Figo is Fords first and desperate measure in desperate times to jump into the small car segment of developing nations like India. As this segment is where the number game is played Ford’s homeland rival GM made it clear that it would grab a bigger share with its recently launched Beat. Beat is the most lively car in the country’s deal ships right now and with a price tag of 3.34lakhs it has already booked over 10,000 in 25days of its launch. So you could say Ford is resting its shoulders heavily on the Figo to beat the Beat and GM, but has Ford done enough?
Figo is a completely different car from the Beat though they will be sold in the same price segment (I am taking a guess here). At this point I am going to stop comparing the two and get on with my thoughts on the Figo. Figo is a perfect Indian Ford, rather too perfect that’s what its problem is. There is nothing new to the eye. The body panels are too stereotypic, I get a feeling that they have squeezed in Fiesta’s styling in to Fusion’s body. But being a Ford it is quite civilized and simple but a grownup car in this segment wouldn’t be adequate any more with Maruti’s unlimited supply of peppy hatches and the beat around Ford could have gone an extra mile on making it interesting.
It ticks all the boxes when it comes to that fordness except for one, the dashboard. Ford in its relentless efforts of make at least the interiors a bit bonkers, it gave Figo a red (or something close to red) plastic dashboard. But then you can get it in black as well. Other than the cross-dressing, Figo’s interiors are indeed fresh in terms of functionality. For instance the bonnet open switch is accessible only to the shotgun. The head lights dim and dip are no more on the stick below the steering but on the dash with an A/C switch like knob. Speaking of the A/C, it will turn a bottle of water on the back seat into ice when set in full, it is that good. Armrests on the door can rest a water bottle, other than your arm. There are plenty of cubby holes around for all your storage needs from holding your drink to holding toll road change. Figo’s party piece is its size, dimension wise it is far bigger than its rivals. The 284litre boot is the biggest in the class. If that’s not enough for you, fold the rear seats to make your own football field.
From the picture that ever one else is painting, both the 1.2L 4-cylinder petrol and 1.4L Diesel lack grunt, with no emergency in the rev or the acceleration but then again it’s not a part of Ford’s intensions. Ford’s plan of a small car for India had practicality as the main priority and I feel that ford has delivered.
Image Gallery:
Photo courtesy: Team-bhp
July 2, 2010
perfect car only worry is will it be cheap to maintain ie after sales spare service parts. this is the best money can buy.