Ford Freestyle (Figo Cross) to be officially unveiled on 31st January 2018

Ford isn’t attending this year’s Auto Expo and because of this, the American car maker will showcase the Freestyle hatchback-based crossover in a separate event on the 31st of January, 2018, in Delhi. The car is essentially the Ka Cross (Figo Cross) internationally, but will get changes specific to the Indian market. It will preview the various design changes that will also be effected onto other Ford cars such as the Figo hatchback and the Aspire compact sedans later this year.

The Ford Freestyle will benefit from a new petrol engine. The 1.2 liter-3 cylinder petrol engine belongs to the Dragon line-up of petrol engines – first introduced in the facelifted EcoSport. This engine will produce 95 Bhp of peak power and 115 Nm of peak torque, making it a class-leader in terms of outputs.

This engine will also get a new 5 speed manual gearbox from Getrag. The Ford Freestyle is also expected with a diesel engine – with the 1.5 liter TDCI unit being deployed. The diesel engine will also get a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard. An automatic transmission option on the petrol engine, though unconfirmed for now, is likely.

Apart from the exterior changes that include restyled headlamps, grille, front bumper, bonnet, rear bumper, roof rails and additional cladding on the sides, the Ford Freestyle will also ride on wider 185/60 R15 tyres. Ground clearance will go up by 15 mm (from that on the Figo hatchback) to 185 mm.

The interiors will gain a new touchscreen infotainment system with Ford’s SYNC3 interface. Smartphone connectivity, voice assist and emergency assist are three major features of the SYNC3. The Ford Freestyle will compete with the Hyundai i20 Active and the Toyota Etios Cross. In terms of pricing, it is expected to start from under Rs. 5.5 lakhs.