Ford Figo AT (DCT!) - Test Drive Review


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First of all, if you are looking into detailed review kinda thing, then just go ahead with Akash's Review : Figo MT Review.

A couple of things before you guys start diving into this thread.
1. This was purely written to show all about AT's performance and ability.
2. No photos, as it was a long drive and TD happened close to 45 mins during office hours. So all we wanted to do was how AT box behaved under various conditions!

Now for all who accustomed to seeing pictures, a couple of pics from brochure and price list is attached along with this post. Enjoy!

If you guys are okay with the these points, let's start.

Back Story : I called up Ford guys when Figo was released, but getting TD of AT was hopeless. They had no cars for TD and even today, the car which I drove was pretty much new at running is just below 2k mark. The SA said it was the demo car. But today, I just called them accidentally and to my surprise, SA said he will bring an AT TD car by 3.30pm. Mind you,I made the call at 2.00pm!! And he did.

Now the front story a.k.a main story : The TD car was silver color AT, which barely run 2.5k kms! I am not going to go yada, yada about exteriors. Now, some history about me. I have extensively driven my uncle's Figo, and used it for close to a couple of months as my daily drive. It was Diesel Titanium, and all my comparisons will be either against old Figo or even with my Xcent.

Now the interiors, the all black one, like the older Figo is a brilliant move. I personally hate the beige/black combo. It looks bit dull, but not much to make me dislike it. It is much more spacious than older Figo, that's for sure. In older Figo, I always felt cramped. Be it drivers seat or rear, it feels bit cramped(Xylo effect? I don't think so!). But surprising this one is much spacious. Even after adjusting for my comfortable position, I had enough space between my knee and seat. Driving position, interior quality and everything else is a notch or two better than old Figo. Now enough of interiors. Let's go and drive this thing!

Ride : To be frank, driving this is a breeze. For the first 2 mins, I had this habit of my leg looking at clutch but got adjusted with a couple of minutes. The gear lever has leather grip on top, tip-tronic on the right. Press the lock, move it to D, and press the accelerator. That's all you need to do, for the most part of the driving. It moves without any issue. Since I drove the car inside city limits and few kms of outskirts, I never pushed it beyond 80km/h! But man, the car picked speed much better than older Figo and practically, there is no turbo-lag. My Xcent struggles till it reaches 1.7k rpm, but the DCT box cleverly masked it, I guess! The idle rpm hovered around 1k mark. Nothing different, eh!

The 1.5L engine is by no means under-powered. Had 2 passengers along with me, and with A/C on all the time, it just flew past the vehicles at my will. No lethargic feel like the CVT box in City(Never drove JAZZ CVT). The car feels eager even after 80km/h, but I wasn't able to push it beyond due to obvious reasons. I feel, the 1.5L will be the main reason I will put my money on it. Especially with such lighter build car, it was just excellent.

So I took it to a slope, stopped half way. And tada, it didn't rolled back. I did it repeatedly, and nope, it didn't rolled back. The DCT box takes a < 1 sec time to respond which you can feel easily. If I press ACC pedal, you will get the push to the back of the seat effect but with a few ms dealy, which I think it pretty decent. In fact, I think it is in the same region in the DSG. DSG also took same time delay!

Brakes were excellent. No spongy feel or extra bite. The bite is good. Just stopped as we anticipate. Because it is now the only way to control the speed. Steering feels ultra-light(lighter than my Xcent) at parking speeds and weighs up at higher speeds. It isn't precise like an HPS unit, but it is precise enough! Just like in Ecosport.

Drive Modes : For most of my drive, I used D mode, because we all know that we are gonna this mostly. Apart from that few ms delay, let me put it in one word, it's a GEM!! It behave as you want it to be. You press gently, it will give you the smooth ride you want, pedal to metal, off you go. But in D mode, pedal to metal will give you gradual speed increase, but the engine rpm climbs(and noise too) before you experience the speed. But not everyday you get to race in the excuse of an road we have today. After stressing the D mode for over 10 kms, I was happy that it is what I expected it to be. I bet that it will be make all of us happy, unless you are a race/speed freak. For relaxed to gradual speeding D mode, more than enough.

