight on roads anyway. When the RS launch news came, I thought this is for me although I was not a fan of a multitude of features nor was I that keen on its design. I am old school when it comes to looks.

I took a test drive and I was not quite impressed apart from the space. It did have the thrust, but it ended as soon as it started. I just could not fall for it like how I did when I drove the GT TSi or the 1.6 SCross. The case was closed when the price was announced.

Vento TSi

Honestly, this was the car I wanted. It was a petrol, which is what I preferred so I can rev the nuts of it, it has a stonker of a turbo engine coupled with that super gearbox.
Looks-check,
Size-check,
Engine- check.
Purchase and service costs-no go.

There were discounts going on with the 2017 model as well during my purchase time, but it still worked out higher than my budget and had to close the case.

S.Cross 1.6
A car that would have been right for me apart from it being a diesel.
I liked the looks, the space , the power.
When I test drove it , the way it pinned me to the seat and then the price it was launched at, were similar feelings.-

Abarth Punto
A wet dream.

Aspire Sports TDCi
For obvious reasons, the new Figo's had a special attraction for me from when they were launched.
I had test driven multiple times the diesel , petrol and autobox of these cars over the last couple of years. Apart from the diesel, none of the other engines impressed me. Apart from the looks and the diesel engine, nothing much actually impressed me in this car. Thankfully, I am not a fan for high quality interiors nor fancy gadgets and features. When I sat in the Aspire , I felt the car was narrower than my Figo, which was probably due to the dashboard being longer and the overall stance of the car. The steering wheel felt like holding my cycle handlebar.
The petrol had the same engine as my old Figo except now it had variable timing on the inlet and exhaust valves. When I drove it, apart from that lovely smoothness which was present on my old Figo as well, it did not impress me. I had a feeling I would have to wring its neck on the highways like how I did earlier. Autobox was not in contention.

I was on the fence when the Sports edition release was in news with all the changes it was going to be launched with .

At the time, I must mention that I was , am and will be a big fan of the real 'S'. Everything about that car ticks my boxes and I still regret the fact that I missed out on picking up a second hand one when a good friends dad was selling it many years back. Then came the last gen Fiesta which again was a big attraction to me. Mainly for the looks and the characteristic Ford drive.

So when the Sports edition was announced, I took it as a sign from the car Gods that this is what they have been making me wait for. Bigger wheels, an alloy design from my favorite Ford, a nice leather wrapped steering wheel, an all black interior to remind me of my old Figo, and of course that non-chrome grill, all the things I wanted different from the normal Aspire.

I told my wife that this is the one and I have to let go of Red Rascal. If not for her, forcing me into booking the car and then decide, I would have been on the fence even now thinking how am I to let go of a fun to drive car like the old gen Figo.

What I like/dislike:

Likes:
-The engine, smooth and fast revving
-Looks( one of the better looking CS's)
-Bigger wheels and tyres resulting in a better ride
-Stiffer suspension though not as good as the previous gen Figo's
-All black interiors compared to the beige
-Super cooling AC
-Feels more spacious than the previous gen Figo, especially in the back.
-The gear lever position-perfect for shifting
-Decent sounding music system

Dislikes:
-I would have gone for the 1.5 petrol eyes closed if that was launched with the Sports edition and a manual.
-Not a full size sedan, (the export Aspire)
-Steering feel not anywhere close to the older Figo.
-Gear shift feel is not very smooth, but shifting is short.
-Power window switch not lit
-No auto un-lock when ignition turned off
-The diesel thrum at higher revs
-The windshield wiper blade is again something Ford has sourced from some cheap manufacturer. Only slightly better than the older Figo.
-No turbo whistle/whine!
-RPM increase when releasing the clutch, in my opinion not required for a diesel.

Delivery experience
The car was booked in the end of April at Metro Ford(Palace Cross) and I was given a waiting period of around 45 days.

In the mean while I had to sell my old car. I missed out on a good sale with a fellow T-Bhp member earlier. I was hoping I would find someone who would look after the car as well as I did and who would enjoy driving it. If I was selling the car to an individual, I had decided to keep all the accessories and changes as it is.
In the one month that it was up on various classifieds, I got a handful of inquiries, none of them who bothered to follow up. In the meantime, I received texts from Ford informing me that the car was in production and the same message when it was dispatched from the factory as well.

