[Ford5]

Figo has hydraulic power steering? Are you sure, because only the Ikon had the Hydraulic system.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by Ford5

Figo has hydraulic power steering? Are you sure, because only the Ikon had the Hydraulic system.

Figo, ikon, fiesta classic, fusion, all of them have hydraulic power steering

[DevilsCry]

Thank you IRS, RGK and pganapathy for appreciating my review

Originally Posted by IRS

Honda Jazz gives 12 kmpl city driven with AC.
By the way, FE meter is pretty close.

Thanks for feedback about Jazz's mileage. If it's 12kpl in Kolkata then I guess it will be 13-14kpl in Delhi. Will keep it in data when I update the review.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Am just wondering which cars you TD'd when selecting the Figo.

I had done TD of only one more car - Toyota Etios (not Liva). All other cars had not one but several deal-breaking problems. Only Figo and Etios satisfied me in terms of city driveability and rear seat space & comfort which was most important to me.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

The Honda Brio is a perfect example of what good packaging and engine can do for handling. TD that and I feel you will prefer that to your Figo in city handling.

I've heard a lot praise about 1.2L i-VTECH engine. I wanted to consider Brio but it was just not suitable for me. Nonetheless, I'll TD a Jazz when a friend of mine gets it and then post a comparo between 1.2L i-VTECH vs 1.2L Ford engine.

Originally Posted by Ford5

Figo has hydraulic power steering? Are you sure, because only the Ikon had the Hydraulic system.

Figo is the last Ford to have hydraulic power steering. This is probably why you were shocked to know that Figo has hydraulic power steering. You can google "Figo hydraulic power steering" to confirm the same.

[Parthasarathig]

Great writeup DevilsCry. What you'll really love about the Figo, no matter what car your friend drives, everytime they sit in your car, you get to hear only compliments. Till date, yet to hear anything bad about my Figo. In fact one of my friends recently made an offer to purchase mine. This was the first time he had driven a Figo and he loved it.

Figo keeps you smiling with each mile

Your article does justice to a great yet undervalued car like the Figo.

[FrankMartin]

Simply superb Devilscry,
Your narrative is very involving and comprehensive.

The feature wise review and references with the conclusion is a very good approach and makes for a very useful review and your notes are not biased by your ownership.

Not wishing to digress but I am looking for a replacement for my 2005 Wagon R(53K kms) and need a vehicle which will give me the utility of the Waggies boot, similar fuel efficiency combined with better ride and handling characteristics at an affordable price tag.

At present the Liva and Figo as the main contenders for the replacement . According to me both these cars have the characteristics of "Bahaar se chota, andar se bada" alongwith all the important features that you have talked about.

Wishing you miles of smiles in your Figo.

Cheers

[DevilsCry]

Thank you Parthasarathig and FrankMartin. Your appreciation and wishes have made me feel warm

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

no matter what car your friend drives, everytime they sit in your car, you get to hear only compliments.

Indeed! When people used to sit in my Esteem, they never commented about Esteem. But in case of Figo, they give comments even without being asked, like "It's so smoother than all my Maruti's." Or "Feels so nice sitting in it. Didn't expect a Ford to be so good." etc.

Originally Posted by FrankMartin

At present the Liva and Figo as the main contenders for the replacement . According to me both these cars have the characteristics of "Bahaar se chota, andar se bada" alongwith all the important features that you have talked about.

You're in a tight spot! I was too split between Figo vs Etios (the sedan, not Liva). Etios is superior to Figo in space, comfort and city-driveability. But safety and long term reliability (seeing excessive cost-cutting) of Etios worried me. I had booked Etios but ended up cancelling it and buying Figo.

After few months, I did TD of Liva for a friend. Liva doesn't have awesome driveability and space of Etios (yes, Liva has less space than Etios in rear) but still is a great choice. My preference would be like this-

Toyota Etios > Ford Figo > Toyota Liva

All the best in choosing your car. It's indeed quite a tough one!

[DevilsCry]

Requirements

• Optional: A shampoo (be it for cars or for your hair)
• Bucket and mug
• 4 mugs of water
• An old towel (dirty would do but clean is preferred)
• Old papers from a newspaper (should be clean)

Introduction

• It's an extremely simple and quick cleaning of the car involving no specialized equipment (I call 'special cleaning cloth' a specialized equipment).
• Since my Figo is not used everyday, it's not cleaned on a daily basis.
• Most of time, I'm given only 15-20min to clean my car which has not been cleaned for days.
• Cleaning has to be done inside home so spilling much water is not allowed.

