Stylish & safe, the new Ford Figo is a great hatchback

The second generation Ford Figo offers the best of safety, performance, technology and styling, emerging as a complete hatchback, finds Faisal Ali Khan of MotorBeam.com.

The first generation Figo arrived in India in 2010 and revolutionised Ford's fortunes in the Indian market.

The car managed to break into a highly competitive segment while also bringing newer customers to the American brand.

Hence, it was very important for Ford to get the second generation model right keeping the extremely high expectations in mind.

With the hatchback looking very promising on paper, MotorBeam drove the new generation Figo to the city of Agra to find out what it feels like in the real world.

The new generation Ford Figo looks fresh and gets many appealing bits like the trapezoidal chrome grille, bulging bonnet and sweptback headlamps.

The side profile gets a strong shoulder line and the blackened B-pillar lends a sporty appearance while the rear gets a neatly designed tailgate, beefed up bumper and clear lens tail lamps.

The overall profile looks good and proportionate with the fresh design making a lot of heads turn. That said, the alloy design could have been better whilst housing bigger 15-inch tyres instead of the current 14-inchers. 

A major upgrade on design and quality, the 2015 Figo's cabin is refreshing and gets the ergonomics spot on.

The cabin feels driver focused and the all-black interiors with silver inlays look sporty.

The top variants get a 4.2-inch touch screen infotainment unit with Ford SYNC while the lower trims get the Ford MyDock system.

There are nifty storage spaces all around and the legroom is much better with more supportive seats this time.

The rear headroom though does take a beating due to the sloping roof.

The Figo is loaded on tech featuring Bluetooth connectivity, MyKey, SYNC and the MyFord dock on lower trims. The boot capacity stands at a decent 257-litres.

Power on the second generation Figo comes from a 1.2-litre petrol motor producing 88 PS and 112 Nm, paired to a 5-speed gearbox that offers good low-end response but isn't the most urgent when on an open road.

The other petrol, a 1.5-litre unit producing 112 PS and 136 Nm is the gem here, paired to a 6-speed PowerShift automatic transmission which makes for quick shifts and is very responsive to throttle inputs.

Talking about diesel power, a 1.5-litre unit makes 100 PS and 215 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed manual and is quite pleasing.

The oil burner has good city drivability and feels at home on the highway. NVH levels are well contained and the 0-100 km/hr run comes up within 10 seconds.

Based on the same but tweaked chassis, the new Ford Figo is lighter and gets updated with an electric steering offering good feedback.

The go-kart feel isn't the same from the predecessor but the hatchback gets engaging dynamics.

High speed stability is good, especially on the diesel and the well tuned suspension takes up bumps with ease.

Braking performance is positive with a good pedal bite while the tyres although small, offer lots of grip. The ground clearance stands at a segment leading 174 mm. 

Ford has nailed the Figo in terms of safety offering 6 airbags on the top trim, while all variants gets a driver side airbag as standard.

The automatic trim also features traction control, stability control and hill hold assist.

The hatchback is quite fuel efficient too with an ARAI mileage of 18.16 km/l (1.2L), 17 km/l (1.5L) and 25.83 km/l (1.5L diesel).

There are two types of cars - one for the head and one for the heart. Seldom do you get offerings that manage to please both and the new generation Ford Figo does just that.

With a smooth shifting petrol automatic, an incisive diesel motor and an extremely communicative chassis, the Figo is also bestowed with a very practical cabin and appealing design language that is just impossible to ignore.

Ford's efforts have surely paid off as the Figo has everything needed to be a segment leader. Yes, it is that good.

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