50,000 km in a Ford Freestyle 1.5 TDCi Titanium+

Our primary requirement was safety with good road manners followed by reliability, fuel economy and some utility features.

BHPian Viraj.515 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am writing this ownership experience 20 months after the purchase. I always wanted to create the ownership thread and update it timely. However, I could not perceive enough motivation to make it happen. But, reaching the 50,000 kilometres milestone pushed the long-due desire to make it a reality.

So, I kindly request you to buckle up and enjoy the story of this journey so far with me.

Prologue

Why a new car?

Our 8 years young humble Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 was performing the expected duty by satisfying standards. She had clocked 1,28,XXX kilometres on the odometer when we decided to get a new car. She has been religiously maintained at MASS and the only breakdown it has faced was due to the dead battery. I learnt to drive on this very car when I turned 18 and I have a special bond with her. K10 is still with us and today as well I enjoy driving her.

In March 2019, we decided to get a new car because our commute on the highways had increased by a considerable margin. Moreover, the upgrade was equally essential.

Lovely memories with this car!

Which car?

My father is a very sedate driver who keeps in mind the calculations of any unexpected errors by fellow road users and follows his own set of defensive driving tactics. Our primary requirement was safety with good road manners followed by reliability, fuel economy and some utility features. Additionally, I needed more power but I never disclosed my need before purchasing.

Considering our monthly usage, a diesel car suited the best. The budget was set to ~8 lakh OTR.

Options considered

We had only a few options fulfilling our needs within our preset budget.

1. Ford Figo S TDCi:

I was leaning towards Ford because of its sturdy build and impressive driving dynamics. I liked Figo S very much. Upon inquiring I found that the dealer in our town had a March 2018 manufactured Figo S TDCi in silver colour in the stockyard. I checked the car and started negotiations. The dealer quoted ~8.25 lakh OTR and offered a 1.25 lakh discount. I asked for a further discount but the dealer didn't agree with my price. My father was not convinced to purchase a 1-year-old car. Also, the price dealer was asking did not make sense as the new Figo Titanium diesel was costing only a couple of extra thousands. So, I had to let the Figo S go with disappointment.

2. Volkswagen Polo Highline+ TDi:

Polo had been on our priority list from the beginning and it was almost finalised. My father and I loved the Polo in every way except space. After all discounts, the Polo Highline+ TDi was costing around 9.52 lakh OTR. Due to the lesser space, expensive upkeep cost with the fear of reliability, we had to let the Polo go with heavy hearts. Respect for you, Polo.

3. Ford Freestyle Titanium+ TDCi:

I had taken a test drive of Freestyle when it was launched in 2018. I thoroughly enjoyed driving it. It offered a great balance of being quick, dynamic and comfortable at the same time. Before the test drive, my father was concerned about the heavy clutch and notchy gearbox. He had driven my cousin's 2016 Figo TDCi and complained about the nature of the clutch and gearbox. But after the test drive, he was satisfied with the improvement. We felt the Freestyle was an amazing package which checked all the marks of our needs with very sensible pricing. Hence, decided to go further.

Booking and delivery experience

In my town, there is a single Ford dealership which happens to be a sub-branch of a dealer in Surat, Gujarat. I was quoted 9.25 lakh OTR for the Ford Freestyle Titanium+ TDCi. The negotiation process did not go well with the dealer in Navsari so I contacted another dealer in Surat named Surat Ford. The sales executive was willing to sell the car with all my conditions. I told him that I needed a factory-fresh vehicle to which he agreed. He informed me that he would place the order after the booking and the car would take two weeks to reach the dealership which was fine to me. Moreover, I asked for additional add ons in the insurance coverage to which he agreed. With all my conditions at my asking price, the dealer agreed. Hence, we promptly made the booking. The sales executive kept me updated with the status. He sent me the VIN number as soon as he was allotted the car by Ford India. I quickly checked the VIN on ETIS and found it to be manufactured 11 days back. I was genuinely happy. The dealer received the car in a week and I went for the PDI. Checked the car thoroughly and found it perfect. The payment process was done the next day.

