Chameli is now mine!

KiloAlpha · 23rd May 2010, 22:19

Chameli - who can otherwise be described as a Chill colour Ford Figo 1.2 Titanium - came home on Friday (May 21) evening.

Picked her up from Lathangi Ford around 6pm and then drove straight home. I had been very antsy in the office through the day. Luckily for me, Big Boss is in USA, so I slipped out at 4pm. Everyone in the office knows about her. I will have to take the team out to lunch

Extras fitted - front fogs, sun film, waxoyl. No USB <boo hoo> hate that. I have so many GB music on memory sticks!

My first impressions after driving 140km in City traffic keeping her revs under 2500rpm:
- Engaging 1st & 2nd gear was a little balky. Was cured by 3km of bumper-to-bumper traffic Saturday evening
- Air Con is great! Wifey complained about the cold when blower set to 2 and temp one notch below max.
- Suspension and chassis setup is just perfect. Stock MRF tyres are decidedly not. Suspension tuning endorsed by wifey who has puked in every car who's suspension was tuned for "comfort" - think Chrysler Town & Country, Ford Galaxy, etc
- Some speed breakers will catch it out, but hey! It is a car and not a truck!
- Storage space, cubby holes are more than adequate
- Power and torque are more than adequate for the city. However, requires one to drop it into 1st sometimes, not enough torque around 1000rpm in 2nd to pull away cleanly from speed breakers
- Highway driving is going to be an exercise in momentum conservation, given the lazy and easy going characteristics of the engine
- Firewall leaks heat into the glove box. It gets very hot in there.
- AC not too effective in stop-go traffic and strangely works fine when driving in smooth flowing traffic
- Loving the "made in India" horn!!
- Seats are super comfortable. Endorsed by my mom who has long standing back problems.

The dealer experience has been a bit of a mixed bag. They seem to think that as a customer, I needed reassurance when I was looking for concrete information. This communication gap was highly frustrating. But, I kept my cool because the car was delivered within the 4-6 week window as originally promised.
Sales person was friendly but sadly worked off her feet so when I went to take delivery she could not pamper me as much as I would have liked. Still, the service guys were helpful and double-cleaned the car, ripped out the plastic (and thought I was strange for wanting the plastic covers off the seats) et al.
In the end, they delivered on their promises (except USB), and I realised that all they need to spruce up on is their communication skills.

So far, all has been hunky-dory with the very first new car I bought. Feels very strange to have to nurse a car through run-in period. All previous cars have been either leased or bought 2nd hand, so I never had a car from odo 0km/miles!!

OK, I am very very happy with the car so far.

arun1100 · 23rd May 2010, 22:22

OMG yet another Figo thread.

Enjoy the ride buddy!

adheesh · 23rd May 2010, 22:34

Nice car. Have you opted for the standard redish coloured dashboard or the black one ?

Also, your handle name reminded me of our ex-member AlfaKilo.

scorpio07 · 23rd May 2010, 22:38

congrats on the beauty, you might want to edit the title and add the car make and model.

nimbleguru · 23rd May 2010, 22:44

Congrats KiloAlpha. Silver is a very safe and elegant color. I have the same color in diesel. Enjoy the ride.

vikram.vns · 23rd May 2010, 22:56

Congrats on the new Car. Enjoy your ride and Drive Safe.

prguru · 23rd May 2010, 22:59

Congrats on the chameli

, have you lined up any upgrades for her ?
Drive Safe.

Indizen010 · 23rd May 2010, 23:08

Congratulations on your new Figo.

Amartya · 24th May 2010, 05:53

Congratulations for the new car.

Just one gripe, I understand that people are resorting to funny names to stand out among the multiple Figo ownership threads, but Chameli beats Donkey (another Figo) any day.

I have to ask, did the CH common in Chill and Chameli prompt this name?

ghodlur · 24th May 2010, 07:51

Congrats on your new Figo

. The silver steed looks too cool. Pls post some daylight snaps of your Chameli.
BTW how did you come up with Chameli, for some in Dilberts cubicle this name sounded too rustic

. Hope she keeps smelling great for days to come. Enjoy the ride and drive safely.

