My third Ford car -- Ford Figo 1.4 Diesel Titanium. Review on Ford Figo

I am 6 ft, 4 and felt comfortable in my last Indian car -- which happens to be a 1.6 Ford Fiesta. I had to sell that car when I moved out of the country. So my only buying factor was comfort in driving without feeling cramped. So I went online and started listing the cars and shortlisted them. This time, I made up my mind already to get diesel car (reasons later in the review).

1. Swift/Ritz -- wanted to check out an Indian car for the first time...and this was the car of choice

   
   




2. Indica Vista -- Always felt Tata is not upto the mark in build quality and their cars are only meant for rough usage.

   
   




3. I10 -- Fit the price range

   
   




4. I20 -- Over priced

   
   




5. Polo -- Over priced

   
   




6. Spark/UVA/Beat -- Didn't like the Spark and UVA's looks...and Beat had 2 door less and more suited for bachelors (Infact Beat is a very good buy for starters)

   
   

Note added on Jun 01 -- What was I thinking here? Sorry about the Beat. I just saw the car on the roads and thought it had only 2 doors and is like a coupe. My friend clarified that the rear doors have the handles on top of the rear door where the window frame starts. I should have checked out the car in detail before making a wrong statement here. Having said that the Beat would still not be a good bet for me as there is no diesel variant and would be smaller for me.

1. Figo -- I always trusted Ford for their quality cars and their localisation for India. I have owned a 1.6 Ford Fiesta ZXI here and a Ford Explorer SUV in US...and never had any doubt whatsover about their quality and better position in the segments they were competing.

It came down to the I10, Swift/Ritz and the Ford Figo. All this was done online only. The moment I saw the I10 on roads, I had to take it off my list as I felt that it just looks like Santro and also too small for me. So headed out to the Ford and Maruti dealerships in Cochin.

Looks, Space, Instrumentation

First I went to the Kairali Ford dealership. The ZXI and Titanium caught my attention with the feature set. I need the rear wipers and defogger as here it rains continuously for 3 months. Plus it is a good feature to have wherever you are in India. The pricing is just perfect though some might want it still cheaper.

Overall the car looked very solid unlike the thin sheet exterior feel that greets you when you see a Tata or Maruti. The interiors were quite appealing though not awesome as you might have expected (like in Beat). The Coral dash is something that Ford tried out for making the car more trendy looking for young buyers, but again a big fail here. Regarding the not so old and not so trendy looks, this has always been the path that Ford takes. Even in their American cars, you would not find any mindblowing visuals. But Ford will never compromise on the functionality. As such it is a very functional interior with the odomoter, DTE, music system, AC controls, dash board, etc. The gear knob and parking brake looked fantastic with their leather bottoms. Only thing that I felt as could have been added is a top opening storage bin with  cup holders behind the parking brake, which would have also supplemented as a left armrest for the driver.

I was able to get in and out of the quite easily with very negligible extra effort in ensuring that I dont hurt my back in the process. I didn't see any headroom issue. The rear leg room was very impressive even after I retracted the seat fully back.

The door thuds sounded solid. The mirrors are quite big when compared to other cars in the segment. This would ease driving in Indian traffic to a greater extent. I already knew about the absence of rear power windows, which again became a no issue when I considered the other features that I get with the price. The audio system was good not great. Here Ford could have gone for some external vendor like Pioneer/Blaupunkt/Sony instead of having it factory made.

Performance

The salesman took me for a test drive in a brand new Titanium car (only 9 kms done). This was not the designated Test Drive car. Once the car was turned on, the noise level was very low to bother me as an issue. I also didn't feel any trembling as well. The ride quality was very impressive. I was 100% sure about that before I even test drove it as it is the same widely accepted and appreciated TDCi Duratorq engine that powers a bigger Ford Fiesta. I never found any turbo lag. The acceleration was fantastic and I could see the car picking up speed quite faster for the on paper 69 ps that it had. Impressive engine here. The indicator on the left side and wiper on the other side  is nothing new to me. Plus somehow I feel that this way is more functional and safe. You will realise the difference as you get used to it.

Came back to the dealership and went over the prices and options again by which time the TD car was back and the salesman again took me for a test drive. The reason he said was that the TD car has got more miles in it and the performance is improved. True to his words, this 6500 Kms done machine was still very smooth to drive. The rides that I had were never bumpy and I was extremely happy with the ride quality, which is typical of Fords. Really Fords are for rationalists who buy based on driving quality, features, etc. as opposed to after sales service and resale value. Again here the resale value is just due to word of mouth and I believe Ford cars deserve better resale values.

Fuel Efficiency was mentioned by the salesman as 20 KMPL in city and 22 in highways.

Choice

I decided on buying the Titanium due to amazing value it provides with ABS, EBD and Airbags. My wife in Chennai was insisting on the Swift as she felt it is bigger. I asked her to go to the Ford showroom in Chennai and check this car out for herself. Luckily when I returned from my test drive, there was a Swift parked in front of the dealership. I parked near it and compared the size. The Figo really looks bigger here.

Though I was almost decided on the Ford Figo after reading the MS reviews with 96% recommendation, I wanted to check out the Maruti as well. Went to the Maruti showroom and they dont have a TD car for one of India's hottest selling models. The quotation paper that the salesman gave me looked like a grocery bill in your local shop. I was also not turned on by the fact that Maruti does not provide a ZDI like the petrol ZXI with all the goodies. What was Maruti smoking when they made this decision? So is it like them telling the customers not to think about safety and entertainment just because they will enjoy the cost savings of a diesel car?

Decision

My wife called me this evening to tell that she too likes the car. So I will be booking the 1.4 TDCi Titanium tomorrow. Mostly the new green color. Lets go FIGO!!

Thanks for reading my rather lengthy review. Expecting your comments on the same.