On-road price

OTR Price - INR. 8.70 lakh (Including discounts)

Freebies - 3rd & 4th year extended warranty, rear roof spoiler

On 2nd September 2019, Ganesh Chaturthi, we drove her home.

Ford Freestyle 1.5 TDCi Titanium+ : Ownership Report

While writing this review, the car has clocked 50,000 kilometres. I will be focusing on my observation over the period of ownership.

Credit for the images goes to my sister who is an avid Team-BHP reader. She has been my companion whenever I am working around the car and she enjoys knowing about it. Kindly bear with me for imperfect images which were captured before without any intentions to use them on the thread.

What I loved

• Decent build and with excellent safety package for the price. Good brakes with well-calibrated ABS and EBD, ARP, six airbags inspire confidence
• The 1.5 TDCi is a gem
• The perfect balance between ride quality and stability. It can glide on the bad roads as well as take care of quick lane changes
• 190mm ground clearance helps to glide without worrying
• Best EPS setup in the segment. The raw hydraulic feel is certainly missing when you are driving on the edge but the connection is excellent with the ease of manoeuvring at slow city speeds and tight parking spaces
• Excellent fuel economy with 1000 kilometres of range in a tankful
• Flawless and feature-loaded SYNC-3 infotainment system delivers great sound quality
• Spot on Bluetooth microphone and FM reception
• Sensible utility features such as MyKey, speed sensing media volume, auto-dimming IRVM, auto headlight/wipers etc.
• Equipped with most of the necessary stuff from the factory itself. 3D cabin/ boot mat, scuff plates

What I disliked

• Does not meet the same Ford Standards in terms of build
• Very small ORVMs
• Pulls to the left from day 1
• Barely average headlights
• Average interior plastic quality
• Remote keyless entry with push-button start does not make much sense
• Ford India should have given front armrest and cruise control at least in the Titanium+ variant considering its cruising capabilities

Exterior

I love the classy look of European cars. However, I have started appreciating the way Freestyle looks.

- Bonnet has strong lines initiating from the A-pillar submerging into the front bumper. The strong character line starting from the front fender extends to the taillamps which saves the side profile of the car from appearing boring. The B-pillar is blackened and I wish I could get the windows tinted in black. I was thinking of getting rid of those side stickers as well but it is still there and I have not given more thought to it.

- Headlamps are basic H4 reflector design and it does just an average job on highways. Headlamps do get a black treatment which enhances the appearance.

- Tweaked front and rear bumper design from the Figo’s with silver skid plates help the Freestyle to look refreshed.

- Roof rails are functional and can carry a weight of up to 50 kilograms. Ford offers crossbars as an accessory.

- I do not like chrome elements much and thankfully Freestyle is free from it. Ford treated it with the blacks.

- The design of the 15-inch alloy wheels with gunmetal shade looks perfect to my eyes. 185/60 R15 Goodyear Assurance Triplemax tyres from the factory are liveable. There is nothing impressive about this tyre but it does the job it is intended to do. In my late-night thoughts after booking the car, I had planned to swap the tyres with a more grippy and less noisy option after taking the delivery but later I decided to live with it and replace them once the factory fitted have worn out. Now, I have started the hunt for the new tyres because the factory fitted have ~ 5k to 7k kilometres of life left.

- I opted for the rear roof spoiler. It was a ford genuine accessory.

Miscellaneous observations

- Parking sensors are placed well and it hardly fails to give the indication of any objects.

- Rear wiper is a boon in monsoons and works flawlessly. If the wipers are engaged in the auto position, the rear wiper wipes the windshield once when the reverse gear is engaged.

- The rearview camera is located just above the number plate and it remains dirty most of the time in monsoons.

- Keyfob looks impressive. The brushed aluminium portion makes it look classy. The ‘Open boot’ option on the keyfob has helped a lot. However, the absence of passive keyless entry does not help the significance of the push-button start.

Continue reading the ownership experience and Viraj.515's thoughts on his Freestyle TDCi. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.