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Hi TAI members my parents own a Ford Figo petrol zxi variant (2010). Now the as i have the car in my hands i am writing an ownership review of this car which is a rare and under rated machine.
Actually we brought this car in 2010 before that we had a zen mh41 before that we had a maruti 800 and our first car was a fiat premier diesel. Our zen had done about 85000 kms when we sold it out for 75000Rs. Actually it was a very bad deal![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")
because zen was a wonderful car and it deserved a better price. we had minimal problems with zen like steering ball bearings making noise some interior plastics falling off etc but the car was almost rattle free we didnt have any problem with the zen for 5 years.(all our previous cars were 2nd hand or 3rd hand.
The ford finds home
2010 September we started searching for a new car parents wanted a car which has a power steering and they wanted a hatch as we live in trivandrum which is a fairly congested city and petrol was fuel of choice.
Our research was limited to swift petrol,Hyundai i10,maruti alto.
Parents were not at all interested in any other cars
Maruti Swift.
Test drove the car we liked its power refinement features etc and above everything maruti suzuki(reliability). But it had a huge waiting period they told us 2 months minimum. THe vxi was priced somewhat close to 4.7 lacks.
Hyundai i10.
We went for a test drive of the magic machine that boasts of impressive power and economy. After we drove it we found the interiors to be pleasant light steering easy controls and very easy ingress and egress. The price was on the higher side and there were a lot of variants too. But i felt as though i was being driven away by strong winds at higher speeds and i found the swift to be more powerful.
After we test drove both these cars we were in a mind to book the swift.
Suddenly one day my mom told why are we constricting our list to only hyundai and swift lets go n check out some more cars.
Then we put a list and we considered 4 more cars i20 punto polo and figo.
Punto got ruled out because of poor a.s.s. for fiat in tvm. i20 got ruled out because it was pricey and a bigger car. then POLO and FIGO were the remaining options.
We went for vw showroom tvm the sales executive was very pleasing and kind he showed us the car comfortline variant , it was a league above all cars we have seen, everything seemed top notch but we were let down by the price and we heard that vws are costly to maintain. We went to ford and saw the figo and my mom liked the figo instantly she recognized that it was a spacious car and was built well. then we ordered for a test drive and they told that they will bring the car home for TD. And one fine saturday they brought a silver figo titanium petrol for td. My mom liked the steering position the interiors the music system and the space at the rear and boot, and above all the figo zxi variant had bluetooth cd fm aux and it was priced 4.54 lacks on road. This was even a better deal than the swift and the waiting period was 20 days.
So finally we booked the figo Petrol ZXI on September 2010.
FIGO PETROL ZXI
The car arrived exactly 21 days after the booking and it was a diamond white cute figo.
Initial impression
1.Looks.
Exteriors
The car was looking like a cat and it was not very bold and solid like the polo. The looks of the car is subjective i liked its looks streamlined design and practical tail lights. The car didnt look awkward from any angle and looked decent.
Interiors.
The interiors have a dark theme with silver inserts on door handles around the stereo and a reddish black perforated cloth upholstery.
THe quality of plastics were definitely a notch above the swift but not as good as polo. The plastics and interior trims seems solidly put together and fells good to last for a reasonable misuse.
The seats of Ford Figo are excellent, they are not as good the the latest 2012 Swift but superb in terms of the way it encapsulates the driver and prevents body roll, the side bolstering is very good while taking corners as well
The rear seats have good under thigh support and extend well, I am 5.5 feet so it suits well for me and my family where most are 5.5 feet or less
2.Driving
The car has excellent ergonomics and everything falls exactly into hand,The handbrake too feels robust and sure footed and when applied we can feel the rear of car lift up a bit
The Ford Figo greets a driver with a pleasant engine note, its not too coarse nor not as refined as a K-series or even the Kappa engine for that part but is adequate in refinement terms
The gearshifts are smooth and precise and slots perfectly into position, the reverse gear was a bit cumbersome to operate as it clunked a bit, other than that the gear shift gets a thumps up
The steering is purely hydraulic,its a bit hard for someone used to Marutis and Hyundais but the benefit is super accurate turn in and road feel that only a few cars can match, the steering weighs up superbly as speeds build up and the confidence it inspires is nothing short of what some high end luxury cars are able to provide
The brakes are good but not the best the Hyundai i10,Swift have better brakes when car is fully loaded but when partially loaded the brakes feel fine but the rear drums struggles when the car is loaded and when at speeds excess of 100 kmph
so braking is something that has to be planned
3. Ride and Handling
