I am really surprised to note that Figo diesel has managed to beat even Punto Abarth & Polo GT TSi. These two powered by turbo-charged petrol engines & very potent chasis packages were supposed to be fastest amongst the hatches.
Ford Figo Aspire Launched in India (Coverage: Pg.21)
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Its all power to weight
Figo TDCi at 1037 kg has a power to weight of 95.1 bhp per ton and 207.32 NM per ton,
At certain kerb weights say above 1200 kg how ever the power may try the car needs either an LSD or a rotation friendly chassis to get out of turns, Fiat lacks that, also the Fiat has a higher weight distribution at its rear, which makes its back end very heavy and loose some precious time when corner exit is done
The Polo GT TSi was slow because its ESC and ESP dosent allow car to dive into corner, it will under steer hard and take the safer route which is slower and that DSG even in manual mode sometimes shifts on its own
So we can be proud for some time at least that we have here the fastest and one of safest and effecient Indian car under 10 lakhs![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
Figo TDCi at 1037 kg has a power to weight of 95.1 bhp per ton and 207.32 NM per ton,
At certain kerb weights say above 1200 kg how ever the power may try the car needs either an LSD or a rotation friendly chassis to get out of turns, Fiat lacks that, also the Fiat has a higher weight distribution at its rear, which makes its back end very heavy and loose some precious time when corner exit is done
The Polo GT TSi was slow because its ESC and ESP dosent allow car to dive into corner, it will under steer hard and take the safer route which is slower and that DSG even in manual mode sometimes shifts on its own
So we can be proud for some time at least that we have here the fastest and one of safest and effecient Indian car under 10 lakhs
Its all power to weight
Figo TDCi at 1037 kg has a power to weight of 95.1 bhp per ton and 207.32 NM per ton,
At certain kerb weights say above 1200 kg how ever the power may try the car needs either an LSD or a rotation friendly chassis to get out of turns, Fiat lacks that, also the Fiat has a higher weight distribution at its rear, which makes its back end very heavy and loose some precious time when corner exit is done
The Polo GT TSi was slow because its ESC and ESP dosent allow car to dive into corner, it will under steer hard and take the safer route which is slower and that DSG even in manual mode sometimes shifts on its own
So we can be proud for some time at least that we have here the fastest and one of safest and effecient Indian car under 10 lakhs
Figo TDCi at 1037 kg has a power to weight of 95.1 bhp per ton and 207.32 NM per ton,
At certain kerb weights say above 1200 kg how ever the power may try the car needs either an LSD or a rotation friendly chassis to get out of turns, Fiat lacks that, also the Fiat has a higher weight distribution at its rear, which makes its back end very heavy and loose some precious time when corner exit is done
The Polo GT TSi was slow because its ESC and ESP dosent allow car to dive into corner, it will under steer hard and take the safer route which is slower and that DSG even in manual mode sometimes shifts on its own
So we can be proud for some time at least that we have here the fastest and one of safest and effecient Indian car under 10 lakhs
Punto Abarth is expected to be the fastest accelerating hatchback, 0 to 60, 0 to 100, 0 to 120 or even 0 to 150 kmph. I did take it to 160 kmph within a short span of time before we had run out of road. I agree it is a heavier car, but the wide grippy tyres & stiffer suspension setup did help it in the handling department. The major disappointment for me was the gear shifter. It was just not in sync with the car's performance & probably the reason why this car was beaten.
Polo GT TSi has many things going for it. In Sports Mode, the acceleration is very close to that of the Abarth, as the engine is always kept in the 4000+ RPM range. The Automatic gear shifting is very smooth & very fast. And the low centre of gravity & well balanced chassis makes it a very good handler. Somehow I feel this car has no reason to be beaten on a circuit. I think the ESP & CSC can be switched off. So I am just wondering whether Sports Mode was used or not for this comparison.
There is no doubt that Ford has probably the best 1.5L Diesel engine here in India currently. It is reasonably free-revving (but still not as good as the petrol motors) & has good wide power band. But the inherent nature of Diesel engines of maxing out in terms of torque delivery at 3.5K or 4K RPM, which makes it essential to upshift earlier than petrol motors. Even the gear shift time for diesel is slightly more than petrol engines.
Even though I was expecting Figo Diesel to be faster than i20 or Jazz diesels, but am still very surprised to note that it was faster than even Punto Abarth & Polo GT TSi.
