Ford Freestyle: Cute to the chase

Compact SUVs are all the rage in India, but for those who cannot afford to stretch their budget beyond hatchback territory, manufacturers are also offering jacked-up versions of their hatchbacks, calling them hatchback-based crossovers. With Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen already in ring, Ford decided to participate as well with the launch of the Freestyle, which is basically a Figo with raised ground clearance, a commanding driving position, a tweaked electric power steering unit and of course, a wider track. The Freestyle is not just a pumped up Figo; it brings with it an all-new 1.2-litre, Dragon 3-cylinder petrol engine and a new 5-speed manual gearbox as well.

Specifications

The Freestyle looks a lot like the Figo, except that it looks more butch. The bonnet, on either side, gets raised definitions that give it a muscular look. Up-front, it boasts of a honeycomb mesh grille, flanked by smoked-out headlamp clusters, while the bumper has C-shaped fog lamps integrated in it. At the side, the 15-inch wheels get a gun-metal grey finish. You’ll also notice the plastic cladding along the wheel arches. Thanks to 199mm of ground clearance, it also looks taller. At the rear, it gets a faux skid plate and a reworked bumper. In terms of dimensions, the Freestyle is 3954mm in length, 1737mm in width and 1570mm in height. The wheelbase stretches across at 2490mm. The engine is quite powerful, but turbo lag is evident. Power delivery is nice and linear, and there’s sufficient power for highway runs. The gearbox works seamlessly. Around corners, the Freestyle stays planted but the ride quality is a bit on the firm side. In terms of specifications, it gets a 1194cc, 4-cylinder petrol engine that makes 95bhp and 120Nm of torque and a 1498cc, 4-cylinder diesel engine that makes 99bhp and 215Nm of torque. Paired to both engines is a 5-speed manual gearbox. The engine is BSVI compliant. Also, the base-spec trim weighs in at 1026kgs.

Mileage

The Ford Freestyle has a fuel tank capacity of 42 litres. In terms of mileage, the petrol model is capable of returning 19kmpl while the diesel model returns 24.4kmpl by ARAI, in BSVI guise.

Features

Inside the cabin, there’s a brown-and-black theme combination. The dashboard, instrument cluster and three-spoke steering are all taken from the regular Figo. It gets a 7.0-inch SYNC3 touchscreen infotainment system that gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Up-front, the seats are supportive and the driver’s seat’s height can be adjusted. The chrome rotary knobs feel nice to touch and it gets the MyKey feature that is used to set the speed warning and limit the top speed. Headroom could’ve been better at the rear, but the seats offer good comfort. Features include FordPass in-car connectivity tech, power adjustable wing mirrors, steering-mounted audio controls, wing-mirror mounted turn indicators, 15-inch alloy wheels, follow-me-home headlamps, keyless entry and go, 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, satellite navigation, illuminated glovebox, rear washer and wiper, rear defogger, auto headlamps, automatic climate control and rain-sensing wipers. On the safety front, it is equipped with dual front air bags, ABS, rear parking sensors, speed sensing door locks and side and curtain airbags.

Colours

The Ford Freestyle is sold in seven shades: Absolute Black, Moondust Silver, Smoke Grey, Ruby Red, Canyon Ridge, Oxford White and White Gold. The paint quality and finish for all the shades is excellent. We particularly found Canyon Ridge to be the most striking of all colours, but the one that’s sure to be a hit among Indian car buyers is Oxford White.

Brochure

All the details regarding the Ford Freestyle – namely, the engine, specifications, variant-wise equipment, colours, dimensions, interiors and exterior details are extensively covered in the company’s model brochure.

Variants and Prices

As of early 2020, the Ford Freestyle is available in eight variants. The price for the base Ambiente 1.2 Ti-VCT variant is ₹ 5.91 lakh, the price for the Ambiente 1.5 TDCi variant is ₹ 6.76 lakh, the price for the Trend Plus 1.2 Ti-VCT variant is ₹ 6.81 lakh, the price for the Titanium 1.2 Ti-VCT variant is ₹ 7.21 lakh, the price for the Trend Plus 1.5 TDCi variant is ₹ 7.46 lakh, the price for the Titanium Plus 1.2 Ti-VCT variant is ₹ 7.56 lakh, the price for the Titanium 1.5 TDCi variant is ₹ 7.91 lakh and the price for the Titanium Plus 1.5 TDCi is ₹ 8.36 lakh (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi). The variant-wise on-road prices are available at autoX.

For more on the Ford Freestyle, be sure to tune into autoX.