Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/)

-   -   Review: 1st-gen Ford Figo (2010) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/74219-review-1st-gen-ford-figo-2010-a-480.html)

agree:, The superb ride and handling makes it up for the narrow seats along with the cool music system.

agree: not just rear room even the boot space and Bluetooth enabled music system along with the matured ride and suspension make it up for me.lol:

Thanks for your tips and wishes. That sure helped clear up things. I'll stick to listening to my engine whenever I can and also an eye on the revs, to keep them within 2500.

Completely agree with you. The boot is super huge and during our recent three day tour, the luggage for three adults & one child took just 75% of the boot. The pasengers were praising the rear comfort & leg space. Underbody scrapping thrice on Bellary road is different issue. I got the know the knack to avoid underscrapping, just brake early and keep the car bit free before it climbs hump and by this there were no scrapping on huge road humps. But the ride and handling is really great and it is at par with Swift's handling.

The music system is too good, though I had woofer, amp ICE setup in my earlier esteem & santro, the stock system in figo is simply superb.

I want to change the headlights in my Figo to Projectors with HIDs. Can anybody please suggest a reliable dealer in Mumbai? Thank you

Guys

I'd shortlisted many diesel cars last year and Figo was on the top of the list, but I held back because both of my current petrol cars are running like a charm, and there was no need for a third car.

But with one more kid joining the driving pool, I am now thinking once again, so wanted to check when the new model of the Figo will be launched. I don't mind waiting for a couple of months. I was thinking of the Ecosport, but after some soul searching, realised that what I need is a small hatch for city commutes. For highway drives, my Fiesta still offers the best alternative.

Please let me know if I need to add any more points to the current negatives of the Figo (I'm fully aware of the positives):-

1. Weak headlamps. This concerns me a lot as I have got used to the lights of the Fiesta, which are the best in the segment.
2. Lack of rear power windows---not a deal breaker for me. This apart, they don't fully roll down. But who drives with windows fully open nowadays?
3. GC issues when fully loaded---but I think this is an issue with most cars in the segment. But the Figo does appear bogged down when fully loaded. I can tell by looking from outside if it is fully loaded.
4. Runs out of breath on the highway---not a deal breaker for me again, as I'd be using the Fiesta for most highway trips.
5. Wafer thin bumpers---a bit concerned about this, as my Fiesta has taken many knocks on the rear and withstood most very well.
6. More in cabin diesel clatter than the Swift or i-20. Same as Punto and perhaps Liva (no idea about Micra and Polo)

I'd also like to know what alternatives are there for the weaknesses above. For instance, can I upgrade the headlamps without risking warranty? And would I need to change the reflectors also?


And is it possible to install after market power windows at the rear?


Thanks in advance.

This shouldn't be a deal breaker IMO. The moment I got my Figo, the first thing I did was drive straight into my trusted accessory shop to upgrade the headlamps. It was just a 1.5K Job. The enhanced illumination takes care of all driving conditions. Just make sure you get it done from a quality installer.


You have answered it already. I hardly feel the absence of it.

This could be a possible weakness if your are riding with 5 well fed adults plus boot full of baggage. With 4 people on board and reasonable baggage it doesn't bottom down unless you try to get on a unscientific slope.

I find it adequate for most of the highway trips. Its is not a diesel rocket tho'.

Should be possible. But again the utility is close to zero. Better not venture into it.

I have not really explored this part. So no comments.

Same goes for this as well. While I have not driven the other diesel, I have upgraded to the figo from a super silent petrol hatch. The incabin NVH are well controlled. However on the outside the clatter is quite audible.

Regarding the warranty part, technically your warranty for the electricals become void. However since the wires are not cut you always have a work around to keep your warranty intact just incase something goes wrong. :D

In my case the alternator went kaput just 1 week after the head lamp upgrade. As usual the ASC guys tried to play the "Headlamp upgrade story". But after a firm stand they replaced it FOC as it was clearly a manufacturing defect. So you don't have to bother too much about the warranty issue. Headlamp upgrade has become a norm for most cars of that segment. Regarding reflectors, the current set of reflectors would suffice, you just need to replace the regular holders with ceramic holders which is a SOP when headlamps are upgraded.

Out of 100 owners, 90 have complained about the weak head-lamps, I exist in the minority. Not very good, not bad either. Precisely the reason, I haven't upgraded. Fog-lamps work, so if you aren't getting the Titanium, get them fitted.18 months and 17,000kms later, they haven't rolled down on their own. They do with someone's knees fouling with it. Else how will you explain over 1,000kms no roll down and in 5kms (with back seat occupancy) it rolls by 2-3mm.Yes, true observation. GC goes quite low here.I drive two ZDi's, Liva-D, Scorpio 2.2 & Safari 2.2 and would say, till 140kmph, it is evens. (Haven't pushed the others above 140kmph BTW)Bikers hits are yet to register themselves, thanks to that black plastic cladding. It (the bumper) isn't flimsy either.Have no experience of the i20 D, but it cocoons you. Much better than the Swift. The thick doors & window glass (relatively) isolates you. On the outside, if the A/C is on, its much louder than the competition.
No idea.

Please can you advice what bulbs you used and how you went about it

Thank u

As per Ford insider who interacts with me in other forum, the face lift Figo production has started. Hence Figo diesel is now offered with free insurance to clear old stocks. So the launch would be during October or max by Diwali & not beyond that.

The new facelift Figo has round reflectors and the focus will be precise with new reflectors. The indicators goes below towards engine grill as you see in Fiesta(classic) So Ford has worked on reflectors based on customer feed back.

