[CasperRider]

Excellent review, appreciate the detailing. One quick question: Why did ford do a cut-paste job from Fusion on the exterior, especially the rear?

[jkdas]

Excellent review GTO.

-ve: should have compared seating/drivability/comfort etc with respect to Beat IMHO.

Good one Ford. The selling point should be its bigger size, more space/airiness unlike the competition ( excluding the Vista). Not to forget the proven diesel engine and the 5 year extended service plan.

It was Go FIDA in a Fiesta, now it Go FIDA in FIGO ?

[amtak]

GTO,

I you had 4 lakh (So petrol only) to spare and given the choice between Figo and Beat, which one would you pick?

[samsan02]

GTO ! Thats a very nice and a detailed review. Thanks for it. Figo will be a decent hit if priced correctly, its somewhere in between likes of i10s,swifts and the i20s/puntos/polos. Had it been launched a bit earlier I would have surely considered it over my Punto because I am sure it would have been cheaper.

Best things I liked
It doesn't look like a small car.
Foldable rear seats a big plus.
284 liters of boot wow, beats the punto by 4 litres.

Apart from these things I think it should be a real VFM.
Dash Color - Thank God its available in black as well.
AC Controls - they look like its on a indica
No rear Power windows - even if it was 60%, it should have been there.

[SPARKled]

Well IMHO the looks are a bit dated and Ford has not done any good to themselves by having the the Figo based out of the earlier gen Fiesta which itself looks quite dated now. This would have been a better launch maybe a 2 years back but sorry I cant see this car compete atleast in the looks department which is so very important in India with the Punto, new UV-A, the Polo or even the Ritz which all look atleast a generation newer. As it is based on the older Fiesta which itself has been on sale here for more than 5 years now, I cant see Ford being able to get good sales figures by flogging the same old design for another 5 years atleast, even with their numerous limited edition variants. Sorry Ford, I love your cars and even own one, but I think this was a hurried and possibly a bad decision to get some sort of hatchback in the over crowded premium hatch back segment.

[11mahesh11]

Hi GTO,

Beautiful in depth review as usual, what more can anyone ask. one of the pic showing fiesta and figo, figo seems to have a larger frame and presence than fiesta. Is that true in flesh.

Are u still in Goa.??

which place??

I am from Goa, will try and meet u. it will be a pleasure and pride to me.

[chaudharysaab]

Nice Review GTO.
I don't know how i am going to react when i will see the Red clay dashboard myself in real.
I think what ford is trying to do here is to give the figo interior the monotonous reddish look by keeping the seat fabric, instrument backlight and dashboard red.
Bonnet opener on right hand side is i think the leftover while switching the right hand side driving mode to left hand side, alas how can they miss that.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by keshav1426

Would you prefer the Beat to the Figo ?

should have compared seating/drivability/comfort etc with respect to Beat IMHO.

Neither the Beat nor the Figo have class-leading petrol engines. That honour stays with the Ritz K series as of today in the price segment. The petrol in either of these cars just about "does the job". Low end response of the Figo is better, but I don't think any Beat owners will complain of driveability (as Kappa owners do).

Ride quality : Both are comfortable. Neither has any bumpiness.

Handling & dynamics : Figo. No two sides to that.

Rear seat comfort : Figo. The Beat is claustrophobic at the rear and under-thigh support poor.

Design : The Beat is undoubtedly more contemporary and futuristic.

FE : Beat.

Equipment : Beat. Tilt adjust steering + climate control + alloys.

Originally Posted by sameern.85

Somehow I dont think it will stack up to the likes of Hyundai i20 and Indica Vista levels in terms of interior quality as well as rear leg room...

The i20 is from a higher price segment, so any comparison is futile. The Indica Vista retains its position as the most spacious hatch in this segment. The Figo's interiors have far better quality than the Vista / Punto, but nowhere close to the plush i20.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

1.Does the Diesel [Duratorq??] feel nose heavy during braking or while taking turns?

It's a small 1.4 diesel and one that weighs < 100 kilos. No, it doesn't feel front heavy. If it was a 1.9 diesel or something, then the situation could have been different.

how are the brakes for the non ABS Diesel? Do they feel adequate? Ford has a bad reputation with the brakes. I am particularly concerned with the smaller discs as well.

No experience with the non-ABS. And, if you ask me, as a BHPian, you should ONLY buy an ABS equipped car.

For a car with such a nice chassis and communicative steering, I would really miss a good wheel position.

So true. 100% agreed. A tilt steering is now an accepted basic requirement with a 5 lakh rupee car. Very soon, reach adjust will be too. Thumbs down to Ford for skimping on this.

Originally Posted by Gilead

It's good to know that the Figo has decent build quality and not just another tin can.

Build is similar to the Fiesta. Yup, no tin can feeling here.

You should have taken the TDCi on a highway run. The engine is fantastic from 80-120.

Will take your word on it.

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

I am eagerly awaiting the pricing information. Hatchback customers may initially have doubts regarding the overall cost of ownership of a Ford car. Unless the pricing is mouth-watering, it would be difficult to attract customers who would rather prefer the safety-net of buying a Maruti/Hyundai car which are known for their low cost of ownership.

Truly. Tackling this perception, and tackling the cost of ownership, is everything to Ford right now.

1.2 litre petrol market is already too crowded. Frankly speaking, Figo 1.2 litre petrol doesn't have anything to boast of.

Agreed.

[shantyrocks]

Great review G.T.O

1)Howz the performance of the petrol compared to the Punto 1.2 ?

2)Does the dash board reflect on the wind shield while in the sun?

[mvaidy]

Great Review GTO. Hoping someone to come up with Ownership Review of Figo..

[keshav1426]

It looks like the Figo will take on the Beat primarily,since both are newer models. While Beat excels in areas like design and features, Figo seems to be doing above average in almost all the areas.Now if they can get the price and service right, I think it will go the toyota way. From Gto's highly detailed report,it doesnt look like the FIgo 1.4 Diesel has any flaws. The only annoying thing would be the manual Windows on the rear. But since they are offering Abs,Airbags etc,I guess that the positives are way ahead.

As for the 1.2 petrol, even though the engine might have below average performance,we can probably expect good mileage figures. This will appeal to many in this Category. Purely my take on things.

Regarding the interiors, It is alittle in your face. but i have a feeling that it will look hot on a black Color Figo. Even white extriers shuld gel well with it. Dont know what Ford was thinking while putting those colors for a green car.

[blackasta]

Spot on coverage GTO!
I do not think lack of rear power windows is gonna bother sales very much (we have plenty of i10 era on road with front power windows).
Weird stuf is the hood opening lever positioning (remnant from LHD car?)
But why is the petrol engine so lacklusture in performance?
Being a plain jane, only a real aggresive pricing and ad campaign can make figo a best seller.

[shadow]

Originally Posted by AkMar

Excellent review. To the point. Figo looks like a very competent car. Will Figo be the first car to have ABS + Airbags but no rear power windows?

Good one AKmar. Also, no controls on the steering, in the top variant that too! Well, the Beat covered that pretty well, wonder why Ford slept on that one

[Nilesh5417]

Why are creature comforts not even provided as an option? For a car that has ABS+EBD, would skipping on something like rear power windows really make a difference on the top end?

[shadow]

Originally Posted by <Badguy>

What was in the engineers mind when he designed them like that?

Cost cutting on the length of window wire used i think