Petrol Fight Out
Ford Figo Titanium vs Maruti Swift Zxi
Prelude:
Thanks to the government levying tax benefits on cars with a cubic capacity less than 1200cc and less than the 4 meter length we see so much buzz in this segment.
There are about 9 cars in this segment from all the leading manufacturers.
Fiat Punto
Ford Figo
Honda Jazz
Hyundai i10
Hyundai i20
Skoda Fabia
Suzuki Swift
Tata Indica
Volkswagen Polo
Why did I select these two hatches for a comparison?
I’m in the market for a hatch back and my love for cars drives me to get the best VFM in every machine I buy.
The Swift has been topping charts and has been market leader for quite awhile.
The Figo in all fairness is here to beat that top spot.
It’s always been American vs Japanese, the Koreans do join this band wagon in every field but prefer leaving them out of this.
I did think the Figo n Ritz were contenders but somehow market stats show that the Swift and Figo are pitched against each other. So I planned to go the extra bit to get the low-down of this show-down.
Had a day off and went and test-drove both these cars for quite a distance.
Lovely weather in Chennai helped me in this sweet endeavor.
The other reason being I haven’t really seen a similar comparison on our forum.
The only bad part is I forgot to take the camera along.Hmph!
And surely a lot of inspiration to write from this thread- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/81249-tribute-maruti-suzuki-swift.html
Looks.
Swift
The Swift has been here for quite a while…close to 5 years now.
It has a fresh, warm, sporty look although many didn’t like the design in the beginning and later on fell in love with it.
The inspiration from Mini Cooper is pretty much noticeable yet subtle.(The inspiration for Indians being watching the Mini Cooper’s in Italian Job and thinking that’s the car I should be driving.)
It does have the credit of selling 3, 00,000 cars in the shortest span of time and still has a long waiting period (a turn off!!).The Swift comes here with OEM alloys and darkened A & B pillars-Lovely!!
The car is on the lines of a perfect family hatch where it would appeal to all of the family.
Although it’s a new and fresh design looks like the designers tried to be conservative.
The upswept headlamp somehow reminds me of a mixture between the head lamps of the New Wagon R and A-star. :)
The Squarish styling says cues were taken from the Fusion although now discontinued.
Of the two my choice in the looks department would be Swift.
The heart and its Ancillaries.
Swift
The Swift Is now gleaming in glory with it holding the K12 engine tuned to meet Indian requirements. A wonderful engine to drive in the city. The previous 1.3 litre was slightly running out a power in the city drives. It surely is the quickest car in the 1.2 pack.
I prefer the gear box n its ratios in the Swift rather in the Ritz although both have the same “heart”. The engine all told produces 85 PS @6000 rpm. The torque figure is class beating-113 Nm @4500.This just goes on to say how peppy n exhilarating the drive is.
Figo
The Figo powered by the Ford Duratec 1.2 litre engine belts out 70 bhp above the 6000 rpm mark. I guess Ford when they plonked the engine thought that the Figo users would primarily use their car only for city use. The moment you hit a free pitch and floor the pedal, the Figo is having an asthma attack-runs out of breath. But at about 2750 rpm the fire kicks in and you do find the car zooming a wee bit due to its 104 Nm @ 4000 rpm.
The gear shift is nice to hold with all the chrome et al. It is precise and has a lot of response. Somehow found it close to the fiesta feel.
The verdict here again in favor of the Swift.
The Inside
Swift
The Swift being in for the last five years has pretty dated interiors. The all black interiors can make you feel claustrophobic. The Swift Zxi looks a little better with some chrome and that splendid music system with Steering controls with Illumination.
I personally like the seating height and setup in the Swift
The old Swift had people complaining about the bouncy ride especially at the rear and at times the vibrations and pits getting directly to the cabin. In the New Swift with a little bit of tweaking the suspension is a lot better. I wouldn’t call the seats the best and nor the leg room. I’m more of the driving kind rather than the be driven kinds but yet the rear bench needs loads of improvement. It’s pretty straight and feels like you’re sitting in one of those boring tuition classes or I’d take the liberty of saying Engineering Lectures.
The Boot again is not the best here.
Although I like the addition of a light and a 12 V socket in the Zxi.
Figo
I love the layout of the dash although its way too similar to the Fiesta. The Steering is for sure from the Fiesta with the finger supports. I’m not a big fan of the red dash; luckily consumers are given the choice of selecting their interiors although I think Ford should offer Beige as an option, the other option being Black. The A/c vents are nice and can be easily adjusted. The come with silvered plastic surrounds. A rather nice touch. I somehow don’t like the same old fashioned way of A/c controls. Ford should have thought of something swankier. The Figo does have a Bluetooth phone interface in the top end and also phonebook access and most of the basic features one would need. The other music system features are pretty much standard.
