[Vibhanshu0923]

Disclaimer: This is a long post. Deploy all reserves of patience.

You always remember the firsts

The thing is, we enthusiasts find the joy of the firsts in multiple cars we purchase over time. 'First car we ever drove/learnt to drive on', 'First sedan', 'First SUV', 'First luxury car' etc. You get the idea...

I was fortunate enough to learn to drive on my father's Maruti Suzuki Esteem. An Indian automotive legend in most ways, it was the car that introduced me to the notion of fun behind the wheel. I still remember the potent top-end of the 1.3L motor and the tall gearing that allowed it to breach 100kmph in second gear. There are only a handful of mass-market cars that can do so. However, with the beginning of the diesel era, our family jumped ship from petrol to diesel power and brought home the excellent 1.3MJD engine in the Maruti Dzire. The midrange turbo-kick of that engine is a well-known phenomenon that has converted many enthusiasts (including my father) into diesel-heads.

Having experienced multiple mass-market cars over the years, I firmly believe that one does not necessarily need to spend big money to have access to driving fun. Putting my money where my mouth is, I bought my first car in 2017 - Ford Figo Sports 1.5L TDCi.

What I Like -

• The 1.5L TDCi engine - Fast, Frugal, Practical, Reliable; 0-100 kmph in ~10 seconds with 18-20 kmpl. Seems like multiple engines rolled into one
• The looks - The tastefully done black detailing (a major reason for the white colour choice) and the subtle changes make an already good design stand out.
• The handling - Feels like a nimble, chuckable go-kart. One of the best steering setups available then (only the Abarth Punto is better IMO). Sorted suspension and right-sized tyres.
• The audio setup - I am by no means a car-audio junkie but I do appreciate the difference between a good and an average setup. To my ears, the audio system in the Figo is very good for the class.
• Cabin Space & Overall practicality - The car is spacious enough for 4 adults, their luggage, and knick-knacks. Moreover, the car is at home in the cities, highways, and ghats/mountains.
• Maintenance and service costs - The service and maintenance costs are refreshingly low. Ford really honours their service price transparency claim and the service costs have always ranged in the INR 5-7k bracket
• The chiller AC - I was skeptical of the black roof in Delhi summers but the AC is an absolute chiller and makes the cabin a good place to be in.
• Perceived Build Quality - A relative positive point. While its no match to VW, Fiat, or other fords (Ecosport/Endeavour), it does feel better built than Maruti and Hyundai.
• Speed sensing auto-lock without auto-unlock on ignition off - I find this an under-rated feature. I like the security of the car being locked on signals and staying so, unless I want it unlocked.
• The feel/connect - Highly subjective and abstract but all the mechanical elements (engine, steering, suspension) come together to create a special driving feel that makes me smile even at double-digit speeds.

What I dislike

• Lack of Titanium+ trim in the Sports edition - The Sports trim is available only in the Titanium trim. It would have been great to have the Titanium+ spec with the Sports edition (6 airbags)
• Slightly notchy gearshift - While the shift action is decently short, the lever doesn't offer the slick slotting action of the other gearboxes in the segment. Not a deal-breaker and gets slightly better with use & habit.
• Overall Refinement - While the engine is decently refined, it is not a Hyundai diesel in NVH. The road noise (could be due to the stock Apollo Alnacs) and overall ambient noises inside the cabin are on the higher side. Better insulation would have surely complemented an otherwise fantastic highway package.
• Weak headlamps and foglamps - While much improved over the older Figo, the headlamps still aren't the most confidence-inspiring on night drives. The reflectors are of poor quality and burn out eventually (known issue). The foglamp throw is almost non-existent.
• Fixed rear headrests - The backseat comfort is significantly reduced due to the fixed headrests which at best support your neck.
• No armrests (front and rear) - The diesel engine ensures negligible gearshifts on the highways and an armrest for the driver is missed. Further to the point, a rear armrest would have added to the comfort at the rear.
• Limited authorized service centre competence - Have been to 3 different service centres in 3 different states, and none seemed to know the difference between a normal Figo and the Sports edition. One guy even pointed out how I risk losing warranty for the "upsized" tyres Getting them to acknowledge finer problems and sounds is, as usual, a bit difficult but nothing out of the ordinary

Background and Requirements

Like most BHPians, my love affair with automobiles dates back to my childhood. I landed my first job in 2017. Owning a car was a dream that I harboured for a long time. Now with me earning, I wanted to make it a reality. I was advised by a whole lot of folks on how it was a financial suicide putting money in a depreciating asset and taking on debt so early in my career. But I just couldn't make peace with the fact that I am letting go of a long-held dream. Hence, with a 'you-only-live-once' attitude, I decided to buy a car. It was an emotional purchase in the truest sense of the term. Also, I was fortunate enough to be born into a family that did not need my financial support for at least 10 years to come. All in all, I am aware it was not the most sound decision on my part but it has been the one that has brought me the most joy for the past 4.5 years.

I wanted the following things out of my first car -

• Powerful engine - 0-100kmph in around 10 seconds (I am an engine guy)
• Good handling and stability to complement the engine
• Manual Transmission
• Spacious enough for 4 people and their luggage
• Safety - at least 2 airbags with ABS and EBD must; the more the better
• Good looks - They say if you don't look back after you've parked her, you've made the wrong choice
• Decent fuel efficiency
• INR 7-9 lakhs on-road

There were a few no-compromise features I wanted in the car -

• Safety equipment mentioned above
• Automatic climate control
• Decent sounding audio system
• Height adjustable driver's seat
• Powered ORVMs
• Tachometer

All other features apart from these provided steeply diminishing marginal utility to me. I was basically looking for a sweet mechanical package as my top priority. I was oblivious to the value pre-worshipped cars offer at that point in time, hence the only options I considered were new cars.

[Vibhanshu0923]

Cars Considered

As the main criterion for the purchase was driving pleasure with a mix of practicality thrown in, the feeling that a car induced was paramount.

Hyundai Elite i20 1.4 CRDi - The i20 was a good-looking hatchback. On paper, it ticked the most boxes. It was the Sportz variant that was a little over the upper limit of my budget, but manageable in EMI terms. The car had the best interior quality I had seen in the segment. The polo felt more solid but the overall ambience of the Hyundai cabin was better. It had all the features I needed and was spacious too. The 1.4L engine had fantastically controlled NVH, revved freely, and felt punchy in the lower gears. Plus, it had a 6-speed gearbox. However, there was one catch, the driving feel.

The steering was a bit numb, the suspension tuned for comfort, and the engine, although fast, did not excite me. All in all, It was a car that appealed to my brain more than my heart. The car, however, made it to the top 3 due to the fantastic overall package.


Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS - The Baleno RS was the new entrant into the 'warm' hatch segment. The car was the most spacious by far, with the biggest boot. The quality of the interiors was also not a deal-breaker. The 1L turbo-petrol motor was quick too but there were 2 flaws in the package for me - The handling and the perceived lightness. The suspension felt fine even though a little soft, however, it was the steering which was devoid of feel (I was surprised since the swift had a delightful EPS unit). To top it off, the car felt a bit tinny to me (no offence meant). The price too was out of my budget and there was no compelling reason for me to stretch my budget. Overall, it tipped the scale more in terms of practicality than fun and was rejected.


Abarth Punto - Pure wishful thinking. It was the hot hatch amongst the crop of 'warm' hatches. The engine, the handling, the steering, and the brakes were exceptional. The only 2 gripes - Ergonomics and gearshift were dwarfed in light of the overall worthiness of the package. The car was way over budget and stretching didn't seem an option. Sometimes, I wonder what if I had waited for a couple of months and stretched my budget? Could have been an Abarth standing in my garage.


Volkswagen Polo - This was the car that came the closest to the Figo when making the final decision. There were 3 variants of the Polo that I was interested in, The comfortline diesel (1.5L 90HP), The GT TDI (1.5L 105HP) and the GT TSI (1.2L 105HP). The GT variants were rejected as they overshot my budget by quite a bit, even though I was smitten by the 1.2 TSI + DSG combo. I also felt that the GT TDI lost its USP with the discontinuation of the older 1.6 TDI engine, as now it was basically a Highline polo with a remap (no offence).

The 90HP diesel Polo felt very solid and drove differently from the other cars I had driven. It had that 'European' characteristics in its drive. The car had a sporty feeling, low seating, great quality and a diesel engine which, though loud, had good punch and revved to ~5200 rpm!! The ride too had a nicely damped characteristic. The steering, even though better than the Hyundai and the Maruti, had a slightly artificial feel.

The comfortline variant did not have automatic climate control as well but I figured I could live with that. The major deal-breaker for the Polo was the rear seat space. I am 5'10" with a laid-back driving position and with me in the driver's seat, the car was effectively a 3-seater!

Nonetheless, the Polo too made it to the top 3 of the shortlist.


Ford Figo Sports 1.5 TDCi - Ever since the Figo was launched, I found the package to be highly appealing as a practical enthusiast's car. The 1.5L diesel motor was a stonking engine and made even more torque than it did in the Ecosport! BHPian Karan561's review of his sweet Figo diesel with the Momo alloys further solidified my liking for the car. By pitting the Ford against a GT TDI in a drag race, Karan561 effectively answered the one question lingering on my mind. The diesel Figo was one of the fastest diesel hatchbacks around. The overall package though seemed a tad half-baked. Sure, it had the engine and the performance, but the handling and build were a departure from the earlier Figo. Plus, I never could digest the chrome grille of the Figo/Aspire.

