[Pkumarblore]

Hi,
That's a crisp review of a great car., no doubt. Both the Figo + Freestyle are highly underrated. IMHO they should have been among the market leaders. I myself own a 2017 Figo TDCi Titanium. I love it to its bits for the sheer performance it offers especially on the highways.
I noticed one thing when my colleague bought the BSVI 2020 Ecosport TDCi. I could feel the BSVI TDCi has dropped some power although they are identical on paper with the Figo BS IV TDCi. I am not sure if its the same with the BSVI Figo + Freestyle since I have not driven one.
Anyways enjoy your ride, probably this is among the last few large displacement 4 pot diesel motors available in the market before they become extinct and make way for the smaller displacement turbo petrol/diesels.
By the way, is there any improvement with the headlight after you switched to OSRAM H4 Night breakers. I need to change mine. The stock headlights are just not good enough for highways.

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by Nikhil Beke

here's my dilemma: my monthly run is around 1000-1200 kms(50% city+50% highway), and honestly goes against the conventional wisdom/calculations behind choosing a diesel engine. Would the premium be worth the experience of joys of TDCi, over the dragon petrol?

My montly running is less than 1000kms.I threw away "conventional wisdom/calculations" to a garbage bin before purchase, since this would be one of the last generations of diesel engines we may be able enjoy in small cars, since diesel shaming is on the rise. The diesel engine is very enjoyable and totally different in character from 3-cyl petrol.In heavy city traffic, on a daily basis , your leg might have a good workout.I am using the car in light traffic/highway mostly and this hasn't affected me yet.

[Sk8r]

Originally Posted by Nikhil Beke

Would the premium be worth the experience of joys of TDCi, over the dragon petrol?Also, have heard from a few TDCi Ecosport owners that the clutch goes uncomfortably hard over a time- making the travel during stop-and-go city traffic really difficult. How far true is that?

Due to my limited budget, I sacrificed all the creature comforts in ( Trend / Titanium )Petrol avatar for the barebones ( Ambiente) TDCi engine and I have not regretted so far.

But for each his own. I would suggest you to drive both back to back and take a call. If you feel you love the TDCi, leave all the calculations aside and go for the TDCi motor - your running will definitely increase

Regarding hard clutch, it has vastly improved over the previous gen Figo. Yes, the travel is a bit high but manageable and the gears are slick !

[VijayAnand1]

Wonderful log, and super chuffed to see other users pouring in. @Viraj.515 I was quite keen on the part where you mentioned, flapper motor replacement. Would be helpful if you could explain a bit more as to the cost of that particular and what was the reason for it to be replaced. I see that it was replaced under warranty. My guess is it made a "krrr karrr" kinda sound when the AC knobs were switched to subsequent blower settings?

Cheers!
VJ

[bageherath]

Nice review! I also own a Freestyle Tit+ Oct 2019 manufactured (white). It is a real fun to drive car under 10L with class leading active and passive saftey. Ford 1.5 D is best in business too.

[vDragon3]

Wonderful review. I own the same as well and would echo all the points mentioned. In addition, there was no pulling issue when I did wheel balancing and alignment from a nearby tyre dealer. As others pointed out it is one of the most underrated cars for the value it offers. Sync 3 being discontinued is a big loss to the people who got it later.

[viXit]

Great review man!

Indian market kinda sucks. Quality VFM cars like these that look and feel so so premium when compared to the competition are just a gift we don't deserve. I don't know why more people aren't buying these up.

It's 2021 for heaven's sake, every car is reasonably reliable!

Congratulations on the purchase, you seem to be having quite the gala time with the car.

A question,

Why is the oil filter cost different from service to service??

[Amsdoc]

Congratulations on your car and an excellent review. I have been mulling long on this car as an upgrade over my Figo. However the Figo continues to serve me well and my driving of it is ridiculously low despite being used really often but for very short distances. It is just about to reach 50000 kms and that is after 11 years of use. I have decided to keep it as a beater car for the city run about.

