[anumod]

Hi Gemi,

Congrats on completion of the milestone. Wish you a happier and nicer coming up years. Did you check up with the service folks why the mileage is coming down.

[figo_united]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

Thats exactly the cross member and the marks on my car too are somewhere close to what you have.


I dont think you need to worry much. I can bet you wont find any Figo/Fiesta that has done above 10K on varied road conditions without a hit mark on that part. During a casual discussion one of my friend who used to work with ford a.s.s told me that they are aware that this part would have some kind of markings in 90% cases and thats why they check for it in the first place.

PS: Thanks a lot for putting up the pic.

Oh. anyway keeping my fingers crossed on that.
Couldnt read your reply before I went to the service station to get the 3M anti-rust coating done, otherwise could have checked what you mentioned on some other figos there. Checked out the underside of many figos there And took some more pics of underbody of my figo.
Attaching a pic which shows the damage more clearly. The previous marking was slightly misplaced!


Notice the bend at the edge

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by anumod

Hi Gemi,

Congrats on completion of the milestone. Wish you a happier and nicer coming up years. Did you check up with the service folks why the mileage is coming down.

The most probable reason for the lowering mileage (at least in Pune) is the soaring temperatures and usage of a/c. I am anyway getting my car checked in the summer camp so lets see!

[vij4all]

Gemi, would you have any clue on this? Do confirm bro

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...fan-noise.html

[hpganesh]

Finally, After following this thread & Captain Slow's thread for 6-7 Long months, got the 1.4 EXI version last month!! Thanks a lot team BHP and a special thanks to Gemi for putting up such a beautiful thread. Will come up with a detailed report soon.
I have some queries Gemi. It will be very helpful if you can answer them for me or Point me to some right thread
Here I go!

What would be the Ideal Tyre pressure for City driving conditions?
Gear shift RPM's for pulling out Decent F.E's ?

Thanks in Advance !!

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Gemi, Your figo report is the most talked about. Great report!
Sad to hear the news about your car.
Here at metro ford all the figos has marks just like the ones posted by figo_united.
Dont replace the cross member just yet.

Does your call pull to the left or right ?

There is no pulling to left or right. Except for the very minor left pull (if at all we could call it so) that has been there since the very first day. I had shown it to the a.s.s to check if it was the infamous "Apollo bug" that had bitten quite a few of the cars from the initial batches. I'm thinking of watching the tyres for some more time before i take a call.

Originally Posted by shk 8896

21000 kms this fast?We took 16 months for the same in our RITZ .Which is the next milestone?Your car is in great shape.Nice that you went for fogs.At least now you get alloys and door handles and ORVMs painted.
SHK

Alloys is a long pending issue. But money always come in between at the very last moment. Hoping i can get ahead and get a set soon.

Originally Posted by Sheel

After the fitment of after market alloy wheels, my Car is in need of an alignment and balancing job.

The steering vibrates post 120kmph and there is no trace of vibe till 110kmph. The SC and a very good alignment shop (independent) is some 175kms away. Should I get it done in an urgent basis or can lax it till a month?

I suggest you get it corrected A.S.A.P. It spoils the thrill of driving a new car.

Have you seen this thread? :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...oy-wheels.html

Originally Posted by anumod

Hi Gemi,

Congrats on completion of the milestone. Wish you a happier and nicer coming up years. Did you check up with the service folks why the mileage is coming down.

I know they wont be able to give me any other reasoning than trying to push the theory of the cross member which i feel is too early to judge.

Originally Posted by figo_united

Oh. anyway keeping my fingers crossed on that.
Notice the bend at the edge

I've got one that exactly looks like that.

Originally Posted by anilisanil

The most probable reason for the lowering mileage (at least in Pune) is the soaring temperatures and usage of a/c.

Cant agree more!!

Originally Posted by vij4all

Gemi, would you have any clue on this? Do confirm bro

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...fan-noise.html

Answered in your thread. Please dont worry about that noise. Its just Normal Behaviour.

Originally Posted by hpganesh

Finally, After following this thread & Captain Slow's thread for 6-7 Long months, got the 1.4 EXI version last month!! Thanks a lot team BHP and a special thanks to Gemi for putting up such a beautiful thread. Will come up with a detailed report soon.
I have some queries Gemi. It will be very helpful if you can answer them for me or Point me to some right thread
Here I go!

What would be the Ideal Tyre pressure for City driving conditions?
Gear shift RPM's for pulling out Decent F.E's ?

Thanks in Advance !!

Thanks Ganesh.

About your doubts:

I normally stick to 30psi all around. Anything below that would drastically increase the probability of getting a hit under the belly.

About the gearshift rpm's. Please dont worry about FE atleast till 5000km (i know its difficult!!!).Shifting around 2K rpm on straight roads would be good enough i think. But while taking gradients you would have to raise it to around 2.5k rpm. Just dont strain your engine either by shifting late or early.

Please dont go behind those 20-24km/l claims. An overall average mileage of 16-17km/l is what you can expect.

[hpganesh]

Clocked 600 KMS today. And suddenly while shifting gears there was some Noticeable vibration from the Rear left side. Looks like something is loose in the Rear luggage compartment Door. Any Idea what maybe wrong ??

[anilisanil]

Originally Posted by hpganesh

Clocked 600 KMS today. And suddenly while shifting gears there was some Noticeable vibration from the Rear left side. Looks like something is loose in the Rear luggage compartment Door. Any Idea what maybe wrong ??

Check if the number plate is well fastened, loose plates tend to vibrate a lot.

If it is from the extreme left side then your vehicle might start squeaking soon.

[gemithomas]

Well this must be a rare experience. 1 year after owning the Figo i got a chance to re visit my buying experience. Well almost.