This is the part where the car simply annihilates the competition, I already knew the Figo is based on the European Fiesta which was hauled as this side of BMW 3 series when it comes to handling but to experience one is truly impressive, the car has a very aggressive front end,chuck it around a corner and it darts into the corner with no fuss, the corner entry speeds are mind blowing, I can safely say that the Figo/Fiesta Classic/Ikon and Fiat Punto are the only cars under 10 lakh Rs in India with such high eagerness and corner entry speeds when pushed hard,there is slight body roll and after the follow in into a corner it holds a line typical to all FWD cars, DUCK-GRIP-UNDERSTEER, the MRF ZV2K rubber on our car is the only limiting factor that Figo has in its way of spoiling the last bit of fun, but its ok its a road car not a sports car, the mid corner stability is mind blowing,The steering of Figoat speeds excess of 100 kmph is really good it actually becomes little bit lifeless off center but thats done purposefully I think because the small movements will otherwise cause Figo to move a lot and measure the road width,Accelerating out out of a corner is super easy with Figo even though the engine dosent help much, the rear end of the car follows like an obedient cat, it dosent have the best traction out of a corner though, the rear end is a bit playful and thats great when we drive on a track but on road its a bit of a handful if we push it really hard, but the treat Figo gives is the balance it offers, we can correct the rear end and the front end with the wheel in front of us so precisely that under steer itself can be controlled in a Figo and that makes Figo one of the best driving hatchbacks money can buy
Now if all that handling resulted in a bone jarring ride it would have spoiled the daily usability of Figo, it shines here too, the ride is not smooth at slow speeds, its a bit stiff below 15 kmph, once past 15 kmph the taut setup makes us feel like we are moving in accordance with bumps inside car but nothing filters or judders and when speeds cross 40 kmph Figo just glides over bumps,there is an underlying stiffness to its motion but all is done with a poise that only a Punto and Polo can match rest of the cars in the segment have a long way to go to catch up with Figo/Punto/Polo
The ride after 100 kmph is too super smooth and the suspension balances comfort with sure footed damping
3. Comforts and INFOTAINMENT
The Figo has a very good and comfortable green house,lately it has been beaten by new rivals but still the old school design of Figo has the right amount of comfort and convenience a European car provides, the rear window not being able to pull down completely is an issue for some but we rarely open the rear windows so it didnt matter for us much, there are enough storage spaces and the boot is wide and large enough and still boasts as one of biggest in class
The stereo speakers in Figo is another highlight, the sound it produces is marvelous,even newly released cars today cant match Fords audio system,only Ford cars have the best in class sounding audio systems and the smallest member Figo too has a pie to share, The audio quality is good but there is slight downside ,up the volume above certain limit and the door panels start vibrating a slight niggle that I can happily live with though
The Bluetooth is very useful when doing long drives but it drains battery of phone significantly, the Bluetooth system shuts off when cars ignition goes off and we have to pair device each time thats a bit of a bummer
Another downside of Figo is road noise and tire noise, there is always the constant murmur of the tires with road inside the cabin and it gets pretty worse after 80 kmph destroying a bit of the high speed confidence it gives as the cabin gets pretty noisy inside
4. Performance
As I have mentioned earlier the engine is not the best in class, it makes around 70 bhp @6250 rpm and 102 NM @ 4000 rpm
The engine pulls well till say 3000 rpm and after that it dosent revv much, its very difficult to revv Figo if the AC is ON, I can think of it as due to the AC compressor(154cc largest for any car under 10 lakh Rs) that limits its abilities but even if the AC is OFF the car dosent have the pull or eagerness to respond as of its competitors, in a word its the least powerful and least engaging engine of its class,the kerb weight of over 1100 kg dosent help Figo either, with 4 people on board it struggles to climb inclines or even pick up speed on highways
With my crude testing 0-100 kmph comes in around 14.5s (w/o AC)16s(AC), thats really slow when we think of how dynamic the chassis of this car is
This 1.2 l duratec engine is a detuned version of the 1.4l petrol rocam engine thats used in South Africa,Brazil etc which has around 94 bhp and 108 NM, I wish Ford provided the same engine on Figo as well,anyway the 2015 Figo is inching its debut so looking forward to what the i3 12V engine is capable of.
5. Service Maintenance and Issues
Fords service here in Kairali Ford Trivandrum is pretty good, the average service cost is around 3000 Rs per service or say 3000 Rs per year on average and thats not bad
The exterior paint has started to show its age a little bit
Interior plastics has some colour change due to sunlight exposure not too bad though,
There was a minor rattle from the front airbag enclosure and it was rectified with 3rd service,
The handbrake seems to generate a creek sound each time we pull it
The mileage we get in city with AC is 9.8-10.8 kmpl w/o AC 10.5-11.8 kmpl
Highway mileage with AC (speeds between 70-100 kmph)13 kmpl and w/o AC 16 kmpl and yes it broke ARAI![[lol]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Laugh.gif "Laugh [lol]")
As of now the car has clocked 16000+ kms within 3.5 years tenure and its running smooth and very satisfied owner of Ford Figo
Pictures will talk the rest
Actually we brought this car in 2010 before that we had a zen mh41 before that we had a maruti 800 and our first car was a fiat premier diesel. Our zen had done about 85000 kms when we sold it out for 75000Rs. Actually it was a very bad deal
because zen was a wonderful car and it deserved a better price. we had minimal problems with zen like steering ball bearings making noise some interior plastics falling off etc but the car was almost rattle free we didnt have any problem with the zen for 5 years.(all our previous cars were 2nd hand or 3rd hand.The ford finds home
2010 September we started searching for a new car parents wanted a car which has a power steering and they wanted a hatch as we live in trivandrum which is a fairly congested city and petrol was fuel of choice.