To the person undecided over petrol and diesel, I can only compare with previous versions of the engines available as I had the petrol and the diesel Figos. The petrol whilst being great in the city is woefully inadequate on the highways especially the ghats. This is where the diesel shines. Yes the hard clutch and initial lag is a bit annoying in stop-go traffic, the highway manners make up for it. So as per your intimation of 50-50 usage, I would definitely choose the diesel(I must confess I haven't driven the dragon engine yet but I don't see it being better than the diesel on highways). Plus the milage will be a lot better.

[Ragasruoban]

Brilliant review! It just says how much you are enjoying the experience with a Ford.

Freestyle is a very practical car for our Indian conditions. I do miss out the Freestyle's ground clearance on my Aspire while encountering tall speed-breakers which sometimes leads to under body scraping on full load. Also, the suspension is softer compared to Aspire which provides better ride comfort to the passengers while traveling on bad roads.

100 kmph in the 5th gear sets the engine ~2000 RPMs.

In my Aspire, 100 kmph is achieved at 2300 RPM and what I have heard from fellow Figo/Aspire users, it's around the similar ballpark. Going by the reviews, the gearing on Freestyle is on the shorter side which means for reaching the same speed of 100 kmph, engine should be at higher RPMs which is in contrary to what you have mentioned. Could anyone confirm this fact?

[samuelv]

Hey, thanks for the amazing review. The attention to detail shows how passionate about you are about your ride. During the same time of your hunt for a new car, I also was looking to upgrade from my humble Alto K10 and freestyle was the top contender during 80% of my search period. My Alto had completed 1lakh km on the odo and while most of the posts praises the Freestyle, I am one person who would appreciate the performance of the K10 barring the build quality. 7 years and 100k km later it still felt like a new car and served us faithfully. However since we were expecting a baby we decided to upgrade.


We liked the beige colour of the Freestyle and almost booked it. But somehow we decided on buying the Elite i20 Diesel over the freestyle tdci. Some of the reasons for our decision are listed below
1) All black interiors felt claustrophobic
2) No rear arm rest - this was required as we had 3 senior citizens at home. I think there was no front armrest as well in the Freestyle
3) no grab handles for the titanium+ version - again a requirement for the senior citizens
4) 5 speed gearbox vs 6 speed gearbox on the i20
5) missing passive keyless entry / projector headlamp and Cornering function which the i20 had
6) talks of ford and Mahindra teaming up was not something that I was comfortable with in terms of service.
7) Isofix seats - not sure if this is available on the freestyle

If we were able to stretch our budget for EcoSport TDCi titanium + version, we would have stuck to Ford and overlooked some of the above features.

The i20 made it home for the practicality and want of comfort although it cost us a lakh plus extra, while I still wanted the Freestyle for the excellent TDCi motor. Hopefully our next ride is a Ford!

[Viraj.515]

Thanks a lot guys for your kind words. I sincerely appreciate it.

I am glad to see the happiness of fellow Freestyle owners. It is certainly a lot of car for the money Ford India demands. Keep munching miles with more smiles.

I shall keep the thread updated timely.

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Congratulations on your " Glider" from a fellow Freestyle ( Ambiente, TDCi ) owner, we are rare and few !

This has to be the most under rated hatchback on sale. A quick look at the service costs indicates it is cheaper than the supposedly " cheap to maintain " market leader. Ford must be breaking their heads to market this a better way to see it gets the sales it deserves.

Regarding the " left pulling " issue - It's surprising that Ford isn't able to rectify it from the factory itself. However, I got it rectified from FASS after multiple visits.

In the absence of Fiat, I can only hope that Ford continues to operate in our market to make exciting cars.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, I couldn't resist from posting a recent shot !

Thanks, Sk8r. Happy to see an enthusiastic fellow Freestyle owner.