Steps



Get shampoo.






Mix a tiny bit of shampoo with 4 mugs of water.






Clean wiper-blades with your fingers.






Wiper-blades were indeed dirty.






Get any old towel. Though mine is diry, clean towel is preferred.






Ready!






Dust the whole body. Don't dust glass areas.






When the towel accumulates too much dust, beat it against wheel rims.






Fold it. We're getting ready for a wash.






Start from roof. Spill a little water over body and...






Wipe off the area dry.






Pay attention that you're not supposed to move towel back and fro, rub it hard or swirl it around. Your purpose is to get dust/dirt off the body and not grind it against the body. Move the towel in one direction with a gentle pressure and...






Lift the dirt away from the body.






Avoid cleaning glass areas except for headlamps and tail-lamps.






At one point, the towel will be leaving dirt marks everywhere.






At this point, you're supposed to wash the towel and dry it as much as possible. But I don't bother. I simply refold the towel differently to get dry and cleaner part.






Body cleaning finished. Now it's turn of glass areas. Get few clean pages from old newspapers ready. Avoid plastic papers. Papers should be free from dust or you'll scratch the glass.







Clean your palm. It's going to be used.






Pour a little water on glass.






Immediately clean the wet area with your palm, getting it rid of dust.






Your glass is completely clean now. But water is still there. Dust will again stick to it, making it even dirtier than before. So dry off the surface with a newspaper.






Throw away when newspaper has become quite wet. Use a fresh one.






Make sure that glass area is completely clean and dry now. Remove remaining dust with your palm.






Clean interior (if you still got some time left) with the towel which must have been wet by now. The wetness will help in cleaning interior.






Finished! Yes, some water has spilled to ground. But your wife/mom will not much scold you for the same

Other notes

• A complete guide can be found here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ing-guide.html. To be honest, I never paid attention to this thread. My method comes completely from my experience.
• If you come across a stubborn stain/mark. Don't rub hard. Keep rubbing. Patience pays. If it would not come off. Leave it. Attempt to clean it again next time.
• While dealing with quite dirty stains (like mud/bird droppings), don't rub with the towel. You don't want mud/droppings to wipe all over the body. Wet the area and clean with a newspaper. And yes, throw away the newspaper afterwards.
• Once in few months, you might have to wash clean the towel. Very boring task! Just put it in washing machine. Don't tell mom/wife

[Blow Horn Ok]

I guess a single cloth for cleaning everything is not a good idea. Wheels are dirt and mud magnets and using the same cloth for painted body will leave swirls. I follow the same procedure but keep 4 sets of old cloth(preferably pure cotton vests).

1. One To rinse the body with shampoo and water (clean)
2. One To wipe the body (very clean)
3. One To polish the body (very clean)
4. One for Wheels (not very clean)

I wash the glass with hands and later wipe it dry with news papers. Also i use a cloth dipped in diesel to wipe tar spots and fly drops if they are fairly visible.

[DevilsCry]

Thank you Blow Hork Ok for making correction/completing my guide. I also felt that my guide was not very correct or was ambiguous.

Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok

I guess a single cloth for cleaning everything is not a good idea.

I know that my method isn't perfect but I'm too lazy to clean 4 different cloths after every car-wash, and hence as I wrote,

While dealing with quite dirty stains (like mud/bird droppings), don't rub with the towel. You don't want mud/droppings to wipe all over the body. Wet the area and clean with a newspaper. And yes, throw away the newspaper afterwards.

Wheels come under "quite dirty areas" and are cleaned only with newspapers.

As for tar spots and fly drops, I just do the following-

If you come across a stubborn stain/mark. Don't rub hard. Keep rubbing. Patience pays. If it would not come off. Leave it. Attempt to clean it again next time.

I just don't bother getting diesel just to clean something stubborn spots. They always give up eventually even if it takes months

[Blow Horn Ok]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

I know that my method isn't perfect but I'm too lazy to clean 4 different cloths after every car-wash, and hence as I wrote,

The cloth rinsed with shampoo is cleaned by itself during the wash. I just rinse it after its final use. And the rest of them are used after the car is clean, so they too don't require a wash after every car wash exercise. I Just let them dry after every car wash and wash them once in in 30-40 days.

[offroad_maniac]

Hi DevilsCry,
Any new update on your Figo? How is current mileage & engine response?
Did you do any upgrade like alloys etc?

