Ford Figo 1.4 TDCI

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Wasp_21

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Am considering trading in my wifes Fiat Panda 1.2 young for the Ford Figo 14.TDCI. We get a "work" discount which makes it about R15K more than the capital amount i am paying on her Panda. Does anyone have any experience with the Diesel FIGO? Reports / finding please. Many thanks
 
When my Fiesta went in for a service, I had it as a loaner. So my experience is very limited.

I found it to be a nice car, easy to drive, nippy and very fuel efficient, think I drove like 100km on R50 on something like that. It however does not match the fiesta in comfort, the seat felt like you would fall of it around turns,hehe. But for the price I think it is not a bad car. Apparently cheap to service and spares not badly priced.
 
Dryad said:
When my Fiesta went in for a service, I had it as a loaner. So my experience is very limited.

I found it to be a nice car, easy to drive, nippy and very fuel efficient, think I drove like 100km on R50 on something like that. It however does not match the fiesta in comfort, the seat felt like you would fall of it around turns,hehe. But for the price I think it is not a bad car. Apparently cheap to service and spares not badly priced.
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Thanks, Ya i should imagine the Fiesta is more refined, but i'm comparing Panda with the Figo - no budget for anything bigger or better. I think all round the Figo is more car than the Panda, but i know the Panda is pretty reliable. Hopefully the Diesel on the Figo is too. Thanks for your input.
 
Wasp_21 said:
Thanks, Ya i should imagine the Fiesta is more refined, but i'm comparing Panda with the Figo - no budget for anything bigger or better. I think all round the Figo is more car than the Panda, but i know the Panda is pretty reliable. Hopefully the Diesel on the Figo is too. Thanks for your input.
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I don't have too much experience with the Panda (driven one for about 30 mins around town) but a mate has the Figo and I've been in and out of it a fair bit. It's ok for the price, but I'm not sure it's enough of an "upgrade" over the Panda to consider putting in any money. Are there any other benefits to upgrading? (A longer period covered by service plan perhaps?)
 
TehStranger said:
I don't have too much experience with the Panda (driven one for about 30 mins around town) but a mate has the Figo and I've been in and out of it a fair bit. It's ok for the price, but I'm not sure it's enough of an "upgrade" over the Panda to consider putting in any money. Are there any other benefits to upgrading? (A longer period covered by service plan perhaps?)
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By the specs, the only "upgrade" per se is the overall vehicle size, so perhaps some leg room and boot size. The real driver here is the fuel economy. My wife drives her 40km's per day for work and then weekend jaunts, so the fuel comparison between the 2 equates to about R750 per month in fuel saving, however a slight portion is offset due to the higher cost premium.

Pooky said:
Can you go for the petrol Figo>?
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I can, the petrol comes in around the same price as the Panda. About R15K less than the diesel. But here again, there is no real saving, only a "swop" of vehicles.
 
Wasp_21 said:
By the specs, the only "upgrade" per se is the overall vehicle size, so perhaps some leg room and boot size. The real driver here is the fuel economy. My wife drives her 40km's per day for work and then weekend jaunts, so the fuel comparison between the 2 equates to about R750 per month in fuel saving, however a slight portion is offset due to the higher cost premium.
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R750 per month fuel saving? I think there is something horribly wrong with your Panda if she can save that much by changing over to the Figo.

Assuming 40kms a day during the week and 80kms a day on weekends (a rough thumbsuck) that means she'll do on average 1440kms a month. The combined average fuel economy for the Figo 1.4 TDCI is 5.3L per 100kms (taken from here), so she'll need 80.64L of diesel a month. R11.19 per L of diesel inland (taken here) means total fuel cost a month is R902.36.

That means average petrol spend on the same distance in the Panda is roughly R1650. Divide that by the current price of 93 in Gauteng (R12.24 from here again) means you use 134.8L for the same commute distance in the Panda Young, a fuel ecomony of 9.5L per 100kms, MUCH higher than the claimed economy of the Panda young (5.6L per 100kms according to here).

If your Panda really uses that much juice, I'd have it (or your wife's right foot) checked out.
 