Yes, lack of rear power windows is one disadvantage, windows wont fully roll down because of the rear wheel and rear door design. Ford projects this bad feature as Safetly for children for not rolling down windows fully.

Again as per Ford insider, they have reworked on rear suspension on new Figo and change in design of RTB. Time will tell what they have rectified. When fully loaded, by looking outside, even if gap between wheel and wheel well is reduced, the upper design of Figo is tapered down and hence people looking from outside feel that the car's rear has gone down.

I did non stop 355kms Bangalore to Toranagallu near Bellary and found that engine is not strained. I donot have more experience on this.

Because of this, if any thing hits your bumper, it can be bought to original shape. Nice feature.

Agree that clatter is heard inside a bit more than i20 & swift, but far better than Polo and Fabia. I have not experienced about clatter heard from Punto or Liva inside the cabin.

If upgraded with 90/100, the electrical warranty gets void. You can replace with Phillips Extreme Vision or Osram's Night Vision of same wattage - 55/60w which will not void warranty. Also new Figo has better round reflectors.

Again if you do anything that requires cut in the electrical wires, the warranty voids and Ford is strict on this. I was not able to put Yoko ES100 designer tyres as it comes in 185/60/14 which voids suspension warranty.

So once these new reflectors come out as spare parts, will we be able to use them in our earlier model figos?

I travel regularly on the highways and have never felt the engine to strains. Its more used to sedate cruising. Wind noise comes in at over 100kph.
But never have i felt the engine run out of breath at those speeds. It however runs out of it at 140kph after which pushing it, takes a long time to reach 160. And mine is a petrol version if that makes any difference.

Absolutely right. Unless the impact is enough to break the bumper, the bumpers are pretty resistant to change in shape.

You wont believe this. Yesterday i saw a Tdci parked in front of my car, in phoenix mall parking. When he started the engine, surprise surprise,
no clatter. Either he has used tons of dynamat or Ford has refined the newer engines.

Even my neighbor got a figo tdci recently and at idle you wouldnt even know if the engine is on.
I was parking my car in my basement and when I shut down my engine, i was taken aback. He was sitting in his car idling it but hardly any noise.

Dear Ford, you are making the diesel option now irresistible to us clatter haters :D

Hope this helps. Regards.

Crashed it twice into a lamp post within a span of on one week. First crash was pretty hard and it made a dent below my taillights but no damage to bumper even after being pushed 7-8cms inside. So IMO no issues there.

I would try to answer two of your questions (as quoted below) from my experience.

1. It does feel strained beyond 100 kmph if compared to the competition such as the Fiat multijet powered cars or even the ones that have the 1.5 DCi engine (Micra & Verito). i20 is in a different league altogether because that engine frankly loves to be revved.

2. The clatter noise in my experience is as follows:
i20 < 1.5 dCi (Micra or Verito) < 1.3 DDiS (Swift/Ritz) = 1.4 D4D (Liva) < 1.4 TDCi (Figo)

In all honesty, the 1.5 dCi is a lovely engine, probably a shade better than the 1.4 TDCi in my opinion. I have driven the Verito extensively & it is as relaxed at 130kmph as it is at a ton. Just press on the pedal & the engine pulls the car like a locomotive even at 130 kmph.
So, I think the Micra should be even better considering that its lighter by almost 200 kgs. However, the drive dynamics are nowhere close to that of the Figo.

My dream diesel hatchback today would be the Figo with the Renault 1.5 dCi mill in it. :D Sadly, some dreams just stay dreams.

My figo starts to vibe little in handle @ 140, so have not pushed it beyond it. Practically in city you end up at 80/90 max and in highway maybe 110/120. So i dont think its a big deal.

About the sound, It may be loud to some on the outside but....over a period its a matter of maintenance , i have seen swifts/pulses soundlike trucks!!! So another topic i dont wry about.

Still waiting on info/suggestion on getting projector lights + angle eyes + low high beam for my figo !!!

Thanks guys, for your overwhelming responses. So the new Figo is the way to go for me then.

Thanks, but as another person answered above that it could void warranty, I guess I'll find out from Ford A.S.S. before going for an upgrade. I've already got a good rapport with them for the past 5+ years due to my Fiesta.
Yes, but it could present problems while overtaking. Let us say you are driving at 90 and want to overtake a truck moving at 80 on an undivided highway. I apprehend that it will take a lot of preparation to plan an overtaking manoeuver to cross the truck a.s.ap. It does happen to me on the WagonR, but on the Fiesta it is not a problem.

Outside noise does not bother me, what matters is the in-cabin clatter.

Thanks for the information of the new features. Looks like Ford is really listening to customers.

Hmm, interesting to note this. But I do find the outside clatter a bit more than the Indica Vista, i-20 or Swift zdi when a cold engine is started. I am not sure if the latest batch has less clatter.
This apart, I suppose the clatter increases as the engine ages. I have a 5 year old Classic TDCI in my parking lot. It makes more clatter on the outside than the 5-year old Verna crdi beside it.


Matches with what I've read on this forum. I've driven the i-20 and agree it is a rocket post 2000 rpm. Only thing that lets it down are the lifeless steering, Hyundai handling and weak AC.
I agree, but the Liva sounds worse than the Figo tdci on the outside.


Exactly. I'll run faster than you to the dealer to book it, when available.lol:

Edit: I forgot to mention that I cannot digest the looks of the Micra and detest its interiors.