Ford Figo Aspire - The 'First-in-class' Car

In our previous post, we talked about how the ford struggle in India had been and how the company had started clawing back the reputation it has always recieved and deserved in the international market, within our market. The company is targeting to launch a stray of world class products in every popular segment, right from the new Figo Aspire to the all new Ford Endeavour. This shows Ford has finally started taking Indian customers very seriously indeed. The demands of the customers are being met with good quality products, though such demands are only being fulfilled via radical steps like shutting down the manufacturing of the Figo hatchback, Ford Classic and even the iconic Fiesta. Though on a positive front,this will likely mean that there will be less potential waiting periods for the Aspire sedan and a further reduction in the waiting period for the Ecosport. Sounds pretty good, let's hope that's actually the case. Moving on.

The Figo Aspire

With the Aspire sedan, ford has entered a segment which is loved by the practicals and mostly hated & looked down upon by the purists, The Compact Sedan segment. Reason is simple, the CS segment is an India specific one and started it's life with the Tata Indigo CS, a rather popular choice, even more so for the taxi operators. It provided the excise benefit by being a sub 4 metre body subsequently exploiting a loop hole in the regulations and at the same time managing to provide just about decent space to carry 4 passengers and their luggage, but, the result was nowhere near aesthetically pleasing, far from it in fact. But ours is a country dominated by practicality and hence the cause of huge success the segment has seen in the last few years. In came the Swift Dzire, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent to get their respective pieces of this huge pie. All apparently being good success for their respective manufacturers.

But they all have one common denominator. They all have the hatred of the purists, the automobile enthusiast to be specific. Reason being, most of them look disproportionate, cartoonish and saying that they are bad handlers would be the understatement of the century. Build quality suffers vastly because of the huge cost cutting such models go through to price them 'better' for the customers, conveniently ignoring the safety of the same customers in the process. It's not even disgusting but just downright saddening to see how the value of a human life compares to monthly company sales figures.

But, then there's Ford...

Ford has always been associated with solid build quality, safety, excellent driving dynamics and steering feedback and... Being costly in its segment. Relatively, that is.

Forget the last bit with the Figo Aspire. Ford has decided to do the unthinkable and has managed to pull it off with a beauty. The Aspire speaks of good build quality and provides excellent safety and comfort and most importantly, superb performance and mileage all in the same package and that too, all under 4 metres and it is priced very competitively between 6 lakhs to 9.5 lakhs on-road.

The most noticeable aspect of this car when one first sees it is that it is definitely a looker especially speaking of the segment it is in and of it rivals. The boot looks well integrated and not like a last minute job executed in haste, which sadly is the case with most of the cars in this segment. Speaking of which, let's talk about the..

EXTERIORS

First things first. This is the most proportionate and good looking car in this segment. It does not look or feel awkward. The car has good, strong flowing lines along the bonnet and the enitre body which give it a strong and clean road presence. 

The build quality is as per Ford norms and is probably the best in this segment. Ford has always been known to build solid well rugged cars and the Aspire is no different. The doors close with a reassuring sound and overall one feels quite safe inside. To put it this way, you actually feel you are sitting inside a car and not in a tin can with wheels.

Ford has given this the car its similar and now famous 'aston martin' front grill which does not look like as if it has been forced onto the car infact the grill very neatly merges with the front design and manages to look classy as well. Though the amount of chrome used could have been reduced a bit and a matte finish would have probably accentuated the look further but then to each his own as chrome or less chrome is a subjective matter.

The headlamps are swept back into the body as is the current trend and look quite nicely integrated as well. But one potential drawback maybe that since the design of the headlamps is such that they slightly protude beyond the front bumper, they may, in some unfortunate circumstances, end up being victims of scratches in heavy, rash traffic.

The bonnet has stong muscular creases which assure the car does not look too bland but niether too immature at the same time. The added benefit is that the car is aerodynamically very efficient and creates less drag through the air which results in very good fuel efficiency and mileage figures.