KiloAlpha · 24th May 2010, 08:45

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the good wishes!

@prguru - Upgraded tyres and alloys are lined up, I am wondering if I can import original Ford Fiesta 15" alloys from Europe, as B-I-L is in UK and old friend is in Frankfurt? And maybe after 3 years I will swap the 1.2 engine with a 2.0 Fiesta ST engine?

@Amartya, @ghodlur - the Chameli name is courtesy of my wife who names all the vehicles we buy. Our Flyte, by the way, is called Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle

Utopian · 24th May 2010, 09:02

Congrats bro for the "Chameli" Figo. Nice snaps and name.

Waiting eagerly for snaps of your spurced up ride. Enjoy driving her.

gr8guzzler · 24th May 2010, 09:04

Congrat KiloAlpha, welcome to the figo owners club. Nice ride, please post some daytime pics. Enjoy your ride.

Cheers!!!

xingamazon · 24th May 2010, 10:00

Hey Congrats on your new Figo..
I thought only the TDCI was sluggish on 1st and 2nd geat, dont remember people complaining abt the 1.2 being sluggish.

Hoping you will be posting more day pics once you take them,
Also keep updating us on the FE figures that you are getting.

KiloAlpha · 19th June 2010, 09:38

In about a month, the car has done just over 1200km. Strange creaking sound from dickey area, which is a bit irritating.
The big news? Mileage!
Last tankful, I did 50% highway 50% city. With 75% A/C on. Chameli has given me a mileage of 14 kmpl. Of petrol.

Also, she has lost her virginity. I backed into a tree guard, putting a scratch on the back bumper.

23rd May 2010, 22:19	#1
KiloAlpha Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Cubicle Posts: 1,605 Thanked: 3,002 Times	Chameli is now mine! Chameli - who can otherwise be described as a Chill colour Ford Figo 1.2 Titanium - came home on Friday (May 21) evening. Picked her up from Lathangi Ford around 6pm and then drove straight home. I had been very antsy in the office through the day. Luckily for me, Big Boss is in USA, so I slipped out at 4pm. Everyone in the office knows about her. I will have to take the team out to lunch Extras fitted - front fogs, sun film, waxoyl. No USB <boo hoo> hate that. I have so many GB music on memory sticks! My first impressions after driving 140km in City traffic keeping her revs under 2500rpm: - Engaging 1st & 2nd gear was a little balky. Was cured by 3km of bumper-to-bumper traffic Saturday evening - Air Con is great! Wifey complained about the cold when blower set to 2 and temp one notch below max. - Suspension and chassis setup is just perfect. Stock MRF tyres are decidedly not. Suspension tuning endorsed by wifey who has puked in every car who's suspension was tuned for "comfort" - think Chrysler Town & Country, Ford Galaxy, etc - Some speed breakers will catch it out, but hey! It is a car and not a truck! - Storage space, cubby holes are more than adequate - Power and torque are more than adequate for the city. However, requires one to drop it into 1st sometimes, not enough torque around 1000rpm in 2nd to pull away cleanly from speed breakers - Highway driving is going to be an exercise in momentum conservation, given the lazy and easy going characteristics of the engine - Firewall leaks heat into the glove box. It gets very hot in there. - AC not too effective in stop-go traffic and strangely works fine when driving in smooth flowing traffic - Loving the "made in India" horn!! - Seats are super comfortable. Endorsed by my mom who has long standing back problems. The dealer experience has been a bit of a mixed bag. They seem to think that as a customer, I needed reassurance when I was looking for concrete information. This communication gap was highly frustrating. But, I kept my cool because the car was delivered within the 4-6 week window as originally promised. Sales person was friendly but sadly worked off her feet so when I went to take delivery she could not pamper me as much as I would have liked. Still, the service guys were helpful and double-cleaned the car, ripped out the plastic (and thought I was strange for wanting the plastic covers off the seats) et al. In the end, they delivered on their promises (except USB), and I realised that all they need to spruce up on is their communication skills. So far, all has been hunky-dory with the very first new car I bought. Feels very strange to have to nurse a car through run-in period. All previous cars have been either leased or bought 2nd hand, so I never had a car from odo 0km/miles!! OK, I am very very happy with the car so far. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 22:22	#2
arun1100 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,087 Thanked: 5,577 Times View My Garage	OMG yet another Figo thread. Enjoy the ride buddy! Last edited by arun1100 : 23rd May 2010 at 22:23.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 22:34	#3
adheesh BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 526 Thanked: 53 Times View My Garage	Nice car. Have you opted for the standard redish coloured dashboard or the black one ? Also, your handle name reminded me of our ex-member AlfaKilo.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 22:38	#4
scorpio07 BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: chennai Posts: 285 Thanked: 4 Times View My Garage	congrats on the beauty, you might want to edit the title and add the car make and model.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 22:44	#5
nimbleguru BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 124 Thanked: 79 Times View My Garage	Congrats KiloAlpha. Silver is a very safe and elegant color. I have the same color in diesel. Enjoy the ride.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 22:56	#6
vikram.vns BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 89 Thanked: 8 Times	Congrats on the new Car. Enjoy your ride and Drive Safe.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 22:59	#7
prguru BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 179 Thanked: 92 Times	Congrats on the chameli, have you lined up any upgrades for her ? Drive Safe.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2010, 23:08	#8
Indizen010 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 171 Thanked: 0 Times	Congratulations on your new Figo.
	() Thanks

