American carmaker Ford has teased the upcoming Figo Automatic and announced its launch date that is 22nd July 2021. Back in January 2020, the automatic variants of Figo and Aspire were discontinued during the BS6 updation, which used to come with a 123PS 1.5-liter petrol engine. Now, it is set to receive an automatic transmission once again and only the petrol engine will get the option of two-pedal convenience.
As of now, the Ford Figo is available with two engine options: 1.2-litre petrol (96PS/119Nm) and 1.5-liter diesel (100PS/215Nm). Both motors come with a standard 5-speed manual transmission. The upcoming Figo Automatic could get a 6-speed torque converter automatic unit, which also does duty in the Ford EcoSport. This will help Figo in getting an edge over its competitors like the Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Grand i10 Nios, which come with a budget-friendly AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) unit.
While it is not official, the automatic transmission is expected to be offered on the mid-spec Titanium and top-end Blu variants. That said, the base-spec Ambiente variant will continue to be available with the manual gearbox only.
Expect the upcoming Ford Figo AT to command a premium of around Rs 1 lakh over its manual counterparts, which currently retails from Rs 5.82 lakh to Rs 8.37 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Ford might also introduce this gearbox in the Aspire and Freestyle in the near future.
In other updates, Ford is also working on a mid-life facelifted version of the EcoSport. It is likely to get a host of cosmetic changes both inside and out, along with a few new features to make it more competitive against other sub-4-meter SUVs. For more information, click here.
