[Bhupesh_2628]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Figo 1.5 AT's exhaust note. Gets vocal close to redline but sounds sweet.

I've driven many petrols like 1.2, 1.6, 1.5 from various brands. Fully agree that this 3 cylinder 1.5 Dragon engine sounds the best - sporty & sweet sounding to the ears.

Others simply get too loud and boomy which I don't like to hear at all. It feels as if engine is getting strained & pushed too much.

I always roll the window down just to hear this sound when I revv it.

[Almetal]

So after watching endless reviews, posts and videos, I finally decided to take the plunge and brought home a pre owned 2020 Figo TDCI (6700 kms on the Odo).
This is my first ever diesel car, after owning several petrol cars ever since I started driving in the mid - nineties.

The major concern was the DPF issue that had affected a lot of Ecosports earlier this year, and the Figo sharing the same engine could have caused similar problems as well.
However, after speaking to a couple of Ford S.A, I realized that the problem depends on several factors like quality of fuel, driving conditions etc.

The car truly is in a league of its own, and on the highway is an absolute joy to drive. In fact, I would rate it as a better cruiser on the highway compared to even a Honda City, what with its powerful engine, and an abundance of torque after 2000 rpm.
In the city driving conditions though, it felt jerky and snatchy, almost like a Jekyll and Hyde personality. Needs an experienced hand at the wheel when driving in congested traffic.

[jecenth]

Originally Posted by Almetal

So after watching endless reviews, posts and videos, I finally decided to take the plunge and brought home a pre owned 2020 Figo TDCI (6700 kms on the Odo).
This is my first ever diesel car, after owning several petrol cars ever since I started driving in the mid - nineties.

The major concern was the DPF issue that had affected a lot of Ecosports earlier this year, and the Figo sharing the same engine could have caused similar problems as well.
However, after speaking to a couple of Ford S.A, I realized that the problem depends on several factors like quality of fuel, driving conditions etc.

Kudos on going ahead with the purchase. I too drive a BS6 Figo 1.5TDCi Clocked 15k on odo. Faced no issue with DPF so far but my driving would be 70% on highway. Happy miles

[giri1.8]

Guys, need your expert opinion to mod my Figo 1.5 AT's suspension setup. Stock setup is finding it hard to handle 120bhp.

Upgrades planned :
-15 inch wheels with 195 section tyres.
- Suspension parts from Figo Blu edition.
- Antiroll bars, if any is available for the model.

Need inputs on both second and third points, while Blu specs parts will improve handling, many have pointed out that it's not going to be day and night. Have read somewhere on team bhp that Fiesta's parts might be a direct fit, but I am unable to locate it, any clarification on the same will be much appreciated

Antiroll bars might be a tough find I guess. Not going overboard with mods as I need to tackle under construction areas on a daily basis.

[bhphog]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Guys, need your expert opinion to mod my Figo 1.5 AT's suspension setup. Stock setup is finding it hard to handle 120bhp.

Upgrades planned :
-15 inch wheels with 195 section tyres.
- Suspension parts from Figo Blu edition.
- Antiroll bars, if any is available for the model.

Need inputs on both second and third points, while Blu specs parts will improve handling, many have pointed out that it's not going to be day and night. Have read somewhere on team bhp that Fiesta's parts might be a direct fit, but I am unable to locate it, any clarification on the same will be much appreciated

Antiroll bars might be a tough find I guess. Not going overboard with mods as I need to tackle under construction areas on a daily basis.

Hey, Great to have someone on the same boat as me.

So, a lot of different ways you can go about achieving this. It completely depends on your budget and ability to compromise on reliability.

1. Go for a lowering kit, many in the market, Eibachs, MTS Technik, Cobra, etc. This would lover the CG and body roll is well contained. I am running a set of Eibach Springs. The negative aspect being that if you aren't going for a good brand, it could create a very hard unstable ride.

2. Go for the complete set of shocks and springs from the Figo S and not Figo Blu. This seems to be the most cost effective option.

3. Go for a complete set of coilovers and springs. This should cost you above a lakh but will give you a lot of freedom to play around, specially if this is a height adjustable set.

4. Go for a set of stiffened set of shocks. Any good motorsport shop should be able to custom create it for you. All that matters here is what type, thickness and density of hydraulic fluid is used in the shocks.

As for me, this is a daily driver with occasional participation in autocross events. I am in talk to go for the route 3, just adding on kms to exhaust the current set of shocks and springs as I got them just 20k kms back.

Tyres, now depend on which way you go forward. Tyre Size, and Profile will vary and it isn't advisable to select tyres and alloys first and then decide the route. I am still running stock alloys with S-Drives.

Anti-Roll bars, the only compatiable ones are from the Figo S. Again, lot of hit and try can be done on various generic anti roll bars. I have spoken about this in detail even with a motosport team in Estonia who are running Ka+ in the WRX autocrosses and even they don't have a roll bar for sale.

