New Ford Figo Launched in India

Ford India is launched the much-awaited new Ford Figo 2015 in India.  The American carmaker Ford rolled out the car at a starting price of Rs. 4.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The new Figo is lot more spacious, feature rich and premium than the previous generation model.

Sharing most of its design elements, features, and engine options with the Aspire, the new-gen Figo definitely looks more upmarket than before. With the first-in-class 6 airbags, dual-clutch automatic transmission, and the most powerful engine lineup, the Figo is also the most feature-loaded car in its league. Like the Ford Figo Aspire compact sedan, the new Figo will be manufactured at the company's Sanand, Gujarat facility. 

The new Ford Figo directly rival against the likes of the Hyundai Grand i10, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Honda Brio and Chevrolet Beat. 

The new Figo is available in three engine options- 1.2-litre Ti-VCT petrol, 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol and a 1.5-litre TDCi diesel. While the entry-level petrol engine is good for 88 PS of power and 112Nm of torque, the 1.5L Ti-VCT motor is capable of producing 112 PS of power. The oil burner is good for 100 PS of power at 4,000rpm and 215Nm of torque. Transmission options include a five-speed manual gearbox and a six-speed DSG automatic gearbox (Petrol). 

The new Ford Figo gets segment first six airbags (driver and co-passenger airbags, side and curtain airbags), Perimeter Alarm, Hill Launch Assist, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic BrakeForce Distribution), reverse parking sensors and engine immobilizer. 

The new Figo is available in three trim levels- Ambiente, Trend and Titanium. Dual airbags come as standard on all variants. The base model is equipped with rear fog lamps, fabric upholstery, guid-me-home-lamps, tilt adjustable steering wheel, front power windows with one-touch up-down driver window, electric boot release and remote locking. The mid-level Trend variant gets all the features that are accessible in base trim. Adding to it, this variant gets front fog lamps, rear centre armrest, boot lamp, steering-mounted controls, electrically adjustable wing mirrors, all power windows, AM/FM Radio with AUX input, USB and Bluetooth. 

The range-topping variant gets rear defogger, driver seat height adjustment, climate control, ABS with EBD, ESP, alloy wheels, 4.2 MFD screen for the infotainment system, Ford MyKey and Emergency Assistance, SYNC with voice control and AppLink system, leather upholstered seats and 6 airbags (dual front, side and curtain).

The new Ford Figo hatchback comes in six exterior paint jobs- Orange/Gold, White, Grey, Black, Blue and Red.

New Ford Figo 2015 Segment First features include- six airbags (driver and co-driver airbags, side and curtain airbags), Hill Launch Assist, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), SYNC with Voice Control and AppLink system, leather upholstery for seats, 4.2 MFD screen for the infotainment system, Ford MyKey and Emergency Assistance.

The new Figo shares the engine lineup with the Figo Aspire compact sedan. While the diesel version of the hatchback is expected to return about 25.83kmpl, the petrol engine could deliver about 18kmpl. The powerful 1.5L Ti-VCT motor offers about 17kmpl of fuel efficiency.

Renault launches Kwid with price starting at Rs 2.57 lakh

French auto major Renault on Thursday launched one of the most awaited cars of this year 'Kwid' in India with introductory price starting at Rs 2.57 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The hatchback, which would come in four variants and two options, is priced between Rs 2.57 lakh and Rs 3.53 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The vehicle is equipped with various segment leading features and is also the country's most fuel efficient petrol car. 

The small car directly rival against the likes of the already established brands including Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon, Maruti Celerio, Datsun Go and Maruti Suzuki WagonR. The small car comes in four trim levels- Standard, RxE, RxL and RxT. Dimensionally, the Kwid measures 3,679mm in length, 1,579mm in width, 1,471mm in height, and it comes with a wheelbase of 2422mm. The vehicle has a segment leading ground clearance of 180mm, which ensures hassle free driving even on rough roads. The Kwid offers an excellent boot space of 300-litres, which can be further extended up to 115-litres by folding the rear seats. 

Renault Kwid will draw power from 799cc 3-cylinder petrol motor, which is tuned to churn out 54PS and a peak torque of 72Nm. The model is expected to offer the best-in class mileage at 25.17kmpl. As for transmissions, Kwid is likely to include both manual and automated manual transmission (AMT) options. The Kwid is also rumoured to include a1.0-litre petrol engine in its engine line-up later this year.

Renault Kwid, a small hatch designed like an SUV is expected to be launched infour variants -- Standard, RxE, RxL and RxT. From what we hear, the new small car in the Indian market will be available in five exterior body shades of Fiery Red, Ice Cool White, Planet Grey, Moonlight Silver and Outback Bronze.

