Re: Would you buy the Ford Figo / Aspire Sports Edition? Voted - No.
Well, I almost did think of buying it and had very seriously considered the new Figo S diesel for the past few days, to replace my aging diesel car with this one. The Team Bhp review reaffirmed my thoughts and the pictures of the car throwing up dirt in the salt pans was tempting to say the least. However, after two days of thinking - decided to drop the plan since the cons seem to outweigh the pros in this scenario! The below points were considered for my decision. + Pros
1. Fantastic diesel engine. Only 9bhp and 6Nm upgrade for me on paper, but more importantly a huge improvement in power/weight and torque/weight figures. More relaxed highway nature as well (of the engine).
2. Looks hot! The red - especially is a looker. Not too impressed with the other colours though. Black is brilliant as well, but need to get rid of all the extra decals.
3. Price. Very competitively priced and is brilliant value for the performance on offer. The Average -
1. Interiors look boring with its sea of black. But understandable given the value pricing.
2. Equipment list is basic. No touchscreen HU, no reversing camera, no rear a/c vents - but understandable for the price. However, no parking sensors either?
3. The car has almost flopped in the market, selling an average of less than 1000 units per month over the last six months (and just over a year of launch). Not too worried about it personally, but one of the points to consider along with the below - - Cons
1. Safety. 3 stars at best and with the body shell integrity rated as unstable. It is still decent in the Indian scenario, where cars fail the tests royally, but!
2. Not available in the Titanium+ variant. For a car that has average safety ratings, I would have been happier with the 6 airbag variant. The rear seats are rarely used in the city, but the better half does tend to use it often when we hit the highways.
3. Build Quality. I'm a self confessed fan of cars with good sheet metal quality - the Europeans and ironically, Ford. However, the Figo is an exception. The build feels light and looks like it would accumulate a lot of small scratches and dents over the years due to our traffic conditions where the cycles and bikes are ever so likely to bump into your car and just move on without even saying a sorry. Some may argue that sheet metal quality is not everything when it comes to safety, but I'm talking only about appearance here. High speed safety anyways is average as proven by NCAP.
4. Paint Quality. Looked good on the new Figo without orange peel effect, as noted in the official review. But, I have a couple of friends who are into the detailing business and they had very poor comments on the paint quality of the new Figo, specially evident in the highlight orange colour. Looks like Ford has cut costs here. Disappointing since I really like detailing and maintaining the gloss of the car - and was looking at a red one for this particular reason.
5. Disconnected steering. "It's only on the open straight highways that you feel the steering is disconnected." as mentioned in the review, and unfortunately - almost 8/10 of my highway trips are almost 500 km drives down the arrow straight roads of Tamil Nadu, enroute Trivandrum from Bangalore. And my only reason to change cars would be for a better highway experience. Deal breaker!
Skipped the Ford for the above reasons. Since I'm in no hurry, the wait continues for better diesel highway scorcher options - May be the upcoming Polo (if it comes to India), or the S-Cross 1.6 facelift. Now, all these options would admittedly be more expensive than the Figo S, and that value is where the Figo S scores.
But look beyond the price, and it starts putting questions to the mind as to whether it really is a Ford worthy of the S badge, which they've used carefully for their earlier generations cars like the Fiesta. They've tried to rectify some of the mistakes they've committed during the Maruti'sization of this model for the Indian market, but that is not enough to make it a complete package IMO. The steering is still vague, the build is still poor and the safety concerns all make it a Figo that it should have been from launch, but not an S that deserves a serious thought. PS- Instead of this new Figo S, imagine if they had plonked this diesel engine in the older generation Figo. That would have deserved the S title better, and probably it would have sold better too, inspite of being such an old platform.
Last edited by CrAzY dRiVeR : 23rd May 2017 at 11:20.
|