Ford launched the Sports variants of the Figo/Aspire in 2017 and called them the Figo S and Aspire S respectively. The 'S' monicker brought back memories of an Aquarius Blue Ford Fiesta S pulling a hand-brake turn to slot into a parking space in front of a hotel (attaching the ad for everyone's viewing pleasure) -

https://youtu.be/w949S35jMLM

The Fiesta S was the machine that defined the 'S' badge amongst the enthusiasts. I was waiting with glee for the initial reviews to pour in and the Team-BHP official review pointed out that the Figo/Aspire S variants were not as focused as the erstwhile Fiesta S. Sure the suspension was a bit stiffer and the tyres were wider along with a front anti-roll bar, but the entire setup was tuned more towards 'practicality'. The changes transformed the Figo/Aspire S into cars they should have been from Day 1. While I was a bit square with Ford's strategy of holding back on a niche variant and diluting the 'S' brand, all of this meant that the problems I had with the 'normal' Figo diesel were rectified to a great extent.

Took a test drive of a Titanium+ Aspire diesel as the dealership did not have a Figo test drive vehicle let alone an 'S' test car. There was a Ruby Red Figo S at the dealership already allocated to a customer which was offered to me for a test drive, but I politely declined. The 1.5L TDCi engine was a gem, pushed me back into the seat and had a superb low-end at the same time. The steering too was feelsome and direct. The 2 issues I had with the drive were - lack of grip during braking/cornering from the tyres and the slightly floaty feeling at higher speeds. I trusted the S variant to remedy both of these.

Coming down to the final 3 - Elite i20 Sportz CRDi, Polo Comfortline TDi, and Figo S 1.5 TDCi. I also wanted my family's buy-in on the final decision, and as expected, the familial sentiment swung in the favour of the i20 as it was a 'safe' & 'reliable' choice. However, it was I who was going to drive the car and maintain it solely, hence the final decision was left to me. I did toy with the idea of an Aspire S as well for the extra boot space but ultimately felt that I didn't want to compromise on the looks for some added boot space (The Figo looked better to me personally).

I just couldn't connect with the i20 as a fun-to-drive car. Its intended purpose seemed different and rightly so. Between the Polo and the Figo S, it was a matter of positives and negatives relative to a common package both cars offered. In effect, both had punchy diesel engines, great design, the required feature set, and a sporty intent -

The Figo S offered the following over the Polo -

• Better steering feel
• Cheaper maintenance
• Space and usable backseat

The Polo offered the following over the Figo -

• Better build quality
• Better mod potential
• Better structural safety (4-star NCAP rating)

Overall, I found the Figo S 1.5 TDCi more suited to my requirements. Incidentally, it was also the car that I enjoyed driving more than the Polo. To each his own, I wouldn't have gone wrong with the Polo either, however, it was the Figo that lured me more.


Some random cars -
Car buying is such an exciting phase for me that I couldn't help but shortlist a couple of cars just for the heck of it. Here goes the wild card list -

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 - I genuinely had an insane amount of fun piloting this little car in the city. The low weight coupled to the 1L engine makes it a hoot to drive below 100kmph. The heart wandered towards this, just because of the smiles it had given me, to be stopped by the mind in time.

Tata Nexon/Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza - The lowest variants of these 2 compact SUVs seemed within reach and I was more interested in the Nexon than the Brezza as it had just been launched then. A quick visit to the dealership and re-look at the requirements ruled both out.

[Vibhanshu0923]

Getting her home

Booking & Delivery Experience

I was working in Jamshedpur when I bought my car and there was a single Ford dealership in town: Jayshree Ford. Once I had finalized my choice, I moved really fast to initiate the purchase process. Incidentally, I had paid the booking amount for an Oxford White Figo S 1.5L TDCi post the Aspire diesel test drive. Such was my excitement around the car. But more importantly, the Sports variant of the Figo and the Aspire was not readily available and the dealership told me that they needed a booking to place an order for that variant of the car. This seemed believable to me, moreover, a quick chat with the prospective owner of the smoking hot Ruby Red Figo Sports and with another dealership in my hometown aligned with the dealer's word. Of all the cars I had test-driven to make the choice, the Figo was the one I had immediately booked, intuition or what!

The 'S' was a sparsely selling variant of a below-average selling car. Even the salesman was surprised at my choice. The dealership tried their best to up-sell the Titanium+ variant of the Figo as they had that available. This is where I think Ford lost out on a good marketing opportunity. In my opinion, cars like the Figo/Aspire S are targeted at the Indian enthusiast and are supposed to generate excitement towards the brand. However, you can't expect a niche model to garner attention if the dealerships themselves are not too sure about the specifications of the variant. I had asked my parents to check for the availability of a Figo S diesel in my hometown and the showroom staff was aghast at their inquiry of the Sports variant over the 'normal' Titanium variant. "Sir, Ford is charging a stupendous premium for wider tyres and blacked-out roof/wheels while deleting 'features' like the 'Chrome Grille' and 'Body-coloured ORVMs'!", they said.

Looking past all this and staying adamant on my choice of the Sports variant, I instructed the dealer to place the order for my car at Ford's factory in Sanand. Then ensued the long wait to get a vehicle allotted to me. Weeks turned into months and with no clue of a White Figo S, I grew restless. BHPian tharian had just got a beautiful Red Aspire Sports around the time I had finalized my booking. His fantastic ownership review both validated my decision to go with the Figo S and made the wait for my car a tad easier. His Aspire (Rubicon) is a beauty and the subtle modifications he has done to his car have paved the way for my car all along. More on this later though. Take a bow tharian sir for your awesome thread and wishing you lakhs of fun-filled kilometers with Rubicon. This is the beauty of this forum. I learnt almost everything about my car before actually owning it.

The owner/manager of the dealership informed me that Ford isn't accepting orders for the Sports variant anymore. My heart sank a little as I really had my eye set on this particular car. I knew that cars like performance variants get discontinued sooner rather than later, but this was a bit too soon for Ford. The manager also informed me that the Ruby Red Figo S that I had been seeing since my first visit to the dealership, was available for immediate delivery as the guy who was supposed to buy it, canceled. I had been seeing that particular car for over 3 months now at the dealership and was told during my Aspire test drive that the car was in their stockyard for the past 4 months before finally finding a taker. The whole situation seemed a little too 'convenient', with Ford discontinuing a model listed on their website within 8 months of launch and a 7-month-old example being suddenly available.

Now, I do understand manufacturers can pull the plug on a variant and Ford is surely not new to doing this, I was upset that I was told about this after more than 3 months of my booking. I know manufacturers and dealers have much closer visibility on the availability of variants than this. Since I just had a hunch and the dealer had been very decent to engage with till now, I decided to write to the head of sales at Ford India to express my displeasure with the whole booking process. I conveyed my regret at the sub-par treatment that I received as a prospective buyer and sought clarification on the Figo Sports' availability. The mail worked wonders and voila! I had the VIN number of the particular car assigned to me within a week.



The first pictures of the car at the dealer stockyard

I did a detailed PDI before approving the car and we finally took delivery on 19 November 2017, with my parents being the ones to drive it out of the showroom. I would rate the overall dealership experience to be good as aside from the vehicle allotment hiccup, everything else was handled seamlessly by them.


The first glimpse on the delivery day



Dream come true. The feeling is inexplicable



My Mother doing a customary welcome



Owning your first car is a different feeling. Looking forward to the drive


Price and Discounts
The amounts are accurate to the nearest 1000

Ford Figo Sports 1.5 TDCi Titanium

Ex-showroom price = INR 7,21,000
Paid accessories = Reversing camera with built-in IRVM display (INR 11,000)
Free accessories = Seat covers (pretty good!), Floor mats, Car perfume
Discount = INR 25,000 (Corporate discount + cash discount)
Insurance (Zero Dep) = INR 22,000
Handling charges = INR 0 (was easy to get these waived)
Extended Warranty (2 years) = INR 12,000
Road Tax = INR 77,000

On-Road Price = INR 8,18,000

[Vibhanshu0923]

Living with a Figo S

Disclaimer: Apologies for some average quality pictures. I am no photographer and most of the pictures have been taken by my cellphone.



The Figo is currently ~4 years old and has covered ~60k kms as of date. Each of these kms has been immense fun and I have lived countless memories with the car. Friends and family have often found my obsession with the Figo S a bit difficult to fathom. Driving is like Therapy to me and a well-laid, empty road in the Figo bodes well for my oxytocin levels. It is an experience that is difficult to explain yet easy to share.

Usage Pattern -
The Figo is my primary car. While I do drive my parents' cars (Creta 1.6 CRDi SX MT & Seltos GTX+ Diesel AT), the Figo is my daily drive + weekend toy and sees both city and highway use (~60:40) regularly. Staying in NCR, it has been a constant companion on numerous mountain drives and vacations.


Exterior Design & Styling -
The regular Figo is a good-looking car with clean proportions. The S variant takes that base design and betters it with tasteful cosmetic additions. The styling is extremely well-executed, with no chrome and just the right amount of blacked-out elements. The 15-inch rims with 195 section tyres combined with shorter suspension springs fill out the wheel arches way better than the standard Figo and lend the car a very squat stance from the rear and sides. The car on the whole looks purposeful and sufficiently distinguished from the regular variants. I would like to mention the rear spoiler specifically as that improves the side profile of the car by leaps and bounds in my opinion. I have glanced at several Figos on the road including the new Titanium Blu variant and I find the missing spoiler compromises the side profile of the car.

