[sunsetorange]

Originally Posted by teemus

I had another question though, has anyone checked out black color of Figo? Is black difficult to maintain than say white or grey? Wifey is insisting on black color, but for some reason I feel it will be difficult to maintain. Is it truly the case? Need opinions and/or suggestions.

Black is indeed difficult to maintain. Every smudge or patch of dust is amplified and stands out. Every small scratch screams out at you every time you look at the car.

White and silver are the easiest colours to maintain and are pretty fade resistant too!

[Self Driven]

Originally Posted by teemus

Wifey is insisting on black color, but for some reason I feel it will be difficult to maintain. Is it truly the case? Need opinions and/or suggestions.

I just bought a fiesta in black. I also accord that maintaining black is tough. Got a scratch from a psycho in my apartment, it hurts every time. But the beauty of it and the presence makes me spend half an hour daily cleaning it.

[neil.jericho]

The power of social media! I posted on Ford India's FB page and in exactly 10 minutes I got a call from the same Ford number with a representative stating that they are waving off the handling charges. They put me onto a con-call with the sales lead from Kairali Ford and confirmed they are removing the amount and that the SA will get in touch with me on the final price.

Originally Posted by nik hill

Put it on social media like twitter and Facebook. They will relent on these illegal practice.

Thanks, it worked much faster than I expected it to

Originally Posted by teemus

I had another question though, has anyone checked out black color of Figo? Is black difficult to maintain than say white or grey? Wifey is insisting on black color, but for some reason I feel it will be difficult to maintain. Is it truly the case? Need opinions and/or suggestions.

Spotted a black Aspire in Cochin the other day and it certainly is the meanest looking colour of them all. The Aston Martin-ish look comes out best with dark colours.

[teemus]

Originally Posted by teemus

~ SA told me that Trend+ variant is promoted by Talera ford is not from Ford per se. Which I didn't buy, obviously.
~ He said only thing additional in Trend+ is the alloy wheels, nothing else.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

A dealer in Kerala told me the same thing, the Trend + variant is by the dealership and not the company though the differences were alloy wheels and a chrome grill.

Detailed differences of Trend+ Variant is available for Ford India website. Attaching screenshots below.






Moreover, it confirms that indeed it's official Ford variant and not as per the whims and fancies of the dealer.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The power of social media! I posted on Ford India's FB page and in exactly 10 minutes I got a call from the same Ford number with a representative stating that they are waving off the handling charges.
Thanks, it worked much faster than I expected it to

@neil.jericho:
That's a great news regarding waiver of Handling charges. I will push for that too while negotiating. Otherwise, as we now know, socia media is powerful and that option is open for me to try out too!

Originally Posted by Self Driven

I just bought a fiesta in black. I also accord that maintaining black is tough. Got a scratch from a psycho in my apartment, it hurts every time. But the beauty of it and the presence makes me spend half an hour daily cleaning it.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Spotted a black Aspire in Cochin the other day and it certainly is the meanest looking colour of them all. The Aston Martin-ish look comes out best with dark colours.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Yes, the heart says black and I love it too! Maybe the black color will warrant even more attention from me at least for cleaning part, let's see. Dad on the other hand is against anything black. Perhaps he will just have to agree with us for this time. Will keep you posted, will be booking it tomorrow positively!

[nik hill]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The power of social media! I posted on Ford India's FB page and in exactly 10 minutes I got a call from the same Ford number with a representative stating that they are waving off the handling charges. They put me onto a con-call with the sales lead from Kairali Ford and confirmed they are removing the amount and that the SA will get in touch with me on the final price.



Thanks, it worked much faster than I expected it .

You are welcome. Always a pleasure to help a fellow bhpian and more so in helping people to stand up against illegal practices.

[Hammy]

Originally Posted by nik hill

You are welcome. Always a pleasure to help a fellow bhpian and more so in helping people to stand up against illegal practices.

Thank you folks, I did follow a similar approach, messaged Ford India on FB. It was replied upon within an hour and I received a call from a Ford Rep (Chennai) immediately.

