Ford Figo 1.4 - Chill Metallic - 23,000 Kms 2 Years


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I believe this is a right time to share my experience with Figo Diesel since the last 2 years. Hence this thread here.

Buying Decision:

Wanted to switch to a diesel car - and when doing my research - read about Figo having the same engine that runs in Fiesta and there I go my decision was almost made. Still I was little concerned about the After Sales Support of Ford but in Chennai I have couple of my friends owning a Ford and they never had such issues. So decided to go for Ford after comparing Fiat and Ford.

Booking and Dealer Experience:

Was pleasant - called up MPL ford in Nandanam on saturday 4.30 PM - SA said sir no cars available now please leave me your number and I will call you. I gave him his number and I thought I might have to go to their showroom on monday directly. But surprise surprise - sunday morning 10 AM I was relaxing at home and the SA called and asked me If he can come in another 10 minutes for a TD. I was elated and replied Yes please. He reached home in 15 minutes and took her for a drive on RK Salai and Santhome High road and also on the Beach road. I was happy to sit inside a miniature fiesta - the console and dash resembled fiesta - including the steering. Happy with TD - booked the car on monday and signed documents and arranged for a loan with SBH - loan sanctioned on tuesday - wow that was too fast for me and I went to their bank on wednesday morning to sign the documents - payment dispatched the same day to ford and car went for registration on Thursday and delivery on Friday.

All said, the process was smooth and fast(really fast) I gave him a small gift after a week of taking delivery of the car (a wall hanging of lord krishna as I found that during my conversations with him) and he was surprised and happy.

Service experience:

First service - free at 2500 kms - second service 10,000 kms and free. Between both these services I had the usual problems of rear right window rolling down by an inch automatically while driving. And the rattling noise from B and C pillars from the right side. I took it to the service center about 3 times for the same issue and they fixed it once and for all (I thought so) during the 3rd trip. Now after 23k kms the rattling noise has come back again but this time not so severe as the first time so I can live with it for few more months until I take her to the service center again.

The service at 20k kms - was not a free service and the usual fear of expensive to maintain ford thoughts came to my mind and I was preparing to shell out 8 to 9 k for the service but voila it was 3800 Rs +/- 200 Rs. for oil change - filter change - some other consumables - labour and VAT. I was surprised and my ford-hater friends were shocked as they shelled out more than 6k to get their swift diesel serviced during similar kms - so no more easier to maintain marutis.

On-Road Assistance:

Well once during my trip to coimbatore - during pongal holidays - I was packing things into my car at my home in coimbatore and accidentally I left the keys in the boot and closed the doors - without realizing that all other doors were locked still. Called up ford care - asked for my number and address - I was told I would be contacted in an hour - I was not happy - one hour is too long - but after hanging up I called up couple of local mechanics to see if they could open up the doors somehow.. they tried - usual scale and hooks - but no luck they said no not possible.. I was Happy and Sad. Happy that my car is not easy for local thieves to break into and sad that my keys were still in the car. So I was waiting and in 30 minutes I got a call from the local ford service center and he said he will reach my place in an hour - as it was holiday he was sitting in his home town was about 40kms from coimbatore. I was happy and sad again [cry]. Okay so while was just looking around the car trying to think of something - got an idea [evil] [not going to share it here just to avoid any kind of security concern for other figo owners - msg me in private if you are really keen to know] and was able to open the door and retrieve the keys by myself. so I was happy about the on-road assistance team trying to help me asap so I called up the service guy who started already from his home and told him not to come and he was more than happy too.

Driving:

Car well suited for city driving - in chennai during regular traffic - I don't have to worry too much about gear shifting as Figo can pull along at 20+kms speed in 3rd gear by itself and upto 50kms happily in the same gear - so very less gear changes in the city and giving me a better mileage of 16km/litre of fuel always. I do notice the turbo-lag in figo but is way less than what I felt in a swift vdi and fabia. The turbo kicks-in at 1800 RPM and with that I can just zoom out of the traffic in couple of seconds. I don't drag race so a few seconds delay is acceptable for me.

On the highways - while at 100kms speed and RPM is around 2500 - 5th gear - push the pedal a little further - it takes some time to reach 2800 RPMs but once there there is a hidden power that is gifted to the driver suddenly and with this I could easily overtake without having to downshift and also easily reach 130 to 140km/h. This is a very big advantage of Figo but after 140 Figo struggles and I can feel the engine crying. So I didn't really push it after 140 so far. with a tankfull I would get a DTE of 720kms and I have always made 680 kms with a tankfull - I won't topup after cutoff and I will refuel when it reaches reserve.

Cornering: the low stance of the car really gives good confidence in sharp turns and with seat belts on - its easier to zip through tight turns. Hydraulic steering gives a precise control of the wheels and passes on the feel of the road to the hands and I could visualize the road easily. I love the steering -though its a lot heavy when comparing with electronic steering wheels - just for the confidence it gives when holding the steering.

The huge windshield has its advantages - gives good visibility of the road and yes the bonnet is visible in my casually seated position - gives good confidence and can easily position the car precisely in tight edges - especially in the streets of mylapore, royapettah and mandaveli where I drive around often. And it also passes on lot of heat - un-avoidable.