It seems, your TDCi powered Freestyle enjoyed the sun and the sea a lot that day.

Regarding the 'left pulling' issue, I was aware of it before the purchase as well. My cousin's 2016 Figo too pulls to the left from day 1. I have accepted it as it is and it does not bother me much.

Ford India's uncertain future is definitely worrisome for many including us.

Originally Posted by rainmaster

Congrats Viraj on your purchase of Freestyle, most underrated hatchback in India. Great review and wishing you happy mile munching. I have recommended Ford Freestyle Titanium+ 1.5 TDCI for couple of my colleagues and both were extremely happy with the ownership and driving experience.
Steering and suspension tuning is done to perfection, it’s a joy to drive as well as comfortable for passengers at the back seat. Please keep updating your ownership experience, will definitely help prospective buyers. I hope and wish hatchback buyers go for test drive in Freestyle before finalizing other hatchbacks.

You are correct. Some of my friends and relatives who are not petrolheads and have not experienced a Ford car before started appreciating how this vehicle drives and feels as compared to others. One of my friends owns a car which is a segment above Freestlyle appreciates how composed Freestyle feels at tripple digit speeds as compared to his car.

Originally Posted by maheshm619

That's quite some kms you have covered in this short term. Freestyle is an under-rated hatchback, thanks to poor marketing from Ford and their feature-deletion itch, every few months. Ford cars are best to be purchased during initial years of launch, since they will be most value for money than ever.

I have almost negligible left pull issue now. Confirm that the allignment centers have data for Freestyle.Some centers carry out allignment with figo/aspire data and this doesn't do any good.Wishing you many miles ahead..Keep this thread updated.

Attaching a pic of mine.

Yes. With Ford, you never know what would be the next feature cut/addition. Luckily, I got the features which I needed such as SYNC-3 & height-adjustable rear seat head restraints.

As far as alignment is concerned, I stick to FASS because none of the alignment centres in my town is professional or dependable. I once went to a well-known alignment centre in my town that did not have the alignment data of Freestyle. When he started to remove old weights from the rim, he scratched alloys. I politely asked him to stop and left after paying for the wheel-balancing.

BHPian @Nikhilb2008 has helped me with the alignment data for Ford Freestyle. Sharing it on this thread to help fellow Freestyle owners.

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Hey Viraj!

Excellent crisp review and agree with your points. 50k kms in 20 months is excellent mileage. I have an April 2019 Titanium+ and have completed 23k kms and is our favorite companion for road trips. She can cruise all day with minimal fatigue to passenger and is a true under dog amongst competition.

I also faced the Left pulling issue, but post alignment from a local expert and wheel rotation combination, she is driving straight now!

Do keep updating the thread, especially regarding the tyres.

Thanks a lot for all the kind words. The left pulling issue is noticeable only when I try to check if the car is pulling by taking off my hands from the steering wheel. As I have mentioned about the alignment, I prefer to stick to FASS as that is the only reliable option I have.

I shall be replacing the tyres in the next 5k-7k kilometres. I wish to stick with the stock size only because it is perfect for Freestyle. The issue is the availability of good tyres in the stock size. I am thinking to get 195/55R15 but the new Continental Ultra Contact6 is available only in 195/60R15.

I will keep the thread updated with the decision I make.

Originally Posted by su1978

Very rightly and truly mentioned by the fellow members. This is one of the most underrated hatch in India. Only a few who ride it will vouch for the performance that this beast shows despite having such low numbers on sales charts. I believe that this is 100% fault of Ford India. I own Titanium+ petrol 2018 make and it is simply fantastic either highways or in the city. Have done some really long drives in this car and every time she has given me a big smile. Its more like point and shoot. The car goes in the direction you point your hand.

Glad to see how satisfied you are with the ownership. Wishing more happy miles.