Test Drove a few cars with my friend who is looking at the hatch market. And here are my impressions

1.Maruti Suzuki Ritz DDIS
The VDi we got seemed to be a stripped down version of some already cheap hatch. The equipment list was pathetic considering the price we were to pay. The higher seats and the better headroom gave us a "feeling" of more space though. The engine is a gem. But the overall behavior of the car is not confidence inspiring at speeds above 80. To be frank the exteriors look much more bigger than they really are and i have a feeling that i have started to like the looks more than i used to.

2.Volkswagon Polo TDI
We got the top end variant for the test drive. My favorite red colour on the car made me feel weak on my knees. This is one of the best looking cars around in even double the budget!! The interiors are well done and feels much more luxurious than the Figo/Ritz. The rear seats are not good for any more than 2 due to the shape of the seat. If you are sitting more towards the door you need to sit with a slightly twisted back due to the contours. I guess it would be much more comfortable with just 2. NVH levels are a big plus on this car.

The biggest disappointing things: The EPS with not enough feedback and the Engine that fails to respond to your throttle inputs. The car takes its own sweet time to respond to the floored accelerator. This car badly needs a better engine. Period.

3.Fiat Grande Punto MJD
Just 3 words. What a Beauty!!!

While i got out of the car there was just one question lingering in my mind. Why Fiat?...Why?

If 75 is this I'm sure the 90HP would be one bloody car. But still ... Why Fiat?...Why?

So 1 year down the line i still ended up buying a Figo.

[rohing]

Nice review Gemi and happy to hear the result.
The polo though appearing big on the outside seemed quite cramped inside.
Any reason why Fabia was left out? It is a nice car. The only issues (I think) are with ser ice cost and size of dealership network.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

3.Fiat Grande Punto MJD
Just 3 words. What a Beauty!!!

While i got out of the car there was just one question lingering in my mind. Why Fiat?...Why?

If 75 is this I'm sure the 90HP would be one bloody car. But still ... Why Fiat?...Why?

So 1 year down the line i still ended up buying a Figo.

Pardon me, but I could not understand your feelings on the Punto. Was it underpowered? Is so, did you not try the 90 bhp version?

[shubhodeepdas@g]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

3.Fiat Grande Punto MJD
Just 3 words. What a Beauty!!!
While i got out of the car there was just one question lingering in my mind. Why Fiat?...Why?
If 75 is this I'm sure the 90HP would be one bloody car. But still ... Why Fiat?...Why?
So 1 year down the line i still ended up buying a Figo.

Lovely write up and not surprised at all that you landed up back to a Figo. Regarding the Fiat, my sentiments exactly. Its this lovely beauty of a car which lacks something somewhere that just does not convince me enough to buy one. Yet every time I pass by one, I gawk at it like a kid

[RGK]

Wonderful Gemi - for your inputs.
The problem of irregular wear and tear is the misalignment of the poor alignment machine. . since you have started driving more careful to avoid GC, the chances of the scratches/dents in the cross bar should not lead to misalignment now. I would have agreed if the misalignment has happened 1 year ago when the car is new.

My opinion is still all the SC's are not completely taught about the product by Ford India.

[gemithomas]

The car has done just above 26000 km. And here are the updates.

• Almost a week after my last post here i got a horrendous hit on the cross member. It was a very small stone (used for tarring the road) lying on the middle of the road. I was really lucky that the oil sump was saved with a very minor scratch.
  
• Was astonished that such a small stone could hit the car. Further investigation revealed that he air in one of my tyres were at 22 psi. That must have caused the GC to go terribly low. Anyways i decided to get the alignment checked again at the same shop as earlier. The readings were not very bad and after getting an opinion from a mechanic decided to run the car on the same cross member and see. (Remember that the A.S.S were sure that i had to change the cross member the last time i visited them). Got the tyres turned around on the same rim so as to make sure i know if there is still an inner tyre wear. The car has done around 4500km since then and the thread wear is acceptable.
  
• I think the tyres (appollo accelere) would last just under 32-33 k km. Not sure if thats a good mileage. We got around 40k on the fusion and similar figures for the Uno. The adventure tyres were off roading ones and lasted just under 30K.
  
• After a lot of pestering at the A.S.S and on the Figo Facebook page they finally agreed to change my brake pads under warranty. Got it done at around 25.5K km. The car has done over 500km on the new pads and there is no sound. The earlier pads used to bite hard once in a while. That does not happen now. The braking is more progressive. I now realise how irritating the noise was with the OEM pads. One thing i noticed (someone else has mentioned the same here) is that the OEM ones did not have the motocraft sticker on them. Hope the sound does not come back.
  
• There are some funny sound from the rear shocks. My guess is that they have almost or have already given up. Considering the roads i do i wont blame ford. Hope they dont cost a bomb. Does anyone know if it would be covered under warranty?
  
• The small sound from the a/c fan still crops up once in a while. Especially if the fan is run at higher speeds for a longer time.
  
• Average mileage [(total ODO+DTE)/total Fuel put in] is hovering just above 16km/l. The very short trips to office is what drinks quite a lot of fuel. I have a gut feeling that the F.E for these trips would be just around 11km/l
  
• During the last 6K km the car died down twice while changing gears. I have been a more aggressive driver after that and the car is running fine. Keeping an eye on jayded's thread in the technical section.
  

OT: We are thinking of the Jazz as a replacement for our Fusion. But after the Figo experience, the 160mm ground clearance of the Jazz seems like inviting problems at a very high price!!

[RGK]

Thanks for the update and feel something has gone wrong in your alignment. Better to have regular checks of the tyre wear

The GC is definitely a major problem in Figo if you happened to drive in bumpy roads.
subconsciously I started drive dead slow when I happen to hit poor quality roads.