Lets be straight-forward here - the Figo has to make a meal of the volume generating small car segment succeed if Ford's Indian outpost has any hope of cracking it within the world's strongest growing (and by extension most critical) market. Ford was among the first to go in India when markets opened up on the decade ago but, and lets be blunt again, they're nowhere near claiming top-of-mind recall among car buyers while some, notably fellow Chennai-ites Hyundai, have steamed ahead. The Figo then aims to bring Ford back to mass consciousness. Does it deliver?
It isn't particularly flamboyant, could it be?
I'd my doubts when I first saw the Figo in pictures; in fact if you know your cars you'll immediately draw parallels with the Fusion. Glad to report that in the metal, and in environmental surroundings it was designed for, the Figo does look the company. It isn't as flamboyant nor will it draw the emotional response how the Swift did (and that the Beat will) but it is a well-designed car which places practicality over style. During the period of our drive in Goa I had been stuck towards the tail of a Figo and grew to understand its planted stance; the actual way it sits on its wheels. During my wing mirror however was framed another Figo and, apart from the striking color, I struggled to identify any feature to create me go wow. Kinetic design is Ford's family styling language by by far this is the most conservative of the dozen-odd kinetic design cars. It is a safe design that's meant to attract 70 per cent of the buying public. Please all, offend none.
So how practical could it be?
Step inside and immediately it's apparent that on interior space the Figo stands proudly with the likes of the i20 and Fabia (while on price it will sit below the Swift). It's got the largest boot in its class and incredibly generous head, leg, knee and shoulder room. In fact this is among its key selling attributes. The dash uses a mix of Fusion and Fiesta inspired architecture but is handsome and attractive, particularly since Ford have eschewed going the all-beige route and opted instead for black with contrasting aluminium-effects for the central console and air-con vents. The top end variant includes a coral-hued top-half from the dash which is a polarizing shade as you would expect.
This isn't a new platform then, is it?
No it isn't. It's the same (Indian) Fiesta platform (McPherson struts in advance, twist beam at rear) with changes to changes to springs, dampers and roll-bar settings. But it's additionally a great base from which to start - the Fiesta 1.6S is the best handling car in its segment and the Figo benefits massively from Ford's dynamic expertise.
Our test route, in Goa, was short, narrow, traffic-infested and well surfaced but there were several speedbreakers and a small rough patch which the Figo handled superbly. We can only make sure following a full road test but initial impressions are that this is going to be among the finest riding cars in the segment - well damped without having to be squishy or wallowy whilst not compromising in the least on dynamics. The steering is precise, communicative and responsive and whatever little cornering I possibly could do reminded me of the Fiesta. Meaning the Figo can be really good. And a lot of fun too.
Performance?
It's the standard small-car template here. 1.2-litre petrol and sub-1.5-litre diesel to consider benefit of small car excise duty breaks. The 1.4 diesel may be the familiar TDCi DURATORQ four-cylinder unit that's strong on performance and efficiency. It develops 69PS of power and 160Nm of torque which gives the car performance par for that course with this segment. There's good driveability and fewer turbo lag compared to Maruti and Fiat diesels. I'd have preferred better refinement though and that's despite Ford using double door seals on diesel cars.
The 1.2 DURATEC petrol comes from the Sigma family and that means this is an all-aluminium unit with four valves per cylinder and twin overhead cams. It develops 71.35PS of power and 102Nm of torque and it is both torquey while also revving extremely eagerly all the way to 6600rpm. It takes a claimed 15.5seconds to get at 100kmph as the diesel takes 15.8seconds. Both engines meet BS IV emission norms and both of them are mated to some 5-speed manual that is slick, has short throws and is absolutely brilliant to operate. Braking is via discs in front and drums in the rear. ABS can be obtained on the top end variants and people cars gets bigger discs in front (258mm) and drums in the rear (203mm). All cars operate on 175/65 R14 tyres, Goodyears about the test cars, Apollo Acelere's about the display cars.
Will it crack the market?
The Figo isn't probably the most stylish small car around and I think not bringing the full-on kinetic design language is a missed opportunity; Indians in the end are demanding style and how! Nevertheless the Figo, in the metal as well as on the road, isn't boring and also the design is very practical. There's plenty of interior room and thanks to its excellent ride and handling she's an extremely comfortable car to be doing distances in (you may also pack in a lot in that boot). There are also good engines which, you can bet, will deliver perfectly on efficiency.As a brief explanation then Ford have got the basics right; hit the bulls-eye in fact. What are the Figo's success, or else, depends on is pricing. What should Ford be looking at? Our suggestion is really a price nearer to the Santro than the Swift will make this one from the cars to take into consideration when it's launched by April 2010.
Author Resource:
Before you zero in on the Ford Figo, make sure you book a ford figo test drive and decide how it suits you. Some would love it, other not much. But it's a fine car in its own right.
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