I feel Overdrive is a bit biased, look how conveniently Baleno and Swift are left out. Hard to belive cars without anti roll bars can corner faster than ones with it.
Regarding earlier discussions, none of the Figo or Aspire models have anti roll bars, something ford have copied from Maruti, even ciaz does not have anti roll bar.
Regarding earlier discussions, none of the Figo or Aspire models have anti roll bars, something ford have copied from Maruti, even ciaz does not have anti roll bar.
See anti roll bars or sway bars can counter body roll but wont stop it, the lack of body roll inspires confidence, Figodosent offer confidence like the old one but its got immense in gear accelaratuions which is essential in such short track like Kari
They have tested Baleno as well
Latest Cars in India, Bikes in India, New Car Prices, Automobile News, Reviews - Overdrive
And Baleno did perform well,
Here we see a pattern, power to weight good means better lap times,
I think its the nature of track that makes this happen,
In UK there is a track named LLANDOW, its short tight twisty track, there FWD cars beat the hell out of even M4s and big Audi R8s, reason is simple small fwd cars are well suited for tight twisty tracks, here the Figo,Baleno, Elite i20, all have smart power and torque to weight ratios making them pick smart times.
The Polo GT Tsi will hamper lap time with the ESC ON, I ve noticed that, even a 80 kmph turn the GT TSi cuts power,I havent driven Punto Abarth though
They have tested Baleno as well
Latest Cars in India, Bikes in India, New Car Prices, Automobile News, Reviews - Overdrive
And Baleno did perform well,
Here we see a pattern, power to weight good means better lap times,
I think its the nature of track that makes this happen,
In UK there is a track named LLANDOW, its short tight twisty track, there FWD cars beat the hell out of even M4s and big Audi R8s, reason is simple small fwd cars are well suited for tight twisty tracks, here the Figo,Baleno, Elite i20, all have smart power and torque to weight ratios making them pick smart times.
The Polo GT Tsi will hamper lap time with the ESC ON, I ve noticed that, even a 80 kmph turn the GT TSi cuts power,I havent driven Punto Abarth though
@ 1989rs500 ,allhyundaicars or any members ....I have narrowed down to Ford figo Titanium , Ford Figo Aspire Titanium or Tata Zest top end. This is going to be my first car and I need to finalize by this weekend. My main concern is build quality and safety. I am worried about the safety of Ford Figo body integrity after watching the crashed youtube video being shared in forum (Air bags not being deployed and high damage to chasis). In terms of build quality which one is better? Zest or Aspire(Titanium) or Figo (Titanium) ? My budget is 8-9 lak and looking for diesel car and would like to have the car with in a weeks time ( cant wait for months like Baleno). I appreciate any good suggestion.
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If you're really concerned with build quality you can try zest xms or tiago xz based on your budget.
Tata cars are bang for buck and are totally value for money.
Tata cars are bang for buck and are totally value for money.
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See we cant be sure which is more safe based on some accident videos, Figo and Aspire both are same thing, both got 4**** LNCAP, a good score considering its 1037 and 989 kg kerb weight for diesel and petrol,
Tata has not been safety tested so far by any organisation, but after driving oneI felt ut was built really strong like 1st gen Figo which didnt have any elite engineering but had a strong shell made outof good old steel, so its all upto what the final impression @ eswar has for the brand
The regar Ford Figo Titanium+ is a good choice as it has 6 airbags something that no other brands can provide,
Here in Trivandrum the Tata service is still a mess, a Zest owner has now stopped giving his Zest to Tata and is now giving his car to a local mechanic for servicing aftet the previous service where they had misused the car a lot at service centre, there were lot of hand marks inside cabin, the seats had some over spunginess which meant the cars back seat was loaded with something heavy which he complained but the service centre guys nodded saying it was already there when car was given for service,etc..so servicd wise somehow I felt even Ford is doing a better job than Tata here in Trivandrum, but in Kochi it seems they are very good, so it depends on where one lives and if Tata is good there go with Tata Zest
If not go with Figo diesel rather than Aspire diesel
Figo had a slightly firmer boot door than Aspire which had a flimsy boot door,too light to my liking,
Also better rear visibility as well in Figo Hatch than Aspire,
Regaeding the accident in comments section the victim says it is a case of the RCM not properly doing its job, and accident was a 3 way hit, first hit some automobile in front lost control,chraged with full speed into a protruding wall and car toppled, so the A pillar got crushed, so yes it was a terrible accident indeed and a high speed one propbably above 100 kmph and structure wise its solid as some other cars would have crumbled too much while Figo held itself.
