This is for everyone who thinks or thought, Figo is a replacement of the Fusion. A more detailed ownership report of the Fusion is here

Looks

Barring the nose, the rest looks an awful lot similar to the Fiesta MK5, hugely popular as also what the Fusion and Fiesta Sedans in India are based on

Keeping in mind that both are based on the Fiesta MK5 platform, looks are pretty similar, except that the Fusion is about 15% larger in almost all dimensions. But that apart the Figo warms up when you step inside. The clay console is a little strange at first (tested the Titanium) but it grows fast on you specially with the matching Coral displays on the ICE and the DTE. Seating position is low and seats are a lot smaller if compared to Fusion. They are a lot firmer as well.

The usual Ford bits are expected, headlamp control, switches and knobs are borrowed from Fusion and Fiesta and that’s clearly visible. The cubby holes placed strategically are also welcome. It probably has one hole for every possible electronic gadget that you may wish to carry.

Space

The general footprint of the car from outside is small, but its not. It definitely has better space for front passengers as compared to Punto and a much larger boot only comparable to Jazz. We are not talking Fusion here, and I don’t think anyone wants to carry Futons and Cots in their Figo’s either. Headroom felt a little short for tall fellows. I am 5′7″ and it had scope for 3″ more in my opinion.

With front seats going all the way back, you can easily fit 2 and a 1/2 children at the back (Clarkson lingo)

Boot

One word sums that up. Gigantic for the price you pay to buy this car.

From the side and back, it has a strong resemblance to the Fusion and Fiesta MK5 as well

Ride

Here it completely shows its colors, compared to the Fusion (first gen 1.6 +) the ride is very soft and the engine noise is well contained within the cabin. The engine racket that comes into the Fusion cabin has been eliminated from this one and things feel a lot more quieter unless you start revving the motor. But that happens in a City as well so we are not going into that.

Handling

The plasticy steering wheel is not great to hold, but it’s direct for sure. The car turns and moves like a Ford, just with a flick of a finger. The steering weight was neither Honda – Video gamish nor Fusion – Truckish. Adequate would be the ideal word. Putting two hands on that small thing felt like a waste. Gear shift placement and operation is a breeze. There is one gripe though, the softer suspension and the Apollo Accelere standard on the Figo makes it a little too soft for enthusiastic inputs, in this department the Punto scores better with its harder suspension, but then that chap lacks  the motivation in the motor itself.

Gear Knob

The aluminum wrapped gear shift is a usual Ford. Just hard enough to assure you and soft enough not to annoy you. Shifts very well. In comparison to the Punto, it’s a delight to drive with this.

Power 1.2

Neat is best described. If you plot it on a graph it probably would be a straight line going up just like any other petrol. There are no surprises. Compared to the 1.6 in Fusion, its boringly sluggish but drop a gear and it gets moving (with AC all the time). Having driven the Punto 1.4 petrol, I would say this one is miles ahead. Press the pedal a few times and you know that you Can take that turn in second or climb that slope in 3rd. Engine noise is smooth and only gets annoying when you cross the 4000 RPM mark. Shoots well after crossing 3000 RPM just like the Fusion 1.6 but the lack of Torque is evident in low RPMs. Dances very well after that, rock and roll style. But I am pretty sure it wont do that with a full load.

Power 1.4 Diesel

This starts off much more sluggish than the petrol. Takes time to move and the car feels a lot heavier (well it is heavier by a 100 odd Kgs). The AC in the Diesel works a lot better and faster, same as the Fusion. Given a smaller volume in the Figo, it’s more efficient in cooling as well. Get moving and the usual diesel lag is evident (though not as much as other cars but compared to the petrol). You will need to change into first for the both the version to take a nice slow U turn. Punch the pedal and things slowly warm up and as soon as it crosses 2000 RPM, it’s full on Disco time. The car shoots off like a rocket only to die out of steam soon after, there was no redline on the Tacho so I refrained from pushing it like the petrol, but at 4000 things got really noisy. It still lacked the “I want more” of the Fusion 1.6 (unfair comparison, I know)

Verdict

I would take the diesel since it can dance so well after hitting the 2000 RPM mark. Though its not as fast as the 1.6 but nearly there and the lesser weight surely does help. Overall, way ahead of its competition, the car has just the right amount of power, handling and gizmo for the Indian Road.

The Ford Fusion merges well with India.

A simple illustration showing the effects of ABS and ESP

ABS or Antilock Braking System allows you to stop the car without having to lock the wheels. Which means, you retain steering control while the car is under hard breaking. Needless to say, it will increase breaking distance under normal circumstances but an important safety feature to have.