The bonnet release is again passenger side and the Right-left confusion of the wiper and lights still exists. The funny part is the way the rear wash-wipe operates. More like the top light in the other regular mechanisms.Push the lever back.
The Rear bench is nice and bolstered with a lot of padding. The quality of fabric in the seats is way better too.
The boot reminded me of an Indigo Marina or a Fiat Adventure-I’m exaggerating!!
It sure is large and cavernous and could take a week’s luggage for an Indian Family. (There I see you’ll smiling)
Here you all know the Hands down winner-Figo.
Performance & Handling:
Performance is always a Reason for appraisal.
Handling always shows character.
(I’m no management guru)
Swift
True to its name the Swift sprints pretty fast. It sure beats the Figo on this front.
Going by statistics and data. The 0-60km/hr is in 5.8 seconds and the take to reach the 100 km/hr mark is about 13 seconds. The low end torque in the engine sure facilitates good in-gear acceleration without much need of down shifting.
The handling in the Swift is more for the light hearted and sporty drivers. It has a little bit of slide and is more communicative, I love the way it takes bends and straights. A tire upgrade sure would help the users to feel more planted.
Looking at test data it looks like the Swift is way more fuel efficient.
The ARAI report states 17.94 kmpl.That’s brilliant for a Swift considering the previous engine’s figure was 15.9 kmpl.The real time figures might vary depending on various factors but still that talks a lot about the k-series engine’s efficiency.
Figo
I think Ford forgot that a lot of youth are taking to driving and also a lot of young-hearted people comprise the Indian car consumer market. The Figo sure is slower when compared to the Swift. It takes its time to reach the 60km mark and later the hundred in about 15.5 seconds. I think they should’ve kept this in mind while tuning the Figo
As far as the handling is concerned it’s very poised although doesn’t inspire the driver to go the extra bit.
I don’t really have any data to substantiate this but for the dealer’s response saying it would fuel efficiency in the range of 13-15 kmpl.
The Call:
Both the Indianised American and the Desi’d Japanese have there own Positives and appeal to different sectors of the Indian Consumer.
Swift personally scores high on a lot of driver centric features. I love the handling and instant response from the engine. You always have this feeling you are driving in a rally. Good low end grunt and keeps that torque-power curve climbing. Also the other factor the Swift could play on is that it’s like “Hamara Maruti”. Reputed A.S.S. and good customer relations and low maintenance and too a great extent.The Swift is also very mod friendly and hence drags a big teen following
I’d call the Swift a tad expensive but it sure comes loaded with all the necessary features.
Figo is more user centric I would say because it beats the Swift in the cabin space, leg room, ride quality and tinge of better stability and ride and not failing to mention better boot space would be blasphemy. The acceleration patterns are ok and you’d still enjoy the car until you hit the highway. It very well could claim Swift’s ground in five years depending on how Ford handles the product. The deal breaker also is absence of alloys and climate control in the top end model when compared to the Swift.The Figo is more chick and should have a lot of girls going ooh-aah and the colour options would sure please them.
All told, just out of college-first car-bachelor (spinster)-love to drive, want a tension free car it has to be the Swift.
Married-Engaged-Having Kids-need to ferry family around-yet want some exciting punch here and there go for the Figo.
Spec Talk:
| Specification | Suzuki Swift Zxi | Ford Figo Duratec Titanium |
| Engine Capacity(cc) | 1197 | 1196 |
| Power(bhp) | 83@6000 | 70@6250 |
| Kerb Weight(kgs) | 1010 | 1090 |
| Power to Weight | 82 | 66 |
| Fuel Tank Capacity(lts) | 43 | 45 |
| Max.Torque | 113Nm @ 4,500rpm | 102Nm @4000rpm |
| Dimensions(mm) | Suzuki Swift Zxi | Ford Figo Duratec Titanium |
| Length | 3760 | 3795 |
| Width | 1690 | 1908 |
| Height | 1530 | 1427 |
| Ground Clearance | 1700 | 168 |
| Wheel Base | 2390 | 2489 |
| Boot Space(lts) | 232 | 284 |
| Tyres | Radial-Tubeless 185/70R14 | Radial-Tubeless 175/65R14 |
| Comfort & Convenience | Suzuki Swift Zxi | Ford Figo Duratec Titanium |
| Air-conditioning with Heater | Automatic Climate Control | Regular |
| Power steering | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Fuel Tank open | Yes | Yes |
| Power windows for all doors | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Boot Open | Yes | Yes |
| Driver Seat Height Adjustable | Yes | Yes |
| Electric adjustable outside mirrors | No | Yes |
Most of The other features are common to both and I guess we’ll discover a lot more as we discuss these things.
Some of the views in this thread are personal and don’t mean to question other’s knowledge.I’m adding a few pictures from the net to make the thread interesting.
