Ford India Private Limited, head quartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is currently the 6th largest manufacturer in India. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Currently in India the models available are Ford Endeavour, new Ford Fiesta, Ford Classic (Ford Fiesta Classic), new Ford Figo and the soon to be launched Ford EcoSport. Endeavour is a large sized SUV under the Ford banner, Fiesta and Ford Classic are sedans which have been gaining quite a lot of popularity in India in the mid – price level segment. Coming to the hatchback in the line-up, Ford Figo was originally made available in the year 2010. Around the world it is known as the Ford Fiesta hatchback and in a few countries it is known as the Ikon hatchback sporting slightly different engines. India received a facelifted Ford Figo recently amidst the preparatory celebrations for the festival of lights, Diwali. Figo brought with it a new hope for Ford as it has always been one of the most celebrated cars of the Ford lineup.
Figo is available in both petrol as well as diesel options, all mated to a 5 speed manual transmission . Ford Figo is a renowned hatch in the Indian auto segment and standing as a proof to the same are about 20 Indian auto industry awards which it has in its kitty. In the year 2011, Ford Figo alsowon the Indian car of the year by a panel of leading automotive magazine editors. Now with the increasing competition and tougher situations with competitors like Maruti Swift and the likes, Ford launched the updated version of Ford Figo. There are changes made to the exteriors and interiors whereas the powertrains are the same with slight tweaks. The exteriors get redesigned headlamps and tail lamps, new hexagonal grille along with new fog lamp housings and eight spoke alloy wheels. Two new colors, bright yellow and kinetic blue, have been added to the line-up to add to the appeal of the car. On the inside there is additional damping which has resulted to making the cabin quieter in comparison to the older one along with new audio controls which are mounted on steering column along with blue seat fabric along with a ‘Riviera Blue’ instrument panel. There is also an optional black interior colour for those who prefer a down-tone. The engine however, has not been changed in the facelift. The powertrains of the 2012 Ford Figo is the same 1.4-litre Duratorq diesel and 1.2-litre Duratec petrol engine, although tweaks have been made so as to make the low and mid-range calibrations even more responsive.
New facelifted Ford Figo petrol delivers a mileage of 12.3kmpl in the city and 15.6kmpl on highways which is extremely competitive. In fact it is one of the major factors which gives Figo an edge in this highly competitive market. With cars like Maruti Swift, Nissan Micra, Hyundai i20, Toyota Etios Liva and the likes, Ford Figo has a lot to live up to. Out of this line – up Maruti stands at the number one position in the passenger car market and Hyundai at the second, this makes things tougher for Ford Figo.
15 October,2012 : Ford India has finally released the refreshed version of its hatch Figo with a price tag of Rs.3.85 lakh for base petrol variant and Rs. 4.82 lakh for the base diesel variant (both prices ex-showroom New Delhi) which is exactly the same as before. Ford claims to have introduced 100 changes with 10 styling introductions without charging a penny more from the consumers. Although the American Auto major has not tweaked the powertrain and the engine specifications remain to be same as before. Ford Figo hatch which changed the American auto manufacturers fortune in India,celebrated its second birthday this year and has finally been overhauled to emerge as the 2012 version.2012 Ford Figo boasts of features like refreshed headlamps, steering mounted audio controls, newfangled tail lamps, freshly introduced alloy wheels, refreshed front bumper and new fabric upholstery. Apart from these Ford has also introduced two new colurs-Kinetic Blue (taken from the Fiesta) and Bright Yellow. Also the sporty red dashboard plastic colour has been replaced by cool navy blue.
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