[wildsdi5530]

@perseus, Brake pads should last upto 40K. But i guess in Bangalore's bumper to bumper traffic, 30K should be ok. Dad had to replace alto's brake pads at 36K.

[whitelion]

Originally Posted by sary

Hello Folks,

Need help on buying a diesel hatch for myself. Please note this post is purely to decide the 'Best hatch that suits my requirements'

Budget = 6 Lacks on road (Fixed)
Fuel type = Diesel
Usage = Weekends 200Kms + 1500Kms once in 2 months (Blr-Goa-Blr)
Primary requirements = Need highway drivable car with good power, handling, stability, cabin space, fuel economy, easy to maintain, powerfull AC, adequate boot space.

My shortlists = Swift VDI, Polo Trendline / Comfortline, Figo ZXI

Here I am seeking an unbaised opion from you, if I should go ahead with Figo diesel ZXI? What kind of deals can I expect considering I am buying this in bangalore?
PS: I haven't test driven any of those so far, however all my study is based on reviews on various forums and TV shows.

Well I was in similar situation couple of months back, but my shortlist was having Punto instead of Polo. Polo I did not include because of engine noise, new dealership in town so no track record of service last but not least hefty price, still i test drove my friends Polo but was not happy with it anyways. Finally Punto was rejected due to ASC track record and non availability of spares for months together and close relative of mine complained a lot about underbelly scraping every now and then. Lastly I compared swift and Figo test drove both of them back to back 3 to 4 times and Finally converged on Figo on price vs performance basis. Please note that I had already booked swift some months back and allotment letter for same was in my hands so waiting period was not issue for me. I found Figo to be performing better in all departments except the engine giving so called "kick" and noise level. Figo has much more features and found to be costing less by 50 to 60 K effectively. At that time ZXI was comming with rear washer/wiper and elec. ORVM. So decided on ZXI which prooved to be VFM on paper. As of today Considering price of new Swift and Titanium, Titanium is VFM so you can consider Figo Titanium after having back to back TDs of Both. I feel TDs are must since everybody has different taste. Just dont rely on others advise and buy a car otherwise you may regret later on if your taste is different than advisors.

[livyodream]

Originally Posted by whitelion

Please note that I had already booked swift some months back and allotment letter for same was in my hands so waiting period was not issue for me.

OT : What do you mean by allotment letter ? Did you get a letter mentioning the date of delivery for new swift ?

[whitelion]

Originally Posted by livyodream

OT : What do you mean by allotment letter ? Did you get a letter mentioning the date of delivery for new swift ?

Yes i received letter from dealer mentioning "car has been allotted on Your name and can be delivered in 2 to 3 weeks" But it was old swift VDI, since new swift was yet to launch it was launched 1 month after the delivery of my Figo. Still I preferred Figo ZXI on the basis of performance. As of today with 4300KM on odo I am quite happy with my decision. My car gives FE of 19+ to 20 in city and local nearby towns visits and last highway trip of @500 KM FE was 23.7. The official review mentions about more engine noise but many of the co-passangers on highway trips wonder about the cabin NVH and mention that it doesn't seem to be a Diesel. I generally do 50/70 for two lane MDRs and 80/100 for tolled highways. Off-course I have learnt to live with Poor Head Lamps and GC problem and do take care to avoid them whenever possible. About GC till date it have not scraped on speed breakers but once or twice slight scraping on sites where road construction was in progress. In city most of the time i am alone in car or rarely 1/2 px. For highways most of the time 5 to 6 including kids with light luggage also. There not single incident of scraping. Tire pressures are usually 30 all over for highways as per sticker on car.

[livyodream]

Fuel efficiency is one thing with always differed from people to people when it came to figo. 19+ in city is something ive never heard before. A friend of mine complained about bad FE as he got 13 on highway (was at 120-140 most of the time). That was like .

Ive booked new swift in july an have no idea when will the delivery be. So thinking of alternates.
FE, no power windows in the back and resale value are the only 2 things which is stopping me from buying figo.

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by livyodream

FE, no power windows in the back and resale value are the only 2 things which is stopping me from buying figo.

Why do you think resale value of Figo is an issue? Is it pure assumption or based on any experience, if so can you share that?
I agree that Maruti vehicals historically got good resale value but considering Figo which is a solid build than Swift and offers more features, I would say the resale value would be at par with Swift if not higher.