Hope this helps.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by bhphog

Hey, Great to have someone on the same boat as me.

So, a lot of different ways you can go about achieving this. It completely depends on your budget and ability to compromise on reliability.

Currently I am low on budget and need highest reliability! Currently clocking about 2.5k km a month on all kinds of roads, hence ever bit of GC and comfort matters.

2. Go for the complete set of shocks and springs from the Figo S and not Figo Blu. This seems to be the most cost effective option.

This seems to be the better bet for my needs, never knew that Figo S and Blu had different setup. Will start researching on the same.

Anti-Roll bars, the only compatiable ones are from the Figo S. Again, lot of hit and try can be done on various generic anti roll bars. I have spoken about this in detail even with a motosport team in Estonia who are running Ka+ in the WRX autocrosses and even they don't have a roll bar for sale.

Hope this helps.

Amazing to know that our Figo is actually a part of autocross event! I did try my luck with Bilstein shocks, sadly none fits our Figo. Thanks for the quick and detailed reply.

Ironically, found that rear tyres have started to have uneven wear, have checked both alignment and balancing, no issues here. Hope it doesn't turn into a big headache.

[jackofsome]

Hi guys,

My ford figo 1.5 tdci was purchased in June 2016 and have run about 75000kms to date. Off late, i feel the suspension has started jarring a bit.
Also, what are the components that need preventive maintenance at this point?
One more point is the timing belt change. When should that be done ideally?
I am ideally wanting to make this car drive like new again. All the help is hugely appreciated

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Upgrades planned :
-15 inch wheels with 195 section tyres.
- Suspension parts from Figo Blu edition.
- Antiroll bars, if any is available for the model.

bhphog has covered most points. Thought I would give you a first hand review as I owned the Tdci Figo from 2017 to 2019 which was used for 50k kms. I had 2 of the 3 mods you have planned, done on it. I got a 15 inch alloy with 195 section tyres on day 1. I was lucky to land a Momo set with the same PCD and 4 hole variant. (Got lucky as I got it from the then tyre store person, now a dear friend who had ordered it for his Figo but was willing to let it go for a slightly lower price). I also got the front and rear suspension springs changed to Figo S springs.

The change to the 15 inch rim and wider section tyres helped a bit. But the big change i noticed was after changing the springs to the Figo S ones. It did not lower the car by much but the handling difference was palpable by the seat of the pants feel as well as by the tyre store friend i spoke about above who was on the fence on whether to change the springs or not. So both these should really make it worthy of the change.

For the anti-roll bar, the news from the media during the time of the review of the Figo S was that there was a beefier anti-roll bar compared to the normal Figo. So you can certainly try out the Figo S anti roll bar. All the best with the mods and do keep us posted on how it feels post the mods.

PS: I have updated the part numbers for the Figo S springs if it helps you to order them in one of the Figo threads (mostly the plain vanilla Figo thread).

Edit: Forgot to add, the ride on bad roads was not as bad as say a fully stiffened set of shock and spring change etc. There was a wee bit more of the road surface felt but nothing too drastic. The big change was the much better contained body roll compared to stock set up.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

bhphog has covered most points. Thought I would give you a first hand review as I owned the Tdci Figo from 2017 to 2019 which was used for 50k kms. I had 2 of the 3 mods you have planned, done on it.

Thanks for your inputs, ironically, the post that you have mentioned is what triggered me to take this route for my mods, I even have the entire post in screenshot

Taking my car to a tuning shop this weekend, just to see the possibilities of what can be done and if we can source all the needed parts. Planning to share your post to them to help them a bit.

Posting the same so that more owners get to know the details. @Mods posting a pic, as I am not able to locate the original thread.

[satyabrata.dash]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Guys, need your expert opinion to mod my Figo 1.5 AT's suspension setup. Stock setup is finding it hard to handle 120bhp.

Upgrades planned :
-15 inch wheels with 195 section tyres.
- Suspension parts from Figo Blu edition.
- Antiroll bars, if any is available for the model.

Need inputs on both second and third points, while Blu specs parts will improve handling, many have pointed out that it's not going to be day and night. Have read somewhere on team bhp that Fiesta's parts might be a direct fit, but I am unable to locate it, any clarification on the same will be much appreciated

Antiroll bars might be a tough find I guess. Not going overboard with mods as I need to tackle under construction areas on a daily basis.

I added 2 pairs of roger fab suspension buffers a year back. It has contained body roll quite well, confidence at top speeds is quite good. But, the ride has stiffened quite a lot. Also, want to warn you to never lower your gc. I was on a trip to Uttarakhand in some landslide prone areas and the gear box took a hit from a rock even though I was driving carefully. The gearbox cracked and drained all the oil. The TC AT carries 8.7L of oil with each liter costing Rs. 1400+!! All that doesn't get covered in insurance so I was hit hard. Also, the engine oil sump had some dents, so had to pay for the new engine oil too. I am not sure if any insurance covers consumables, but this time I have spent 17k on them alone and it hurts.