 

In terms of dimensions, Renault Kwid measures 3679mm long, 1579mm tall and 1471mm wide. It has an impressive wheelbase of 2422mm with class leading ground clearance of 180 mm and a boot capacity of 300 litre.

Renault Kwid will come with the segment's first ever touchscreen Media-Nav Navigation System with a seven-inch display, digital instrument console, alloy wheels, chrome door handles, chrome touched tail lights, roof rails and side body cladding.

 

“Kwid is astutely designed, loaded with class leading features and comes at a compelling price point. No car can be compared to Kwid at this point in time,” Renault India Operations’ country CEO and managing director Sumit Sawhney told reporters in New Delhi.

The company has taken the localization level to 98% in Kwid, the highest ever by an auto manufacturer in India at the onset of launch, he added.

Renault Kwid Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi)

Renault Kwid Std (Base) - Rs. 2.56 lakh

Renault Kwid RxE - Rs.2.88 lakh

Renault Kwid RxE (O) - Rs. 2.94 lakh

Renault Kwid RxL - Rs. 3.11 lakh

Renault Kwid RxT - Rs. 3.44 lakh

Renault Kwid RxT (O)- Rs. 3.53 lakh

Ford launches its first compact sedan Figo Aspire at Rs 4.9 lakhs

Ford India launched its first compact sedan Figo Aspire in India today at a starting price of Rs. 4.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

With several segment-first features such as 6 airbags, 6-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, leather seats, etc, the Ford Figo Aspire takes on the likes of Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, Hyundai Xcent, Honda Amaze, Tata Zest and others in the sub-4 metre sedan segment. The Ford Figo Aspire has become the first car in its league to offer driver and front-passenger airbags standard across all variants.

It will replace the company's ageing Fiesta Classic sedan in the Indian market, which had seen sluggish sales due to a proliferation of compact sedans like Maruti Swift Dzire, Honda Amaze and Hyundai Xcent in the last three years. Sub-four-metre sedans due to their shorter length get excise duty benefits and are priced significantly less than full sized bigger sedans.

The new sub-compact sedan is offered with three engine options - a 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol (110bhp), a 1.2-litre Ti-VCT petrol (87bhp) and a 1.5-litre TDCi diesel (99bhp). While the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel-engined variants will get a 5-speed manual gearbox, the 1.5-litre petrol model will come equipped with a 6-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox.

"There are many high end features that we are offering with the Figo aspire like six airbags and leather seats that are not on offer in this category," said Nigel Harris, president and managing director, Ford India. "It will also be exported out of here world over and Sanand will be a world class export hub. This is not a compromised car."

Figo Aspire is powered by a 1.2 litre petrol engine that belts out 88 PS power and 112 NM of torque and has a rated fuel economy of 18.2 kpl. The 1.5 litre diesel engine gives 100 PS power and 215 NM of torque with a fuel economy of 25.83 kpl. For a first, Ford is offering dual airbags as a standard feature in the Figo Aspire. The top end variant of the car is also equipped with six airbags - a first in this segment. 

The company will follow up the sedan with a hatchback version in the next few months that will replace the existing Figo small car. Compact cars is the largest segment in the Indian market accounting for 45% of overall sales or almost 1.1 million cars per annum. The segment is expected to grow to around 1.8 million cars per annum by 2018. Globally small cars are expected to account for 60% of overall sales in the near future.

In India, around 350,000 units of compact sedans are sold every year with Maruti Dzire the dominant leader with around 200,000 unit sales annually.

FIAT launches Avventura in India

Fiat Group Automobiles India, the fully owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, today launched compact sports utility vehicle Avventura at a price starting from Rs 5.99 lakh.

The new Avventura is a compact crossover model from Fiat India. It is based on the Punto platform and shares majority of its underpinnings and interior with the former. It is the Italian automaker’s entry into the now trending hatchback-based compact crossover segment which has been getting a lot of attention from Indian buyers lately. Other players in this segment at the moment include the Volkswagen Cross Polo and the Toyota Etios Cross.

Fiat is planning to go on the offensive in 2014 for India to turn around its fortunes and the first in the scheme of things will be the Fiat Punto Avventura, which as the name suggests is a ‘tougher’ variant of the Grande Punto.

Fiat Avventura price list (ex-showroom Delhi) is as below:

Fiat Avventura Petrol Price In India

Fiat Avventura Active Petrol is priced at Rs. 5.99 Lakhs

Fiat Avventura Dynamic Petrol is priced at Rs. 7.05 Lakhs

Fiat Avventura Diesel Price In India

Fiat Avventura Active Diesel is priced at Rs. 6.89 Lakhs

Fiat Avventura Dynamic Diesel  is priced at Rs. 7.65 Lakhs

Fiat Avventura Emotion Diesel is priced at Rs. 8.17 Lakhs