2015 Ford Figo | new car review

Looks

The 2015 Ford Figo is certainly quirky looking, with the back end bearing a stark resemblance to the original Focus. Even from the side the Figo looks quite respectable. The front end – so often the one area that decides whether a car succeeds or not – is perhaps its weakest area. The headlamps look marginally effeminate, and it wouldn’t look out of place if it had eye-lashes. It should not be forgotten that the Figo exists to be cheap, therefore there is little point jumping up and down about its facial expression.

Feels

Ford market this car as “economical”, which is marketing-man speak for cheap. There is nothing about the interior that stands out and certainly little that will catch your attention for too long. But when all is said and done, the Figo is very comfortable. The seats offer a decent amount of support and all the controls – not that there are many – are easily accessible. Most importantly it feels like a Ford, which is always a good sign.

Engineering

I ran a Figo hire car for a month earlier this year and, honestly, it is a well-engineered little car. Despite there being a release button for the tailgate in the front, should you opt to open the back with the key directly then there is no handle, you are relying on the key to act as a lever; all while praying that it won’t snap. The boot space is surprisingly spacious, and when the back seats are folded down, you could easily fit a modest sized farmyard animal in there.

What’s on offer?

The 2015 Ford Figo comes with a 1.6 litre 4-cylinder engine under the hood. Mated to a 4 speed automatic transmission, the Figo accelerates to 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds and packs a top whack of 180 km/h. With options being very limited, the top of the range model isn’t exactly exciting, bringing central locking and a spare tyre to the table.

Summing it…

The sole reason for the existence of the Figo, is to be cheap. However, while the little hatchback makes for an ideal city zipper, with a price tag that ranges from AED 56,000 – 57,000, the Figo defeats its purpose of existence. At a significantly smaller sum of money, there’s a lot more car available at the Korean showroom across the road. Sorry Ford, but this one’s a miss.

Specifications