The white colour of the car contrasts extremely well with the black elements in the design and I find the overall design to be contemporary even today. There is silver stickering at the bottom of the doors and the rear bumper. Contrary to popular opinion, I find the stickering on the doors to go well with the design, however, the rear stickering is a bit of an overkill. The black alloy wheels complement the design really well and sit within the bodyline with their width sticking out slightly towards the bottom of the rear bumper. None of the bulbs in the car is an LED and the lighting sure seems to be a reminder of the earlier times. While the tail lamps still look good, the smoked headlights could have been projector units. All in all, I find the Figo S to be very good-looking and one of the best design iterations of the Figo platform.


The first diesel fill-up post delivery with dad behind the wheel


The honeycomb grille enhances the sporty appeal. The border around the grille is brushed silver. Classy


The rear design is clean and handsome. The photo angle makes it look like an estate


The rear spoiler elevates the side profile of the car in my view


The rear three-quarter view shows off the well-balanced design


The gloss black roof. The design is proportionate and the car looks purposeful!


The ORVMs too are painted gloss black and come with halogen turn signal lamps integrated into them


Build Quality, Fit & Finish -
Enough has been said about the build quality of the Figo and how it is a departure from the earlier Fords. While I have never owned a car from VAG, Fiat, or other brands that offer benchmark build quality, I have driven a fair share of cars to comment that the build quality offered by the Figo lies between Maruti and VW. I would even rank it a bit higher than Hyundais in this segment on sturdiness and solid feel. The sheet metal used is of an acceptable gauge in most places and the car does not feel fragile. There has been only 1 rattle (from the doors) till now and that too was taken care of by aligning the doors in the body shop. The lack of weight/heft in the doors will surely bother someone used to the german/other ford cars but is not something that feels tinny. This generation of the Figo was 50kgs lighter than the older generation car and that shows. An Ecosport level of build could have maintained the traditional 'Ford' feel but it is an established fact that Ford kind of lost the plot here by trying to emulate the market leaders.

The panel gaps around the car are not uniform and there are some areas (e.g.- Bootlid) that have uneven gaps. The paint quality, however, is better than I expected and the paint does show some degree of resistance to scratches. In a nutshell, the build isn't the typical 'Ford' solid, however, it is not a deal-breaker either and does not feel cheap.


The wrap-around tail lamps look beautiful. However, the uneven panel gaps near the tail lamp are visible


Wheels & Tyres -
The Figo S comes with 195/55/R15 Apollo Alnacs and a 175/65/R14 spare (steel rim) from the factory. The tyre size is the OEM specification for the European Figo (Ford Ka). The 15-inch rims are all-black including the usually blue 'Ford' logo. The upsized rims and tyres over the regular Figo provide remarkable benefits in the dynamics and visual department. The lug-nuts are the usual silver coloured ones and the thought of painting them black did occur to me. However, they add nicely to the contrast and the paint would have been scratched off anyway after a few tyre rotations.

The tyres are sufficiently wide, however, the torque from the engine makes them lose traction fairly easily. Even 205 section rubber would not be out of place on the car, but the current size performs well all around. The Alnacs too were decent tyres, much better than I had expected. However, they did get noisier with time. The drone from the tyres on any surface which does not have a layer of fine tar was excessive. They have lasted well too, with the car running on stock tyres till ~52k kms. In the 50k odd kms, they have been fairly hard-wearing, taking into stride some of the worst mountain roads without any troubles. The tyres were replaced with Michelins in 195/60/R15 size as the 55-profile was not available in Michelin due to the tyre import restrictions. While I was initially not happy with the profile increase as that led to marginally more roll, it is a very practical size for the frequent highway usage I have. The ride is marginally better and they will be more resistant to damage in case I miss spotting a pothole. The Michelins of course are very silent and offer noticeably better grip than the Alnacs. Additionally, the higher-profile has taken out the speedo error as well with the true speed at an indicated 100kmph being 97kmph


The classy black wheels with the worn-out Apollos


The 'new' Michelins on the black alloys. Notice the thicker sidewall of the 60-profile rubber


Headlights, Foglamps, Wipers, Horn -
The Figo S gets smoked halogen headlamps. While they look great, the reflectors in the headlamps are of inferior quality and burn out easily with the stock bulbs (known issue!). The reflectors on my car too had developed burn spots on top of the bulbs and Ford replaced them under warranty. The headlights themselves are average at best in terms of illumination and spread. They tend to drown out in the rains and the high beams from the oncoming traffic.


The smoked headlamps with good 'ol halogens look good but have average illumination


With all lights in action


The Foglamps are pretty much useless on the Figo and frankly illuminate only their bumper recesses and areas so close to the car that they are invisible from the driver's seat. I have upgraded to IPH projector fog lamps and the results have been awesome! (detailed in a later post)


The IPH projectors in the standard foglamp housing

The wipers are a standard affair. The windshield washers (not concealed under the bonnet!) are powerful and direct a diffused spray of water at the windshield. I prefer this over the 3 jets of water some other cars deliver. They get a delayed sweep too in case the windshield washers are engaged. A nifty feature: if the windshield wipers are on and you shift to reverse, the rear wiper is automatically activated (thoughtful!).

The horn is a single-tone unit but powerful enough. I was skeptical of the horn's intensity after being used to the awesome sounding horn on our Creta, but it does the job fairly well. One qualm is that the horn is louder on the inside than it ought to be. Probably due to lack of enough insulation.

[Vibhanshu0923]

Interior Design & Quality -
The black theme continues on the inside as well and the Figo S gets black interiors with red stitching on the steering wheel, gear lever boot, and seats. The silver accents around the audio system and on the door pads too are replaced with Piano black. The all-black interior does feel sporty and the red stitching looks classy. I was offered complimentary seat covers with my car at the time of delivery and I was skeptical of how well their design would suit the cabin. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the look and feel of the seat covers (official Ford accessory). They were black with red stitching and suited the cabin ambience more than the gray-ish fabric seats. They have lasted well too. As the S is based on the Titanium variant of the Figo and misses out on the 6 airbags, seat covers do not pose any operational hindrance.


The red stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel looks classy

The Figo's interior does not have the premium appeal of the i20 or Polo and the quality of plastics used is average at best. There are some good quality bits like the steering wheel, gear lever, headlamp rotary switch, etc. however, there are some low-rent parts like the plastic at the bottom of the seats and the door pads which flex easily. The good thing is that most of the touchpoints from the driver's seat are of good quality and living with the interiors on a daily basis is a pleasant experience, if not exactly premium. On the whole, the cabin feels par for the segment. It does not feel cheap and makes for a decent place to spend time in. Tip: I do not let the service centre polish the interior of my car. A decent dashboard conditioner/polish used in the right amount every 2-3 months works wonders in retaining the look and feel of the plastics in the Figo's cabin.

The interior is backlit in a blue-ish tinge at night. The only gripe is that the power window controls do not get the backlighting and one has to search in the dark for the desired button.



Only the driver's side power window gets one-touch up-down


Interior Space & Comfort -
One of the critical reasons why I chose the Figo.

The cabin ranks high on overall space utilization and practicality. The front portion of the cabin is sufficiently wide and you do not rub elbows with your passengers. The headroom upfront is better than the Polo and that alleviates the overall feeling of space. Ingress and egress from the car is a simple task however, senior citizens may face some difficulty in getting out from the low-ish front seat. The interior is high on practicality with lots of cubby holes and bottle/cup holders. Ford wanted its customers to be hydrated at all times and the Figo can hold 8L of water (2.5ltrs in each front door and 3ltrs in the centre console) at a time!. There is a rubberized pad above the climate control unit that can easily take a 6-inch smartphone and the rubber surface prevents the phone from moving about during the drive. The Glovebox is a bit smaller than expected and has an unusually thick lid. It is still able to hold the necessary documents and some other basic items like a car towel and wet wipes.


The centre console has 2 cup/bottle holders and space to store small knick-knacks just ahead. Also visible is the sole bottle holder for the rear passengers


The front doors have ample storage. The Fabric patch shows the colour of the original fabric upholstery


Decent sized glovebox with an unusually thick lid

The rear seat of the Figo offers good legroom and knee room with just about adequate headroom for someone around 5'10" tall. The seat base is not very wide as with hatchbacks and as a result, the under-thigh support is average for taller folks, though people below 5'8" won't complain. The ingress and egress from the rear seat are easier as compared to the front for senior citizens as the rear wheel arch is placed such that it can be used as a support to get in and out. The rear seat is also placed a bit higher which further aids ergonomics. The bench itself is very lightly contoured and receives the typical step-motherly treatment that rear seats of hatchbacks usually receive. I don't conform to automakers' ideology of differentiating the backseats of compact sedans and the hatchback model they are based on. The Figo receives no rear centre armrest and adjustable headrests both of which the Aspire has. The absence of the latter is a safety hazard too and can result in a whiplash injury in the event of a rear-end collision. Both these factors take away from the rear seat experience of the Figo. The adjustable headrests were available with the 2019 Figo facelift but by then the ship had sailed.


The rear seat with fixed headrests. Decent Legroom and under-thigh support

The rear seats of the Figo don't have dedicated cubby holes or cup/bottle holders, however, the overall spread of cubby holes makes things easier. The rear seats get a single bottle holder at the back of the centre console and the doors do not have any storage in them. The seatback pockets thankfully allow the passengers to stow away their belongings and there is a recessed parcel shelf that can be used to keep light and soft items.