TehStranger said:
R750 per month fuel saving? I think there is something horribly wrong with your Panda if she can save that much by changing over to the Figo.

Assuming 40kms a day during the week and 80kms a day on weekends (a rough thumbsuck) that means she'll do on average 1440kms a month. The combined average fuel economy for the Figo 1.4 TDCI is 5.3L per 100kms (taken from here), so she'll need 80.64L of diesel a month. R11.19 per L of diesel inland (taken here) means total fuel cost a month is R902.36.

That means average petrol spend on the same distance in the Panda is roughly R1650. Divide that by the current price of 93 in Gauteng (R12.24 from here again) means you use 134.8L for the same commute distance in the Panda Young, a fuel ecomony of 9.5L per 100kms, MUCH higher than the claimed economy of the Panda young (5.6L per 100kms according to here).

If your Panda really uses that much juice, I'd have it (or your wife's right foot) checked out.
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The Panda isn't as fuel efficient as one would expect. We have had the vehicle checked a few times at the dealer, but no problems. It apparently uses that much fuel. In any case the difference is no less than R600 saving. The diesel (claimed economy) is still better than the Panda. Just need that seconded in this forum.
She does approx 1900km's a month.
 
Wasp_21 said:
The Panda isn't as fuel efficient as one would expect. We have had the vehicle checked a few times at the dealer, but no problems. It apparently uses that much fuel. In any case the difference is no less than R600 saving. The diesel (claimed economy) is still better than the Panda. Just need that seconded in this forum.
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Diesel in this country is not so hot. Higher service costs as well.
 
Wasp_21 said:
The Panda isn't as fuel efficient as one would expect. We have had the vehicle checked a few times at the dealer, but no problems. It apparently uses that much fuel. In any case the difference is no less than R600 saving. The diesel (claimed economy) is still better than the Panda. Just need that seconded in this forum.
She does approx 1900km's a month.
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If she's doing a fair bit of highway driving where the small engine has to work very hard to keep speed up and overtake, or if she has a heavy foot, then I can understand higher fuel economy. Not that high, but I guess it is possible.

If your wife's foot is the problem, the Figo won't end up saving you much at all. That extra R15,000 is only going to be offset after 2 years of owning the Figo if you manage to save R600 per month on fuel, not sure if that's worth it either.

Overall I wouldn't go for the Figo as it's not a large enough upgrade in my mind, my 2c.

If you do upgrade, let us know how the fuel economy works out after a few months, I'd be interested in that.
 
i have the petrol figo.
get the petrol, you can get the upspecced petrol for the same price as the single lower specced diesel model.

i spent ages driving the petrol and diesel versions when i was buying. the petrol is better. all the magazine reviews you will ever read tell you the same
 
I've heard from a few Figo fans/owners that the diesel can give you up to 30km/l. If that's true, then it's awesome for a driving to work car.
On the other hand, it's a little small as a family car.....I guess it's boot is bigger than the Panda's
 
TehStranger said:
If she's doing a fair bit of highway driving where the small engine has to work very hard to keep speed up and overtake, or if she has a heavy foot, then I can understand higher fuel economy. Not that high, but I guess it is possible.

If your wife's foot is the problem, the Figo won't end up saving you much at all. That extra R15,000 is only going to be offset after 2 years of owning the Figo if you manage to save R600 per month on fuel, not sure if that's worth it either.

Overall I wouldn't go for the Figo as it's not a large enough upgrade in my mind, my 2c.

If you do upgrade, let us know how the fuel economy works out after a few months, I'd be interested in that.
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True after two years, but then each km she drives (at current prices) she would save. The little petrol engine revs high continuosly, however the little diesel has higher low end torque, so should in theory also last longer. All advice is building a better picture for consideration, just still sceptical on the true consumption figures of the Figo.
 
Diesel maintenance is also a lot higher, you might save on fuel economy but lose when you service/repair.
I owned the previous generation Fiesta 1.4 petrol, which the new Figo is based on, I bought it new and sold it with 160000km on the clock, maintenance was very cheap and I averaged 7L per 100km.

I read an article somewhere between a BMW 330i and a 330d, the diesel only made economical sense after covering 300000km. Since it cost more to purchase and a lot more to maintain.