Originally Posted by Nikhil Beke

It's a pleasant surprise to read this thread: I am in the final stages of purchasing this very car and help arrives to clear the dilemma, in the form of team-bhp thread!
Have heard a lot of praises of this engine and in general about the legendary Ford engines: here's my dilemma: my monthly run is around 1000-1200 kms(50% city+50% highway), and honestly goes against the conventional wisdom/calculations behind choosing a diesel engine. Would the premium be worth the experience of joys of TDCi, over the dragon petrol?Also, have heard from a few TDCi Ecosport owners that the clutch goes uncomfortably hard over a time- making the travel during stop-and-go city traffic really difficult. How far true is that?

Glad, my report helped you in making your purchase decision. If the budget allows, it should be the TDCi. You can push the dealer for healthy discounts and try to get the TDCi at a price little above the of the 1.2 dragon's. The clutch on my Freestyle is fairly manageable.

Originally Posted by SenPai_GTi

Ford Freestyle is what we expected to give a tough competition to the Fiat Avventura. But now it stands as the segment leader, better than some C-SUV's infact. I loved the interiors from day one itself, they're certainly a segment above.

Looking at the price, I can certainly say that Ford has come a long way over its maintenance cost. My uncle owns a gen1 Figo TDCI and he has shelved out a lot more at 40k km than you. Kudos for maintaining the car so perfectly!!

Thanks, @SenPai_GTi. Maintenance has been fairly economic and easy to date. My Alto K10 was costing almost similar to maintain for the same mileage 5 to 7 years ago.

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

I wonder why this hatch continues to be under-rated! As a former VW Polo owner, there are very few hatches that I would have traded the Polo for back in the day. However, if I were to make the choice now, I would pick the Freestyle over the 'New' Polo any day! The value that this car offers at the price point is simply unreal.

The car + engine combination (1.5 TDCi) reminds me of the old 1.6 Polo. Such tasteful combos are rare to come across especially with the downsizing of engines that is currently going on.

Loved the review and thanks for giving us an excellent read!

Thanks a lot for your kind words. I feel lucky to be able to enjoy one of the few smile plastering torquey diesel as a daily.

Originally Posted by Pkumarblore

Hi,
That's a crisp review of a great car., no doubt. Both the Figo + Freestyle are highly underrated. IMHO they should have been among the market leaders. I myself own a 2017 Figo TDCi Titanium. I love it to its bits for the sheer performance it offers especially on the highways.
I noticed one thing when my colleague bought the BSVI 2020 Ecosport TDCi. I could feel the BSVI TDCi has dropped some power although they are identical on paper with the Figo BS IV TDCi.
Anyways enjoy your ride, probably this is among the last few large displacement 4 pot diesel motors available in the market before they become extinct and make way for the smaller displacement turbo petrol/diesels.
By the way, is there any improvement with the headlight after you switched to OSRAM H4 Night breakers. I need to change mine. The stock headlights are just not good enough for highways.

Thanks a lot for the kind words. I have not driven the BSVI 1.5 TDCi but the power delivery on my BSIV 1.5 TDCi turned linear after I got a PCM update done for a smoke while flooring. The smoke is almost non-existent now.

The OSRAM H4 Night Breakers is a safer upgrade for the headlights and it does increase visibility to an extent. You can have a look at the image I have shared above. Mine is the Night Breaker Unlimited while there is Night Breaker Laser which is better. The visibility is not enough to cruise on the highways at night. So, I am looking forward to upgrading the foglamps with Bi-Xenon projector fog lamps. However, I have kept this upgrade pending as my night driving is very less.

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Wonderful log, and super chuffed to see other users pouring in. @Viraj.515 I was quite keen on the part where you mentioned, flapper motor replacement. Would be helpful if you could explain a bit more as to the cost of that particular and what was the reason for it to be replaced. I see that it was replaced under warranty. My guess is it made a "krrr karrr" kinda sound when the AC knobs were switched to subsequent blower settings?

