Quick Review: This is how the new Ford Figo looks like!

The original Figo was launched back in 2010 and in the five years it has been on sale, it has undergone one facelift and managed to sell 300,000 units. Not too bad considering that it goes up against the extremely popular Maruti Suzuki Swift. But now it was time for a proper update to the car and Ford certainly hasn’t disappointed.

And in a reversal of the usual method of launching the hatch first and then a compact sedan based off that, the new Figo that we’ve got now is the sub-4 metre Aspire sedan sans boot. Now the Aspire is already a car that we adore in its segment, so the new Figo certainly has much to live up to.

In the current crop of compact sedans, the Aspire stands out as the handsome one and since the Figo retains pretty much the same shape almost up to the C-pillar, it pretty much goes without saying that this hatch is a looker as well – one of the best in this class of car. In fact, the hatch at the back gels a lot better than the boot with Ford’s new design language. And our test cars, painted in a rather attractive shade of orange also showed immaculate paint finish and exuded a sense of being extremely well put-together.

This attention to detail makes the new Figo a rather inviting proposition to potential buyers just by itself.And it’s the same story inside the car as well. Yes, the interiors are now familiar thanks to the Aspire. 

But there’s very little to fault about them, except for the slightly un-premium feel of the plastics. Don’t get me wrong – the plastics feel a far shade better the ones from the earlier Figo. But other cars in the segment certainly seem to do better in this department. But the ergonomics are great, the seats, both front and back are quite comfortable, and there’s plenty of room in the cabin along with lots of cubby holes to store bottles and other knickknacks. 

Ford offers three engine options in this new Figo – a brand new 1.2-litre petrol motor pumping out 88PS of power and 112Nm of torque, a 1.5-litre diesel with 100PS and 215Nm, and a 1.5-litre petrol that makes 112PS and 136Nm which is only available in one trim level with a 6-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox.

Now for the drive, we only had the 1.5-litre petrol automatic and the 1.5-litre diesel available, and let me just say right off the bat that both of them were rather impressive.The auto ‘box is extremely smooth in its operation and fairly quick too, as long as you’re not expecting sportscar-quick gear changes.

This is the only car in this segment that sports a dual clutch transmission and the only one which pairs it with this large a motor, making for a great engine-gearbox combination. The refinement levels really are phenomenal and the car is quick to respond to instructions from your right foot.

When trundling along in Drive mode, you’ll barely notice gear changes, whether shifting up or down. Put it in Sport however, and the 100PS motor revs hard, making a nice racket as well. Once in Sport, you can even change gears using buttons mounted on the shift lever, but if I’m honest, using them feels like setting the alarm on your clock rather than changing gears.

A standard tiptronic arrangement would’ve just felt a little more involving here. Ford claims that this auto can deliver a mileage figure of 17kmpl and on our drive, but that seems to be a slight stretch of the imagination as the trip computer kept that figure hovering between 13-14kmpl.

The diesel motor however was the big highlight of the drive. With all its 215Nm of torque available from as low as 1750rpm, the tractability of this engine is absolutely phenomenal. Punch the throttle at pretty much any speed and in any gear, and the diesel Figo responds without so much as batting an eyelid.

Cruising down the Yamuna Expressway on our way to Agra from Delhi, the car felt extremely relaxed at speeds of 120km/h, and could easily be hustled up to ludicrous speeds of up to 180km/h. Even in terms of mileage, it’s quite impressive with the company claiming 25.83kmpl and us managing to squeeze out 22-23kmpl during our drive.

This diesel motor certainly one of Ford’s best – a massive improvement over the 1.4 Duratorq mill from the last generation Figo and I would even go as far as to say that this is the best diesel motor in this class of car.

Now unfortunately, we can’t give exact performance and mileage figures just yet. That will have to wait when we get the cars for a proper road test in Pune sometime in the near future, as will the 1.2-litre petrol motor. But it suffices to say that both the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel motors proved to be extremely likeable and new segment benchmarks in a lot of departments.

On the ride quality front, it definitely is on the firmer side. You feel what’s happening on the road, but the suspension doesn’t crash over bumps and potholes. It’s very typically Ford in this regard and offers a very connected feel to the road from the seat of your pants. But sadly, steering feel has become a bit number thanks to the shift to an electric power steering unit in this new Figo.

That great feedback one got while chucking the old Figo around corners has been dampened down drastically in the new car. And speaking about handling, while the car feels well planted at speed and changing directions on the expressway, we couldn’t really test out its corner carving prowess on our drive route. It seems even that’s something which is reserved for our full road test.

Another area where the Figo really shines is in its features. The top spec Titanium+ model comes with Ford’s Sync and AppLink functions, which significantly improve upon the regular phone connectivity options that most cars these days provide.

And even the models below that get MyFord Dock, which is rather smart way of fixing your smartphone into the dashboard to make it act like the multimedia and navigation console. The top end variant also gets the MyKey functionality which allows owners to set speed limits and volume control limits on a second “junior” key for the car, which can then be handed to youngsters in the family, safely keeping some bad driving behaviour in check. And speaking of safety, this is one area where the Figo really outshines its competition.

Even the entry-level model comes with a single driver side airbag while from the second model onwards, two front airbags are standard. And the top end one gets a total of six airbags!

Ford has really brought the Figo into the 21st century, so to speak. It improves over its predecessor in every conceivable way and certainly looks all set to give its competition a run for their money. On the pricing front however, while the base model, priced at Rs 4.29lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) undercuts most of its competition, the top spec diesel at Rs 7.40 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) is a little more expensive than the others. But then again, it does offer a lot more goodies and represents a better value for money proposition. Is that enough to rock the boat in this segment? We certainly hope so!