Ford Figo : It Rocks

In a market teeming with hatchback segment cars, every car and car manufacturer tries to make an impact by launching the latest technology cars which have an edge over their peers, may be in terms of technology, exteriors or other features.

70 percent of Indian customers are believed to prefer the cars which are a part of the hatchback segment and to make a mark in the same, Ford Figo has been launched by the car manufacturer Ford India, which looks to make a stronger impact in this category which has been ruled till now by the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, etc. Ford Figo has been launched in the hatchback segment with a competitive price of 3.5 lakh. This price gives close to competition to Maruti Suzuki’s hatchback model Maruti Suzuki A-Star which was launched amongst much hype in 2008 and is doing wonders for itself, especially in Europe where it is being sold under the name of Suzuki Alto.

The car manufacturers have very intelligently put such a price tag in order to survive the existing competition. Similar to A-Star, Ford Figo has also been designed keeping the Indian road and traffic conditions in mind. The company has invested around US $ 500 in India to increase, in fact double, its production capacity to around 2,00,000 units a year. With Figo, Ford plans to take the hatchback industry by storm, thereby making its position stronger in the increasingly growing hatchback segment.

Ford Figo may not yet be the complete car by many standards, yet it offers many interesting features like Lane change indicators, Rapid deceleration, speed sensing volume control, small programmable remote key, a 6-speed intermittent wiper as well as central locking. It is available in both petrol and diesel models. Where cars like Maruti A-Star and Hyundai i10 definitely win the battle is in the fact that both these cars have now been launched with automatic transmission as well, which makes maneuvering through the city roads just like a dream.

Honda Jazz- It’s Honda all the way!

It’s a car that lives up to its name. Literally! When Honda Motor Co. launched its luxurious hatchback Honda Jazz in India last year, it brought in its wake a lot of sighs, purely because of its mesmerizing beauty. Jazz, like its name suggests, is a peppy-looking car. Since Honda announced plans of launching Jazz in the domestic market, it was one of the most eagerly awaited cars, especially after the success that other new hatchbacks like Maruti Suzuki A-Star and Spark have tasted.

It was, undoubtedly, the most awaited car from the company, more so because it was the first small car in Honda’s product portfolio in the country. Honda Jazz, like its predecessors, is a luxurious, albeit a luxurious small car. Not compromising on the quality and features, the company has equipped this hatchback with all the luxury features available in a C-segment luxury sedan. This definitely has raised Jazz’s prices higher than its contemporaries like A-Star, WagonR, Alto, Spark, etc., in turn making it count among the high-end models.

While building Jazz, Honda has used the old Honda City platform in an effort to reduce the overall price of Jazz. Had the platform been changed as well, it would have really elevated the manufacturing cost of Jazz. This comes as quite a disappointment when other car manufacturers are building their cars on entirely new platforms, like in the case of Maruti A-Star. The two cars belong to the same category, have comparable features. Jazz is undoubtedly a notch higher in pricing than other cars in the same category.

With Honda Jazz’s launch, Honda has made a grand entry into the small car market, giving tough competition to Maruti, Hyundai, Skoda and Chevrolet, the major players among the Indian car manufacturers.