Do your research, don't just consider fuel economy.
 
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I have a ford figo 1.4 TDCI and for what I am using it for its brilliant. I drive about 750 kilometers in a 1,5 week period. I see a few people have commented about the service is more etc. I have had this car from 1km on the clock and its on +- 51000km now. Each service so far 15k, 30k and 45k have cost me less than R1000 each. Fuel usage is surprisingly good as I tend not to drive very economically and I get between 17 and 19 km/l. I am sure if I drive with the aircon off and stick to 100km/h ill easy be able to do close to 20km/l. I must add that I do drive long distances and that adds a lot to the economy of a diesel.

Gear changes and low end torque is good so basically u can drive 60km/h in 5th gear put your foot down and it will start to accelerate.
To the OP if you really are interested in the diesel figo just book a test drive and see for your self :)

Edit: The +- 750 Km I do is on 1 tank of fuel and then it takes about 41 to 43 liters to fill up again.

Pm me if you need any more info on my experiences with the figo.
 
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The TDCI costs R10k extra and service intervals are 5k shorter.

Afaik the tdci has a basic 8v turbo diesel while the petrol is a 16v variable valve timing unit.

I have a petrol Figo and get between 7 and 8L / 100km depending how I drive. I'm sure the diesel would do better.

I was also pondering between the petrol vs diesel issue when I bought.

Finance wise they work out fairly similarly. The fuel saving will offset the additional purchase price and higher service costs, one won't work out a lot cheaper than the other.

What made up my mind was eventually turbos have to be reconditioned / replaced, same with diesel injectors. The tdci is painfully slow, 0 to 100 in 15.8seconds. Petrol is smoother and quiet. And lastly the petrol can be had in Trend spec.
 
Owned mine since 2010 - racked up almost 70 000km so far. My average consumption is 23km/l. Service intervals 15000 at R1500 a pop. I drive mainly on open roads and have never experienced any issue with speed or lack thereof, overtaking, hills or whatever. Traffic driving is a pleasure in a diesel too. When in the vehicle you wouldn't realize you driving a 'tractor' - maybe I'm just used to it. The expensive service is at 105000km - the dreaded cambelt replacement - not sure what the petrol variant requires. Space capacity - adequate for me as I'm mostly on the roads alone - it does, however, have sufficient boot space to accommodate a large Coleman extreme coolerbox with residual room for a screaming kid of upto 7 and probably a bag of potatoes. Outside of the services the only other expenses have been 2 new 'rounds' and 1 puncture. I do need wind-screen wipers as mine are useless - when it rains and use them it is like I have the petrol attendant stuck to my bonnet armed with an AWB comb trying to clean windscreen. Ride comfort and handling - doesn't have the comfort of a Susan Boyle or the handling of a Linda Lovelace - sufficiently adequate handling on sweeping corners at speed without ever feeling you on a tomato box. The radio player comes standard with an 'aux' socket - with front speakers which sounds good for me - this obviously is purely subjective. When I purchased her I did so as a matter of urgency - there was no forethought or consideration - walked into the dealer told him I want that vehicle as it was on the floor ready for purchase - so, I can't give you a rational reason why I chose diesel over petrol, it was a matter of necessity. After owning her for nearly three years - the question is, would I have purchased the diesel or any other vehicle in the price range if I had the time to exercise circumspection? I don't know - I can say that I haven't experienced any buyers remorse. At least you have the time to shop around and test - which in most part is the sensible approach. Comparing it to a fiat panda 1.2 petrol - I can't add anything of value for you. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Hi everyone,

Resurrecting this thread rather than starting a new one.

I am close to buying a ford figo diesel and wanted to know if still a good buy?

My concerns are really related to the diesel part: are their diesel engines quite good and bound to last a long time?

What about the turbo: I hear that is an issue with all diesels but is it really? When do they normally go if at all?

The KMs I am looking it one at 40K and one at 70K. 2 and 3 years old respectively. Anything I should look out for when checking out the vehicles?

For servicing, can it usually be done by anyone? I just learned how to service a petrol vehicle and now must learn diesel lol

And parts - readily available?

Thanks in advance :)
 
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