Conclusion: Figo is well suited for city driving - for occasional spirited driving and don't have to worry about highways too.

* Powerful AC - only when there wer e 5 people in car and driving in chennai afternoon - I turned on the AC to 3rd level - never before / after I have crossed the 2nd level with the cooler set to somewhere in the mid position.
* And it could seat 5 adults comfortably - if adults are not more than 6ft high.
* ground clearance - I haven't found this an issue coz the manual clearly says - if 5 people sit in the car increase the tyre pressure (somewhere in 36 at front and 41 at the back) and if only 2 sit - drive around in 31psi in all wheels. I have been following this and haven't scratched the underbelly till now. Yeah and I am a careful driver as well.

On the highways - It does lose its breath - and a Swift could passover Figo when I am at 130km/h - doesn't matter much to me because I didn't get this car for its speed but for its driveability in city and character on road. I would get a BMW or Merc If I wanted to cruise around at 200km/h :)
 
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Fantastic ,honest detailed review of the figo thanx so much for sharing it . Can you post some pictures of your ride. Enjoyed the review since you wrote in simple layman terminology .
 
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Very well written review buddy. The Figo is indeed a pocket rocket and, thanks to the ever increasing petrol prices, TDCi makes the running light on wallets. BTW do post some pics of your ride.
 
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Hi Karthik,

I just bought a new ford figo recently chill metallic color .I am very much curious to know how you managed to open the car with the key stuck inside the boot. Please share it as this might be helpful for me in future [:)]
 
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Hi arun this is a serious question though i am also seeking for the answers, its not only the concern of figo its for other cars also, TAI experts please anyone can find the solution for this.

waiting for the answers..
 
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Hi Karthik,

I just bought a new ford figo recently chill metallic color .I am very much curious to know how you managed to open the car with the key stuck inside the boot. Please share it as this might be helpful for me in future [:)]
Am Sure at the time of purchase they give one more key which is manual [no buttons on it],

>> insert the second key in driver door enter the car, then open the rear door and just fold the rear seat to access the rear boot, [fold the rear seat by pressing the button above the seat on each corners near the quarter glass window]

>> if your car is titanium model just open the driver door and press the boot open button
 
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Thread Starter #7
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Am Sure at the time of purchase they give one more key which is manual [no buttons on it],

>> insert the second key in driver door enter the car, then open the rear door and just fold the rear seat to access the rear boot, [fold the rear seat by pressing the button above the seat on each corners near the quarter glass window]

>> if your car is titanium model just open the driver door and press the boot open button

I was not carrying my second key with me when travelling - poor me [frustration]. I now keep the second key in my wife's hand bag as it is always in her safe custody.
 
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Hi Karthik,

I just bought a new ford figo recently chill metallic color .I am very much curious to know how you managed to open the car with the key stuck inside the boot. Please share it as this might be helpful for me in future

Hi Arun,

I have e-mailed you on what I did to open the doors without breaking the windows.

-Karthik
 
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Hi everybody, Recently bought a ford figo 1.4 diesel titanium diamond white. apart from seat covers,what accessories should i go for? How good is antirust coating and is it necessary? i live in yeshwanthpur,bangalore. where should i go for accessories in bangalore and also for anti rust coat? pls help.
 
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hi sreehari, I am in hyderabad now and my Figo is in Chennai. Will be getting the car transported by end of july only - so will post pics after that. Right now I do not have proper pics of the car
 
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Hi Karthik, I am planning to get a new ford figo chill metallic color. Can you share your experience about the color -say for eg: is it easy to maintain, are scratches easily visible on this color. Also if you email me the trick to open the door without the keys will be really helpful.

Regards
BN
 
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Hi Karthik, I am planning to get a new ford figo chill metallic color. Can you share your experience about the color -say for eg: is it easy to maintain, are scratches easily visible on this color. Also if you email me the trick to open the door without the keys will be really helpful.

Regards
BN
The chill metallic is really a good color and suits well for figo, less to maintain, won't be much of visible scratches, easily washable.
 
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karthik, Nice review of your FIGO. We have one in our office. Nice VFM product with a refined engine and powerful AC and a great handling product. Your post can help people who are planning to buy FIGO. Do post some pictures which brightens this thread.
 
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sorry folks, was out of touch for a very long time due to my work schedule. Adding an update to this thread. My figo completed 35k KMS now. When I sent my car for the 30k service, the total cost was 6060 Rs. [clap] I was expecting a little more upto 10k but was surprisingly less (based on my expectations). So a happy customer till now.

And a little worrying issue is, when I drive at 60+ speeds and slow down rapidly the engine powers off... I was surprised for the first time when it happened and thought may be I didn't downshift correctly - but this has now happened more than 10 times in the last 2 months. I have to take the car to the service center to get it checked but has any other figo owner faced this problem? I also guess this could be due to fuel quality (I am presently in Hyderabad and I hear many people complaining about bad fuel quality) as I haven't had this issue in Chennai before.

And here are some pictures of the car. I have also given the car an extra pair of eyes as I take my car for highways often and driving after sunset is a major issue as the brightness in stock lamps is too low (bad reflector design) in the earlier figo models. I hope ford fixed this in the new models at least.
 

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