Now, out of 10, there'll always be that one, who won't follow the herd. And if you are that guy, well then, S mode is here for you. When I say S mode, I don't mean S mode in your CVT/Traditional AT box one. I mean decent S mode. The moment you shifted to S mode, the DCT try to stick to redline, before up-shifting. And the engine note becomes noisy and sporty! S mode sure isn't better than DSG, but it comes closer to that. It gave me the push which I wanted and it behaved like a rush mad dog, wanted to run into the crowd between people's leg. Yes, I got an narrow almost empty road with tons of potholes, and with S-mode I played F1 for few kms. And boy oh boy, it was an ecstatic moment for me.

And there we have, tip-tronic. Well, I'd better skip this part, as it didn't amused me even a tiny bit. In my opinion, it was just an feature ford had to add just because it was there! Now you all know about DCT, and it's characteristics. So I am not going to get into it. This DCT box is the second best after DSG! It comes with 10 year warranty which means piece of mind. Now, the big question. Pricing!! With 8L OTR, I think it's a pretty sweet deal. You ask me why? Let me explain.

1. For a regular driver, DCT and DSG doesn't make any difference. But price will do. For me, at 8L OTR, it looks like value proposition.
2. Much much spacious in the back, unlike Polo's cramped rear. For a buyer, who is going to have only one car, it means a lot. If I get to buy one as my main drive, it's surely not going to be Polo.
3. Throughout the drive, I never felt the engine to be under-powered. Mind you, the A/C was on all the time. 112 ps is more than enough to cover both city errands and highway runs!
4. Comes with 2 Airbags, ABS+EBD, TCS+ESP+HLA.
5. Drive mode D & S are differentiated well enough and for some fun, driver will be satisfied with S mode!
6. Ford service is a bit cheaper. With 10yr DCT warranty, you have your peace of mind.

Overall, the drive was competent, enjoyable and fun. Ford did a great job by bringing the AT in Figo, and that too with 1.5L and not the under-powered 1.2L engine.
 

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Akash1886

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Re: Ford Figo AT(DCT!) - Test Drive Review

FD, Thanks for this rather concise review of DCT Figo Hatch. You could have clicked at least the AT gear console buddy. Ford has certainly taken the competitors head-on with the Figo twins but one thing i'll add and i.e the road presence. I over here in Delhi-NCR, haven't seen Figo Hatch as many as number of Aspires I have seen.

Regards

Akash
 
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Re: Ford Figo AT(DCT!) - Test Drive Review

FD, Thanks for this rather concise review of DCT Figo Hatch. You could have clicked at least the AT gear console buddy. Ford has certainly taken the competitors head-on with the Figo twins but one thing i'll add and i.e the road presence. I over here in Delhi-NCR, haven't seen Figo Hatch as many as number of Aspires I have seen.

Regards

Akash
Thanks man! I was in two minds during the TD. With the work pressure on one hand and getting to know about DCT as much as possible on other hand, I, who is an take-camera-for-everything guy, forgot to take an pic! [frustration]

Reason you are not seeing as many hatch is, because the waiting perio is at least 1-2 month and I hope we'll see it after Diwali. A lot of them, if we go buy last months sales numbers. Ford broke the wall with DCT and I hope other guys wake up and pack up their ancient 4/5 speed AT and get us something better!
 
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Great review Furious Driver. You have covered almost all drive related aspects of the car very well.

Regarding the Figo, it makes a lot of sense for more than one category of customers. The old man looking for easy-to-drive vehicle, which would not be hated by anyone (including more enthusiastic members, ladies, teenagers) would pick Figo. A teenager dead serious for an automatic would prefer this over smaller automatics or AMTs, for drive quality and appearance. A family man would pick this for the space, reliability and ease of drive it offers. Ladies would pick this for the effortless drive and light steetring. The DCT is a very capable and cheaper option for those who can't stretch to the DSG of the Polo or those who are looking for something more reliable. At 8 Lac and with a DCT warranty, I feel that Ford has got a winner in their hands.
 
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Great review Furious Driver. You have covered almost all drive related aspects of the car very well.