Finally, decided to exchange the car with Ford since I wasn't getting any buyers from outside. After some to and fro with the showroom regarding the price, along with an exchange bonus and the NCB which I should be getting, price was fixed at almost half the price that I bought the car for 7 years ago. I wasn't very happy since I knew I would get more outside especially since the battery and tyres were relatively new and there were no kinks or dents on the body and more importantly , no mechanical issues. I knew they would sell it for a much higher price which was confirmed when I saw the showroom webpage were they had put my car for sale for a cool half lakh more. It was priced higher than a diesel Figo and a 1.6 Fiesta of the same year , an a trim higher. I was happy seeing that.

I had removed all the accessories and parts and replaced them with the stock ones before handing it over. The one thing I missed was the Red Rooster custom exhaust and now I am stuck with the stock exhaust system.

From the price list, I got rid of the un-wanted charges like the Ford bumper--bumper insurance, got the essential package waived off(it was a rip off anyway), got the first year insurance free(another rip-off) and took the Ford Finance which had a lower interest rate than the banks. Also claimed the NCB from the old car insurance which I will used during the first year renewal. The formalities were a quick process and the car was ready on a weekday evening.

It was rather a quick process and the staff who was in charge of me, took me quickly through the functioning and basics which were nothing new. She showed me the manual and it was the same one as my old Figo except with different content. I was more excited on firing up my first diesel.

The annoying part of the whole experience was that initially when I asked, I was told the essential kit included the boot mat , floor mats and mud flaps. During delivery, when I saw the boot mat was missing, I was told that the boot mat is not included since the kit was given free and the most surprising part, I got 3 beige non-Sports floor mats and just one black one for the driver side and when asked, I was told that's how it is. I was anyway going to put a rubber floor mat on top it. But when I received a feedback mail from the showroom, I brought this up and I was immediately called by the sales manager who apologized and asked me to come over to replace them with black ones. The boot mat however remained elusive.

Interior Space & Comfort
The main reason for going for a Aspire and not a Figo was for the boot space. I checked and re-checked the dimensions of both the cars and did a comparo with my old Figo as well. I realized the new Figo boot space was less than the old one and that was something that was required due to long trips that happen over the year. I am not a fan of compact sedan cars , but I had no much choice.

The interior space although similar in dimensions to the old Figo, does feel bigger and that I think is because of the height of the car. The old Figo was low on height and ground clearance which made it feel small on the inside as well. Me being over 6 feet, with the seat height adjuster, I don't rub my knees on the steering wheel or the center console like in the old Figo. The bigger dash and higher window lines does give it a big car feel on the inside. Getting the right position of the seat took a while . I had this issue on my old car as well and finally made a mark on the seat rail so I can get the seat adjustment right if someone had moved it in the service center or wash.

The rear space is again almost the same as the old Figo. With my driving seat adjusted, I end up hitting my knees when I sit behind. Thankfully, I am the only tall one in the family and none of my friends are going to be in the backseat. The rear seats are broader , the back rest higher and with adjustable head rests which makes it much more comfortable on long duration than the old Figo.

The front seats felt a bit narrow for my frame , but has good padding on the backrest. On the two trips I had done till now , it hasn't given me any pains or aches.





Exterior & build quality

Something which was the downfall of Ford among the enthusiasts and honestly that kept me away as well.

Yes, there is a difference in build quality from the older cars to the new which can be felt when handling the doors or tailgate. On the Aspire , the boot lid is so light and the spring action so strong that it bounces once it reaches the limit and I am afraid one day it will shatter the rear window. The hood is right opposite and is quite heavy when lifted. The doors seem a bit lighter than the older ones , but I haven't paid much attention to it as long as it doesn't sound a like an Omni when shutting the door.

The pain quality and thickness seems to have gone through some cost cutting as well. A small scrape with a parked two wheeler exhaust actually took out a line of paint on the door bottom. I thought like on my old car, I can use some concoction and remove it, but the paint was scrapped off.

One of the reasons I felt this was the car for me was because of the changes I wanted to make on a non-Sports edition were already present on this. Bigger wheels, a black grill although the honeycomb would have been better, all black interiors. I wanted to get rid of the chrome strip on the boot lid by using a 3M wrap. In addition to that, I have already de-badged part of the boot lid since I felt it had too many badges and place a 'S' badge instead. The dis-tasteful sticker on the bottom of the rear bumper were removed on day one although the side ones are there and will be removed later when I want a change in the external look. The ORVM's were wrapped with matt black to go with the matt black theme on the pillars as well as the front.

