I am writing this review so that people who are buying their first car or those wanting to upgrade to a new car get a perspective and choose the correct car which matches their parameters. This is the review for the Petrol version.
About myself:
I own a Swift Petrol Vxi myself and hence I may be making comparisons, so please do not mind.
I have also driven Tata Indica Diesel. I have driven over 50, 000+ kms myself on City roads, Highways etc. primarily in the Western part of India. (Mumbai +Pune).
Also, my review is likely to be useful for people who will drive the car themselves and are seeking a car that drives well in addition to being a family car for the short/long trip during weekends.
1. The first thing that you notice about the car is the space inside. This one has got to be the biggest plusses for Figo in its race against the 7 odd competitors vying for attention from prospective customers.
2. On the road inside -The next thing that you notice once you are on road is that the bumps inside are unusually too many. Driving on Indian roads where the roads are not really ’flat’, the high bumps encountered by me during my test drive was a big let down.
3. Ground Clearance -I can vouch that given the speed breakers on Indian Roads, Ford has eitherforgot testing the car on Indian roads or have made a big fool of themselves. The moment you encounter a slightly bigger speed breaker, the rear of the car makes such a big thud that you feelas if Ford’s Engineers have completely neglected this aspect of the car. Some people may refuse to consider this car (including myself) just because of such a stupid mistake.
4. Driver’s aspect - I can surely say that others have a lot of catching up to do to measure up to the sheer driving pleasure of a Maruti Swift. Swift - Petrol remains the ultimate benchmark in the performance criterion.Though this aspect tends to be neglected by Indian customers, I feel that in the long run this is what makes people stick to the car of theirs. Figo does well though. It has decent amount of power and the throttle is responsive indicating no drag. Also the turning radius happens to be the on the really lower side.
Overall it’s a good mover. Driving on the highway needs to be checked though.
5. First time buyers - You need to be absolutely sure that you have a service center nearby you. More often than not, it is the first time buyers that would need the after sales service on account of minor bruises that the car encounters. Ford has got some catching upto do against the Maruti/Hyundai and Tatas here.
6. Mileage - The dealer claims to a mileage of 15+ on the Petrol version. If it’s true, then it’s not bad at all.
7. The car has a good feel overall and for someone who is buying this for city driving only, then this car has to be amongst the top 3 contenders simply because of the practicality of the car.
You feel spacious inside, you feel good because of the high quality plastics as well. The boot space is good as well.
Final Verdict -
With so many options available, I guess every car would have its own set of buyers.
Swift for the pure pleasure of driving , i10 for the styling, i20 for the amazing looks, Indica for the robust build, Fabia for the one who wants to stand out, Beat for the value for money, Ritz for Maruti’s reliability.
Ford’s Figo is a complete mixed bag. It is neither bad nor it stands out in any of the parameters against the competition.
The major negative is the ground clearance which cannot be ignored on Indian roads. You need to test drive it yourself to understand this aspect. No matter what ground clearance figures company has put in it’s brouchers, this is a big negative for the car.
Choose wisely. After all you are spending a good 5 lacs for owning it!!