The rear doors lack a bottle holder. Speaker is housed at the bottom.

I have been on numerous trips with my friends and family in my Figo S and the car has never disappointed in terms of space and comfort. If anything, the rear passengers have felt distinctly more comfortable in the Figo than in other hatchbacks due to the stiffer suspension minimizing vertical movement on the highways. It fulfills the dual purpose of keeping me excited behind the wheel and my occupants comfortable on the journey. The overall space and comfort make the Figo S a 'practical' hot hatch.


Driving position, Ergonomics, Controls & MID -


The driver's view

The Figo gets driver seat height adjustment, steering tilt adjustment, and a sufficiently long fore & aft seat travel range. In spite of this, arriving at the perfect driving position takes some time. I specifically face an issue with the recline adjustment for the front seat where the pre-defined increments in the recline angle end up being either too upright or too reclined. However, after some fiddling around, one can find their suited driving position and I too have gotten the hang of it and barely need seconds to set my seat position post a service centre visit. Once in the driver's seat, the ergonomics are perfect with good visibility all around. The A-pillar creates some blind spots on mountain roads and intersections but nothing like the Ecosport. The pedals are set at a good position and there is space to rest your left leg beside the clutch pedal. Ford could have added a dead pedal but I don't miss it as there is ample space in the footwell. The pedals are also close enough for some heel-n-toe action as I learned from a track day at BIC with the Figo S.

The only 2 gripes from the front portion of the interiors are - the lack of an armrest and the inadequate side bolstering for the seats. The best front seats I remember are from our Ist gen Swift Dzire. They were thrones and provided ample support from all sides. The seats on the Figo S are narrower in comparison and have a shorter seat squab. The lack of adequate side bolstering is a shame really given the cornering speeds and confidence the car can manage. The lack of an armrest is a bother on the long highway drives. The torquey engine means that one does not need to shift down from the 5th gear even while making quick progress on the expressway and the left hand could have done with some support.


The front seat with height adjust. Levers feel robust and are easily accessible with the door closed

The controls fall easily to hand and this generation of the Figo got the RHD indicator and wiper stalk layout instead of the LHD layout found on the older model. The stalk action feels robust but I would have preferred a slightly more damped action. These finer details are what could have elevated the cabin experience from functional to premium.

The instrument cluster feels a bit bland but has grown on me. It is legible and gets blue-ish backlighting at night. The limited revs for the diesel engine make the small-ish tacho easy to read as well. The Figo, unfortunately, misses out on a temperature gauge! I consider the temperature gauge to be extremely important and it is pure cost-cutting on Ford's part to not offer it. The right-hand side of the instrument cluster is dominated by the fuel gauge. The MID is a small screen at the bottom of the speedo with Casio-style fonts. It offers the usual information on DTE, Avg. FE, Inst. FE, Avg. Speed, Ambient Temperature, and 1 trip meter. The Freestyle and the current Figo on sale get slightly more information in the MID (Idle fuel consumption etc.) with slightly more premium-looking fonts and design. I quite like the button at the end of the indicator stalk that is used to shuffle through the MID, the placement and operation are very convenient and intuitive.


The footwell is spacious and heel 'n toe is possible. Would have loved aluminum pedals


The basic instrument cluster. The massive fuel gauge is a waste of space that could have been taken by a temperature gauge

A special mention of the rotary headlight controls on the right side of the steering wheel. The controls feel very premium to use and the integration of the boot lid opening button in the area is top-notch and very convenient at malls and office parking lots. It makes up for the lack of an electromagnetic button on the boot lid IMO. An interesting observation is that the button only functions when the vehicle is stationary. The boot will not open if the vehicle is in motion and I think it is a very sensible detail addition.


European headlight control switch flanked by rear and front foglamp buttons on the left and boot opening button on the right. Functions in a nicely damped manner

The ORVM controls are placed uniquely on the A-pillar and are convenient to reach. The IRVM was a basic manual day-night unit that was replaced due to the addition of a reversing camera (Ford official accessory) with an in-built display. The replacement IRVM, shockingly, is neither an electrochromic unit nor offers day/night manual functionality. This is sheer stupidity on Ford's part and doesn't justify the cost of the accessory (INR 11k!).


Pushing the joystick down in the centre position opens/closes the mirrors


The IRVM covers the entire windshield. Offers decent view but is a pain at night with high beams


Boot Space -
The Figo gets 257L of boot space and it is adequate for my use. The boot area is well shaped and the opening is wide. Moreover, the floor is deep enough to allow fitting 4 regular size trolley bags standing up. I love my road trips and a necessary criterion for travelling with friends or family is adequate luggage space. I had even considered the Aspire just for the added boot space. However since almost all the road trips in the Figo are with friends, the boot space suffices and I have had no cause for complaints even with 5 people in the car and their luggage stowed comfortably in the boot. Of course, it helps that my friends are light packers. As the only vehicle for a family with children, the Aspire would be a no-brainer choice over the Figo.


Well-shaped boot with a light

The rear seat folds in a single piece to create more room and the buttons to fold the seat are of high quality. The seat neither folds flat nor offers 60:40 split which limits the practicality. However, with the rear seat folded, there is ample space for most purposes.


Press these high quality buttons on either side of the rear seat backrest and the seat fold in a single piece


Helping a friend move. The Figo carried a surprising amount of luggage with the seats folded


Air-conditioner and Audio System -
Enough has been said about the Figo's air-conditioner unit and it is all true. The AC is an absolute chiller. I was initially skeptical about the black roof transmitting more heat inside the cabin but the AC has proved more than capable of handling even the scorching Delhi summers. I am a proverbial polar bear and usually keep my car's interior cooler than most people. The strong AC elevates the entire cabin experience for me significantly. The Figo comes with automatic climate control. The control knobs for the temperature and fan speed feel very upmarket and the screen above the ACC unit is easy to read. The Figo gets a 'Max A/C' button which essentially puts the unit into maximum fan speed and lowest temperature setting to cool down the cabin quickly. It is a nifty feature however, I have found limited use for it. I leave the system in 'Auto' mode 100% of the time and when entering a hot interior, the Auto mode by default ensures maximum fan speed and fastest cooling. Another highlight of the system is superb humidity management which ensures minimal fogging in all scenarios.


Absolute chiller AC. The knurled dials look and feel great. The rubberized area below the AC is an excellent place to keep your phone

The Figo gets a 4-speaker audio system that is flush-fitted into the dash. The design of the system is very outdated with an old numeric-keypad-phone-like appearance. The screen gets the Casio-fonts and is very small. The accessibility of various options is decent but could have been more intuitive as it does take some getting used to. In spite of all the above factors, I like the Figo's audio system. The sound quality is good and a notch above the OEM setups available in the class. The system also offers the usual connectivity options except for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, of course. I am also someone who prefers physical buttons and have gotten used to the functionalities of the system.


Outdated design. Small screen. Good sound quality and integrates well into the dash

The Figo/Aspire gets a phone dock on top of the dash. It is basically a provision to affix your phone as a navigation device. While it was a good solution at the time I bought the car, technology and features have trickled down to hatchbacks in a big way and the dock feels outdated in today's context. The Aux and USB ports are located in the phone dock itself. While the placement of the USB port makes sense when there is a device in the dock, there is no other USB port in the entire interior! The times when I just want to charge my phone without really docking it result in the charging cable dangling over the entire centre console. Looks cluttered and hinders the operation of the AC and the audio system.


The dock is ratcheted and clamps the phone well. Inset USB and Aux ports

[Vibhanshu0923]

Justifying the S Moniker

Engine & Driveability -
The 1.5L diesel engine produces 99 BHP @ 3750 RPM and 215 NM @ 1750-3000 RPM.


No cover for the engine (The pic was taken after a drive in the rains the previous night)


Insulation provided under the hood

The Figo S receives the same engine tune as the normal Figo. It was the engine that was the biggest reason for choosing the S. The engine is an 8-valve SOHC unit and there is no hiding the fact that there is an oil-burner under the hood. There is a mild shake on start-up and shut-down however, the vibrations settle down nicely when the motor is warmed up. Having 2 Hyundai-Kia diesels in the family, the 8-valve nature of the engine is evident in the slightly slower-revving characteristic compared to the Hyundai diesels. Don't get me wrong, the engine is supremely responsive and not laboured at all. It is just when you jump from the 1.5 TDCi to the Hyundai 1.6 CRDi that you feel the difference.

The one word that describes the performance of the Figo is EFFORTLESS. The turbo-lag is extremely well-contained and the engine feels torquey at near-idle RPMs too. 5th gear, 1200 RPM: put your foot down and the car picks up smartly. The 2nd gear speed-breaker test is passed easily however, I always shift down to 1st below 10kmph. The engine is so tractable lower down that it altered my driving style in the city and I have to consciously keep the revs a bit higher in the Creta to work around the lag whenever I switch. The Figo picks up quickly in 3rd from ~1100 rpm whereas the Creta requires a downshift to 2nd. I do not lug the engine ever, and my operating RPMs in the city range between 1200 - 2500 RPM. The driveability is of a tall order and it is only when you floor the pedal below 1500 RPM that you feel a slight delay. The nature of the motor makes the Figo effortless to pilot in flowing city traffic and with some anticipatory driving, it is possible to cruise in a single gear for extended periods of time. Get this, the 4th gear is usable from 35kmph all the way to 160kmph and is a boon in flowing traffic. IMO, the Ford motor is a gem and completely at home in the city and on the highway.