Any way my priority is
1. Tata Zest( is Tata service has good review at Chennai)
2. Ford Figo Titanium+( if Ford seems to have a better service there)
Tata has not been safety tested so far by any organisation, but after driving oneI felt ut was built really strong like 1st gen Figo which didnt have any elite engineering but had a strong shell made outof good old steel, so its all upto what the final impression @ eswar has for the brand
The regar Ford Figo Titanium+ is a good choice as it has 6 airbags something that no other brands can provide,
Here in Trivandrum the Tata service is still a mess, a Zest owner has now stopped giving his Zest to Tata and is now giving his car to a local mechanic for servicing aftet the previous service where they had misused the car a lot at service centre, there were lot of hand marks inside cabin, the seats had some over spunginess which meant the cars back seat was loaded with something heavy which he complained but the service centre guys nodded saying it was already there when car was given for service,etc..so servicd wise somehow I felt even Ford is doing a better job than Tata here in Trivandrum, but in Kochi it seems they are very good, so it depends on where one lives and if Tata is good there go with Tata Zest
If not go with Figo diesel rather than Aspire diesel
Figo had a slightly firmer boot door than Aspire which had a flimsy boot door,too light to my liking,
Also better rear visibility as well in Figo Hatch than Aspire,
Regaeding the accident in comments section the victim says it is a case of the RCM not properly doing its job, and accident was a 3 way hit, first hit some automobile in front lost control,chraged with full speed into a protruding wall and car toppled, so the A pillar got crushed, so yes it was a terrible accident indeed and a high speed one propbably above 100 kmph and structure wise its solid as some other cars would have crumbled too much while Figo held itself.
Any way my priority is
1. Tata Zest( is Tata service has good review at Chennai)
2. Ford Figo Titanium+( if Ford seems to have a better service there)
Thank you Kishore, Zest is my 2nd option. There is so much apprehension about Tata cars.I would like to know about the build quality about other cars in 8-9 lakh budget too. I had a chat with Ford customer care and they insist that all the models of Ford right from Figo, Aspire and Ecosport are being built with Boron steel and they re direct to their site. In their site there is no clear mentioning of Boron steel being used in Aspire but they do mention about using high strength steel.I had seen a youtube video of Ford Figo got hit and air bags are not being open so now I am lil worried about the Ford but I am very much tempted about 1.5cc diesel engine.
Thank you 1989rs500, I will test drive Zest and finalize tomorrow.Probably I will go for Ford Figo Titanium than Aspire, which is 1 lak costlier than figo titanium. Any more suggestions would be welcome.
Thank you 1989rs500, I will test drive Zest and finalize tomorrow.Probably I will go for Ford Figo Titanium than Aspire, which is 1 lak costlier than figo titanium. Any more suggestions would be welcome.
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Of course if back seat legroom is not a big issue the Polo 1.5 90 HP TDi highline is best hatch back in our country by a huge margin, its built like a tank,super solid,very comfy to drive and refined,rides and handles well too,
Things not great in Polo are backs seat space and service costs which is kimd if expensive, some servicr easily go beyond our imagination and we will have no choice but to give that to naintain the machine in good condition,
If service cost is not an issue go with Polo TDi highline which is definitely Indias best premium hatchback under 10 lakhs,
Regarding Fords built, its not Boron steel for Aspire and Figo but Ecosport,global Fiesta and Endevaor uses Boron steel, that said high strength steel is also very good in a hatch back for safety.
Again a final test drive will solve the 9 lakhs Rs question
Things that I dont like in Figo are
1. Power windows switchs lacking illumination
2. No manual door locks
3. Beige interiors
4. Light doors
5. Small vibrations of that big motor in A B C pedals
6. Lots of rattles reported
In Tata
1. Spongy seats, after some long drive I felt I sank into the seat
2. Some minor ergonomics like lack of bottle holders
3. Gear box, it felt l a bit too notchy to my liking
4. Dynamics, sure Ford too isnt great on this department but when pushed hard,Figo felt like it was ready to grip road more while Tata was using all that tires grip to stay put, while mechanical grip felt short of Figo/Polo
5. Tata service which is not good in some places
So I really cant pick one among them that easily, both are excellent products ,while both have some negatives too, which one to buy solely depends on personal preferance,
Frankly speaking if Tata service was fine, I would happily suggest Tata over Ford, but service can be a deal breaker as diesels run a lot and periodic maintainance must be perfecr, any mess can cause huge disappoinments, and service is the only reason why I am leaning towards Ford, otherwise the better product is Tata.
