The engine’s mileage sits somewhere around 11-13 on city roads while it goes to 14 on the highway.
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Life is short. It’s messy. It’s unforgiving. It’s rewarding. Karma is a funny creature and whatnot. Here’s a quick review that I penned about our family’s Gromit. A 2014 Ford Figo (1.2P, Titanium). It’s been a decade of ownership. One that’s seen the car grow with us and one could say that we under-utilised the car. But the way it unlocked how much we could go around was immense. Here’s something that I wrote for your reading. Have fun
Pros: –
- Driving dynamics
- Built Ford Tough.
- The artic cooling tier Aircons
- 1.2 NA is smooth, even after 10 years.
Cons: –
- Rear windows go halfway down
- Cabin noise is unusually high
- 1.2 NA has lack of pull after a certain rev-range
- Ford India’s exit.
Why the name?
I love cartoons. Animated movies and shows make me unreasonably happy. One of my favorite characters as a child was Gromit from Wallace and Gromit. The clay-animation style reminded me of another show, Shaun the Sheep (both made by Aardman Animations no less) and when we bought Gromit initially, I didn’t name it. But as I grew older, it seemingly reminded me a lot about Gromit. Loyal, ready to take on anything and sensible. Just like Gromit.
Here’s a pic of Wallace and Gromit for reference’s sake
How did it happen? (Context)
We needed a car. Full stop. The family was fed up on relying taxi and tourist services to go places so we decided we needed a car. So…how did we go about this decision? This was 2014. Almost everyone and their nan had a Swift. The next hottest thing we had was the Grand i10 which was just released. Mother dearest was insistent on a small car because it would mean “everyone can drive”. So, the list went: –
City->Swift->Xcent->Grand i10->Micra->Etios Liva->Figo.
Budget? 5.5 lakhs.
Goldilocks….goldilocks….(retrospective on first car)
Honda City:
City was the first choice that we had. But this was in 2014. And our parents had just gotten their license. And finances were too tight to suggest something as outrageous as a City.
Suzuki Swift:
Honestly, my father didn’t like the Swift for one reason. Commonality. He needed a car that was a statement in a way. Where is the joy in blending? Plus, the driving experience felt lifeless at best which I didn’t like. So off it went.
Hyundai Grand i10:
We were dealt a bad hand by Hyundai because we literally showed up when their local network in Salem was getting a revamp. I do not know how many Salemites exist on this forum but long-term city residents would remember Ramani Hyundai. They literally shut shop sometime in 2013-14. So, Golden Hyundai was the sole dealing hand in Salem for Hyundai and they had an air of arrogance with them right from day one. I was there for the Test Drive. The SA assigned to us was nice but was a bit aggressive in the sense that he wanted to secure a sale. And that unsettled parents dearest so off went Hyundai from the list.
Nissan Micra:
The Micra was literally a “what if” because the car mechanically was good. But size was at a premium. And this was very evident when I got smashed in with the sales executive next to me, in the rear. So Nissan went away.
Toyota Etios Liva:
Our family friend had one. It was objectively too little car for what we wanted. The interiors looked so bare and empty. Backseat was so-so and the mechanics suffered from the same fate as the Swift. Appliance-tier. Where is the personality?
Ford Figo: –
Ford was an outlier in the sense that we never considered the Figo initially. “Too expensive for us no?” was the perception. And it all shattered when we (more precisely, parents dearest) went to the showroom. It was in a corner exit of the Kandhampatty highway stretch. After getting disappointed at Nissan, we went to the Ford showroom. And it was a straightforward and special experience from the first meet to the delivery day and beyond.
Rockcity Ford (RIP to them and the Susee group) was the dealer. And the TD sold both my parents on the Figo Petrol (I know this forum loved the Diesel mill but for a first time buyer, that Petrol 1.2 was such a gem.) and the Titanium model fit our price needs and we booked one, scheduled for delivery on June 2014. Price? 5.18 Lakhs.
…..happily ever after! (delivery day experience for first car)
I remember the delivery day. My father remembers the PDI day more. It was yet another school day and I come home to find a more exciting air around the family. I was told to dress up. So I did. And the SA (his name was Rajesh and the last I checked on him in 2019, he’s at Nexa) showed up promptly in an Ecosport and it was exciting. While the family and aforementioned associate to family were getting sorted on paperwork and accessory installation, I remember almost touring the showroom. They had a Global Fiesta on display and the Ecosport of course (my father kept ridiculing me to this day saying that the SA asked father dearest to keep an eye on me) and I remember that we were the last car to be delivered that day. It was almost sunset. I vividly remember standing outside the showroom and staring at the tall Ford signage and telling the SA about my tales on how I played with Ford Hot-Wheels cars and whatnot. It was a special experience. And one that I will always regret for not documenting properly.
What does it look like?
The Figo follows Ford’s New Age styling design cues from the ealy to mid 2000’s. It reminds me a lot of the Fiesta rally cars that used to compete in the WRC’s Super 2000 class.
It’s a pretty special car to me. For me, this is when I started growing a keener eye for Ford cars because they looked European in design but still stayed Indian in their approach for their India-spec cars. The car’s colored in the factory named Sea Gray (family’s reasoning for that color is because they saw an Innova in the same shade and fell in love with it) and it may look dull but it does accentuate the car’s fine lines well when kept under the sun.
What does it ship with?
I forgot what the feature-list looked like till I had to look it up for this long-term report. But here’s a rough list on what is available with the Titanium version of the Figo: –
- A 4-din Audio Infotainment system with MP3, FM, Bluetooth, Aux
- A 4 speaker system that’s played everything from Ilayaraaja to Kanye West awfully well.