As good as the engine is in the city, the highway is its home turf. While the low-end is strong, cross 1800 RPM and the turbo comes on full boost pushing you into your seat. It is not like the Hyundai 1.6 CRDI, the 1.3 MJD, or even the polo 1.5 TDI wherein the turbo kick is further accentuated by the lag and the car shoots forward once the boost arrives. It is more like a strong sustained thrust that builds progressively till around 4000 RPM. The power tapers off after 4200 RPM and it is best to upshift at this point. There is a noticeable step-up in power on boost, however, the strong low-end means that the transition into the turbo-zone is much smoother and linear subduing the feeling of that characteristic turbo-kick. Mind you, the Figo will push you into your seat, just not in a sudden, unexpected manner. The 0-100kmph sprint is achieved in ~10 seconds and the torque from the engine manages to spin the 195-section tyres on upshift into 2nd as well. Frankly, the stock 175-section 14-inch rubber that came on the 'regular' Figo is plainly inadequate. The 0-100kmph is only part of the story, what makes the engine special is the in-gear acceleration. There is always a feeling of surplus power on the highways and one does not need to downshift from 5th even for relatively quick overtakes.

The midrange is explosive and the Figo climbs north of 100kmph with surprising ease. The torque from the engine really makes short work of keeping up and even overtaking cars from 2 segments above. For a small hatchback, the Figo has very long legs and due to the surplus power, you do not need to plan your overtakes. The surplus power on highways is what reduces fatigue by a great deal. The engine spins at 2300 RPM in 5th gear at 100kmph. While this is right in the turbo zone, I feel its a tad on the higher side. The 2019 Figo/Aspire got revised gear ratios and see 100kmph at around 2000-2100 RPM. The downside of the taller gearing on the newer models was, however, slightly blunted acceleration. The ideal solution that I would have wanted: a 6-speed gearbox with the first 5 ratios as is and an additional 6th ratio. The Figo is as fast, if not faster, as the Creta 1.6 CRDI to 100kmph. However, post 100kmph, the way the Figo builds speed is in another league. The Creta is not slow by any means but to keep up with the Figo past 100kmph, one needs to really work the engine.

I was completely satisfied with the Figo's performance but was always curious as to what the engine could do with a remap. I had a dieseltronic pro tuning box installed on our family's 1st gen Swift Dzire VDi and was amazed by the difference it made. Reading BHP-ian Dr.Naren's phenomenal journey with his S-cross 1.6 introduced me to the benefits of a proper customized remap over a tuning box. I firmly believe in GTO's viewpoint about modifying your ride after 3-4 years to spice up the ownership experience and bring back the excitement. Consequently, I was carefully following all the remap threads and waiting for the car to turn 3 years old. However, somewhere around the 1-year mark, the itch to remap grew stronger. BHP-ian Tharian had remapped his Aspire Sports through Code 6 and later through Wolf Moto. I was following his thread since its inception as both our cars were within months of each other in age. It was the excellent review of his car's performance post remap that made me realize that I do not want to wait to enjoy my car's full potential. I can always engage in other modifications later to rekindle the excitement. Hence, in January 2019 with 19k kms on the odo, this happened...


Remap -
It was 23rd January 2019 and I woke up to a Facebook notification that Srikanth from Wolf Moto was in Delhi-NCR for the next 2 days. After reading numerous positive reviews, I was clear that whenever I will go for a remap it will be through Wolf Moto. I called in for a day off at work and called Rajiv from Wolf Moto to discuss my doubts and requirements. We had a good conversation and my requirement was an even gain of power across the rev range while still maintaining the stock, linear power delivery characteristics of the engine.

Called up Srikanth post my talk with Rajiv and we fixed an appointment in the next 2 hours. The butterflies I had in my stomach while driving down for the appointment are probably what GTO means by adding spice to your ride through mid-life modifications. This was probably the last time I was driving the stock 1.5 TDCi in my car. I reached the meeting point, met Srikanth and he offered me a standard Stage 1 remap. I mentioned BHP-ian Tharian's custom tweaked map for his Aspire and Srikanth immediately showed me a folder labeled 'Tharian' on his laptop. Srikanth told me it was a Stage 1+ map, meaning it developed 130BHP & 260NM (claimed) rather than their default stage 1 map (125 BHP, 250NM). I was clear that I wanted to sample the 'Tharian' map on my car. It took 5 minutes for Srikanth to flash the map through the OBD port on my car and we went for a spin. Contrary to what I had read on the forum, I could not feel an immediate difference in the engine. It was running a bit smoother and the mid-range felt a tad stronger (placebo maybe!) but it was nowhere near the incremental difference that the reviews mentioned. We drove for around 10-15 kms and I was starting to get a bit disappointed. Srikanth was constantly reminding me of how it takes around 200-300kms for the ECU to learn your driving behavior and for the full effect of the map to show. He was always willing to give me a higher tune as well if I wanted.

Driving on an empty stretch of road while returning to the meeting point, I was in 5th gear @ 70kmph and depressed the throttle by about 30% to overtake a cab. It was at that very instant that magic happened! the way the speedo climbed from 70 to 110kmph at part throttle took me by surprise! I had not experienced something like this in all the 19k kms on the stock map. That is when things started falling in place and the effects of the remap started manifesting themselves, stronger and stronger with each passing km. I took a U-turn. 2nd gear, 35kmph: I floored it. There was some dust on the road and the front wheels spun a little before hooking up and pushing us back into our seats. My car spinning its wheels in 2nd without any clutch modulation on the tarmac just by virtue of the sheer torque flowing through them had never happened before. The acceleration was clearly a notch above the stock engine tune and we breached 100kmph in no time in 3rd. I was satisfied and smiling from ear to ear. I now knew what the remap reviews mentioned. Happy with the map, I parted ways with Srikanth and headed back home with a plan to put 300kms on the odo in the next couple of days. The childlike excitement was unfathomable for my family and I had fallen in love with the Figo all over again. Kudos to Tharian for tweaking the Wolf stage 1 map for his Aspire and to Team-BHP through which I could read about it. The exact same map found its place under the hood of my car as well.


Post-remap experience -
The car has run ~40,000 kms post remap to date and has been supremely reliable without any powertrain issues. To compensate for the higher output from the engine, I adjusted my service intervals to ~7.5k to 8k kms with an air filter cleaning every 4k kms. I am on my stock clutch at ~61,000 kms and the clutch has plenty of life left. The power delivery remains entertaining as ever with the Figo being an absolute beast on the highway, leaving much larger cars behind. These last 40,000 kms have seen the car travel in cities, highways, ghats, and mountains. The engine has never failed to impress me even with a full load of passengers up relatively steep climbs.

The biggest benefit of the remap for me has been the reduced fatigue on highways and mountains. Apart from the reduced NVH, the added power further negated the need to downshift from 5th on the highways as long as one is above 60kmph. I have driven extremely long distances on the highway without needing to touch the clutch and the gearstick. The overtakes too are quicker, with 80-120 kmph being achieved extremely fast thus adding to the safety. The quick and effortless acceleration also helps with keeping the average speed over a journey higher without exceeding the speed limit. I am able to attain cruising speeds faster and it makes a difference on longer journeys

Of course, the real joy of the remap is to be had when driving hard. While the stock 1.5 TDCi falls out of the powerband above ~4000 rpm, with the remap it pulls till 4600rpm. The Figo is capable of flying on the expressways. One particular trait I enjoy is its ability to pull away from drivers (usually in an SUV) honking away while I am waiting for 2 trucks to overtake each other. Drop it into 2nd / 3rd and floor it. The look of surprise on the drivers' faces is evident as they catch up at the next bottleneck.

Once on a drive from Delhi to Jaipur, it was a Sunday and I was driving a bit fast due to lesser traffic early morning. There was this Linea T-jet on my tail. It was like the guy was following my lead as we overtook slower traffic on the highway while maintaining a safe distance, of course (I always allow tailgaters to pass). After 50-60 kms, I stopped at a restaurant for coffee and the T-jet guy slowed down to show a thumbs-up. That was one of many memorable drives I have had with the Figo, even though I didn't cross 120kmph.

Just for fun and after being coaxed by my friend, I downloaded an app called - 'Car Timer' from the App store onto my phone. It is an acceleration timer that measures 0-100 and 1/4 mile times using your phone's GPS. There might be a much better app available for this, but my friend had used this app to test his GLC 220d 4-MATIC. To rule out any app-induced variations, I used the same app to time the cars at my home on a closed road near my house. The timing for the Figo pleasantly surprised me -

Mercedes GLC 220d 4-MATIC - 8.16 Secs (Benchmark)

Hyundai Creta SX 1.6 D MT - 10.21 Secs
Kia Seltos GTX+ 1.5D AT - 11.54 Secs

Remapped Ford Figo S 1.5 D MT - 8.89 Secs

This timing was after 2 trials wherein the car clocked 9.23 Secs and 9.87 Secs. It is a bit tricky to launch as anything above 2200 rpm at launch means excessive wheelspin. I didn't do more runs as it takes a toll on the powertrain. Hitting the ton in ~9 secs is pretty fast for an 8-lakh rupee diesel hatchback that gives me 22 kmpl regularly on highways.