The front grill on the Sports edition seems to be taken from the base Aspire but with the addition of a chrome border.

Interiors & Storage Spaces

Interiors are good enough for me. It cannot be compared to a VW, Hyundai or Maruti too. When I first sat in this car, because of the all black interiors,which I prefer over the beige, the first thought that hit me was how similar in feel and touch the interiors were to my old car. So in 7 years, it says a lot on how much Ford has tried or not tried. There are quite a quite a bit of bottle holders around which should be useful on trip. The glove box is smaller than expected.

Ergonomics, controls and AC
The power window switch not being back lit was a surprise since it was present on the previous gen Figo and I have to feel for it in the dark now till I get used to the position.

The indicator and wiper stalks are in the right positions now. I actually preferred the opposite orientation for some reason.

The headlamp, fog lamp and rear fog lamp switches are on the dial on the right side just like the old car, expect this has a good feel to the dial. The same good feel is on the AC unit knobs.
The gear lever reach and height is perfect and falls easily to hand.
The AC in typical Ford trait is a blast. Although auto AC, I keep fiddling with the temperature control to get the right setting. Something I used to do with the old car as well.

MID and Speedo
This I felt could have been improved by Ford in the sports edition just like how it was changed on the Fiesta S in comparison to the normal Fiesta. The speedometer console looks bland with just those three meters. They could have added a temperature gauge along with it. I like the speedometer console busy and this looks similar to the older Figo's. Coming from the simple trip/odo/dte functions on the older Figo, this one has some useful readings which I hardly am going to use. The only one I use is the outside temperature for now. For other read outs, the dock is useful as I keep my spare phone on it which displays the sensor readings through the Torque app.
On a short drive to get to know the car better, I had a scare when I realized the average kmph reading is hardly increasing although I had covered good distance in an hour. I remember reading that it has a reset function and was in reality calculating the average from when I started from the showroom!

Another scare which thankfully hasn't repeated itself was when I turned on the ignition and the speedo and rpm did a quarter sweep of the dial and came back.

In Car Entertainment (ICE)
The stock music system is quite decent I must say. It has a BT and aux port. On my previous car I had components speakers which sooner or later will go into this. The diesel engine keeps my ears occupied otherwise.

Engine performance & driveability:
The reason I went for a diesel.

If the Sports was launched with the 1.5 petrol, I would have gone for it.
My running doesn't actually warrant for a diesel, but what the hell, I love to experience a diesel and a superb one at that.
My diesel driving experience started off with the Mahindra 540dp on which I did most of my early driving on. The first diesel sedan experience was a Ford Escort with the 1.8 motor and I have driven the first gen Verna Crdi and the XUV a bit which is when I realized it is not just power, but a capable chassis and suspension set up that is required to enjoy a drive. Which sadly, is not present as much as I would have liked, on the Sports.

Coming to the diesel on the Aspire which I had driven only on test drives earlier but read more about how capable it is. So when I decided to go for a diesel, I wasn't that upset since I knew the power and driveability would make up for it and it sure did.

The diesel engine clatter is something that I was afraid of and apart from a cold engine clatter, in city , it is just right. Thank God I have a ear for engines and exhausts. On the short drive , when I crossed 2.5k rpm , the engine sounded a bit crude which I hope will settle down after few thousand kms. It felt like I was on a flight due to the drone. After covering 3000 kms, I must say the engine has settled and the engine noise is refined as well in high revs.

What brings a smile on my face is the fact that there is almost no turbo lag and there is no sudden push when the turbo kicks in. The initial torque is very similar to my petrol Figo which had good low torque which helps in city driving. The only time I felt the lag is when I floor the gas pedal after a speedbreaker or such and the engine is almost dead and then picks up.This happens more when I am in second gear the AC is running with revs too low.I need to slip the clutch to avoid lugging. But, there is no lag when the car is in speed.

The engine cranks smoothly with hardly and jerk felt .The automatic rpm increase when releasing the clutch reminds me of the old DI non turbo engines. That is annoying in crawling traffic since after the rise in RPM, the car engine brakes quite a bit without any pedal input. To counter this, some gas has to be given to smoothen it out. I was of the thought that the diesel has enough torque to move in first or second gear without any accelerator input. As I understand this feature is present only on the Sports version.

