Hatchback cars are gaining plenty of reputation in India. The advent of the new era has given rise to new hatchbacks that adorn new looks, new features and make it worth spending your precious dough. To give you a perfect reasoning to boast the bang for your bucks, here is an awesome review on Ford’s Figo Hatchback versus the tough, versatile and the popular Maruti Swift Facelift.
Ford Figo:
Figo Facelift version has gained its popularity in the premium hatchback segment amid the buzz of various other entrants in the hatchback segment. With competitors being generous with additional features, extra offers and more interior space, the efforts are on to bring down the leading hatchback. The 2015 Ford Figo is the successor of the old Figo. This happens to be the trimmed down version of the Aspire that was launched by Ford not too long ago. Anticipation was a definite factor with the Figo and Ford did the same on 23rd of September by launching the new breed of Figo that bags a starting price tag of Rs. 4.29 lakhs and the diesel starts off at Rs. 5.29 lakhs.
Maruti Suzuki Swift (face lift)
In my recent review on the Face lift version of the Swift, Figo Facelift had not made its grand entry. However, with its strong sales figures and an unbeatable credibility, Maruti seems to get the creamy layer of the ever-expanding market in India. The basic price of Swift petrol starts off at Rs. 4.64 lakhs and the diesel variant starts at Rs. 5.84 lakhs. Will the Swift withstand the harsh thrust of Ford Figo? Let’s find out:
Engine:
Driving the Ford Figo Facelift are 1.2-liter Ti-VCT petrol and 1.5 liter diesel variants. The re launched version churns out a maximum power output of 87 bhp and a peak torque of 112 Nm.
The Swift on the other hand comes with a K-Series Petrol Engine and a diesel variant too that churns about 83 bhp and 115 Nm of torque. That sais and done, the clear winner of this challenge is the Swift that delivers 20.4 kmpl mileage. The figo petrol comes with a 5-speed manual gearbox whereas the diesel comes with a 6-speed gearbox. The Swift comes with a 5-speed manual transmission.
| Engine | New Figo | New Swift |
| Cubic Capacity | 1196 cc | 1197 cc |
| Power | 87bhp | 83bhp |
| Torque | 112 Nm @ 4000 rpm | 115 Nm @ 4000 rpm |
| Cylinders | 4 | 4 |
| Mileage | 18.16 kmpl | 20.4 kmpl |
Exteriors:
Both the car look spectacular and it is difficult to differentiate between the two rivals in the looks department. However, since the new Figo is the new kid in town, the looks seem a tad enticing.
The Swift has retained the same design as it has since the beginning. The Face-lift version has a new grille; the mid-level models have chrome finishing on the fog lamps and look pleasing. The ground clearance on the Figo is 4 mm where as the Swift stumps down to 2 mm.
| Dimensions | Ford Figo | Maruti Swift |
| Length | 3886 mm | 3850 mm |
| Width | 1695 mm | 1695 mm |
| Height | 1525 mm | 1530 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2491 mm | 2430 mm |
| Ground Clearance | 174 mm | 170 mm |
Interior and Space:
The Swift has a less boot space than compared to the Ford Figo. The Swift seems quite crammed up and the passengers might have to suffer through the small space and has a boot space of just 205 liters. The Figo on the other hand has 257 Liters capacity. The drivers’ comfort on the Swift is the best in its class; the stubby looking swift has quite a receptive steering and pairs up with the driver quite comfortably. The Figo is quite good, given its features and such. The Swift has quite an exciting instrument cluster and its music player is simply fabulous. The 4 speakers located on the rear side of each door has terrific sound effect and it adds extra thumps to the music. The Figo has decent speakers but the swift rocks the music all the way.
| Space | New Ford Figo | Maruti Suzuki Swift |
| Seating | 5 | 5 |
| Boot Space | 257 L | 205 L |
| Fuel Capacity | 42 L | 42 L |
Variants with Price:
Here is a list of the variants of both Figo and Swift with their corresponding prices:
Petrol:
| Ford Figo | Maruti Suzuki Swift | ||
| 1.2 base | Rs 4.29 lakh | LXI | Rs 4.64 lakh |
| 1.2 Ambiente | Rs 4.56 lakh | LXI (O) | Rs 4.78 lakh |
| 1.2 Trend | Rs 5 lakh | VXI | Rs 5.40 lakh |
| 1.2 Trend+ | Rs 5.25 lakh | ZXI | Rs 6.24 lakh |
| 1.2 Titanium | Rs 5.75 lakh | – | – |
| 1.2 Titanium+ | Rs 6.40 lakh | – | – |
| 1.5 Titanium+(AT) | RS 6.91 lakh | – | – |
Diesel
| Ford Figo | Maruti Suzuki Swift | ||
| 1.5 base | Rs 5.29 lakh | LDI | Rs 5.84 lakh |
| 1.5 Ambiente | Rs 5.62 lakh | VDI | Rs 6.31 lakh |
| 1.5 Trend | Rs 5.97 lakh | ZDI | Rs 7.28 lakh |
| 1.5 Trend+ | Rs 6.22 lakh | – | – |
| 1.5 Titanium | Rs 6.72 lakh | – | – |
| 1.5 Titanium+ | Rs 7.40 lakh | – | – |
Bottom Line:
The Figo base model offers a few extra knick-knacks. In terms of safety, the Figo has driver airbag covered up even with the basic variant. With a new appeal that costs a little lesser than Swift, the Figo creates a space for itself. However, the obvious fact regarding Maruti Suzuki’s extensive coverage along with its credibility is definitely in Swift’s favour. The service standards, low maintenance cost and accessibility of Maruti beat all odds and this is a great challenge for Ford.