Ford Figo Diesel Long Term Review – First Report

The Figo chucks into corners with eagerness and the motor pulls it through quick

Performance aside, which without a doubt is the best thing about the Ford Figo diesel, there are other things to appreciate too. Like the handling, the steering has good feel but I do miss the old Figo whose hydraulic steering offered much better feel and feedback. In order to give the stonking performance while not compromising on efficiency, Ford had to go electric with the steering while also keeping the weight to a minimum and that has robbed the tank like feel of the old car. Still fit-finish is very good and quality levels are excellent.

The light weight has resulted in the Ford Figo being a bit bouncy on bad roads. The suspension has a good balance of ride and handling but when you drive fast over expansion joints on a bridge, the vehicle does go air borne at times which in our case is fun but non-enthusiasts won’t like it. This brings me to the biggest issue in the car, the tyres. Accelerate hard and the tyres screech, corner hard and the tyres screech, brake hard and the tyres screech, the rubber on the Figo diesel is just inadequate to deal with the performance and cornering capabilities it has. But this isn’t a sign of worry for most buyers who take it easy but if you are an enthusiast, swap your rubber with immediate effect, this car needs wider shoes.

The plus point of those thin tyres is of course the mileage. As soon as the car arrived, we took it through some highways and got a mileage of 24 km/l. Then getting back to Mumbai’s stop-go traffic resulted in the efficiency numbers dropping to 19 km/l. This is proof that you can have your cake and eat it too because no other car with so much performance, manages to offer such kind of efficiency numbers. The other icing on the cake is of course Ford’s competitively priced spare parts thanks to its child parts strategy, the Figo is cheaper to upkeep than its rivals.

In that excitement of performance and dynamics, I might have forgotten entirely to talk about the design and interiors, well a lot has been said about it already but a few things I would like to highlight, the storage space near the handbrake is plenty, can keep phone, coins, charger, bottles, etc. The SYNC system works well and connects flawlessly although it takes at least a second or two for it to respond when you want to pick a phone call using the steering mounted controls. And yes, that keypad in the centre of the dashboard seems unnecessary, a touch-screen (which Ford is already working on) would clear up the aesthetics to a great extent. One flaw we spotted was the tailgate closes on its own due to vibrations if you press the boot release button and shut any door. I can go on and on about the Ford Figo but will reserve that to our next report as we pile on the miles of this pocket rocket American hatch.

Further Reading –

Ford Figo Review
Ford Figo vs Maruti Swift vs Hyundai Grand i10 vs Tata Bolt – Comparison Video
Ford Figo vs Maruti Swift vs Hyundai Grand i10 vs Tata Bolt – Shootout
Ford Figo DCT vs Honda Jazz CVT vs Volkswagen Polo GT TSI – Shootout