[whitelion]

Originally Posted by livyodream

Fuel efficiency is one thing with always differed from people to people when it came to figo. 19+ in city is something ive never heard before. A friend of mine complained about bad FE as he got 13 on highway (was at 120-140 most of the time). That was like .

I too was surprized when I calculated it First time so Cross checked at second tankfull to confirm then I posted it. Well its fact that it depends on Driving Conditions. I usually take a lonely route though its +2KM than busy short route to my office (7 KM than 5 KM busy road). Try to keep rpm @1500 to 1700 and speed 40-60, no AC since it takes about 10 to 15 mins to reach destination. On highways windows rolled up, rpm 1700 to 2250, AC on 2nd non stop 250KM early in the morning (5 am to 9 AM) and late evening return (5 to 9 PM) many times I face lean traffic on highways too. keeping rpm between 1700 to 2250 is the key over period of time i have learnt that driving between 80-100 is optimal in point of view of FE, driving stress, comfort and safety. Timewise it may cost you 30 to 60 mins extra compared to aggressive driving. So I always prefer to reserve that extra time while planning a trip. usually I calculate time by equation dist/60 + 30 min contingency every 200KM

Originally Posted by livyodream

Ive booked new swift in july an have no idea when will the delivery be. So thinking of alternates.
FE, no power windows in the back and resale value are the only 2 things which is stopping me from buying figo.

Well I too was backing up on No rear power windows and that too opening only 60%. But for a AC vehicle it doesn't matter at all since during journey there is no need to open/close them frequently. I did 3/4 trips with rear seat passengers none of them complained about it, in fact they complain to turn off the chilling AC figo has.

While replacing my 17 yrs old M800 I never gave any consideration to resale value since I wanted to keep new buy for atleast 10 years. so sturdy build was my factor to consider rather than resale value. I found Punto and Figo with solid build rather than Swift, etios, polo. It helps in case of accidents too. With ford I found that they were maintaining 10/12 yr old Ikons to satisfaction of Customer so Figo passed in that test.

About FE I have mentioned above. Please note that, If at all you buy Figo, in initial period you have to drive cautiously and try to adopt a proper driving style. Figo needs some peculiar driving habits that one has to master. I took about 2K KM driving to get acquainted with Figo since I was shifting from petrol to Diesel and added to it it was Figo. Using 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear properly took most of the time. Highways I mastered quickly since it was with 4th and 5th. Figo likes more or less constant speed for better FE.

Well these are my personal views, mentioned here in hope that those may give you some different perspective to think upon.

[EagleEye]

Just a quick question, guys:

My odo reading is currently 2185 and I'm planning to make a trip from Mumbai to Pune day after tomorrow. I will very likely cross 2500 by that time. If I get the chance, should I give the car for its first service in a Ford Service Center in Pune? I mean, will they accept a Mumbai car for service there?

If so which dealer do you recommend in Pune? And one more thing, how much time does the first service generally take?

Thanks!

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

Just a quick question, guys:

My odo reading is currently 2185 and I'm planning to make a trip from Mumbai to Pune day after tomorrow. I will very likely cross 2500 by that time. If I get the chance, should I give the car for its first service in a Ford Service Center in Pune? I mean, will they accept a Mumbai car for service there?

If so which dealer do you recommend in Pune? And one more thing, how much time does the first service generally take?

Thanks!

First Service generally would be done in under 3 hours if there are no additional complaints from your side that is. Book your service with the service centre at least a day in advance, so that you are not kept waiting at the service station for long. And I am sorry, I have no clue about getting a free service from a different dealership though :(

[amit1234singla]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

Just a quick question, guys:

My odo reading is currently 2185 and I'm planning to make a trip from Mumbai to Pune day after tomorrow. I will very likely cross 2500 by that time. If I get the chance, should I give the car for its first service in a Ford Service Center in Pune? I mean, will they accept a Mumbai car for service there?

If so which dealer do you recommend in Pune? And one more thing, how much time does the first service generally take?

Thanks!

You can get the free/ paid services done at any dealership, irrespective of the dealership you bought the car from. All they need is free service coupon for free service and paid service charge is for paid service.

As Aravind mentioned, 1st free is a 2-3 hours task if there are no issues reported to be fixed. Get a prior appointment to make sure they don't make you wait or deny saying they are full for the day.