The only other mod I did was to replace all tyres with conti uc6(185/65 r14) to soften the harshness. The stock tyres were horribly noisy and hard.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by satyabrata.dash

I added 2 pairs of roger fab suspension buffers a year back.

Interestingly, never thought about suspension buffers for the front shocks till now. Thought they were suited for the rear! If none of the mods workout, then this might be the way forward I guess.

Point about GC noted

[satyabrata.dash]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Interestingly, never thought about suspension buffers for the front shocks till now. Thought they were suited for the rear! If none of the mods workout, then this might be the way forward I guess.

Point about GC noted

My car used to nosedive a lot whenever I braked hard for speed breakers, and a tall bump would mostly hit the engine sump, resulting in the foam cover being worn out completely. The gear mount had a rubber padding which was also worn and the it had started to wear the mount itself. Had to safeguard them.

[saurabh041086]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

bhphog has covered most points. Thought I would give you a first hand review as I owned the Tdci Figo from 2017 to 2019 which was used for 50k kms. I had 2 of the 3 mods you have planned, done on it. I got a 15 inch alloy with 195 section tyres on day 1. I was lucky to land a Momo set with the same PCD and 4 hole variant. (Got lucky as I got it from the then tyre store person, now a dear friend who had ordered it for his Figo but was willing to let it go for a slightly lower price). I also got the front and rear suspension springs changed to Figo S springs.

The change to the 15 inch rim and wider section tyres helped a bit. But the big change i noticed was after changing the springs to the Figo S ones. It did not lower the car by much but the handling difference was palpable by the seat of the pants feel as well as by the tyre store friend i spoke about above who was on the fence on whether to change the springs or not. So both these should really make it worthy of the change.

For the anti-roll bar, the news from the media during the time of the review of the Figo S was that there was a beefier anti-roll bar compared to the normal Figo. So you can certainly try out the Figo S anti roll bar. All the best with the mods and do keep us posted on how it feels post the mods.

PS: I have updated the part numbers for the Figo S springs if it helps you to order them in one of the Figo threads (mostly the plain vanilla Figo thread).

Edit: Forgot to add, the ride on bad roads was not as bad as say a fully stiffened set of shock and spring change etc. There was a wee bit more of the road surface felt but nothing too drastic. The big change was the much better contained body roll compared to stock set up.

So you changed just the springs all complete suspension kit?

Even I have been using 195 R15 from day1 but even after my 100% paved road driving i have started feeling that my suspension has now lost the capabilities at 52k kms. It has become a kind of see saw on slightest undulated roads.
I found freestyle to be better handler than Figo. By any chance you explored using Freestyle shocker kit?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by saurabh041086

So you changed just the springs all complete suspension kit?

Only the springs were changed on my car and it made a difference.

Originally Posted by saurabh041086

I found freestyle to be better handler than Figo. By any chance you explored using Freestyle shocker kit?

I never felt the need at that time to explore other options as the Figo S springs and the 195 section rubber were a good mix for the kind of highway driving I was doing. It was handling very well until I sold it off at around 50,000 kms on the odo.

[jecenth]

Hello BHPians,
After being a member and regular reader of Team-bhp for close to 2 years, I gathered courage to add a thread on this forum about my ownership experience of Figo 1.5 TDCi. I believe this thread will be valuable for existing Ford owners and someone considering a Pre-worshipped Ford. Here it goes...

The Decision

I have completed my studies; Got a job offer in my hand and as a family we were moving in to next phase of life. I always dreamt of having a car of our own at this point in life and went ahead with the decision by February 2020.

Why Figo?

Due to the fact this being our first car and our budget, we decided to go for a hatchback. Since I will be driving this car extensively, I wanted it to be a bit on the sportier side.

I considered Tiago JTP due to its powertrain and being a special car but it was discontinued at that point and searching for left-over stock would be a pain as they were only retailed through limited dealerships.

Maruti Swift was not considered as they have terrible safety record. Also they are ubiquitous on road and lacks the exclusivity.

Figo was an easy decision as it offered good value for money while also having sporty quotient. I bizarrely liked the fact that Figo is rare on roads. Initially petrol was considered but after going through almost all Figo ownership threads in Team-BHP and praises for the 1.5TDCi motor finalized our First Car ever was going to be a Ford Figo Titanium 1.5TDCi and booked it by end of February 2020.