I told him that handling charges are illegal and the case seems to be still on in one of the courts. He stated back telling that issue is only prevailing in Delhi. I replied back stating " come on, we are all in the same country, please try to waive of my handling charges and even a teambhp member got it waived off in Bangalore as well ( Dint mention any name though )"

The Rep noted the showroom details from where I'm planning to pick it up from and said he would call me back tomorrow with the confirmation after discussing with his managers.

Fingers crossed.

[teemus]

Originally Posted by teemus

Finally had a TD of the new Figo...

Speaking of the car, here are a few points that I would like to point out

- Forgot to add a point about the doors; did anyone else notice the weird sound of the door closing? It closes a little too hard for my liking and does not feel premium.

I am not saying that the doors feel flimsy or light (in fact they are heavy) but there seems to be an evident cost cutting for the rubber lining.

Got to check the Aspire review once again if there is any mentions, as I observed it in Aspire too.

[Hammy]

Originally Posted by teemus

- Forgot to add a point about the doors; did anyone else notice the weird sound of the door closing? It closes a little too hard for my liking and does not feel premium.

I agree with you, there is a loud tin'nish (metal) sound when the doors are closed. I presume the sound will get dampened with usage but surely it will not sound as premium as the Punto or Elite i20.

This sound is a serious turn off for me as well.

[jetti]

I just read this today:

Ford to manufacture two all-new engines in India for the Endeavour and Figo
... the Dragon will be a 1.2-litre petrol engine which will replace the current petrol engine of similar capacity in the Figo hatchback and the Figo Aspire compact sedan.

Source: http://www.motoroids.com/news/ford-t...vour-and-figo/

So, where are the engines for Figo sourced from now?

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by jetti

So, where are the engines for Figo sourced from now?

The Figo's engines are made in India, either at their Sanand plant exclusively, or both Sanand and Chennai.

• Ford's Sanand plant has an initial production capacity of 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines per annum (the plant runs in a single shift) (source).
• Moreover, their Chennai plant has an installed annual capacity to produce 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines (source)

On Team-BHP, we have a few threads talking about Ford's engine manufacturing in India:

• This thread mentions there are 17 engine variants manufactured, 12 petrol and 5 diesel: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-capacity.html
• This thread refers to the 1.2 petrol being manufactured in Chennai (presumably for the old Figo): http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...s-fiestas.html
• This one has a walkthrough of the new Sanand plant, it would be reasonable to assume the 1.2 Ti-VCT is manufactured here since the only cars using it are the Figo and Aspire: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...d-gujarat.html

[nikhil_d1106]

In today's print ad in Times of India (Pune Edition) for Ecosport the dealers mentioned include Planet Ford. Are the trouble for Planet Ford behind?

[teemus]

Originally Posted by nikhil_d1106

In today's print ad in Times of India (Pune Edition) for Ecosport the dealers mentioned include Planet Ford. Are the trouble for Planet Ford behind?

Based on my interaction with Ford support around 10 days ago, Planet Ford was discontinued as a dealer. As per their records, only Talera Ford and Sai Sakshi Ford are the dealers in Pune.

Perhaps, Planet Ford has stocks left for Ecosport and Ford is allowing them to dispose that off. But I doubt if they are getting alloted any new cars.

Better would be to get it re-confirmed from Ford customer care.

Originally Posted by teemus

Finally had a TD of the new Figo at Talera Ford, Yerawada.
.
.
.

+ Absolutely loved the 1.5 TDCi
.
.
.

Overall, loved the car.

An update, I have taken the plunge and have booked Figo 1.5D Titanium with Talera on Tuesday. After much deliberation went ahead with Tuxedo Black color (I am already having nightmares of maintaining this color, but that's a different matter!). I am given an oral commitment of a delivery by Dussehera. Waiting impatiently!!

Already received last evening a welcome mail from Ford India; which does not provide any more details but at least I am sure that the order has been placed. Hopefully, I will get some updates regarding the status of the order. If indeed that's the case it will be kudos to Ford in terms of transperancy! Let's see.

