Ford have brought us the latest hot hatch in the form of the new Figo, and, on paper, it looks quite tasty indeed. Will it live up to expectation when put to the sword? Car India does just that in order to find out
Story: Harket Suchde
Images: Sanjay Raikar
Hot-hatches have fascinated me ever since I first understood the concept. Small, light, nimble hatchbacks with a meaty powermill under the hood — what’s not to like? And of late India has seen a spate of hot hatches, what with FIAT’s three new Abarth models entering the fray to join Volkswagen’s Polo GT. The latest in this sparkling segment is Ford’s Figo — particularly the one we drove, which was the petrol auto-variant sporting a 112-PS, 1.5-litre plant and a six-speed dual-clutch ’box.
In terms of aesthetics, the Figo draws is akin to the Aspire on which it is based. The front grille, of course, is Straight Outta Aston Martin, as with all newer Ford cars, and those swept-back headlights flanking it make the front end even more distinctive. Look at the car side-on, and the size of those tyres wrapped around 14-inch alloys sticks out like a sore thumb. While the alloys are pretty, it appears as if the Figo is wearing shoes that are one size too small. Stand behind the car, and you might be left wanting, because all that style from up-front hasn’t tapered down to the rear.
Get inside the cabin, and you’re hit with 50 shades of grey. No, seriously, it’s all shades of the greyscale in there — from the shiny silver highlights on the centre console to the dark grey seats, and the black dash. I, for one, like it.
The interior of the Figo looks like it means business, no boring beige, plus you can get away with a less frequent seat-cleaning cycle too. You’ll also find a plethora of little holders and cubby-holes to stow away all the stuff in your pockets with ease, although a few of them could do with a little more depth. The fit-and-finish is of a high standard, too, which is nice to see. And then there’s the kit. The Sync and Applink ready infotainment is very decent, the door-locking mechanism is as snazzy and clever as ever, and then there’s the MyFord Dock.
The storage unit at the top of the dash contains both the USB port and the AUX in, and it’s easy to see why. The MyFord Dock is a clever bit of kit that allows you to mount your smartphone (or iPod) at the lip of this unit, with the lid folding down and securing it in place. This allows you to use your phone as the command centre — you can play music, answer calls, charge it right there, and even navigate, and it saved Ford the expenditure of having to include a touchscreen SatNav system.
