The pricing of the newly-launched Ford Figo Aspire is spot-on and it comes across as a great package with all its engine choices and equipment on offer.
Ford has launched the Figo Aspire in India today and it comes at a great price point. It fights it out with the Maruti Swift DZire, Tata Zest, Hyundai Xcent and the Honda Amaze. Does it emerge as a winner? Let us find out.
Exteriors – Undoubtedly, the Figo Aspire is the best-looking car in its segment. The front looks very appealing with the Aston Martin grille while the rear is also simple and classy looking. The side profile looks a bit incomplete due to the short length of the car. The Swift DZire is loaded with chrome and the facelift isn’t very tastefully designed, but it still looks better than the model it replaced. The Zest has the typical Tata face at the front while the rear looks bulbous. The Xcent is a good looking product and the styling is quite decent. The Amaze also looks good with all its sharp creases.
Interiors – The Figo Aspire’s interiors take inspiration from the Fiesta and EcoSport and they look lovely. The quality is good and fit and finish is also top notch. The DZire shares its interiors with the Swift while the Amaze and Zest share the same with the Brio and Bolt respectively. Same goes for the Xcent. The Honda Amaze is really lacking in features while the Figo, Xcent and Zest have the most loaded equipment list. The DZire was earlier missing out on a few important features but the recent facelift corrected all of that. The Maruti car lacks rear seat space while the other four do offer good legroom at the rear.
Engines and Mileage – All these compact sedans get the option of both petrol as well as diesel engines. The Figo Aspire gets two petrol engines – 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre. The 1.2-litre unit’s power figures are similar to its rivals but the 1.5-litre engine produces much more power. Tata offers the Zest with a turbocharged petrol engine and hence it produces the most torque out here. All petrol engines are mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox while the 1.5-litre engine from Ford comes with a 6-speed DCT gearbox. The DZire and Xcent also come with a 4-speed automatic transmission while the Amaze gets a 5-speed CVT unit.
Talking about diesel engines, the Figo Aspire and Amaze produce the most power in this segment. The 1.3-litre Multijet engine from Fiat is shared by the DZire and Zest. The DZire gets the lower 75 PS tune while the Zest gets the 90 PS tune as well. The oil-burner on the Xcent is a 3-cylinder unit. All these diesel engines are matched to a 5-speed manual transmission while the Zest also gets the option of an AMT unit. The DZire gives out the highest fuel efficiency when we consider petrol variants while the Xcent comes right at the bottom. Even in diesel variants, the DZire has the highest mileage while the Zest has the lowest.
Safety and Service – The Figo Aspire is the only one out here to get dual airbags as standard on every variant. The top variants of the Ford get six airbags! The automatic variant gets dual airbags, ESP and Hill Start Assist. Maruti offers dual front airbags only on the top Z variants of the DZire. Apart from the base variant, every other variant of the Zest gets ABS. The top 3 variants also get dual front airbags. The Xcent gets ABS as optional on the mid and top trims while dual airbags are standard on the top variant. All diesel variants of the Amaze get ABS as standard while petrol variants get ABS on the top three trims. Dual airbags are offered only on top trims.
Moving to service, Maruti and Hyundai have the best service network in this segment and that is why they sell in good numbers. Honda, Ford and Tata also have a large network but still they are nowhere close to the former two. Ford is growing in terms of service centres and the company has also promised that the Figo Aspire will be easy on the pocket.
Pricing and Verdict – Ford has hit the sweet spot with the Figo Aspire’s pricing and its base trim for the petrol variant is cheaper than the DZire, Amaze and Xcent. Even the mid trim is cheaper than the DZire and Amaze. The top variant of the Aspire petrol is pricey but it comes with the 1.5-litre engine and 6-speed DCT transmission. The same story continues for diesel variants too. The base trim is cheaper than the Amaze and DZire and only marginally higher than the other two. The mid variant is again in-line with other compact sedans while the top variant is the most expensive but it also comes with more airbags and hence the premium is quite justified.
Our pick in this segment would definitely be the Ford Figo Aspire while the Hyundai Xcent comes a close second. Following the Xcent is the Tata Zest while the Honda Amaze lacks a lot of equipment, making it feel pricey. The recent update to the Swift DZire has made it a better package but the Maruti does lack in several areas where new competition is excelling.
Figo Aspire vs DZire vs Zest vs Xcent vs Amaze – Petrol Comparison
Figo Aspire vs DZire vs Zest vs Xcent vs Amaze – Diesel Comparison
