The Ford Figo hatchback is back. The new car has arrived five years after the first generation version (Mark V Fiesta for Europe) was launched in India. Ford has managed to price the car rather well, with prices starting from 4.29 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi.
The car is available in 11 variants, five in petrol-manual, five in diesel-manual and one in petrol-automatic. Here are variant-wise ex-showroom Delhi prices:
Petrol-Manual
Base – Rs. 4.30 Lakh, Ambiente – Rs. 4.57 Lakh, Trend – Rs. 5.01 Lakh, Titanium – Rs. 5.76 lakh and Titanium + – Rs 6.41 Lakh.
Petrol-Automatic
Titanium + – Rs. 6.92 lakhs
Diesel-Manual
Base – Rs. 5.30 Lakh, Ambiente – Rs. 5.61 Lakh, Trend – Rs. 5.98 Lakh, Titanium – Rs. 6.73 lakh and Titanium + – Rs 7.41 Lakh.
The new Figo hatchback adopts Ford’s global design cues, with an Aston Martin-like front that we first saw on the new Fiesta, and then on the Figo Aspire compact sedan. The new hatchback mirrors the styling of the Figo Aspire, of course minus the stubby compact sedan boot. The car sits on a modified Fiesta Mark V platform, which is a global platform for emerging markets.
The Figo hatchback’s engines and transmissions have been carried over from the Figo Aspire. The petrol engines: 1.2 liter -4 cylinder(87 Bhp-112 Nm) and the 1.5 liter-4 cylinder Ti-VCT (110 Bhp-136 Nm) units while the diesel engine is the 1.5 liter TDCI turbocharged (98.6 Bhp-215 Nm) unit. The smaller petrol and turbo diesel motors use 5 speed manual transmissions while the larger petrol gets a 6 speed twin clutch automatic.Mileage figures for the engines on the new Figo are similar to that of the Figo Aspire.
The 1.2 liter and 1.5 liter petrols are rated at 18.17 Kmpl and 17 Kmpl, while the diesel does 25.83 Kmpl, all figures ARAI certified. Features too are similar, albeit with an all-black finish for the dashboard, in contrast with the beige themed interiors of the Figo Aspire. Talking dimensions, the Figo Aspire measures in 3,886 mm length, 1,695 mm in width, 1,525 in height, and gets a 2,491 mm wheelbase.
The boot capacity is rated at 257 liters, and as the car shares its wheelbase with its compact sedan sibling, leg room should be more than adequate for most Indians. Ground clearance stands at 174 mm. Dual airbags as standard across all but the base variants, automatic climate control, Ford’s SYNC infotainment system, a multi-function steering wheel, electrically adjustable and folding wing mirrors, perimeter alarm are some of the prominent features.
The top-end variants can be specified with 6 airbags, ABS and EBD, while the automatic variant adds ESP, traction control and hill hold assist to the safety feature list. Meanwhile, Ford has plans to export the new Figo hatchback to over 50 countries around the world, with the Sanand factory set to become a new export hub for the automaker. The new car, like its compact sedan sibling, is built at Ford’s spanking new factory at Sanand, Gujarat.
The previous generation Figo was a game changer for Ford in India. Over 3 lakh copies were sold here, along with a large number exported. The affordably priced Figo also packed in affordable maintenance and spare part costs, a dramatic change for the Ford brand in India. Ford says that these winning attributes have been carried over to the new car, with cost of maintenance said to be 20 % lower than competition.
While that’s a tall claim, Ford could pull it off given that the automaker has offers such as scheduled maintenance for just 2,199 rupees on cars such as the older Figo and the Ecosport. Also, localization levels stand at over 95 %, and this is an important factor that will determine service and part replacement costs in the long run.