Cheers!
VJ

Thank Vijay for the kind words. You mentioned the right noise. It makes that noise constantly when the blower is on. I took it to FASS and the SA was aware of this common issue. The service centre had the spare available in stock and replaced the part within 20 minutes approximately. The part was replaced under warranty and the price was between 1000/- to 1500/-, IIRC. You can get this part replaced under goodwill as well because it is amongst the common failing parts.

Originally Posted by bageherath

Nice review! I also own a Freestyle Tit+ Oct 2019 manufactured (white). It is a real fun to drive car under 10L with class leading active and passive saftey. Ford 1.5 D is best in business too.

Thank you for the appreciation. 2019 Freestyle Titanium+ was the best in terms of equipment. A lot has changed with the updated BSVI and SYNC-3 is the biggest missing. Apart from that, the floor/boot mats also require to be purchased as accessories which used to be a factory fitment.

Originally Posted by vDragon3

Wonderful review. I own the same as well and would echo all the points mentioned. In addition, there was no pulling issue when I did wheel balancing and alignment from a nearby tyre dealer. As others pointed out it is one of the most underrated cars for the value it offers. Sync 3 being discontinued is a big loss to the people who got it later.

Thanks for the appreciation man. The left pulling issue on mine is not very evident but it is there. Routine alignment/balancing at FASS takes care of it to a manageable extent.

Ford is notorious for removing features. IMO, 2019 manufactured Freestyle owners have got the best features package for the price.

Originally Posted by viXit

Great review man!

Indian market kinda sucks. Quality VFM cars like these that look and feel so so premium when compared to the competition are just a gift we don't deserve. I don't know why more people aren't buying these up.

It's 2021 for heaven's sake, every car is reasonably reliable!

Congratulations on the purchase, you seem to be having quite the gala time with the car.

A question,

Why is the oil filter cost different from service to service??

Thanks a lot for the kind words, man. I have been enjoying it to the core.

Ford products are impressive but Ford fails to generate initial interest in prospective buyers.

Regarding the pricing of the oil filter, I had noticed the different pricing compared to what Ford Promise website displays. However, I thought it would be due to a change in the vendor. The total bill used to come within an acceptable range so I was okay.

Originally Posted by Amsdoc

Congratulations on your car and an excellent review. I have been mulling long on this car as an upgrade over my Figo. However the Figo continues to serve me well and my driving of it is ridiculously low despite being used really often but for very short distances. It is just about to reach 50000 kms and that is after 11 years of use. I have decided to keep it as a beater car for the city run about.

Glad, you liked the review. 1st-gen Figo is keeper, IMO. The strong build and raw driving dynamics are unparalleled.

Originally Posted by Ragasruoban

Brilliant review! It just says how much you are enjoying the experience with a Ford.

Freestyle is a very practical car for our Indian conditions. I do miss out the Freestyle's ground clearance on my Aspire while encountering tall speed-breakers which sometimes leads to under body scraping on full load. Also, the suspension is softer compared to Aspire which provides better ride comfort to the passengers while traveling on bad roads.



In my Aspire, 100 kmph is achieved at 2300 RPM and what I have heard from fellow Figo/Aspire users, it's around the similar ballpark. Going by the reviews, the gearing on Freestyle is on the shorter side which means for reaching the same speed of 100 kmph, engine should be at higher RPMs which is in contrary to what you have mentioned. Could anyone confirm this fact?

Thanks, man! Ground clearance is an issue on the Figo/Aspire with 14-inch wheels.

Honestly, I do not have clue about that. But my Freestyle achieves 100kmph at ~2000 RPMs.

Originally Posted by samuelv

Hey, thanks for the amazing review. The attention to detail shows how passionate you are about your ride. During the same time of your hunt for a new car, I also was looking to upgrade from my humble Alto K10 and freestyle was the top contender during 80% of my search period. My Alto had completed 1lakh km on the odo and while most of the posts praises the Freestyle, I am one person who would appreciate the performance of the K10 barring the build quality. 7 years and 100k km later it still felt like a new car and served us faithfully. However since we were expecting a baby we decided to upgrade.