Our research was limited to swift petrol,Hyundai i10,maruti alto.
Parents were not at all interested in any other cars
Maruti Swift.
Test drove the car we liked its power refinement features etc and above everything maruti suzuki(reliability). But it had a huge waiting period they told us 2 months minimum. THe vxi was priced somewhat close to 4.7 lacks.
Hyundai i10.
We went for a test drive of the magic machine that boasts of impressive power and economy. After we drove it we found the interiors to be pleasant light steering easy controls and very easy ingress and egress. The price was on the higher side and there were a lot of variants too. But i felt as though i was being driven away by strong winds at higher speeds and i found the swift to be more powerful.
After we test drove both these cars we were in a mind to book the swift.
Suddenly one day my mom told why are we constricting our list to only hyundai and swift lets go n check out some more cars.
Then we put a list and we considered 4 more cars i20 punto polo and figo.
Punto got ruled out because of poor a.s.s. for fiat in tvm. i20 got ruled out because it was pricey and a bigger car. then POLO and FIGO were the remaining options.
We went for vw showroom tvm the sales executive was very pleasing and kind he showed us the car comfortline variant , it was a league above all cars we have seen, everything seemed top notch but we were let down by the price and we heard that vws are costly to maintain. We went to ford and saw the figo and my mom liked the figo instantly she recognized that it was a spacious car and was built well. then we ordered for a test drive and they told that they will bring the car home for TD. And one fine saturday they brought a silver figo titanium petrol for td. My mom liked the steering position the interiors the music system and the space at the rear and boot, and above all the figo zxi variant had bluetooth cd fm aux and it was priced 4.54 lacks on road. This was even a better deal than the swift and the waiting period was 20 days.
So finally we booked the figo Petrol ZXI on September 2010.
FIGO PETROL ZXI
The car arrived exactly 21 days after the booking and it was a diamond white cute figo.
Initial impression
1.Looks.
Exteriors
The car was looking like a cat and it was not very bold and solid like the polo. The looks of the car is subjective i liked its looks streamlined design and practical tail lights. The car didnt look awkward from any angle and looked decent.
Interiors.
The interiors have a dark theme with silver inserts on door handles around the stereo and a reddish black perforated cloth upholstery.
THe quality of plastics were definitely a notch above the swift but not as good as polo. The plastics and interior trims seems solidly put together and fells good to last for a reasonable misuse.
The seats of Ford Figo are excellent, they are not as good the the latest 2012 Swift but superb in terms of the way it encapsulates the driver and prevents body roll, the side bolstering is very good while taking corners as well
The rear seats have good under thigh support and extend well, I am 5.5 feet so it suits well for me and my family where most are 5.5 feet or less
2.Driving
The car has excellent ergonomics and everything falls exactly into hand,The handbrake too feels robust and sure footed and when applied we can feel the rear of car lift up a bit
The Ford Figo greets a driver with a pleasant engine note, its not too coarse nor not as refined as a K-series or even the Kappa engine for that part but is adequate in refinement terms
The gearshifts are smooth and precise and slots perfectly into position, the reverse gear was a bit cumbersome to operate as it clunked a bit, other than that the gear shift gets a thumps up
The steering is purely hydraulic,its a bit hard for someone used to Marutis and Hyundais but the benefit is super accurate turn in and road feel that only a few cars can match, the steering weighs up superbly as speeds build up and the confidence it inspires is nothing short of what some high end luxury cars are able to provide
The brakes are good but not the best the Hyundai i10,Swift have better brakes when car is fully loaded but when partially loaded the brakes feel fine but the rear drums struggles when the car is loaded and when at speeds excess of 100 kmph
so braking is something that has to be planned
3. Ride and Handling
This is the part where the car simply annihilates the competition, I already knew the Figo is based on the European Fiesta which was hauled as this side of BMW 3 series when it comes to handling but to experience one is truly impressive, the car has a very aggressive front end,chuck it around a corner and it darts into the corner with no fuss, the corner entry speeds are mind blowing, I can safely say that the Figo/Fiesta Classic/Ikon and Fiat Punto are the only cars under 10 lakh Rs in India with such high eagerness and corner entry speeds when pushed hard,there is slight body roll and after the follow in into a corner it holds a line typical to all FWD cars, DUCK-GRIP-UNDERSTEER, the MRF ZV2K rubber on our car is the only limiting factor that Figo has in its way of spoiling the last bit of fun, but its ok its a road car not a sports car, the mid corner stability is mind blowing,The steering of Figoat speeds