Traction Control has a different purpose, the idea is to stop the drive wheels from loosing traction on slippery surfaces thus giving you better control over the car. It works by distributing adequate amounts of power to each wheel to retain traction at most times.

ESP or ELectronic Stability Program is something that actually saves your life in case of emergencies. Working with ABS and Traction Control, ESP allows fractional braking on each wheel to reduce the chances of spin and slide. It works by detecting a loss of control of the car, which is then compensated by applying brakes to individual wheels to steer out and regain control. Similarly, it also compensates by increasing power to a wheel if needed.

The link is to a video which illustrates the importance of each, and in fact shows how it’s no use to have ABS and Traction Control without ESP.

Enjoy this. And, it’s on Ice.

The Ford Fusion merges well with India.

In 2005 ford India started marketing the same here, in an almost un-changed avatar to what was available in Europe. The car suffered from terrible marketing from Ford’s side in India hitting way off the mark for the Target Audience. They tried their “Hum to anything karega” and “The No-Nonsense Car” campaigns, with the later gaining some ground.

The Car is at its best on the Highways

The price and positioning of the car put it directly in the league of mid-weight sedans like the City and Ford’s own Fiesta and the lack of perceived value buried the vehicle and only a select few landed up buying it.

Looks good next to the sea as well

The Pros

1. The car is not small, in fact the inside dimensions are huge with ample leg and head-space for everyone. The car looks like a hatch but it’s more like a Mini-Estate. Once you open the rear hatch, you realize how much space this fellow packs in. With rear seats completely folding in to create a flat bed, storage options are endless.
2. The car comes with all the goodies that are expected in a car. It comes with reading lamp for all 4 passengers, things that are unheard of in the Japanese and Korean makes. Seat heigh adjustment for the driver. Coin holders at the right places, fog lamps for front and rear built in even on base version.
3. Comes with a stereo with 4 large speakers in its ‘+’ version. The dash has the provision to put in a dual-din as well. If you want to amp it up, there is plenty of space under the front seats to put amplifiers of your choice.
4. The ‘+’ version also came with 15″ Alloy Wheels, Tubeless Radials, and ABS + EBD if you opted for it. Sadly though, the airbags never made it to India.
5. Even the petrol version is economical. The car gives anywhere from 10 – 12 Km/L in the city and 16 – 18 Km/L on the highway. For a motor that produces 100+ PS power, and a car that can hit the 100 mark in just over 11 seconds, it’s quite an achievement. Not to mention, it has enough space to carry a cow as well.
6. Handling is the other best part of this car. It handles just like a hatch should, has an incredibly small turning radius for its size, does not roll much for it’s height. And when thrown into corners, it does not threaten to roll over either. In fact, it is possible to do some drifting with this one (see video), although not really recommended for the weak hearted. The 198 mm (3mm more than a Safari) ground clearance ensures that you don’t rub your belly anywhere.
7. At higher speeds, the car is still at peace. The 100 Kmph comes up quickly, so does the 150 kmph mark. Ford claims a top knock of 158 Kmph in the manual, but it has been proven otherwise on many occasions. The car comfortably sails past the 165 mark even with a full load. Now these are not numbers from proper equipments, and external factors are at play on such claims. Nevertheless, the car has enough muscle to master the highway and that too with style and stability.

And here are some bad bits that may need some patience to live with, specially if you are looking for a car that’s Not This.

The Cons

1. Not many people buy this car, and as a result, not many mechanics know what’s inside. This directly results in shoddy service even at Ford’s own centers. There are very little or no accessories available for this car as well. Not that you would need any, most things come pre-fitted in the ‘+’ version.
2. The engine is loud. If you like a snarly noise from your car, something like a sports exhaust would make, you will be happy. Or else, you will be wondering if anything has gone wrong with it. The rev happy Duratec Engine happily snarls away when given the leash.
3. The ride quality at low speeds are appalling. This is the direct result of having harder suspension to compensate body roll in the car. Once you cross the 40 Kmph mark, things suddenly become a lot – lot smoother. The low profile 195/60 R15 tires are also to blame partly for this.
4. The looks are not to the liking of many. It’s not a sedan, or a regular family car, and it really does not make effort in that direction. The looks are butch is a more “run things down” manner.
5. The plastic and general quality of interiors were not that good in the first version. It has improved with the second version, but still far behind competition. Things generally tend to fall apart after a few years in a typical Ford Truck kind of fashion.

With the vehicle, what you get is the confidence to carry 5+ people from point A to B with luggage in probably the most un-cramped manner. The car also has enough steam to beat the rest from the start line, when you are not carrying humongous loads. Drive it sedate, and you will get highway mileage that can put an Alto to shame (in Petrol). The Diesel is ultra economical and we are not even talking about that. And you can carry your pet Cow to the Vet as well without breaking a sweat.