I floored it a few times and it picks up speed quite fast with slight torque steer felt. The weight of the car comes into the picture then. It does not feel that planted when I pushed it. On a curve which I take normally flat out on my old Figo, I felt this was leaning bit too much and had a tendency to bounce which may be due to the tyres.
The gear shift was a bit notchy but has smoothened out over time and with the throws between gears short,it is a fun manual to use.

All in all, I am enjoying the drive and I feel the city roads are not the place for this car. Every time I drive it, I feel like heading out to an empty road and flooring it.

The tiny turbo ensures the driveability is high and lag , minimal.

Having done two trips , one which was with car loaded 4 passengers and luggage, I got to know the car and it's dynamics better. I wouldn't say the car is stable at high speeds, it depends on the speeds, in my case, I was judging it from a quarter of a ton above the ton. High speeds curves on four lane roads made the car lean a bit more than what I would want it to with all the weight felt like was on the right or left rear depending on the direction of the curve.

With just two on board, it is a bit more comfortable to do the same speeds. Straight line stability is fine as long as silly speeds are not done. The 195 and 15 inch tyres so make a difference for sure.

Fuel efficiency is around 15kmpl in city and 17kmpl on highways with AC. Although I am not that keen on efficiency, this is a bonus, especially coming from a petrol car which had single digit figures.

Mainly , I realized that the accelerator pedal needs to be kept in check since I was so used to flooring the pedal on my old car. This one covers distance quite fast and before I know it, I would have hit traffic and have brake hard again.

On a 1200 kms round trip to Velankanni recently, I realized how effortless the engine is , but me being me, I could not keep to 2300 rpms. I was to be the running in time , but I just couldn't keep to the limits. Got an average of 17kpl for the trip which I am sure could have been higher.

Steering, braking, tyres:
Steering is not comparable to the old gen Figo. It does have some feedback , but not as crisp as the older gen. It would have been boring to me if it wasn't for the engine. After driving this car and driving an old gen Swift in the house, it felt the EPS on that was an hydraulic unit. It is not bad either, there is some feedback from it probably because of the fatter tyres.

Braking seems way better than the older Figo which was a suicide machine at high speeds. The ABS kicked in once when a cow decided to cross the road and the Apollo Alnac did squeal. Although I was to change the tyres especially since I was used to the ZLo level of grip, I changed the decision as per our resident tyre Guru. These tyres seems to do the job well , but I am sure I cannot put all my confidence in them during hard driving.
Tyre noise on those roads which does not have a layer of tar on them is actually loud. That is something which I didn't want. However now since I have covered a bit on these tyres, decided to stick with them till they wear out.

Electricals
The car has a single horn which is surprisingly loud. Sooner or later , I may fit the Hella trumpets I pulled out from the old car. For now, the single one does its job well.

The headlamps were replaced with Philips Extreme vision and although I drove with the stock headlamps just a couple of times, this is much brighter. The annoying bit being the lag from when the stalk is pulled for a flash and the lights actually flashing.

The fog lamps are quite useless probably because they are recessed into the bumper. I may change them to LED units sooner or later.

Suspension and handling
This would be the main difference of the Sports and the other trims. I haven't driven the non-sports version much, so comparing it to that will be difficult since it was just couple of short test drives I had done .
I must say that high speeds are quite stable unless sane speeds are maintained. There is always the lean during turns although the car tracks well. The solid feel of the old Figo is however not felt. It is a different kind of stable feel which is not from the weight of the car.

Having sad that, the wide tyres result in better comfort as I had learnt from up-sizing on my previous car apart from the better grip and stability.

Slow speeds comfort and sound levels from the shocks are not up to the mark. It can be due to shortened springs or the tyres.

[tharian]

First service was done at 2800 kms and 2 months.
It wasn't a service since as per the manual, only a check up is carried out. I requested for the engine oil to be replaced since I had done two long trips with it. There was no difference felt after it anyway.

Surprisingly they didn't notice the after market wipers and headlamps on the car.
The smoke emitted seems to have reduced as well after the first 1000 kms.





The heart of the matter

As small turbo which helps in reduced lag and linear power delivery

Philips Extreme Vision+ which has increased the brightness quite a bit.
Black background on the headlamp consoles similar to the old Figo

Un-protected engine from the bottom

The intercooler and radiator actually starts from the bottom half of the grill.
The leather wrapped steering wheel is a joy to hold.
The dock is used to keep a GARMIN navigator or my phone connected to the OBD2 sensor

Apollo Alnacs 195/55 15 tyres do a decent job.

The engine with no engine cover provided.