The convenient size of the car allows for far better traffic handling and manevouring and ensures that the drive is less tiring irrespective of the traffic conditions.

One distinguishing factor about this car is its side profile. Unlike most of its segment competitors, it has a very nicely balanced side profile. It does not reflect as if it has been done in haste or enough thinking hasn't gone in it. It's meticulously balanced which is quite difficult to achieve in this segment.

The alloys provided by ford look fine but they could have definitely went with a slightly aggressive design so as to be in consonance with the rest of the car. It would have helped maintain the flowing nature of the looks of the car. Even then, they definitely are good enough quality wise.

Decent boot space for a car of this size. 

Picture source : TeamBHP

INTERIORS 

The first thing which one notices when entering the cabin is the neat yet slightly sporty design layout of the dashboard. Every contour nicely flows into one another so much so that even the placement of Air Con vents looks and feels natural. The cabin feels airy and spacious also probably because of the usage of biege colour scheme and smart space management done by Ford.

The piano black glossy finish looks classy and gives it a premium car feel. The plastic quality of the dash and knobs is also top notch and shows minimal signs of cost cutting. It is definitely a cut above all its competitors. The centre console gets Ford's MID display which can be used to access various key features and setttings of the vehicle, some of them being - 

SYNC with Applink

This is a registered voice activated Ford feature which allows the user to pair his/her phone to the ICE system and seemlessly call people or listen to music. But, the real feature is that in case if an emergency, SYNC's Emergency Assistance will use the paired phone to automatically call emergency services and also provide them with your phone's GPS location.  VERY handy especially considering how people in our country sometimes have travel to remote locations at late hours as well. smarrt thinking.

Ford MyKey

With this, the user gets two keys one of which is the Master Key. The user can plug in the Master key and set speed warnings, activate a seat belt reminder and even limit the vehicle's top speed using the centre MID. A feature which can prove quite useful when one has to give his/her car to someone yet maintain a certain amount of peace of mind. The speed limiter and other feautures can only be accessed and changed when the master key is inserted so there is no threat from even tech savvy kids/people.  

Leather Seats

Yes. Leather seats. Not leatherette. Geniune leather seats is what you get with the top of the line Titanium+ trim, something which is a segment first, in-fact, even most of the cars above this segment do not offer genuine leather seats. A good addition by Ford.

This is the exact driver's eye view one would get from the seat. This is for 6ft 1 inch frame so it may vary a bit from person to person. Overall, good visibility of the front with the dash not being too highly placed.

The piano black finish on the door panels feels nice and not overly done.

plastic quality is a good level above what you get in this segment.

The Air Con vents have a nice chrome ring surround to them which looks subtle yet nicely executed. Overall, such nice small little touches are what reflects on the work gone into the car.

Steering wheel mounted controls should have probably been on the right hand side considering how most of the time the left hand is busy with the gear lever. Defeats the purpose of providing such a feature to an extent, nevertheless a good addition with nice finish.

Rear Leg Space 

Probably the most important aspect of the car. It was a positive shocker as to how much decent leg space the car has. In the picture, the front seats have been adjusted to very leisurely allow a 6ft 1 inch frame to sit in the driver's seat without knees touching the dashboard, even then the rear seats had enough space to provide good space and comfort to a passenger of 6ft frame, which is, in itself, a huge complement as this compact sedan manages to make an oxymoron of the CS category. Well done Ford. 

The glove box compartment was a bit of a disappointment. There isnt really a lot of space in there. Just enough to carry some paper work and small itsy bitsy items. A bit more practical space would have really been of some use. 

The hieght adjustable seat belts are a really great and much needed addition. With the varying body type and structures our country has, it gets really important that the seat belts are positioned correctly in order for them to work correctly and as intented. Safety quotient of this nifty feature is good as a correctly placed seat belt can certainly be a deciding factor as to one lives or not in an unfortunate situation.

The meshed chrome surround on the Automatic Climate Control dials feel quite good and not at all flimsy. Overall, the quality of material used by Ford seems good and built to last.

The headlight control knob with headlight leveler function. Looks classy.