In Total, if you plan to have just one car to run around in the city and take the village roads to that camp ever so often, this is India’s official Compact Bad-Roader.

The Fusion TVC from Europe

Doing the Drift

The Fusion Crash Test (Note: This is with Airbags)

Relevant Links

• Ford Fusion UK Website
• Ford Fusion India Website
• Ford Fusion on Yahoo Groups

The city traffic actually sees more braking and acceleration in a car than highways. Its when the car accelerates or decelerates, the G- Forces put pressure on the infants neck which is vulnerable under the age of 1 year. A rear facing child seat helps negating any effects of sudden braking on the child’s neck.

A rear facing child seat fitted on a car seat adapter.

If the child were to face front and sit, while braking, the child’s head will be thrown forward putting enormous pressure on their neck and can injure them fatally. In a rear facing seat, every time the car stops, the child is pressed against the seat instead of going forward, this way the chances of injuring their neck is minimized.

Note: A child’s head weighs a lot more in comparison to their body than an adult’s head.

Choosing a child seat for your car.

Some manufacturers sell their own brand of car seats to fit into their vehicle. There are other third party manufacturers that specialize in manufacturing of these seats and often supply to car companies as well.

The seat you choose should have the following.

1. It should be rear facing for any child below the age of 18 months.
2. The seat should be adaptable to multiple cars, get one with a car seat adapter, this way either the adapter or the seat itself will fit in your car.
3. The seat should have at least 3 point seat belts. Babies are ingenious and observant, they can get out of almost any tied up situation.
4. Get side restraints to stop the head from moving side to side when the baby is sleeping and the car is turning.
5. Un-buckling the child from the seat should not take more than a few seconds. Imagine yourself in emergencies, where every second may count.
6. Get a seat that is washable in a washing machine, these tend to get very very dirty. The child will throw up, defecate, eat, drink, spill, do everything in this seat.
7. Get danglers to hang from the seat, this keeps the child’s attention focused away from the seat belts.
8. In warmer climate, a towel or cloth is needed over the seat to minimize sweating.

Where you can buy these? In Bangalore?

If you want to buy one off-the-shelf in Bangalore, you can head to Shopper Stop on Banerghata Road, or Lifestyle in Oasis, Inner Ring Road, Koramangala. You can also get them at Mothercare, 12th Main, Indiranagar.

If you are ok with buying them online, then there are more options available.

How long a child can sit in a child seat?

A child can travel sitting in a child seat at a stretch for 3 hours. It is always better to give them breaks every 100 km or so. The seats can get very binding and hot for a moving child.

A front and rear facing child seat which can be used even after 18 months.

Booster Seats

When the child is above the age of 18 months, he or she can then use a booster seat to sit on. By this age, the kid’s neck is strong enough and can tolerate more forces on them. A booster seat faces the right direction and lets the kid watch out of window while traveling. The main purpose of the booster seat is to assure that the kid is snugly held by the seat belts. Using a booster seat to just increase the kid’s ride height is not a good idea.

Booster seats are available in many form and sizes and can be used by a kid for the next 4 years.

A booster seat for older children.

Do not place a child of under 18 months on a booster seat unless directed so by it’s user manual. Most children under the age of 18 months should be placed in rear facing child seats.

Child seats and airbags

Most modern cars have airbags for both the front seats. Child seats are to placed only on rear seats unless the child needs attention or the parent is traveling alone. In such cases, switch off the passenger side airbags for the safety of the child. In a rear facing seat, an airbag will do more harm than good in the the event of an accident.

If your car does not have a airbag override control, place the child seat only on the rear seats.

Addresses in Bangalore

Shoppers Stop

Commerce@Mantri, N.S.Palya, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore, KA. 560076. Phone:080 – 5121 5681-4. Store timings:Weekdays: 11:00 – 8:30 Weekends: 11:00 – 9:00

Lifestyle

Adarsh Opus, W – 76,  Door No. 1, Campbell Road, Austin Town, Bangalore – 560 047. Tel: 080 – 2556 4555

Lifestyle Koramangala

Oasis Centre. #30, Salarpuria Tech Point, Inner Ring Road, Koramangala. Bangalore – 560 095. Tel: 080 – 4027 6400

Mother Care

Icon-Mall, 12th Main, 5th Cross, Indira Nagar, Bangalore. Tel: 080 - 25213009

Some illustrations that may help you decide on a car seat.

Source - http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/

Source - http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/

Source - http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/

Visit here for more information and detail.