Gearbox & clutch -


Piano black gearshifter top looks good and feels nice to hold

The Figo gets a revised version of the IB5 gearbox that has been around since the Ikon days. As the name suggests, it gets 5 forward ratios and 1 reverse ratio. The gearbox is not sure-slotting like VW or Hyundai boxes. But neither it is notchy enough to be a deal-breaker. The gearshift quality improved significantly in the first 10,000 kms and now I don't find it bothersome even when I switch to the Figo after the Creta. It is completely fine in normal and even some spirited driving. Quick shifts during 0-100 kmph runs or traffic light getaways require a forceful hand. A slicker box would have surely added to the driving experience but, I have gotten used to the gearbox and have no issues with it now.

The ratios too are well-chosen and suited to the engine with 4th and 5th being overdrive ratios. The car can pull easily from standstill too in 2nd with a bit of clutch work but I never slip the clutch and always shift down to 1st below 10 kmph.

The clutch is light by diesel standards though not as much as a Hyundai or even Maruti clutch. It is progressive though and has never become cumbersome for me in traffic to date. The travel is slightly longer than what you get in a swift diesel but on par with other hatches in the category. My target is to cross 1,00,000 kms on the stock clutch which seems fairly achievable given the current state of my clutch at 60,000 kms which includes significant driving on hills.


Braking -


Solid discs at the front (would have loved a red-painted caliper here)


Drum brakes at the rear

The S gets the same braking setup as the regular car with ventilated discs at the front and drums at the rear. I have often found the calibration of the braking system to be more important than simply having rear discs and cars like the Figo are testament to this. The brakes are confidence-inspiring and have the ability to shed speed quickly. There is ample feel at the pedal and the braking is progressive even from very high speeds. The car also stops in a straight line with no drama and the wider tyres on the S surely help reduce the braking distance. They are not idiot-proof brakes as on the Abarth Punto and they do have their limits, but they are strong enough to reign in the powerful engine.

The ABS system is a bit more sensitive than I would have liked and there is sometimes that wooden feel in the pedal when braking hard on loose gravel or dust. One does need to be careful on these surfaces as the braking distance can increase considerably as the ABS system prevents slip. The brakes fared well on a track day at the Buddh International Circuit as well, however, I did observe some fade after 30 minutes of track time which I think is acceptable for a budget hatch.


Handling & steering -
The changes made to the normal Figo to spawn the S variant were mainly in the handling and looks departments. The hardware changes over the regular model were -

• Stiffer front anti-roll bar
• Stiffer springs that are 10mm shorter than the regular variants
• Wider tyres (195-section) on 15-inch (vs 14) rims

This is the UK-spec suspension setup that Ford India plonked in the Indian version. It has been widely debated that this setup should have been the stock setup for the Figo in India. The changes, albeit not monumental, do come together to elevate the driving experience over the regular car significantly. The wider tyres on bigger wheels bring in more grip in corners while aiding the braking performance and steering feel. The stiffer springs reduce roll and keep the car stable during directional changes. Overall, it is a *practical* setup, one which is an able partner when you want to have fun while not compromising daily usability.

The Figo's build was a departure from the previous model. As a result, it does feel light, there's no denying the fact. The changes made make the Figo S feel like a go-kart on wheels. The older Figo too felt like a go-kart, but a heavier go-kart. Enter a corner and you immediately notice that the turn-in is very sharp aided by the wider tyres and good EPS tuning. The S doesn't roll as much as the normal car in the corner. The grip from the tyres allows you to carry higher speed and put the power down earlier on exit with the torque from the motor propelling you ahead.

The car is extremely stable during lane changes and mountains/ghats are its home ground. The sweetness of the mechanical package really shines through on twisty roads. You naturally carry more speed into corners without even hustling it. I am able to pull away from crossovers and other hatchbacks on hills without even gunning it. When I do decide to drive hard, the speeds that can be carried into corners are pretty good. The car resists understeer well enough and has a very playful tendency for lift-off oversteer. You can feel the car rotating tighter on lift-off with the sensation of the tail getting a bit loose through the steering. This is not to say that it doesn't hold its line well. Just at the limit, I feel there is a fine balance between over and understeer in the overall setup that can be modulated by the driver. That the engine is an able contributor to the chassis capabilities ensures a high order of raw driving pleasure.

I took the Figo to the Buddh International Circuit for a track day and on the track, I felt the need for a stiffer setup and more front-end grip. The diesel torque and weight at the front overwhelms the tyres and it is fairly easy to make the inside front wheel spin in a turn wasting power. Adding a rear anti-roll bar to this setup would make it properly *sweet* I feel. For a road-going setup, I find the suspension tuning to be sporty enough.

The steering feedback was and still is one of the best in the segment. It is acceptably light within the city and weighs up well on the highways. The return to center action is good and it communicates what the car is doing. The slight gripe I have with the EPS is the slack at the center position. Even so, the steering feel was one of the deciding factors in my choosing the Ford over the polo.

The S just somehow manages to bring a smile to your face. I often find myself taking the Figo out for early morning drives just to enjoy the sensation of driving. The Figo S isn't the hottest hatch, nor does it offer unreal handling or performance. It is just that it makes you want to throw it around a bit harder than the regular car. It has its limits, just that they are slightly higher than other mass-market cars I have driven and the fun lies in it coaxing you to explore them.

[Vibhanshu0923]

The practicality of a Figo S

NVH -
The NVH package in the Figo is decent for its class. You will always be aware of driving a diesel but it is not excessively intrusive once warmed up. There is shake on start-up and shut-down. The engine is audible too at all times, but A/C and music drown it out quite well. On the highways, cruising at 80-90 kmph it is barely audible. However, crossing 100kmph sees an increase in engine as well as road noise. Still , it isn't something that will bother you if you are used to diesel cars and in fact its a tad better than other diesels other than of course Hyundai.

The engine also sounds kind-of sporty in the higher reaches of the rev-band and the note is not agricultural or clattery. The engine became marginally smoother and less noisy post the remap. The vibrations are well-controlled when the engine is warmed up and somehow the engine feels very smooth post a highway drive like it enjoys the exercise.

Road noise is a bit much inside the cabin and insulation is par for the budget hatchback category. The switch to Michelins surely brought down the noise. It is again at par with its class and some light music and the running aircon makes the cabin a nice place to be. The NVH package doesn't allow the Figo to mask speeds. I do a lot of highway runs and NVH is important to me hence I damped my car (more on this later) and the NVH package now is much better with the cabin noticeably quieter.


Fuel Efficiency -


Such figures on the MID are common. The actual mileage for this tankful was around 20 kmpl

The 1.5 TDCi is known for its frugality and the Figo offers stellar efficiency. Even with the remap, I regularly see 20-21 kmpl on highway drives with speeds ranging from 100-120 kmph. The city efficiency too is phenomenal with it returning close to ~18kmpl in the city. All this even when I am not a very sedate driver on the highways and generally maintain good speeds with occasional bursts to the redline as well. In city traffic however, I baby the car. I am all for predictive driving and accelerate gently ensuring smooth gearshifts and braking. No point in stressing the car mechanically to reach your destination 5 minutes faster.

The 40-litre fuel tank coupled with the excellent efficiency translates to a range of ~700 kms on the highway which is impressive. I did a ~600km (of which ~350kms is on the hills) drive to Chopta in Uttarakhand with 5 people in the car and their luggage. To my surprise, the mileage I got on the drive was ~19 kmpl without babying the car. I often feel getting below ~18kmpl with the Figo requires some effort. The maximum I have ever extracted is ~23 kmpl with conscious effort to try and keep speeds below 100 on the highway (very tough).


Ride -
The normal Figo rides well at city speeds. The S however is stiff. There is an underlying firmness to the ride and you are aware of the road surface in cities at all times. The prescribed tyre pressure of 32 PSI for low load scenarios makes things even stiffer and I have found the sweet spot to be 30 PSI. Taking city bumps at speed results in an uncomfortable 'THUD' with the bump coming in sharply as well. It doesn't have the 'Euro' car ability to nonchalantly absorb bumps at speed. I slow down more than other cars on the road on rough roads. Part of it is because of my mechanical empathy towards my car and part is because of the stiffer setup. The plastic speed breakers which were earlier restricted to mall parking lots have found their way on streets as well now in hoards and those are the Achilles heel of the S. You will have to be patient with the Figo S on these if you don't want to torture your suspension. The increase in tyre profile from 55 to 60 does make the ride marginally better, but still not what you'd call plush.

On the highways though the absorption is very good. The car rides flat and recovery from undulations is very impressive. The suspension does not have residual bounciness after a bump which is present to some extent in the normal Figo/Aspire. It just stays hunkered down on uneven surfaces at cruising speeds. Bigger undulations (and potholes) do require you to drop your speed and they can toss you around in the cabin. Where a polo might glide through without having to slow down, the Figo S might require you to drop your speed by 20-30 kmph. Even so, the highway ride is superbly compliant and at no point does the S feel floaty or skittish even at illegal speeds. Mid-corner bump absorption too is good with the car holding its line well.

High speed stability is very good however, the car doesn't mask speed like European cars. I realized the difference between high-speed stability and the speed-masking ability of cars only after owning the Figo S. You will always be aware that you are travelling at 110kmph, but you will be extremely confident of maintaining your speed. The dynamics package is capable enough to handle emergency maneuvers at much higher speeds than the average cruising speed.