Insurance as confirme by SA, I am free to buy from outside, which I will, and save some bucks. Negotiated hard for dropping the handling charges but the SA said it was not possible. Even talked to the higher ups in the dealership. Contemplating whether to write to Ford about this or not.

Perhaps, I will wait till I get some news on the Supplier discount (my company is a direct supplier for Ecosport - Dashboards and Door Panels). If I am refused the supplier discount too, then will surely write to Ford about handling charges.

One question, do I have to haggle for getting at least some kind of wax coating from the dealer or will he do it by himself? Or is it recommented to get it done outside with 3M (there is a new 3M outlet right next door to my home)? I am more concerned about this due to the black color. Suggestions are eagerly anticipated from fellow bhp'ians.

-------------------------------------------
Something I forgot to write:

In the absence of T-bhp Figo review (which hopefully should arrive before Dussehera), I have gone through Aspire review thoroughly before taking the decision. More or less all the doubts have got cleared as both the cars are practically twins. One point, that I would like the mods to stress upon in the review is the fact and/or the reasons about uncomforting metallic noise while closing the doors. I had noticed it but I chose to ignore it as the car is amazing apart from that. Can there be a way to get it rectified?

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by teemus

One point, that I would like the mods to stress upon in the review is the fact and/or the reasons about uncomforting metallic noise while closing the doors. I had noticed it but I chose to ignore it as the car is amazing apart from that. Can there be a way to get it rectified?

People have pointed out the absence of a solid thud when closing the doors, and have speculated on the reasons (as simple as just a different engineering for the lock that produces the 'clunk', to discussions about thinner sheet metal).

If the concern you have is purely about the acoustics then you can consider adding damping material to the 4 doors. See this thread for a recommended brand: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/produc...at-xtreme.html

How this works is quite simple: the damping sheet is stuck to the sheet metal of the doors (on the inside), increasing the overall weight. In turn, this changes the resonant frequency of the sheet metal. While the primary use is to prevent ICE speakers from causing sheet metal to rattle, a nice side-benefit is that it gives a 'thunkier' sound to the doors. Check the ICE section for more information about damping mats (other brands too).

Remember - this might only solve the acoustic aspect of the doors sounding tinny, it will not offer any mechanical strength.

[teemus]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

People have pointed out the absence of a solid thud when closing the doors, and have speculated on the reasons (as simple as just a different engineering for the lock that produces the 'clunk', to discussions about thinner sheet metal).

If the concern you have is purely about the acoustics then you can consider adding damping material to the 4 doors. See this thread for a recommended brand: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/produc...at-xtreme.html

How this works is quite simple: the damping sheet is stuck to the sheet metal of the doors (on the inside), increasing the overall weight. In turn, this changes the resonant frequency of the sheet metal. While the primary use is to prevent ICE speakers from causing sheet metal to rattle, a nice side-benefit is that it gives a 'thunkier' sound to the doors. Check the ICE section for more information about damping mats (other brands too).

Remember - this might only solve the acoustic aspect of the doors sounding tinny, it will not offer any mechanical strength.

Thanks arunphilip!

I will definitely check this out if I find the noise too disconcerting while actually using the car.

My guess was more on the line of insufficient rubber beading around the doors or the rubber beading not working efficiently. Let me explain, the sound that I am talking about is while closing the door, it feels the exposed metal of the door panel is hitting on the BIW of the car. This should normally be prevented by the door rubber beading, seems that is not happening. It feels like, if someone shuts the door real hard (yes, some folks do) it will definitely hit and make even worse noise.

If indeed it is the result of design of the lock, as you say, then perhaps regular application of grease will help.

Moreover, I will have to check also if it's only for the Demo cars which are abused, obviously.

[bansal1987]

Originally Posted by teemus

Based on my interaction with Ford support around 10 days ago, Planet Ford was discontinued as a dealer. As per their records, only Talera Ford and Sai Sakshi Ford are the dealers in Pune.

How much is the Figo Titanium 1.5 TDCi costing on road in Pune? I am also planning to book one next month if i get some year end discounts. If not, i would be booking in January.

Mod Note: Please avoid quoting the entire post while responding. Just keep the relevant portions.