Please keep this thread updated as your writing skills are excellent. Its more like direct talking

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by offroad_maniac

Any new update on your Figo? How is current mileage & engine response? Did you do any upgrade like alloys etc?

Thank you a lot offroad_maniac for appreciating my thread

This thread will be updated around 15th Sept'12 (after 2nd service). There's not much to report before it.

A minor update

• I still didn't repair the hole in the body shell left by the tempo since it's not getting worse. There's only a tiny amount of rust which is not increasing at all.

• A biker rammed hard into side and scraped through entire left rear door of my Figo with a rather loud screech. I checked the damage. There were minor scratches. I tried to capture them on my camera but scratches don't show up. Would just tell service guys to rub some polish on it.

• No change in engine response. Perhaps because there was no oil change during first service. Performance in 1st and 2nd gear is superb, making it the best city hatch available in market. Good till 90kph. Not great till 130kph. Didn't get to test above it. I've concluded that Figo's petrol engine doesn't require running-in.

• I guess the mileage is 12kpl in Delhi traffic with AC. No idea about mileage without AC and on highway. Should have calculated the mileage during trip to Nainital but I was so lost in natural beauty and in seeing snow for first time in my life that I simply forgot to calculate mileage on highway.

• Absolutely no upgrade done. Sunfilms were planned but the superb AC cancelled it.

• No plan to install alloys since the stock rims proved their worthiness during 90kph potholes smashing test during Nainital trip. I fail to see advantage of alloys over steel rims.

• A bit worried about stock MRF tyres since they gave us quite a scare by sliding a bit sideways at one point of snowy roads of Snow View Peak at Nainital. Might upgrade to softer tyres if we go on another mountain trip. Otherwise, not bothering to change it.

• Even after 7 months and 5000 km, Figo demands gear shifts to be at precise RPM and speed. Due to this reason, I hate lending Figo to someone who is not used to Figo. They shift up at wrong RPM and speeds, resulting in under-revving/over-revving and lugging of the engine.

• It has become my habit to launch Figo into a sprint at every time traffic light turns green. This doesn't result in any mileage drop. This consolidates my claim that if you do upshifting at precise speed & RPM then Figo delivers max performance and mileage in one place.

• Since it's a petrol, it hits me hard every time how much money it is costing me to run it even though I clearly know that another petrol hatch or a diesel Figo would be more expensive for me. Still, I can't help but calculating how big hole it is gonna burn in my pocket if I go out and it's not a nice feeling to have :(

[CowlFlap]

Hey DevilsCry,
Great review!
How's your Figo doing nowadays? Looking for a hatch for my parents (and self) needs.
Btw, I wouldn't ignore that little hole in the body shell. If rust is visible, it is already in the process of deteriorating. From past experience, its horrifying to see how much actual area (within) has been affected. I wouldn't wait a day to have it repaired.

Thanks for your insights on the various aspects of the car.

[superutp]

Not sure how I missed this, but that is one heck of a review DevilsCry!!
Interesting comparison with the A-star. The Figo, A star and the Beat were my top three contenders back in Dec 2011 when I was deciding which budget hatch to buy. Beat came out top though, for my needs.

Hope your 'Petrol' Figo is doing great! How many kms travelled, any issues so far?

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by CowlFlap

Great review!
How's your Figo doing nowadays? Looking for a hatch for my parents (and self) needs.
Btw, I wouldn't ignore that little hole in the body shell. If rust is visible, it is already in the process of deteriorating. From past experience, its horrifying to see how much actual area (within) has been affected. I wouldn't wait a day to have it repaired.

Thanks for your appreciation

My Figo is doing great these days. What I love the most is its quick AC and the hydraulic steering. To be honest, having owned a 1995 Esteem, I find Figo to be just an average car (but with great VFM). I miss Esteem's superb performance, great mileage and sheer comfort. Though I could not have picked another car because among all cars today under 6 lac budget, Figo is the closest car which can rival Esteem.

As for the rust, I'm too lazy to get it repaired. Just waiting for second service to come (in Sept'12). I regularly inspect the strength of the metal to check for rust spread inside. If something seems wrong, I will immediately get it repaired.

Originally Posted by superutp

Not sure how I missed this, but that is one heck of a review DevilsCry!!

Hope your 'Petrol' Figo is doing great! How many kms travelled, any issues so far?

Thanks. Glad that you find my review awesome

My Figo has done around 6,800km. No issues so far but then no improvement either, like mileage and performance. They are still same as on day one. Perhaps it will change with second service.