Missed potholes at highway speeds result in a 'THUD' from the suspension, however the Ford doesn't feel fragile and there is no loss of composure even then. The reduced vertical movement at high speeds keeps the passengers comfortable and I have often found myself carrying higher speed on smaller undulations in the Figo than in other cars. All in all, the slow speed ride is a tad stiff and requires slow tackling of bumps, while highway ride quality is good enough with the car feeling comfortable and stable.


Safety features -
The Figo S was based on the Titanium variant of the regular car. This means it missed out on 6 airbags which Titanium+ offered. The S gets 2 front airbags, ABS and EBD. How I wish Ford had based the Sports edition on Titanium+ model. The difference would have been very manageable in EMI terms.


Interior features / bells & whistles -
The Figo was never a feature loaded car to begin with and the S variant didn't address that aspect. You get the basic convenience features but this is no Hyundai (or XUV 700). The list of missing features might run longer than what it has if we compare it to today's hatchbacks. No projector headlamps, DRLs, touchscreen, Android Auto / Apple Car play etc. etc. here.

As I didn't have many feature requirements to begin with, I am fine with what the car offers. But there is no denying the fact that this was, even in 2017, an outdated offering in terms of features and convenience.


Ground clearance -


The 170mm of standard ground clearance increased by ~9mm due to the switch to 60-profile rubber

The Figo S gets a ground clearance of 170mm. The drop in ride height due to shorter springs is made up by the 15-inch rims. The ground clearance is enough to clear most speed breakers and potholes. The stiff suspension further resists sagging under load and I have faced no issues with the ground clearance. I have extensively driven the Figo on non-existent road patches in the mountains and with a bit of careful placement, the Figo passed through without scraping.

Now, with the switch to 60-profile tyres, the ground clearance is not an issue at all.


After-sales service and cost of upkeep -
Ford's after-sales service is decent and I found it to be on par with other manufacturers in terms of service centre competence and professionalism. It totally depends on the centre and your advisor/mechanic. I was able to build a rapport with the service centre and that helped me in getting my car serviced the way I like. I always stay back during services and used to take pre-planned day offs from work to be supervise the service. Read far too many instances of service centre people mistreating cars, charging the owner without actually changing the engine oil etc. to leave my car unattended with the service centre. Now with Ford gone from India, hope the service doesn't deteriorate.

Ford really worked on the cost of maintenance of their vehicles and it showed. Unfortunately only to the owner, as majority of people still don't know how reasonable Ford service is. A typical service costs around ~6-7k rupees and the replacement parts, if any, too are reasonably priced. You receive the estimate of a service on your phone when the job card is opened and the actual invoice amount is within INR 500 of that usually.

The typical service centre problems of not acknowledging problems and limited diagnostic competence exist but is no more than other brands. One interesting anecdote from my initial service centre visits was their failure to recognize the existence of an S variant in the Figo/Aspire lineup. They were and probably still are clueless about the changes made to the sports edition. They asked me about the 'modifications' I had done to my car visually. One service advisor actually had the gall to tell me that my warranty is void because of the 'upsized' tyres. Needless to say, he never received a service request for my car again.

[Vibhanshu0923]

Other Points

• The boot release button is conveniently located beside the headlight rotary switch. No need to bend down and search in the dark at mall entrances. Moreover, the boot release only functions when the car is stationary. Nice.

• The headlights have some nifty features: Pull the stalk towards yourself when the car is off and the follow-me-home function is activated. You can also switch on the parking lamps of a single side by engaging the turn indicator stalk to that side when the car is off. You also get an audible chime if you leave the headlight switch on and take out the key after switching off the car. (the lights turn off to save the battery if the engine is switched off)

• Stalks behind the steering wheel are of acceptable quality but the indicator action is crude. Feels cheap at every turn! Wiper operation and high beam switch on the other hand have an acceptable action.

• The MID is basic with old-style CASIO fonts. You get the DTE, Avg. speed, 1 trip meter, Avg. & instantaneous fuel economy and outside temperature. Would have loved the idling fuel consumption and coolant temperature readout as in the facelift model here. The button to toggle the MID is located on the right stalk. Extremely ergonomic.
  
  
  The button at the end of the stalk marked 'TRIP' is used to toggle the MID
  

• The steering mounted audio controls HAVE call answer/decline functionality but strangely have no markings of it! The 'prev. track' button answers an incoming call while the 'next track' button declines it.
  
  
  Prev. track button to answer a Bluetooth call and the Next track button to decline
  

• There is no 'Mute' button for the audio system anywhere. Not on the head unit, nor on the steering wheel. Gets annoying having to turn the volume knob all the way down and up again

• The Figo gets a gearshift indicator for upshifts (doesn't advise downshifts). Under usual driving, it suggests an upshift around 1500 - 1700 RPM. But floor the pedal and it gives up , probably realizing that fuel economy is not on the driver's mind at this moment.
  
  
  

• Thankfully, the Figo remembers the audio and climate control settings when you restart. It always starts up in the last set mode for the audio system and climate control (including the re-circulation setting).

• There is only 1 USB slot in the entire car! and that too is located inside the 'My Dock'. If you wish to use the USB slot without placing your phone in the dock, the USB cable goes right over the center fascia. Looks very cluttered and ugly! On a road trip with friends or family, you will have to invest in a multi-mobile charger that runs through the 12V socket.
  
  Dropping a link to the fast charger I use for my phone - https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...0?ie=UTF8&th=1 - good quality and super-fast charging time.
  
  [Disclaimer: I am in no way related to the seller or manufacturer of the product and stand to have no monetary, social, or goodwill benefit from this]

• No height-adjustable seatbelts - they are located at a convenient height for most people though.
  
  
  

• The seatbelt reminder is present only for the driver and is especially annoying . Makes you buckle up compulsorily.

• There is a 1-hour cutoff time for the 'accessory' mode in the Figo. Listening to music while waiting in the car, the 'accessory' mode will automatically turn off after 1 hour requiring you to move the key to the 'off' position and back again to the 'accessory' position.

• The parking lamps light up on unlocking the car and even when you take the key out after switching off the car. If a door (including the boot or the bonnet) is partially shut and you lock the car, the car will lock but the parking lamps will stay on as an indication that not all doors are shut properly. I find this approach a lot better than Hyundai, which doesn't allow you to lock the car if any door is not properly shut.

• Pressing the 'lock' button on the remote key twice within a gap of 5 seconds results in the horn sounding once. Can be used as a sound confirmation that the car is locked and also to locate your car in a crowded parking lot. The feature doesn't work if you locked the car with any door/hood/boot not properly shut.

• The rear wash & wipe is activated by pulling the left steering column stalk towards yourself. This is a bit counter-intuitive as in the majority of cars, pulling the wiper stalk to you will engage the front wash & wipe. I have seen a few service centre folks examining the front windshield washer pipes on my car because the washer was not engaging upon pulling the wiper stalk. The look of embarrassment on their faces when I walked in and showed them how it worked!
  
  
  Press the button at the end of the stalk to activate the windshield washer. The different intervals for the 'Intermittent' wipers can be adjusted by the rotary dial
  

• The rear washer nozzle, on the other hand, is integrated superbly with the high-mounted stop lamp.
  
  
  The integrated washer with the high-mounted stop lamp. Would have been nicer if it would have been painted red
  

• Engage reverse when your front wipers are on and the rear wiper turns on automatically and switches off when you slot out of reverse. Sweet!

• There is a plastic lip under the front bumper (possibly for aerodynamics) that scrapes on ramps and tall speed breakers. It is very un-nerving to feel the lip scrape as you are never sure whether it was the lip or the front bumper that scraped.
  
  
  The front bumper plastic lip with memoirs of multiple scrapes
  

• There is no underbody protection and you can see the ground below clearly from the engine bay. The ground clearance is sufficient for roads but there is always a risk of a wayward stone from the tyres hitting the oil sump. I thought of fitting the official engine guard for the freestyle from Ford but it has different mounting points than what is available on the Figo.
  
  
  No protection whatsoever. The oil sump is fully exposed. I am often the slowest person on broken roads
  

• The spare tyre is 175/65/R14 (the size that came standard on the regular cars) mounted on a steel wheel. While on the regular cars it did not carry a speed limit due to the similar size of all the tyres, on the S you are restricted to 80 kmph on the spare wheel.
  
  
  Smaller size tyre mounted on steel wheel. Comes with an '80 kmph' sticker in yellow.
  

• The radiator fan is LOUD. The fan makes quite a racket on the outside in summers with AC on as it cuts in and out frequently. It is not as loud as the old Figo though and one needs to listen carefully to hear the fan inside the cabin with the aircon running.

• The 1.5 TDCi is known to smoke more than other diesels in the segment when under load which could be seen in the ORVM. Embarrassing! My car used to do the same but post remap the smoke has either reduced drastically or has gone altogether. I have tried to see smoke in my ORVM under various conditions post remap but its thankfully not visible at all.

• The anti-stall on the Figo is a bit weird. It raises engine rpm slightly as you let go of the clutch from a standstill to prevent the engine from stalling. It has a secondary clutch switch that detects the clutch position and raises the rpm. Once the clutch is fully released, the secondary switch has no function and that makes the rpm drop suddenly resulting in a slight jerk. It requires some careful modulation of the clutch and throttle to get off seamlessly in first gear. Not a big trouble, just something that takes getting used to.

