It's been a while since we had a Ford to review but I'm glad we eventually got one, even though the Figo isn't much to write home about in terms of aesthetics and appeal, it still is a very important car for the brand and for the market in general. The Ford Figo has come a long way as a car, from being just a reboot of the old Fiesta to giving itself it's own identity in the market. With the local launch of the Figo taking place mid last year, I was finally given the opportunity to drive one, albeit the sedan and not the hatch, around for a week towards the end of the year and go to say, Ford have really "leveled up" with this one.
DESIGN
The Figo was always an odd looking car but with this new model its finally coming into its own. I love the front of the Figo, that new grille with like a 3 dimensional design to it finished in brushed aluminum gives the car some level of elegance and dare I say, luxury appeal. The grille sits prominently but low and is the first thing that gets your attention of the car. The front bump is shaped well and its outlined by a splitter also finished in brushed aluminium that goes around the fog light housing, it just adds more dimension to the front end and really does like quite smart. The headlights have been redesigned and bares resemblance to the Fiesta a bit but has an elongated fin type finish to it. The general shape of the Figo is "bubble shaped" but works well unlike other models which tried this approach. The reason for it is to maximise space in the cabin. Moving along to the back, is where most budget hatch come sedan's tend to struggle with the addition of the boot. Most of them can be quite painful to look at but kudos to the design team at Ford because the boot flows quite well with the overall design of the car. The lines extend on the side profile upwards to the back and extends to the boot space. My only grip would be that the tail lights could have been finished better but that is just me.
PERFORMANCE
The Figo comes powered with the 1.5TiVCT naturally aspirated 4 cylinder petrol engine. It's a strong motor from Ford and at the coast it performs exceptionally well. With 88kW and 150Nm of toque at its disposal, it makes easy meat of city travelling. The car is compact and light which helps the engine a lot in terms of performance, so even if you're on the open road, there really isn't a struggle to get the Figo up to speed. The 5 speed manual gear box is a treat and slotting it into gear is like slipping a hot knife into butter, this is helped by a smooth clutch. The combined fuel economy is listed in the brochure of being 5.7L per 100km, which is very achievable as I was hovering around the 6L mark with quite a variant of driving. The Figo isn't going to win you any drag races with its 0-100km/h time coming in at 11.8 seconds and its top speed capped at 175km/h but that's not what this car is made for and I'm guessing their target market knows that as well.
COMFORT
As mentioned before that the overall shape is catered to increase the cabin space and it's pretty comfortable for four adults travelling in the Figo sedan. The car comes with cloth seats which are decent size and quite comfy, doesn't feel hard or rigid. Interior comfort is enhances with a manual air-conditioner. It has electric windows with a one touch power down for driver only. The in-car entertainment features a four speaker system with bluetooth and USB connectivity. Safety wise, the Figo comes fitted with two airbags, one for the driver and the front passenger and has anti-lock braking system.
VERDICT
Overall the Ford Figo Trend is a great offering for the price tag it has, it's loaded with most of the essentials that one needs in a city car and the ride quality along with fuel economy just justifies its presence in the market as one of the better budget cars to get. While the car won't win any beauty contests, Ford have done a great job with the details on the Trend spec to make it look appealing.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Engine | |
88kW
| |
11.8 seconds
| |
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