Space-wise, there’s decent legroom both in the front and at the back, but the seats are narrow and cause a little discomfort over long stretches in the front, and you realistically can’t fit three people comfortably in the back. The boot space has been scaled back to 257 litres to improve that legroom, but is still adequate, and the fact that the boot-lid opens up to such a degree means putting in and taking out luggage is pretty comfortable and won’t involve any awkward hunching.
Fire the Figo up and the first thing you’ll notice is the sheer auditory pleasure from that melodic 1.5-litre four-pot. The acceleration, however, doesn’t quite match up. We got 12.6 seconds to a 100 km/h, a hot hatch that isn’t, to contextualise the words of the immortal Paul Walker, “a ten-second car” is a tad underwhelming. And this is down to that dual-clutch transmission system which is a little sluggish to shift up. Even in Sport mode when the shifts are input manually, the fact that you have to use the lever mounted button control, which is basically a small + and – at the top of the gear-lever, makes the process that much more complicated. Add to this the fact that the maximum torque created by the naturally aspirated 1.5-litre engine peaks at 136 Nm means the Figo isn’t quite enough to provide the kind of acceleration to match up to its closest competitor in the Polo GT TSI which is over two seconds quicker on the 0-100 km/h sprint.
Handling-wise the car is nimble and darts about with ease, whether you’re taking a sweeping curve on the highway or a sharp turn into an alley on the city’s back roads. The steering weighs up nicely as you speed up, and communicates well enough too. The ride quality is supple until you hit the very upper reaches of the car’s speed limit, when things begin to get decidedly shaky and you feel every little undulation on even the smoothest surface; although, to be fair, rare will be the moment that you actually do those speeds, and even then not for more than a few seconds at a stretch, so it isn’t that much of a problem really. Brakes are sharp and responsive, meaning this car has a fun element to it when you’re behind the wheel, and add to it the fact that the variant we drove is kitted up with ABS and EBD, so there’s really nothing to complain about in that respect. Safety-wise, this variant comes equipped with six airbags as well.
Priced at about Rs 7.2 lakh (OTR, Pune), this car isn’t the go-to option if an out-and-out hot-hatch is all you desire. But if you do want a hatchback that is practical, enjoyable to drive, and packs a little bit of a punch, then the Figo just might be the ticket. Add to this the fact that it covers 10.5 km in a litre means the economies of it all won’t be too damaging on the pocket either.
