A Ford Joins My Garage: Ford Figo Petrol (1st Gen) Ownership Review

[mayankdixit]

DIY Battery tray rust issue solved. Rat found living comfortably inside battery cover.


All the bolts were rusted badly. Changed them. Battery was moving about because of rusted frame and bolts.

After dusting the rat poop

The whole bracket base and bolts were rusted and needed replacements

Rust everywhere

After cleaning, I removed as much rust as possible. After washing thoroughly, I applied paint.

Battery was moving about on rough roads, because of rusted frame and bolts.
Now the rat has run away, at least for now, and battery is not rattling on speed breakers.


Before finally mounting the battery back

I am very thankful to rat and almighty, that no wires were found to be cut. Also NO rat or any animal was injured during the filming, sorry, cleaning of the battery tray.

 

[mayankdixit]

On the acceleration, I have been driving Diesel one for a decade and never felt in loss of power, except for a slight lag in the 2nd gear running over speed breakers. That too gets even with time and syncing. While I agree that Petrol Figo is underpowered, may not be to the extent you mentioned. But seeing the tyre conditions, I would suggest you to check it after replacing them as tyres plays a vital part in acceleration.

Thanks for the feedback .

My Figo had poor acceleration because of these 4 factors combined:
1) Overfilled and very old engine oil.
2) Old, oily, dirty sparkplugs.
3) Dirty clogged throttle body.
4) Too old tyres, with cracked rubber all-over.

I have solved all these issues one by one. Now the acceleration has improved very much.

 

[mayankdixit]

Useful and unique feature of my Figo petrol

After stalling the car on my home slope, I learned a unique thing about my Figo. Once a car stops /stalls at position I or II the key cannot be turned further to position III. It sort of gets locked !! Even if the car engine is running the key cannot move further, to protect accidental double crank on a running engine. You will have to move the key to 0 position again to restart.
This is a unique thing which Ford owners will be used to. For me its a new and useful feature. Its called crank protection. Or Starter protection. This is not seen in my swift ,Ritz, 800,of that era. I am very pleasantly surprised to find this on my Figo.

Markings are not obvious to naked eyes, pics make it clear

 

[deville_56]

Useful and unique feature of my Figo petrol

After stalling the car on my home slope, I learned a unique thing about my Figo. Once a car stops /stalls at position I or II the key cannot be turned further to position III. It sort of gets locked !! Even if the car engine is running the key cannot move further, to protect accidental double crank on a running engine. You will have to move the key to 0 position again to restart.
This is a unique thing which Ford owners will be used to. For me its a new and useful feature. Its called crank protection. Or Starter protection. This is not seen in my swift ,Ritz, 800,of that era. I am very pleasantly surprised to find it on my Figo.

Present in VWs too. Think there is in Beat also, gotta double check as Beat never stalled as far as I can remember.

 

[mayankdixit]

Present in VWs too. Think there is in Beat also, gotta double check as Beat never stalled as far as I can remember.

Ok, never sat in VW , so never knew about that.
Many things Maruti should have, or could have provided then.

 

[deville_56]

The audio system will work without keys by pushing the power button and shuts down on its own in 20-30 minutes. Another Easter egg, it not already found.

Ok, never sat in VW , so never knew about that.
Many things Maruti should have, or could have provided then.

Wished Maruti could've provided basic feature like turning off headlamp with ignition. (Don't know if it's there now, been a long time in a newer Maruti).

 

[mayankdixit]

Discovering interesting features everyday.

Car may not be new but Ford ownership experience is very much new, hence the title.


rear seat belts can be parked here

Attention to detail. This screw in my Maruti was / has always been , exposed. Not here. Nice small cap present

1 litre bottle will only be parked in the front doors lying down

3 small cubicles in front of gear lever to keep change, mobile wallet etc

12V power outlet

\



cap removed

ashtray and coin holder

Air vents have nice brushed aluminium surrounds. Looks cool

hood opener is weirdly on the passenger side. Maybe they continued this from the European fiesta.

stylish arrow shaped indicators

speaker area on the door trim has a unique cut-out design.