The long centre tray provides for additional storage space, something which is quite a handy addition. Enough storage space for 9 bottles. 

Picture Source : TeamBHP

The Petrol Automatic gets Automatic Box with a nice grippy gear lever. Gives a premium feel the moment you grip it. 

The  +/- shifter switch is also positioned strategically and can be easily operated using your index finger and thumb.

The instrument cluster and dials feel a bit small proportion wise and take some time getting used to but  provide clear unfettered display of information. There is a gear shift indicator to provide ideal RPMs to shift, promoting fuel efficiency. 

PERFORMANCE AND DRIVING DYNAMICS

Fords have traditionally been known to be good performers. The steering feedback and drivng dynamics have always been tuned perfectly in order to provide the best performance. The Figo Aspire is no different. Infact, it is only better.

In our tests, the Aspire performed wonderfully. We tested the 1.5 litre diesel, the same as the one doing duty in the Fiesta and Ecosport only tuned for 100PS of power and 215 NM of Torque and combine that with a body weight of 1023 kg - 1048 kg(diesel) what one gets is an absolutely mind boggling and extremely nimble performer.

The Aspire is a real sprinter with that power to weight ratio 1:10 ( bhp/ kilogram).

0-100 kmph takes all but 9.5 seconds. 

And this is when we didnt push to the extreme, we did a very normal start with no wheelspin, more like a start which one would make in normal stop and go traffic. 

For reference, the Skoda Rapid  takes 11.2 seconds to reach the 100 kmph mark. 

The Swift Dzire takes 12.8 seconds to hit the 100 kmph mark and the Honda Amaze takes 13.3 seconds for the 100. Aspire is atleast 4.5 to 5 seconds faster than any car in its segment and that amount of gap is a lifetime in performance terms.

One key differentiator in the Aspire is that there is virtually no turbo lag at all. The turbo kicks in as low as 1200 RPM and hence there is not even a slight lag in terms of the power delivery by the engine. This makes overtaking in the traffic or out on the highway, literally, a child's play as one is served with instantaneous power on the application of throttle. 

Infact, under hard acceleration, we were treated to wheelspins in 3rd gear! Now that is really saying something.

But, as someone once said, with great power comes great responsibilty and so Ford has equipped this car with good brakes as well. 100-0 kmph brake test gave out figures of 4.8-5.3 seconds under mildly hard application of brakes. Under an emergency braking scenario that number comes down to 4 seconds with the ABS and EBD working in tandom. The link for the video of the above test is here :

Acceleration

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Smph

110 kmph - 0 Brake Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AebGbDAYNLg

Steering Unit

The Electronic Power Assisted Steering with Pull Drift Compensation Technology is a real delight for a lay man who's looking for everyday driving in this car. The PDCT technology detects bad roads or strong winds and draws power from the battery rather than the engine(thereby saving fuel) and helps with automatic steering inputs to counter the drift thereby helping the driver in controlling the vehicle without him even realising it. The steering is lightly weighed at normal speeds and weighs up at higher speeds in the most electronnically possible 'natural' way. It may not be as good as the iconic Ford hydraulic units of the past but it still is very precise and still manages to give a good amount of road feedback. The dead zone is minimal and it definitely does not feel like a playstation or gaming wheel with inconsistent computer involvment. This is one of the most 'hydraulic feeling' electronic unit one will come across and Ford has really tuned it well to perform in traffic and on highway as well.

Body Roll

Body roll is very minimal although a petrol head might notice just a touch bit of it when pushing this car to its limits in the corners like we did. The reason is the car has just a tad bit softer springs than what ford traditionally gives which though does give a good ride in the city amidst all the speedbreakers and pot holes, but it does make the car a bit more susceptible to body roll, although not much. The car is still very much well behaved and pliant through the corners.

One can actually take bends at serious speeds and not worry too much about the rear end stepping out on him/her. We conducted such a test on an empty piece of road and the results were quite satisfactory. Here is the link : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muIebsZLaoo

In unfortunate situations where the car loses control due to any external or internal factors, all it needs is a driver which does not panic, the rest car has an inherent nature to regain control so even a marginally sensible driver would be able to cope with such an situation. 