Buying Experience:

The time I decided to buy my car was a tumultuous period for both Indian auto-industry and the entire Planet. The switch from BS4 to BS6 mandated by Regulatory body and Covid-19 pandemic substantially extended my waiting period from initial 1 month to 4 months. Also, Ford when launched BS6 variants decided to cut a lot of features from Figo Titanium variant and hiked price by Rs.30k throughout the range. This pushed me to go for the higher Titanium Blu variant by extending our budget. I liked the Blu variant due to its resemblance with the Sports variant except the excessive usage of decals.

In the mean time while I was waiting and writing mails to Ford India to get an idea of when they will be able to deliver my car, VW Polo 1.0 TSI was launched. I almost cancelled my booking to go for it, but the higher driving cost for petrol and infamous service bills kept me from it.

The experience was pretty rough, but can't blame it on anyone due to the change in world order. The car was finally delivered on June 24, 2020. I was smiling ear to ear when I first saw the car in night lights coming to me.

Somewhere near Shivmogga


What I like:

1. The Steering; Though on the lighter side, it have a good amount of feel
2. The 1.5TDCi motor; Linear and punchy
3. The Handling
4. Decent brakes
5. Trouble-free ownership and low running costs

What I don't like:

1. No Sync 3; Big miss
2. Below average infotainment system
3. Not-so-rev-happy engine post 3k rpm
4. Poor headlights
5. DPF issues in BS6 diesel.

Driving experience:

The big point to talk about Figo has to be its driving experience. The car is mostly unexciting in other aspects. The hero of the show has to be the 1.5 TDCi motor. A capable motor with a healthy amount of torque in the lower rev-band. It responds strongly from 1,200rpm all the way to 4000rpm. The torque delivery is very linear and peak torque is achieved at 2000rpm which is good enough to pin you to the seat in lower gears. The motor is not so rev happy post 2500rpm with a boomy sound. But I have been using Cetane X (diesel additive) which counters those characteristics. The 5 speed transmission is a bit clunky but gets the job done. The gear shift quality and feedback is not the best. The gear ratios are on the shorter side which also compliments the overall driveability. It have enough pull even in 5th gear at triple digits which comes very handy in highways.

The clutch is on the heavier side but one will easily get used to it. I personally appreciate the heaviness after experiencing ultra soft clutches in TATAs and Hyundais which I find tough to modulate. The NVH levels are average inside the cabin. The brake though good, is not good enough at triple digit speeds. Also the ABS is too intrusive, gets triggered easily. The suspension setup being on the stiffer side, the ride on pot hole filled road will be harsh and uncomfortable especially when car is fully loaded. The steering have good amount of feel. It is feather-light at parking speeds and weighs up linearly. Though it weighs up adequately, at high speeds I would prefer a little more heft in steering. I thoroughly enjoyed and exploited its handling ability in Ghat roads to Kodaikanal which remains my favourite drive to date. However at high speed cornering in highways, the body roll will be evident enough to make you lift-off.

Overall, it's a great car to drive even in stock form.


Post a spirited drive in Kodai Ghats


The remap itch:

I got the itch mostly from reading Team-BHP forums. I decided to get the car remapped after running 10k on odo. The hunt for tuner was finalized after extensively reading some Team-BHP forums and online research. It was Wolf-performance. But they dont have a dealership in Chennai. They travel to Chennai but not frequently.

I went on a road trip with friends to Karnataka for New year 2022 and decided to get remapped from Engineering Exponent (Wolf Performance Bangalore dealer). I was late by 3 hours to the venue due to Bangalore traffic but they were kind enough to work late night. A big thumbs-up to the team.

Post remap experience:

I have driven 2000kms post remap. I find the engine note is changed. It sounds a bit coarse and dry compared to stock. I can hear the turbo spool post 2000rpm. The low end is improved than stock but not up to what I imagined in my head after reading in forums (My bad). It can be felt when pulling comfortably from 40kmph in 5th gear. I was told the map was a bit aggressive and linear. The significant difference of the remap can be felt post 1800rpm with a deep surge of torque. It feels brutal in lower gears, pins you in to the seat. I find myself often revving the car to feel this push. It turned lively in every gear. The fuel efficiency have improved considerably. When driving within speed limits in highways, I can easily extract 22+ kmpl which is another good side but can go as low as 14kmpl when driven aggressively. This remap have unleashed the hooligan in this motor. The push even at triple digits in 5th gear was significant.

At Engineering Exponent, Bangalore


Ford's DPF complaints:

BS6 1.5TDCi owners have experienced problem with DPFs when driven in city extents. But I haven't experienced any such in my car so far. Mostly due to the fact I drive it in highways often. I have received a recall letter from Ford for a software fix for DPF issues but I'm going to skip this as this will erase my remapped file. Also planning for a stage 2 setup later this year.

Ford service has been prompt and easy on pocket even post Ford's exit. The second service costs INR 6000. I had to change my front brake pads at 17,000kms as they were finished mostly due to my driving style. No unwarranted hassles with the car so far. Hope it stays this way.

Addio!