Things not great in Polo are backs seat space and service costs which is kimd if expensive, some servicr easily go beyond our imagination and we will have no choice but to give that to naintain the machine in good condition,
If service cost is not an issue go with Polo TDi highline which is definitely Indias best premium hatchback under 10 lakhs,
Regarding Fords built, its not Boron steel for Aspire and Figo but Ecosport,global Fiesta and Endevaor uses Boron steel, that said high strength steel is also very good in a hatch back for safety.
Again a final test drive will solve the 9 lakhs Rs question
Things that I dont like in Figo are
1. Power windows switchs lacking illumination
2. No manual door locks
3. Beige interiors
4. Light doors
5. Small vibrations of that big motor in A B C pedals
6. Lots of rattles reported
In Tata
1. Spongy seats, after some long drive I felt I sank into the seat
2. Some minor ergonomics like lack of bottle holders
3. Gear box, it felt l a bit too notchy to my liking
4. Dynamics, sure Ford too isnt great on this department but when pushed hard,Figo felt like it was ready to grip road more while Tata was using all that tires grip to stay put, while mechanical grip felt short of Figo/Polo
5. Tata service which is not good in some places
So I really cant pick one among them that easily, both are excellent products ,while both have some negatives too, which one to buy solely depends on personal preferance,
Frankly speaking if Tata service was fine, I would happily suggest Tata over Ford, but service can be a deal breaker as diesels run a lot and periodic maintainance must be perfecr, any mess can cause huge disappoinments, and service is the only reason why I am leaning towards Ford, otherwise the better product is Tata.
Tata service has changed and I am more than satisfied with them here in hyderabad
They haven't given me a chance to complain and am sure things are a lot different now.
If you're happy with figo do go For it, but if after sales is your concern then I don't think rejecting zest is a good idea.
Tata zest has been crash tested and the test has been broadcasted in ndtv. You can check zest official review page where I have shared the link.
They haven't given me a chance to complain and am sure things are a lot different now.
If you're happy with figo do go For it, but if after sales is your concern then I don't think rejecting zest is a good idea.
Tata zest has been crash tested and the test has been broadcasted in ndtv. You can check zest official review page where I have shared the link.
Just drove Ford aspire for the first time and I have to say I am disappointed with the car,it just didn't drove like a Ford. It was like driving maruti swift.Aspire does not have any of characteristics of old figo.
Sure its not comparable to the previous Ford but its got hugely better on some other aspects like engine power,space,technology on offer,ground clearance,mileage too
See Ford has made an Indianised Figo, I too own a 2010 Figo petrol zxi, but come to think about it, there is no other hatch back that is better than the new Figo despite its short comings,
The main criteria for a hatch back is
It should be spacious,dimensionally small,should have good feature list,good mileage,good power,good ride quality, good NVH,cheap service,
New Figo nailed all these while the old one that we use has no power windows at the back,petrol milesge is not great,diesel too aint great,lacks lot of new features,the GC is a big issue specially when there is more than 2 on board, service post 50k kms for 1.4 duratorq is slightly expensive,
All of these have been rectified, so yes it lost some to gain some, but despite its loss,its still the best hatch back logically , most of its competition are even more worse than new Figo and Aspire,, thats ehy I think Figo and Aspire are still best hatch and sub 4m sedans
The Ameo might be a better car, so is the Polo but 70-100k more expensive variant to variant.
See Ford has made an Indianised Figo, I too own a 2010 Figo petrol zxi, but come to think about it, there is no other hatch back that is better than the new Figo despite its short comings,
The main criteria for a hatch back is
It should be spacious,dimensionally small,should have good feature list,good mileage,good power,good ride quality, good NVH,cheap service,
New Figo nailed all these while the old one that we use has no power windows at the back,petrol milesge is not great,diesel too aint great,lacks lot of new features,the GC is a big issue specially when there is more than 2 on board, service post 50k kms for 1.4 duratorq is slightly expensive,
All of these have been rectified, so yes it lost some to gain some, but despite its loss,its still the best hatch back logically , most of its competition are even more worse than new Figo and Aspire,, thats ehy I think Figo and Aspire are still best hatch and sub 4m sedans
The Ameo might be a better car, so is the Polo but 70-100k more expensive variant to variant.