Overall, the car is definitely the benchmark for handling and performance in this segment and will be loved by the enthusiats for the sheer driving pleasure it provides.

Tires

The stock tires are a bit small in proportion to the wheel arches and that shows in the performance of the car as well. Even though nothing substantial, it still feels as if the car could have done with a bit more mechanical grip considering the power and torque figures engine churns out. A harmony between the two could have been achieved via bigger specification tires. 15 inches would have been ideal really.

SAFETY

The Figo Aspire is truly a class apart when it comes to safety. The car comes equipped with 6 airbags for the Titanium Plus variant and 2 airbags as standar across all variants, again a first-in-class feature. The 6 airbags include side and curtain airbags which is not only a first for this segment but also when comparing to a segment above. Only the Volkswagen Jetta offers 6 airbags when it comes to nearest car to do so.

The car also gets Anti-Lock Braking System coupled with Electronic Brake Force Distribution. This system ensures that the brakes do not get locked up in case of an emergency braking scenario and it also balances the brake force between the front and the rear brakes depending on the sensor readings from them. The EBD detects the amount of force required by the wheels under a situation and accordingly distrubutes the brake force. For example, if one were to take a sharp left hand corner at high speed and were to apply brakes, then the wheel under the maximum load would be the front right and subsequently the system would exert maximum allowable brake force on that wheel so as to ensure the car remains under control and the occupants are kept safe.

In case of an accident the car also cuts fuel supply to engine so as to prevent any danger from fire. 

And the voice activated SYNC system will automaticall call the emergency number in case of an accident and also give them the GPS location. This is a very nifty feature conisdering the remoteness of locations one has to travel to sometimes in our country. Another reason for Ford not offering a touch screen centre ICE system is that it promotes Eyes on the road and Hands on Wheels philosophy, which basically calls for as less as possible amout of fiddling with other 'features' of the car while driving or being on road.

Other features include a driver seat belt reminder. A constant chime to remind the driver of the seat belt not being fastened.

Overal the car is solidly built and while driving it doesnt feel you're in a relatively small car.

MILEAGE

The Aspire despite its power and performance, is still a very fuel efficient car something which is absolutely detrimental to its success in this segment as it is not a very performance oriented segment.

Ford claims an average fuel efficinecy of 25.83 km/l for the 1.5 lt Diesel and 18.16 km/l for the 1.2 lt Petrol.

We tested the Diesel Aspire and came across figures of 19.6 km/l in city with A/C on and under spirited driving conditions which is quite good honestly considering it wasnt in our intentions to be efficient.

The gear shift indicator is a market norm now and it helps to maintain efficiency while showing ideal RPMs to shift gears and Ford has included that in the Aspire.

MAINTENANCE

This is one area where Ford has hit the bulls eye. Take it like this.

The front Bumper costs 1600 INR. 2400 INR with paint. Similar for the rear.

The Headlamps cost 2200 INR

Tail Lamps cost 1500 INR

And the suspension costs 800 INR each. 

Forget the old school saying that Fords are a pain on the wallet,this is the most user friendly Ford one will come across today. 

Service intervals are at 10,000 km or a year, whichever comes first. A normal serivce should cost one in the region of 3000 INR to 4000 INR which is very cheap. The spare parts are readily available of the shelf and are priced just right.

AUDIO/IN-CAR-ENTERTAINMENT

This is one area where almost all the manufacturers do not pay any heed to and that's because even most of the consumers dont give any attention as to what kind of an audio set up they are being given with the car, which is a shame really. 

Anyhow, the Aspire gets a good head unit which has good OUTPUT rate and can even handle aftermarket, good quality speakers quite brilliantly. 

Even though Door speakers can never quite give the sound quality of rear tray fitted speakers but that is what we are being served with today and so we'll just have to deal with it. Despite that, the front door speakers are positioned quite well like not near one's foot but rather above one's knee height. That makes it quite audible and provides a much better surround effect.