- Call connectivity offering Phonebook access and attending calls and streaming them live.
- Power windows up front, manual rollers out back
- DTE meter and Door open alert
- Rake adjustable steering column
How safe is it?
Ford’s always had safety as priority in it’s cars. They made solid built cars, that took Indian conditions well. Here’s a quick list on what the Figo’s Titanium tier shipped with:-
- Central locking that gets enabled after crossing 8km/hr
- Keyless entry.
- ABS with EBD (was key influencer in decisions)
- Dual airbags, for driver and co-passenger
- Fog Lamps in the front
- Immobiliser built in
What’s your use case? (General driving patterns)
Our family were initially low-mile drivers. Most roads in Salem can be tackled on a two-wheeler unless you’re ferrying more than one person. And there were the 6-7 yearly trips to the farmhouse on the outskirts of Dharmapuri, 80km up and down. With my sister’s admission at a medical college near Gromit’s birthplace in Chengalpattu, the trip mileage became higher with 490km back to back. And then I ended up in Bengaluru. Driving distance? 366km back to back. Otherwise, our driving patterns and need is not as extensive as others. That would also explain why in 10 years we have only clocked 39,852km.
How good is the running gear?
The engine is a 1.2L Petrol unit. The engine’s FE sits somewhere around 11-13 on city roads while it goes to 14 on the highway. The engine’s low-down grunt is impressive. For the most part, you can just drive by releasing the clutch and mildly applying throttle. It’s got 70HP and 102NM of torque. And it shows ever so slightly in the way it starts straining after 3500-4000RPM. The engine’s noise note is a bit like the 2nd alto in an Acapella group. Impressive bass note but it starts getting more stretched as the vocal chords of the engine go high. It’s not unusable but it does face that struggle.
Mated to this gearbox is a 5 speed manual. Ford never sold an Automatic with the 1st gen Figo. And it’s a fine unit, comes close to the Japanese on the fronts of clutch lightness and gearshifts. Reverse is a mild hassle at times when it doesn’t slot in right but it works as intended.
How does it drive?(General notes on driving and handling)
The car has a Independent McPherson strut suspension up front while the rear sits on semi-independent Twist Beam. Steering’s hinged on a Hydraulic Power Unit. The best way to explain the Figo’s driving dynamics is by illustrating it with an anecdote. On the highway stretch between Hosur and Bengaluru, there was a S-corner, for slowing down. I remember our family driver not noticing it initially. And we basically had a moose test. At 60km/hr. The car turned with almost zero body roll. I’m not kidding. The car’s left and right corners ducked slightly and it didn’t even lose momentum in the slightest. The car’s handling experience has been impressive and it’s clear that Ford’s put in effort to provide the driver with maximum response to the wheel and it shows. It’s an impressive city and canyons car in that sense.
What’s the owner experience like?
In the initial years of ownership, it was awesome. Since the car’s driving usage was so low-mile, it was often the cleanest car in the showroom’s service bay, with regards to kilometres consumed. Shoutout to Rockcity Ford and the Susee group. Till they shut shop in Salem sometime in 2018-19, they’ve been an excellent showroom. Service was done promptly and the service bill came up to some 4-5K at best.
After Rockcity went out of business, Golden Ford picked up the slack (PS:- I don’t know if this outlet is related to Golden Hyundai) and they continued what we had to say about Rockcity. Hassle free experience for the most part. But it could have been better, especially with regards to quality consistency. Often, faults would rear up without any explanation. One such error was the Air conditioning. Why is it that the air conditioning system kept going flat 10 minutes into the drive? Turns out there was a piece of foam from the system that got lodged out the way for it to pick it up and restrict airflow seriously. This issue required us to go to the showroom multiple times. And then Ford just announced that they are leaving in late 2021 and left us with the place we currently service our car at. Springfield Ford. And they do a more-than-acceptable service job for a brand that’s not selling in India. And the service costs have ballooned up to 8-9k per service. And that’s concerning.
So, what next?
If things fall in place, Gromit would be relegated to training duties. I’ve had the privilege of almost inheriting this car. And it will be mine when our family upgrade from Gromit. And I intend on taking it around South India on a road trip if all things fall in place. If not, city and backroad usage it is. But I know it will serve me well as long as it physically can. I have some hygeine level updates in mind such as a tyre and suspension overhaul. Overall, it’s a clean package of a car and for that, I salute Ford India. We’re all waiting for you. Make your move.
Thank you.
Attached below are some pictures: –
-Key of Gromit, standard issue for Budget Ford cars at the time. Has remote locking and boot unlocker.
-Invoice of the car’s sale. Rest easy, Rockcity Ford.
-Frontend view of Gromit. Follows the lines emblematic of global Fords of the 2000’s.
-Backend shot of the Figo. It’s very reminiscent of the Gen 5 Fiesta.
-Side shot of the Figo. It’s a looker, despite the dull shade.
-“The other side”. The car’s silhouette is unmissable and simple at the same time.
-The Interior of the car as seen here. The plastics are colored a subtle shade of Navy.
-39,852km of happiness. They’re colored a fine shade of red, for visibility.
-The infotainment system and centre console. On closer sight, it looks like a smiley face. Very welcoming.
284L boot. Class defining for the time. Can accomodate 2 cardboard boxes of supplies and soft luggage, easy.
1.2L petrol DuraTec engine. Pure fun. Can get a bit strained, like a vocalist.
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