excess of 100 kmph is really good it actually becomes little bit lifeless off center but thats done purposefully I think because the small movements will otherwise cause Figo to move a lot and measure the road width,Accelerating out out of a corner is super easy with Figo even though the engine dosent help much, the rear end of the car follows like an obedient cat, it dosent have the best traction out of a corner though, the rear end is a bit playful and thats great when we drive on a track but on road its a bit of a handful if we push it really hard, but the treat Figo gives is the balance it offers, we can correct the rear end and the front end with the wheel in front of us so precisely that under steer itself can be controlled in a Figo and that makes Figo one of the best driving hatchbacks money can buy
Now if all that handling resulted in a bone jarring ride it would have spoiled the daily usability of Figo, it shines here too, the ride is not smooth at slow speeds, its a bit stiff below 15 kmph, once past 15 kmph the taut setup makes us feel like we are moving in accordance with bumps inside car but nothing filters or judders and when speeds cross 40 kmph Figo just glides over bumps,there is an underlying stiffness to its motion but all is done with a poise that only a Punto and Polo can match rest of the cars in the segment have a long way to go to catch up with Figo/Punto/Polo
The ride after 100 kmph is too super smooth and the suspension balances comfort with sure footed damping
3. Comforts and INFOTAINMENT
The Figo has a very good and comfortable green house,lately it has been beaten by new rivals but still the old school design of Figo has the right amount of comfort and convenience a European car provides, the rear window not being able to pull down completely is an issue for some but we rarely open the rear windows so it didnt matter for us much, there are enough storage spaces and the boot is wide and large enough and still boasts as one of biggest in class
The stereo speakers in Figo is another highlight, the sound it produces is marvelous,even newly released cars today cant match Fords audio system,only Ford cars have the best in class sounding audio systems and the smallest member Figo too has a pie to share, The audio quality is good but there is slight downside ,up the volume above certain limit and the door panels start vibrating a slight niggle that I can happily live with though
The Bluetooth is very useful when doing long drives but it drains battery of phone significantly, the Bluetooth system shuts off when cars ignition goes off and we have to pair device each time thats a bit of a bummer
Another downside of Figo is road noise and tire noise, there is always the constant murmur of the tires with road inside the cabin and it gets pretty worse after 80 kmph destroying a bit of the high speed confidence it gives as the cabin gets pretty noisy inside
4. Performance
As I have mentioned earlier the engine is not the best in class, it makes around 70 bhp @6250 rpm and 102 NM @ 4000 rpm
The engine pulls well till say 3000 rpm and after that it dosent revv much, its very difficult to revv Figo if the AC is ON, I can think of it as due to the AC compressor(154cc largest for any car under 10 lakh Rs) that limits its abilities but even if the AC is OFF the car dosent have the pull or eagerness to respond as of its competitors, in a word its the least powerful and least engaging engine of its class,the kerb weight of over 1100 kg dosent help Figo either, with 4 people on board it struggles to climb inclines or even pick up speed on highways
With my crude testing 0-100 kmph comes in around 14.5s (w/o AC)16s(AC), thats really slow when we think of how dynamic the chassis of this car is
This 1.2 l duratec engine is a detuned version of the 1.4l petrol rocam engine thats used in South Africa,Brazil etc which has around 94 bhp and 108 NM, I wish Ford provided the same engine on Figo as well,anyway the 2015 Figo is inching its debut so looking forward to what the i3 12V engine is capable of.
5. Service Maintenance and Issues
Fords service here in Kairali Ford Trivandrum is pretty good, the average service cost is around 3000 Rs per service or say 3000 Rs per year on average and thats not bad
The exterior paint has started to show its age a little bit
Interior plastics has some colour change due to sunlight exposure not too bad though,
There was a minor rattle from the front airbag enclosure and it was rectified with 3rd service,
The handbrake seems to generate a creek sound each time we pull it
The mileage we get in city with AC is 9.8-10.8 kmpl w/o AC 10.5-11.8 kmpl
Highway mileage with AC (speeds between 70-100 kmph)13 kmpl and w/o AC 16 kmpl and yes it broke ARAI
As of now the car has clocked 16000+ kms within 3.5 years tenure and its running smooth and very satisfied owner of Ford Figo
Pictures will talk the rest
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
spoprty note after 2000rpm.![[anger]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Anger.gif "Anger [anger]")
. Ford had asked for a recall of some rear suspension part on july 1st week.
![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
i guess yokohama A drive tyres can help in reducing tyre noise ![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
