Photo: Carwale
The Aston Martin-esque grille doesn’t fool anyone. The Ford Figo, which is called Ka+ in Europe, is a cheap means of personal transportation, built cheaply and designed to be cheap to run. What did the Ford Motor Company do to improve the appeal of the Figo, then? Give it the faux treatment that’s taking the industry by storm, turning it into a crossover.
Introducing the Figo Cross, which for some reason or other, doesn’t bear the Active nomenclature Ford uses in Europe for the Fiesta and next-generation Focus. Made official by the carparazzi of Carwale, the Cross features more ground clearance than the Figo hatchback and lots of black plastic inserts at the front, sides, and rear. There’s even a racing stripe adorning the center of the car, but then again, who is Ford kidding here?
According to the motoring publication, Ford didn’t get one aspect of the Cross right, and that comes in the form of LED daytime running lights, “a must for today’s premium cars in India.” What the Blue Oval got right, however, is the EcoSport-inspired floating touchscreen infotainment system, which runs award-winning software and features an effortless UI.
Aimed squarely at the Hyundai Elite i20 and Maruti Suzuki Baleno, the Figo Cross will be available with two engines. The 1.2-liter Dragon is good for at least 90 horsepower, whilst the 1.5-liter turbo diesel should develop 100 horsepower. Both engines are expected to come standard with a five-speed manual, sending the goodies exclusively to the front axle.
Pricing is a mystery at this point, with Carwale expecting the Figo Cross to retail in the ballpark of the larger Ford Aspire. Whatever happens, the Blue Oval needs to get the pricing right if it expects the Figo Cross to be competitive in one of the world’s most dynamic markets. In the period from April 2016 to March 2017, India produced 25.3 million motor vehicles, and domestic sales came in at 3.05 million passenger vehicles.
According to the motoring publication, Ford didn’t get one aspect of the Cross right, and that comes in the form of LED daytime running lights, “a must for today’s premium cars in India.” What the Blue Oval got right, however, is the EcoSport-inspired floating touchscreen infotainment system, which runs award-winning software and features an effortless UI.
Aimed squarely at the Hyundai Elite i20 and Maruti Suzuki Baleno, the Figo Cross will be available with two engines. The 1.2-liter Dragon is good for at least 90 horsepower, whilst the 1.5-liter turbo diesel should develop 100 horsepower. Both engines are expected to come standard with a five-speed manual, sending the goodies exclusively to the front axle.
Pricing is a mystery at this point, with Carwale expecting the Figo Cross to retail in the ballpark of the larger Ford Aspire. Whatever happens, the Blue Oval needs to get the pricing right if it expects the Figo Cross to be competitive in one of the world’s most dynamic markets. In the period from April 2016 to March 2017, India produced 25.3 million motor vehicles, and domestic sales came in at 3.05 million passenger vehicles.
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