[Vibhanshu0923]

Modifications/Accessories

While the remap is the most important change made to the car, I have also made a couple of additional mods to the Figo over the years to remedy some of the things that bothered me

1. Damping -

The Figo diesel always had a decent NVH package for its segment. It was all good when the engine was between 1500 RPM - 2100 RPM at medium speeds (45-80 kmph). However, the ambient noise inside the cabin at speeds lower or higher than these was a bit too much for my liking. The remap had improved the NVH slightly but it was still not up to my satisfaction. The vibration levels inside the cabin were fine and I never had much issue with them, it was the noise that bothered me. Maybe having 2 Hyundai-Kia diesels at home spoilt me. Diesels also have a tendency to become slightly noisier with age and hence working on the NVH package would help on that end too.

I had always heard of damping being done by people who seriously upgraded their car audio systems to reduce vibrations. Through some online reading, I learnt that damping can help with NVH improvement as well. Read up the Team-BHP thread on damping materials. Found some excellent recommendations and also aligned my expectations that damping will not convert my Ford into a Hyundai in terms of refinement.

I did not want to upgrade the audio system in the Figo as yet (planned for later when I get bored). So with clear expectations and goals, went ahead with damping the doors and the floor of the Figo. We used CTK sheets for the doors and Dr. Artex sheets for the floor. I also though of damping the bonnet (it comes with factory-installed insulation) but decided against it as I was not comfortable with the high temperatures involved and my limited knowledge about the material that was being proposed.

Used 4 sheets for the doors and 6 sheets for the floor. The total cost came up to around INR 14k.


The front door pad opened up


CTK Damping sheets


Damping material applied to the door pad as well. The multi-color cloth type material is the factory-installed insulation


Rear door pad removed for damping


Damping material applied inside the door, behind the speaker housing as well


Results -
The immediate difference was in the weight of the doors. The lighter doors of the Figo suddenly felt sturdier, more like Ecosport doors. The 'Thud' too was slightly better.

Shutting the door, it was evident that the surrounding noises were filtering in a lot lesser. Unfortunately, As it was a working day and I was crunched for time, I missed doing a sound level test before the damping, hence I do not have the scientific measurement of the improvements. The cabin overall felt quieter even with the engine switched on. I reckon there would have been a drop of 5-10 Db in the sound level inside the cabin at the least

Cruising on highways has become a bit more relaxed. Road noise is extremely well-controlled now due to the Michelins and the floor damping. This has accentuated the engine note inside the cabin at cruising speeds which was earlier drowned out by the road noise. Overall, the cruising NVH is still a sizeable improvement with the damping

The damping has delivered well on my expectations and I'll probably be damping all my future cars till I probably buy a BMW.


2. Projector Foglamps -

Poor headlight spread was another area that bothered me on the Figo. The throw and intensity of headlamps are strictly average while the foglamps are completely useless. The poor quality of the reflectors (burning issue) meant that a swap to 90/100 bulbs too was not possible. As Figo comes with circular fog lamp housing, a quick search online provided that IPH Bi-Xenon Projector foglamps would be a plug-and-play setup. The reviews of the setup on this forum too were largely positive.

Got the setup installed at a trusted accessory shop that had installed the IPH setup on another Aspire. It was a 30-minute job with the major portion being dismantling the front bumper. I went with HID bulbs in the projector coupled with a Hella relay between the battery and the ballasts. The IPH projectors themselves are of very good quality with good heft to the construction. As my car has halogen headlights, I wanted a slightly yellow tinge for HID bulb output as well. Chose 3200K HIDs and the output nicely blended with my halogen headlights.

I did not connect the high-low beam switch of the fog lamps to the headlights as that involved splicing the headlamp wire to feed power to the foglamps. The foglamps are in low beam always, which is more than sufficient for my usage. The output of the IPH projectors is fantastic! It has a broad spread and sharp cut-off. I'll let the pictures showcase the output -


No lights


Parking lights ON


Only headlight low-beam ON (no fog lamps)


Only IPH projector fog lamps ON in low-beam (headlight low-beam OFF)


Headlight high-beam ON (no fog lamps)


IPH projector fog lamps low-beam + headlight low-beam ON


IPH projector fog lamps low-beam + headlight high-beam ON

The increase in intensity and throw brought by the fog lamp installation to the Figo's lighting setup is really significant and night drives on highways are a lot safer now. It cost me INR 7k for the Projectors + HID bulbs + Relays + Installation and to me, it screams value for money given the output and the ease of installation.


Experimenting with Additives -

What better way to improve NVH than targeting the source! In my pursuit of a quieter cabin, I experimented with quite a few fuel and engine oil additives mostly motivated by the experiences of members like Dr.Naren and Tharian. The list of additives I tried are -

Fuel additives -

• Liqui Moly Speed Tec
• Liqui Moly Super Diesel
• Arbo Diesel Fuel Treatment
• Cetane X
• AMSOIL Diesel Cetane Boost

Engine oil additives / Flush -

• Liqui Moly Engine Flush
• Liqui Moly Oil Additive
• Liqui Moly Ceratec

After spending significant money on trying out these additives, I swear by Cetane X & AMSOIL fuel additives as well as Liqui Moly Ceratec + Engine flush. Using Cetane X / AMSOIL cetane boost sure does have a very perceptible increase in smoothness along with a reduction in engine noise. The engine becomes a lot friendlier in the mid-range and top-end. The difference for me is significant enough that I now run these additives on every alternate tank.

As for Ceratec, I was a fence-sitter for a long time. But finally decided to try it in the recent 60k KMS service. Drained the old oil with Liqui Moly engine flush. Poured 200 ml less oil and added 200 ml Ceratec post service. The difference in engine smoothness, NVH, and rev-happiness is distinctly perceivable. While Ceratec is certainly expensive, I am looking forward to testing their claim that effects last even after an oil change.

The fuel additives + Ceratec have made the engine butter smooth in terms of vibrations. The noise has also come down but it still is no Hyundai diesel. I am enjoying the creaminess and for me, that is money well spent.

[Vibhanshu0923]

Ford's exit & what lies in the future?

Ford's exit from the Indian market was expected but still a shocker for me when it actually happened in September 2021. It is a shame that the enthusiasts lost a brand that catered to their needs. Ford indeed made some great cars, my Figo S included. I am not worried about the service aspect as they have committed to serving their vehicles currently on road in India. I think now the owners too have believed that the service and after-sales support will continue as I no longer see the frantic selling spree that many owners went on!

With ~60k kms on the odo, the Figo has been a phenomenally reliable car for me, beating even the Hyundai-Kia twins too *touchwood*. I have only replaced one headlight reflector and the driver-side ORVM electric-fold motor under warranty. It has never left me stranded and has always been a competent partner to ferry me in comfort & glee on multiple 600+ kms drives.

The competence of the S will make it a nightmare to upgrade/buy another car. There is not a single car in the market today that offers the combination of an explosive engine, chuckable handling, reliability, and diesel economy. Maybe the Tata Altroz, but it is not as fast as the Figo. With manufacturers moving to petrols, people like me, who rejoiced at the combination of performance and economy provided by diesels are disappointed. With the car already being ~4.5 years old, I will be keeping and driving the Figo till the wheels come off.

I have far too many memories with the car and moments spent in the driving seat have been blissful, to say the least. Cars define a major portion of my life and the Figo S has been a terrific start to my automotive ownership journey. It has been a long review, this will probably be the first ownership review of the Figo S on Team-BHP. Even though it is 90% similar to the regular car, that 10% difference is significant enough to elevate its appeal to drivers. I'll probably add pictures from my trips to the thread later.



Cheers!

-Vibhanshu0923

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[gururajrv]

Amazing write up! Detailed and crisp review. I loved that episode of Wolf Remap

To me, the appearance of the car explains the nature of the owner! This is that thread that tells how deeply you nurture that relationship you hold with your first car. How about an upsize with a nice looking alloys to spice up its looks, may be? Have seen quite a good looking Figo’s with looks enhanced with a pair of good looking wheels & tires. Keep this thread updated!

Happy & safe many more lakhs of KMS with this White Small Elephant

[Senna_sempre]

Excellent write up mate. Enjoyed reading it. I also own a same car and its a hoot to drive and very aptly we can call it as "Pocket Rocket".

The Engine guard offered for Freestyle will fit snug to Figo as well. I have got it installed for my car and have no issues with it. Try to check with the FASS. Its a must have accessory for our roads and last thing we want is a leaking oil sump due to stone hits.

Cheers and wishing you many more happy miles

[karan561]

Vibhanshu, Congratulation on your Figo 1.5 S

Great detailed write up and pics to showcase your 1.5 S with the mods you've done & the tyre upsize now really completes the package/recipe for a Diesel Hot Hatch.

Originally Posted by Vibhanshu0923

The 1.5L diesel motor was a stonking engine and made even more torque than it did in the Ecosport! BHPian Karan561's review of his sweet Figo diesel with the Momo alloys further solidified my liking for the car. By pitting the Ford against a GT TDI in a drag race, Karan561 effectively answered the one question lingering on my mind. The diesel Figo was one of the fastest diesel hatchbacks around

Glad to know my Figo's Video Review & Thread helped in your buy decision process.

All the best

[Achilles]

Very nicely written ownership review!

Originally Posted by Vibhanshu0923

[center]

2. Projector Foglamps -

It cost me INR 7k for the Projectors + HID bulbs + Relays + Installation and to me, it screams value for money given the output and the ease of installation.

Did you purchase these online? Could you please provide the link for these items? I am also planning for a projector upgrade on my Aspire.