With rest of the cars in the family including a friends '72 Fiat.
The RS badge will go once the actual S badge comes.
The rear showing the 195 section tyres.

[GTO]

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

[kcj3b]

Your Ford Aspire is a beauty, but could not resist the Legend in the background.

[rakesh_r]

Congratulations on the beauty. Those 4 Hellas on the old Figo looks . Any plans on mounting a similar set up on the new car?

[CrazyToDrive]

Congratulations on owning this beautiful beast. With the all-black interiors it looks nice. Did Ford remove the Figo badge from the Aspire?

[mustang_shelby]

Very nicely written review. Congratulations on owning a very capable car, and I wish you lots of safe miles and happy memories ahead.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Congratulations on the beauty. Those 4 Hellas on the old Figo looks . Any plans on mounting a similar set up on the new car?

I am sure I will sooner or later. I have already seen a Figo with a row of 4 lamps and it looked good.

Originally Posted by CrazyToDrive

Congratulations on owning this beautiful beast. With the all-black interiors it looks nice. Did Ford remove the Figo badge from the Aspire?

The Figo and Titanium badge were removed since I felt there were too many badges on the boot lid.

[skanchan95]

Nicely written review Tharian. Wish you many happy & safe miles with Rubicon.

Originally Posted by tharian

The RS badge will go once the actual S badge comes.

Why not order an S badge from Aliexpress? The emblem is similar to the one that came with the old Fiesta 1.6S and you get 4 colour options to choose from.

[blackbeast]

Many congratulations for acquiring this beauty

Originally Posted by tharian

Abarth Punto
A wet dream.

Please elaborate. why did abarth punto not make a cut

[TheStranger]

Congratulations on your new car. A very crisp and to-the-point assessment of the car, I must say. Rode in a diesel Ford Aspire recently (Uber ride) and was quite interested by the pickup and handling of the car.

Wish you miles and miles of smiles with Rubicon !

[NishantKj]

Such a beauty. Congratulation on your well thought purchase. A very capable car in bright red, Good choice.

Wish you happy miles ahead in you Rubicon.

[Samba]

Excellent ownership report and congrats for your new car. Wish you thousands of happy and fast mile crunching ! This car is a rocket!

Even i have an old gen Figo TDCI bought in 2015. My car is just 2 years old and has done around 28000 km. Few times i thought of exchanging it with the new gen Figo but again at the end i thought hydraulic power steering is becoming an extinct feature now, so let me enjoy it for the maximum time i can!
If i am in the market to buy a new hatchback or a sub 4 meter sedan then the Figo/Aspire(TDCI) will be my obvious choice too. Or may be will have a look at the Abarth if things improve in the Fiat stable specially after the launch of the Jeep compass!

Whose is this pristine black Padmini/1100D in this pic? http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...n-img_6529.jpg

Please send my regards to the owner if you know him for maintaining this old car in such a nice way.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Why not order an S badge from Aliexpress? The emblem is similar to the one that came with the old Fiesta 1.6S and you get 4 colour options to choose from.

Yes, it is the same one I am waiting for.

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Please elaborate. why did abarth punto not make a cut

First reason was it didn't fall in my budget and second was the space, no other reason since I would have loved to have a hot hatch.

Originally Posted by Samba

Excellent ownership report and congrats for your new car. Wish you thousands of happy and fast mile crunching ! This car is a rocket!

Even i have an old gen Figo TDCI bought in 2015. My car is just 2 years old and has done around 28000 km. Few times i thought of exchanging it with the new gen Figo but again at the end i thought hydraulic power steering is becoming an extinct feature now, so let me enjoy it for the maximum time i can!
If i am in the market to buy a new hatchback or a sub 4 meter sedan then the Figo/Aspire(TDCI) will be my obvious choice too. Or may be will have a look at the Abarth if things improve in the Fiat stable specially after the launch of the Jeep compass!


Whose is this pristine black Padmini/1100D in this pic? http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...n-img_6529.jpg

Please send my regards to the owner if you know him for maintaining this old car in such a nice way.

Yes, the old Fords are incomparable, especially the Figo with its go-kart like chassis.

That's a 72' 1100 which belongs to fellow member and buddy SandeepMohan. Since he is out of country, it is under my care.

[abhinav.s]

Congratulations on your latest acquisition mate! You will surely enjoy the diesel no doubt. You have rightly said that every time you take it out in the city, you feel you are not using it to the full potential and feel like going for a long drive! All the best and wishing you many many miles with it.