Regarding the Figo, it makes a lot of sense for more than one category of customers. The old man looking for easy-to-drive vehicle, which would not be hated by anyone (including more enthusiastic members, ladies, teenagers) would pick Figo. A teenager dead serious for an automatic would prefer this over smaller automatics or AMTs, for drive quality and appearance. A family man would pick this for the space, reliability and ease of drive it offers. Ladies would pick this for the effortless drive and light steetring. The DCT is a very capable and cheaper option for those who can't stretch to the DSG of the Polo or those who are looking for something more reliable. At 8 Lac and with a DCT warranty, I feel that Ford has got a winner in their hands.
Thanks ice_wise! I agree with you regarding your explanation. It does indeed cater to all types of customers and I don't see any negative to it. It's an VFM car, and I hope other's will wake up from their deep sleep and throw away their decade ole 4 speed AT(I am looking at you, Hyundai and MSIL!) and I seriously believe this will be a game changer.
 

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I couldn't locate the exact source I have read. But a quick google search, I found this review link where the reviewer mentioned it under "Noteworthy Omissions:"!

But in official launch doc(Link), they mentioned as 10yr!!
FD, I suggest lets not believe a third person until there is an official announcement. Had Ford done such a thing, it would have surely spoken to public about it and if they were to hide such a thing, you also know, such things don't remain hidden for long in today's time. Lets confirm it with dealer.

Regards

Akash
 
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Hi guys,

Read somewhere the 10 years warranty claims for DCT is false. Can someone confirm that?
That is bad news. I think it is possible that the car may have a 2 year warranty but thd transmission only would have a 10 year warranty. So maybe Ford could not write "10 Year Warranty" everywhere as it covers the DCT only and not the car. But till some one can confirm from the dealer, nothing can be said.

Good thing I read there was that the stipulated life is 10 years or 2.4 Lac km, which is impressive since no maintenance has to be carried out for the DCT in this period. IMO 10 year warranty on DCT was a major advantage in the car, a 2 year warranty leaves it as avoidable as the Polo TSI to some reliability conscious owners.
 
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FD, I suggest lets not believe a third person until there is an official announcement. Had Ford done such a thing, it would have surely spoken to public about it and if they were to hide such a thing, you also know, such things don't remain hidden for long in today's time. Lets confirm it with dealer.

Regards

Akash
Since I am about to book the DCT, even a tiny bit of information is getting me on my nerves!!!

That is bad news. I think it is possible that the car may have a 2 year warranty but thd transmission only would have a 10 year warranty. So maybe Ford could not write "10 Year Warranty" everywhere as it covers the DCT only and not the car. But till some one can confirm from the dealer, nothing can be said.

Good thing I read there was that the stipulated life is 10 years or 2.4 Lac km, which is impressive since no maintenance has to be carried out for the DCT in this period. IMO 10 year warranty on DCT was a major advantage in the car, a 2 year warranty leaves it as avoidable as the Polo TSI to some reliability conscious owners.
Even I thought so. The major reason I was inclined towards DCT was due to it's 10 years warranty! If not, I'm better of with the manual transmission for now!
 

Akash1886

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Since I am about to book the DCT, even a tiny bit of information is getting me on my nerves!!!
So typical of you![lol] Still, its better to confirm it officially than to believe a 3rd person. I see it as a serious issue and if such a thing was done by FORD then why is there no mention anywhere? Why haven't they updated it on their website? Why isn't there any documented official proof? For a big concern like this we can certainly not believe someone's word of mouth.

Regards

Akash
 
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So typical of you![lol] Still, its better to confirm it officially than to believe a 3rd person. I see it as a serious issue and if such a thing was done by FORD then why is there no mention anywhere? Why haven't they updated it on their website? Why isn't there any documented official proof? For a big concern like this we can certainly not believe someone's word of mouth.

Regards

Akash
I agree with you! Let's wait.[cry]
 
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Has anyone bought the Figo DCT ? What is the approximate FE this gives in City ? Thinking about Figo DCT, Jazz CVT, Polo TSI, Baleno CVT.

Although the diesel engines in these cars are very good, but I'll miss the convenience of Auto Transmission. I have to compromise on Fuel Economy if I choose the Petrol Automatics.
 
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Has anyone bought the Figo DCT ? What is the approximate FE this gives in City ? Thinking about Figo DCT, Jazz CVT, Polo TSI, Baleno CVT.

Although the diesel engines in these cars are very good, but I'll miss the convenience of Auto Transmission. I have to compromise on Fuel Economy if I choose the Petrol Automatics.
When it comes to mileage, I guess Jazz and Baleno with CVT will fare than DCT! I would choose CVT over DCT anyday for FE!! Figo isn't far behind in terms of FE, but for the sake of reliability I prefer to go with CVT as niggles in DCT isn't worth risking.
 

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