Ford Figo sedan might be launched in June this year

The compact car segment in India will see a new entry from Ford, this June, in the form of the Ford Figo sedan. This car is based on the next-gen Figo concept sedan exhibited at the 2014 Auto Expo and it was spied testing in India recently.

Cosmetically, the manufacturer has retained most of the components from the concept showcased at the Expo. The design language is the same, though the production version gets some practical changes looking at the Indian market. The changes come in the form of normal headlamps instead of the company's futuristic LED headlamps. The same approach is used for the tail lamps, however, the overall design is the same. The fascia gets the Aston Martin like grille that is seen on the Ford EcoSport and new Fiesta facelift as well.

The compact sedan will be based on a lighter, high tensile strength steel platform that will help the car deliver high fuel efficiency and a good performance. This is the same car as the KA sedan that was launched for the Brazilian market last year. The Ford Figo sold in Brazil measures over four metres in length, but the one for the Indian market is expected to be less than four metres. Being a sub-four-metre car, the carmaker will be able to avail the excise duty benefits and price the car competitively in the compact car segment in India.

This next-gen Figo sedan will be available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol variant is expected to be powered by a 1.0-litre petrol engine, which might possibly be the 1.0-litre EcoBoost mill. The diesel variants might be powered either by a 1.4-litre diesel or a 1.5-litre TDCi unit. Both the petrol and diesel engines will send power to the front wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.

Ford will manufacture the compact sedan and its hatchback counterpart at its Sanand factory in Gujarat. Both these new cars are expected to increase their market share in our country and the company is preparing itself for the launch of these cars. Indian consumers will get another option to choose from the compact car segment that includes the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent and Tata Zest. The Ford Figo sedan might be priced in the range of Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh.