By Hercules Rodrigues
Caculo Ford the sole dealers for Ford in Goa have launched the new Freestyle in Goa.
Based on the Figo originally, the Freestyle gets a host of rugged and cosmetic changes to go with the crossover like styling theme. The nose is new and gets a mesh front grille finished off in black, new front bumpers with C-shaped fog lamp housing and a skid plate. Move around to the side and you will realise that the car has been raised to mm, while riding on R15 Alloy wheels shod in 185/60 tyres. It also gets metallic roof rails, side lower body cladding and black outside rear view mirrors. The rear receives new bumpers with faux air inserts, new bumper with skid plate and updated taillamp clusters.
A new 6.5-inch Sych3 touchscreen system takes centre stage on the redesigned dashboard. Keeping up with the rugged styling bits on the outside, Ford has given the Freestyle a new Siena themed style for the seats, dashboard and door accents.
The Freestyle gets a different steering and suspension setup for added sportiness while driving. The suspension units consist of Independent McPherson struts at the front and Semi-Independent twist beam at the rear.
Speaking of the features the Freestyle comes loaded with features such as follow me home headlamps, rear washer and wiper, automatic climate control, Auto up and down function for driver side power window, Automatic headlamps and wipers. Synch 3 equipped infotainment system with voice control and Android Auto.
Should the Freestyle detect any rollover of any sorts and the cars Active rollover prevention will automatically avoid the situation by applying the brakes to the individual wheels and reducing the torque supplied. Other safety kit on the Ford Freestyle include Six airbags, Emergency assistance where in the course of a collision the vehicle will automatically shut off fuel supply and send GPS location to the nearest emergency service available, Rear view camera, ABS and EBD. Ford Mykey which allows drivers to set speed limits warnings, seatbelt reminder and top speed limiter.
Power for the Ford Freestyle comes from a brand-new Dragon series three-cylinder petrol engine producing 96bhp and 120 nm torque. The diesel on the other hand is a 100bhp 1.5 litre mill. Both engine come with the option of a 5-speed manual gearbox only.
The Ford Freestyle is available in six exciting colours which include Smoke Grey, Oxford White, Moondust silver, Canyon Ridge and Absolute black. The American car makers CUV will go head to head with the Volkswagen Polo Cross, Fiat Urban Cross, Toyota Etios Cross, Hyundai i20 Active and the Honda WR-V.
Prices for the Ford Freestyle PetrolVariant nameEx showroom PetrolOn Road Goa1.2Ambiente5,09,0006,00,6491.2Trend5,99,0007,02,9291.2Titanium6,39,0007,61,1661.2Titanium+6,94,0008,24,771
Prices for the Ford Freestyle DieselVariant nameEx showroom DieselOn Road Goa1.5 Ambiente6,09,0007,28,9731.5Trend6,99,0008,33,0631.5Titanium7,35,0008,74,6851.5Titanium+7,89,0009,37,132