[wildsdi5530]

@whitelion, The turbo in the tDci kicks in at about 1750rpm. Is it recommended to drive with an rpm below that? Also will the engine be more efficient at 2000rpm (at peak torque) or at 1500-1700 (just before turbo kicks in)?
My figo does 80@5th gear@2000rpm, 60@5th gear@1700rpm and 60@4th gear@2000rpm. So if I'm going to be maintaining speeds of around 60, should I stick to 4th gear or change to 5th where the engine is not yet in the power band?
Gurus please advice.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

@whitelion, The turbo in the tDci kicks in at about 1750rpm. Is it recommended to drive with an rpm below that? Also will the engine be more efficient at 2000rpm (at peak torque) or at 1500-1700 (just before turbo kicks in)?

The engine is not more efficient at 2k rpm, it is just producing more power. It is ok to drive (cruise) at 1500-1700rpm, but probably not try and accelerate much.

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

My figo does 80@5th gear@2000rpm, 60@5th gear@1700rpm and 60@4th gear@2000rpm. So if I'm going to be maintaining speeds of around 60, should I stick to 4th gear or change to 5th where the engine is not yet in the power band?
Gurus please advice.

Not a guru, but my 2p anyway

Depends on what you expect to do. If you expect to have to accelerate, then stay in 4th. If you expect to be able to cruise for a reasonably long period, then 5th will be better from the efficiency point of view.

[EagleEye]

I took my Figo TDCi Titanium to SC Ford Goregaon today for its first service. The car has clocked 2464 kms in 1.5 months. Not bad, eh?

Now coming to the topic: Apparently the Figo does not need an oil change in its first service.

Here's what the manual says:


As you can see, there is a sticker over the Engine Oil, Engine Oil Filter, and Sump Plug Gasket items for the first service column.

What does this mean? That earlier it was required to change these items but now it's not? Is it that they are using longer-drain oil now and were using some other oil before? Or is it that one fine day they woke up and said, no need to change oil at first service?!

AFAIK, all new engines have to have engine oil changed in the first few thousand kilometers compulsorily. This link even tells you to change the oil at 20 miles initially!

And what about the oil filter and the sump plug gasket (what's that btw)? Are they using higher quality materials now that they needn't be checked into? (Ya right...)

Do you recommend that I at least get the engine oil changed from outside? How much does labour for engine oil change normally cost at a local mechanic's?

[HammerHead]

@ EagleEye, AFAIK recent engines especially Euro ones use synthetic oil and a change at either 15K KM's or 1 year. For some cars its 10K KM's or 1 year. 1st service is more of a inspection of your car with no major things replaced like engine oil. So nothing to worry about.

Yes, I have seen people changing engine oil during 1st service voluntarily.

As far as the sticker is concern, and if at all its not a printing mistake, I would think Ford use to use mineral oil and now they use synthetic? Ford owners should be able to comment on this.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

I took my Figo TDCi Titanium to SC Ford Goregaon today for its first service. The car has clocked 2464 kms in 1.5 months. Not bad, eh?

Now coming to the topic: Apparently the Figo does not need an oil change in its first service.

Here's what the manual says:

As you can see, there is a sticker over the Engine Oil, Engine Oil Filter, and Sump Plug Gasket items for the first service column.

What does this mean? That earlier it was required to change these items but now it's not? Is it that they are using longer-drain oil now and were using some other oil before? Or is it that one fine day they woke up and said, no need to change oil at first service?!

AFAIK, all new engines have to have engine oil changed in the first few thousand kilometers compulsorily. This link even tells you to change the oil at 20 miles initially!

And what about the oil filter and the sump plug gasket (what's that btw)? Are they using higher quality materials now that they needn't be checked into? (Ya right...)

Do you recommend that I at least get the engine oil changed from outside? How much does labour for engine oil change normally cost at a local mechanic's?

That's a surprise. My car (I guess all Figos here) did get the oil and oil filter changed during the first service itself and the same was instructed in the manual. I suggest you call up the A.S.S. and just check what's the reason why Ford has taken it out from the first service (just to give an impression of a low service charge?).
Since the oil is expected to contain more impurities in it owing to the breaking in period, I would advice you to get the oil and oil filter changed. Should be approximately 1000/-

The manual is an old one with a bad attempt at masking the contents below. The fit and finish could have been better

P.S: I think the Polos have their first service at 15,000 kms so that's when they get their oil change. But they use synthetic oil unlike the semi-synthetic ones that the Figos use. So not sure if they've started using fully synthetic oils in the Figo as well, though it's highly unlikely.