24th May 2010, 05:53	#9
Amartya Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Evanston Posts: 1,748 Thanked: 736 Times	Congratulations for the new car. Just one gripe, I understand that people are resorting to funny names to stand out among the multiple Figo ownership threads, but Chameli beats Donkey (another Figo) any day. I have to ask, did the CH common in Chill and Chameli prompt this name?
	() Thanks

24th May 2010, 07:51	#10
ghodlur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Thane Posts: 6,010 Thanked: 4,199 Times View My Garage	Congrats on your new Figo. The silver steed looks too cool. Pls post some daylight snaps of your Chameli. BTW how did you come up with Chameli, for some in Dilberts cubicle this name sounded too rustic. Hope she keeps smelling great for days to come. Enjoy the ride and drive safely.
	() Thanks

24th May 2010, 08:45	#11
KiloAlpha Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Cubicle Posts: 1,605 Thanked: 3,002 Times	Thanks guys, I appreciate all the good wishes! @prguru - Upgraded tyres and alloys are lined up, I am wondering if I can import original Ford Fiesta 15" alloys from Europe, as B-I-L is in UK and old friend is in Frankfurt? And maybe after 3 years I will swap the 1.2 engine with a 2.0 Fiesta ST engine? @Amartya, @ghodlur - the Chameli name is courtesy of my wife who names all the vehicles we buy. Our Flyte, by the way, is called Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle
	() Thanks

24th May 2010, 09:02	#12
Utopian BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 603 Thanked: 123 Times	Congrats bro for the "Chameli" Figo. Nice snaps and name. Waiting eagerly for snaps of your spurced up ride. Enjoy driving her.
	() Thanks

24th May 2010, 09:04	#13
gr8guzzler BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 653 Thanked: 87 Times View My Garage	Congrat KiloAlpha, welcome to the figo owners club. Nice ride, please post some daytime pics. Enjoy your ride. Cheers!!!
	() Thanks

24th May 2010, 10:00	#14
xingamazon Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,400 Thanked: 121 Times	Hey Congrats on your new Figo.. I thought only the TDCI was sluggish on 1st and 2nd geat, dont remember people complaining abt the 1.2 being sluggish. Hoping you will be posting more day pics once you take them, Also keep updating us on the FE figures that you are getting.
	() Thanks

19th June 2010, 09:38	#15
KiloAlpha Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Cubicle Posts: 1,605 Thanked: 3,002 Times	Mileage Update! In about a month, the car has done just over 1200km. Strange creaking sound from dickey area, which is a bit irritating. The big news? Mileage! Last tankful, I did 50% highway 50% city. With 75% A/C on. Chameli has given me a mileage of 14 kmpl. Of petrol. Also, she has lost her virginity. I backed into a tree guard, putting a scratch on the back bumper. Last edited by KiloAlpha : 19th June 2010 at 09:40.
	() Thanks