You are right but Ford has lost their DNA with new figo and aspire.people buy Ford for handling, performance and built quality ( comfort and mileage are added bonus)
See that people is such a low minority that it wont make any business case here in India,Ford learned it the hard way, remember the old Ikon adverts " the Josh machine", Ford tried hard to make people understand their DNA but since the audience for such cars are pretty darn low, the car eventually had to succumb to practical cars like Accent,etc.
So there is no choice left for Ford, not just here but gloablly they are toning down their mainstream cars charecter,
Even Ecosport is no way near as fun to drive as Fiesta Classic,Ikon,Old Mondeo etc
Our market is heavily over crowded, to make some hay the car maker should make cars depending on market demand, Indian market demands MILEAGE,SPACE,COMFORT, over everything else,so Ford did exactly make their version of what India needs,
I think thats a good idea and shows Ford can blend into customer tastes without completely forhetting their roots, even after Ford has toned down its Figo to somewhat Maruti levels it still feels more fun to drive than Micra,Pulse,Etios,Brio,Verito,etc and on par or slightly better than Swift as well
More over just look at how much value Ford has added to new Figo, its got the highest list of best in class attributes
Best in class engine,mileage,power,boot space,leg room,safety features, all of these and yet priced on par or actually lower than market leader Swift,
Is that easily possible?
No, Ford has done some serious home work this time, new Figo is what India demands from Ford and Ford has given the customer what they wanted,
Could Ford have done better? Of course yes, but for that they should get more confidence from customer, which they have managed with Ecosport, and new Figo and Aspire both selling 1500 range per month is actually a good sign as the number of cars and variety to which they are competing s so large,
I think Ford will come up with a B500 Ford Fiesta, by 2018 and a premium hatch back based on it as well,but before that Ford needs more people to showroom and for that they have launched the nee brsnd building campaign, which will push Figo,Aspire,Ecosport a whole lot
Another brand that follows its heart is FIAT, and we know FIATs position now in India, frankly FIAT is dead in India, are their cars that bad, absolutely NO, but with all great Models like Linea,Punto, they are not even 2% of total volume, just take a look at how much Punto Abrths are sold per month here in India, its less than 10 per month, so now should Ford follow FIATs path and die here in India?
So there is no choice left for Ford, not just here but gloablly they are toning down their mainstream cars charecter,
Even Ecosport is no way near as fun to drive as Fiesta Classic,Ikon,Old Mondeo etc
Our market is heavily over crowded, to make some hay the car maker should make cars depending on market demand, Indian market demands MILEAGE,SPACE,COMFORT, over everything else,so Ford did exactly make their version of what India needs,
I think thats a good idea and shows Ford can blend into customer tastes without completely forhetting their roots, even after Ford has toned down its Figo to somewhat Maruti levels it still feels more fun to drive than Micra,Pulse,Etios,Brio,Verito,etc and on par or slightly better than Swift as well
More over just look at how much value Ford has added to new Figo, its got the highest list of best in class attributes
Best in class engine,mileage,power,boot space,leg room,safety features, all of these and yet priced on par or actually lower than market leader Swift,
Is that easily possible?
No, Ford has done some serious home work this time, new Figo is what India demands from Ford and Ford has given the customer what they wanted,
Could Ford have done better? Of course yes, but for that they should get more confidence from customer, which they have managed with Ecosport, and new Figo and Aspire both selling 1500 range per month is actually a good sign as the number of cars and variety to which they are competing s so large,
I think Ford will come up with a B500 Ford Fiesta, by 2018 and a premium hatch back based on it as well,but before that Ford needs more people to showroom and for that they have launched the nee brsnd building campaign, which will push Figo,Aspire,Ecosport a whole lot
Another brand that follows its heart is FIAT, and we know FIATs position now in India, frankly FIAT is dead in India, are their cars that bad, absolutely NO, but with all great Models like Linea,Punto, they are not even 2% of total volume, just take a look at how much Punto Abrths are sold per month here in India, its less than 10 per month, so now should Ford follow FIATs path and die here in India?
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