The speakers are paper cone ones and the bass provided by them will fade away within a year of usage as the cone material is paper and that generally gives away after constant usage. The good news though is that one can swap to aftermarket speakers from Blaupunkt/Pioneer or if one wants to go further to Focal and other high end brands and not feel the need to change the head unit as it has substantial power output to handle superior speakers.

NOISE AND VIBRATION HARSHNESS LEVEL

The Aspire has a surprisingly quite cabin. Even though it carries a powerful diesel engine, the diesel clatter is pleasently absent in the cabin. There is a nice humming sound of the engine which filters into the cabin and only when you push the engine hard can you hear some noise inside the cabin. The insulation levels are good it feels like a car from one segment above. A first for its segment, the NVH levels are low and the cabin feels like a good place to be in. Even the noise from the suspension travel is smartly concealed and the road noise levels are good but can be further improved by changing to a superior quality rubber.

WARRANTY

Ford is giving a 2 year/100,000 kilometer warranty for the Aspire. Although, one can extend it to 5 years via a 3 year extended warranty package. So overall 5 years of peace of mind is something pretty good as some of the customers start thinking about changing cars post this period. 

OUR VERDICT

The Aspire is a neatly balanced package and manages to just about check all the right boxes for us. The car looks impressive both from the outside and inside. It has a good engine working for it. Has good safety levels and also has this premium feel to it. Let's rate it.

Exteriors   8/10       

The look of the Alloys and the wheel size could definitely have been a bit more proportionate to the arches. Other than that this car is definitely THE looker of this segment.

Interiors   8.5/10

The only thing to complain about is the relatively small glove box and instrument dials. Rest, the interiors are pretty suave and has a premium feel to it.

Performance & Handling     8.9/10

This is definitely the forte of this car. The chassis and the engine work neatly in tandom. If only the tires were a bit fatter the mechanical grip could have been superior. Rest, this is undoubtedly the best performer in this segment. The Figo Aspire, is a Driver's Car. Enough said.

Safety    8.7/10

The standard 2 airbags across all variants and 6 airbags for the top variant steals it. The all other safety feature makes one feel sufficently safe. ABS+EBD workd beautfully. The only probable improvement can be to further improve the already good build quality of the car. The roof can feel a just bit tin can-ish at times when tapped with your finger.

Mileage    8.4/10

With what the Ford claims and the data we got during our test, the car is definitely not a fuel guzzler. It simple sips the fuel gently and lets you be racy and easy on your pocket at the same time.

Maintenance      8/10

We dont have a lot of data as of now to analyze but having owned Fords before, it is safe to say this car will be not a white elephant to own. An easy to maintain car for the common man.

Audio/ICE         7/10

The head unit is good. Has ample of power output to operate a high end speaker set. The company fitted paper-cone speakers maybe be good enough for some but for an audiophile they are not upto the mark. A speaker change is all that is needed and one is good to go for good music quality. Overall OK quality but Ford and all other car manufactures in general, should really start paying a lot more attention to this aspect of their respective products.

NVH levels     8.2/10

Good level of sound proofing and insulation has been done with this car which makes it the quietest diesel in its segment. The gentle humming sound of the engine is good to the ears and the it actually feels you are travelling in a premium sedan at times. 

                                                           Overall, The Ford Figo Aspire scores 

                                                                                  8.2/10

It's a good value for money package,In Fact at times it more than value for money. At 5.9 lakhs on-road for the base trim and 9.4 lakhs on-road for the top end trim, it really is a new segment benchmark and is definitely high on heels of the present segment topper, the Swift Dzire. 

All around, the Aspire has all the ingredients of a segment topper and now it all depends how strongly Ford decides to market a potential winner. We would also like to thank Mr. Kabir from Narain Ford who assisted us during the tests, a very knowledgeable person and a huge car enthusiast as well. His confidence in the car was reflected in the way he constantly asked us to push the vehicle to its limits on empty roads.   

Seat Belts on. Drive safely everyone.