The Ford Figo is the newest hatchback to enter the market and it competes with the Maruti Suzuki Swift and the Hyundai Grand i10. We do a quick comparison of the trio.
Exteriors – All the three cars here are smart looking hatchbacks and none looks boring. However, it is the Maruti Suzuki Swift which looks a bit old now considering it is the oldest car here. The Ford Figo on the other hand looks fresh and has an imposing front end design. The Hyundai Grand i10 looks neutral and would please most who look at it. From the side profile, it is the bulbous rear-end of the Japanese hatch which looks a bit awkward whereas the American and Korean hatches look better. There’s no doubt that the latest kid on the block looks the best out of the three.
Interiors – Quite clearly, it is the Hyundai Grand i10 which gets the best looking interior with the Ford Figo following it closely. The Maruti Suzuki Swift lags behind in features. In terms of space, the Figo has the most spacious cabin thanks to its generous proportions which are slightly more than the other two cars. When we look at boot space, the Korean and American hatches are closely matched with the Japanese kid far behind.
Engine and Mileage – All the three cars here come with both petrol and diesel motors with the Ford Figo getting two petrol options. Talking of petrol engines, all the three cars are powered by 1.2-litre petrol powerplants which are close to each other in terms of performance. The Figo makes the most power which makes it the fastest out of the lot. The American hatchback also gets a 1.5-litre petrol engine producing 110 BHP of power, mated with a segment first 6-speed automatic transmission. The Hyundai Grand i10 also gets an automatic variant with the same engine mated to a 4-speed gearbox. However, the Swift is the most frugal here but not by a big margin over the second generation Figo.
Coming to diesel engines, the three cars are radically different. The Figo is the most powerful car here and comes with a 1.5-litre oil burner producing 99 BHP of power, giving it an excellent power-to-weight ratio. The Maruti Suzuki Swift comes with a 1.3-litre engine which belts out an average 74 BHP of power whereas the Hyundai Grand i10 gets a 1.1-litre three-cylinder engine producing just 70 BHP of power. The latter most is extremely well tuned and thus doesn’t feel too slow but the Figo just smokes every car in the segment by a good margin and yet is the most fuel efficient car here.
Safety and Service – When we talk of safety, Ford must get a special mention for loading the Figo with safety equipment. Except for the base variant which gets only driver airbag, all variants get dual airbags as standard on the Figo. The top-end variant comes with six airbags which is a segment first and no other car in the segment offers the same. The Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Grand i10 offer ABS and dual airbags only on the top variant with the former getting ABS on the mid diesel variant.
Coming to the service aspect, no doubt Maruti has an upper hand here and that is the reason for the high sales. The service network is so widespread that one can find a service centre in places they would never imagine. Hyundai too is expanding at a rapid pace and is trying to compete with Maruti on this front. Ford lacks a bit in terms of reach but it is also working on expanding its network. However Ford offers child parts which leads to a reduction in service costs in the long term.
Pricing and Verdict – The Ford Figo despite being the newest and having airbags as standard undercuts the other two cars in terms of pricing. Infact, only the top-end variant which has six airbags and other goodies exceeds the top-end pricing of the Hyundai Grand i10 by less than Rs. 75,000/- and that of the Maruti Suzuki Swift by less than Rs. 20,000/-. The automatic variant of the Figo comes in at a premium of Rs. 75,000/- over the Hyundai Grand i10. For that money, you get a much bigger engine, safety features including hill hold and ESP and other additional features like MyKey and SYNC. The American hatchback clearly wins in terms of pricing and is the overall winner too, exceeding in most parameters.
Maruti Swift vs Ford Figo vs Hyundai Grand i10 – Petrol Comparison
Maruti Swift vs Ford Figo vs Hyundai Grand i10 – Diesel Comparison