 

[mayankdixit]

Discovering interesting features everyday.
Car may not be new but Ford ownership experience is very much new, hence the title.

rear hatch number plate light is "made in France"

Press this button to fold the rear seat. Nice and sturdy. No need to press on both sides of seat. Seat belt hoor parking slot visible behind.

Rear seat attachments and levers are very sturdy

Rubber cap provided in place of boot light (present in higher versions)

Rear parcel tray has rubber bushes to prevent rattling

I do believe recommended air pressure is too high. Maybe for mileage.

41 psi is too much !!

 

[mayankdixit]

DIY changing Figo petrol filter.

I decided to change it myself since Ford ASS wanted the car for a day, yes believe it, for a whole day, just for the damn filter. Fine ! I will do it myself.
It is not easily accessible like in my swift, where it was in the engine bay near the firewall. Here it lies behind the rear left tyre, below the left rear passenger door. So jack and jack stands are required. It cannot be accessed just by bending under the car as there is not enough space.



Old filter is slightly tricky to access. Remove the fuel lines first.

covered in 11 years of mud and grime.

Push this button to loosen the filter

In and Out flow direction sign on the old filter. Look how dirty its from the outside

How much dirt will be on the inside??

SOGEFI brand filter

 

[mayankdixit]

Continued.
DIY changing Figo petrol filter.


New filter

Genuine Ford part

SOGEFI branded

Plastic clips can break if handled roughly

All set. Switch on the car to check.

Blue is the input side of petrol lock button. Push to remove/put back new part

yellow is the output side lock button

Mount the filter keeping in mind the direction of petrol flow.

 

[mayankdixit]

Car has uneven idle.

Now this problem is solved. Looks like this fuel filter was very dirty and maybe clogged as well. Fuel was sitting inside it without much movement for 1 full year, during covid times.
Now that I think of it , I do realise that I should have changed the filter earlier. Postponed due to unusual position of the part, under the body.
Spares availability was an issue too.
ASS as usual was totally non- helpfull. Wanted me to leave the car for 1full day. It took me half an hour.

 

[mayankdixit]

How does Figo drive??

One word: Brilliant.

I have not driven sportscars or Germans, so I cant tell if they are the benchmark, but for me this is the best small hatchback, so far driving dynamics are concerned.
Acceleration is linear and strong lower down, which is where my 90% of driving is !! 0-50 km/hr, I overtake every thing, and I mean everything. Its because of good lower end torque. No turbo is a good thing here.
1st gear can be easily engaged even while crawling in 2nd gear. Boon in B2B traffic. Very few car's gearbox allow this.
Engine note is very sporty on acceleration. Love that.
Fuel average is on the lower side. Honestly, Doesn't bother me much. Not because cost of petrol doesn't affect me. But because my driving is very less.
Confidence Boost I get on the road while cornering or sudden lane change , is enormous. No car in the past gave me that. Matters to me very much. Especially now that I know, what it is.
Over potholes and sudden speed breakers, Figo never looses composure. Nor does it jumps and changes lanes, which is scary, seen in some cars, where rear jumps out.

 

[mayankdixit]

Just a normal day for my Figo

Looks smart,drives smarter.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Glad that you are enjoying every bit of Ford DNA. Sad always that Ford left India. Kindly do be gentle with the potholes, even though the suspension is sturdy, fords aren't abuse-friendly.
@deville_56 Maruti Suzuki doesn't have that feature of headlamp turning off even now I think. How many Maruti cars come with dead pedals? Also, simply clever of Ford to give a rubber bush on the parcel tray, while Maruti invites in rattles there.

 

[mayankdixit]

Glad that you are enjoying every bit of Ford DNA. Sad always that Ford left India. Kindly do be gentle with the potholes, even though the suspension is sturdy, fords aren't abuse-friendly.
.

Yes I am aware that it's a decade old car . But TBH it's getting every bit love and attention a new car can get, maybe more, God knows. I never ,ever, abuse my vehicles. Why will I ?
After all I will have to repair it myself, with another DIY, in this summer heat, if it's broken. I am just feeling fortunate, to drive a Ford car. And I am enjoying every moment with it.