We liked the beige colour of the Freestyle and almost booked it. But somehow we decided on buying the Elite i20 Diesel over the freestyle tdci. Some of the reasons for our decision are listed below
1) All black interiors felt claustrophobic
2) No rear arm rest - this was required as we had 3 senior citizens at home. I think there was no front armrest as well in the Freestyle
3) no grab handles for the titanium+ version - again a requirement for the senior citizens
4) 5 speed gearbox vs 6 speed gearbox on the i20
5) missing passive keyless entry / projector headlamp and Cornering function which the i20 had
6) talks of ford and Mahindra teaming up was not something that I was comfortable with in terms of service.
7) Isofix seats - not sure if this is available on the freestyle

If we were able to stretch our budget for EcoSport TDCi titanium + version, we would have stuck to Ford and overlooked some of the above features.

The i20 made it home for the practicality and want of comfort although it cost us a lakh plus extra, while I still wanted the Freestyle for the excellent TDCi motor. Hopefully our next ride is a Ford!

All your points are completely valid. As you mentioned, ISOFIX child seats would be a demand of many prospective buyers who would have dropped the idea of purchasing the Freestyle.

Quality and fit-finish on the Elite i20 are top-notch and Freestyle does not come close. The 1.4 CRDi with slick 6-speed MT is bliss. The issues with the elite i20 I feel are average brakes and lesser engagement while driving. According to your requirements, you made the right choice for sure. I wish you more happy miles with the Elite i20.

Hoping Ford stays in India to provide us with an option to choose a Ford amongst the lot when we are out in the market for a new purchase.

[skanchan95]

Nicely written review! The Figo/Freestyle is a reliable and under-rated car. Wish you many happy & safe miles with it.

Originally Posted by Viraj.515

Interior:
The quality of the buttons on the steering wheel is subpar. The dedicated voice assistant’s button on the steering wheel came off within a year.

In my 2016 Figo Titanium+, the same voice command had popped out in its 3rd year of ownership.




After checking, the SA said one of the internal connecting legs of the button was broken and it will have to be replaced. Why and how it broke from the inside, I had no idea. They replaced the entire audio/telephony steering control panel under warranty. They said normally such damages are not covered under warranty but they did it as goodwill gesture.

What was done in your case?

[Viraj.515]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Nicely written review! The Figo/Freestyle is a reliable and under-rated car. Wish you many happy & safe miles with it.



In my 2016 Figo Titanium+, the same voice command had popped out in its 3rd year of ownership.

What was done in your case?

Thanks skanchan95. Yes, the left connecting leg of the button gave up. The funny thing is I hardly use the voice assistant button. Yet it gave up.

When I asked the SA for the replacement, he told that the part is not available in the stock and he'll have to order. The replacement is pending yet and I've asked him to consider this for goodwill warranty to which he agreed. There are multiple pending issues which includes the voice assistant button, rear parcel tray, engine mount and front struts. Hoping these will be taken care of in the next scheduled service.

[BhaskarG]

Hey Viraj, really liked your ownership review. Thank you!

Actually Freestyle was in my hotlist when I was looking for my 2nd car in 2019. However, there was no automatic on offer, and my 2nd car had to be an automatic. So had to look for other options. This is a great looking car and VFM too. If I am not wrong, it was segment first in safety features. I have been around a lot in an Aspire diesel, but I like Freestyle more.

Wish you many many happy miles in it!

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Viraj.515

I've asked him to consider this for goodwill warranty to which he agreed. There are multiple pending issues which includes the voice assistant button, rear parcel tray, engine mount and front struts. Hoping these will be taken care of in the next scheduled service.

The one thing I really liked about Ford workshops was that they are ready to accommodate such requests. Ford Customer Care does multiple follow-ups on customer complaints which keeps workshops on their toes, which is something very admirable.