SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Swimmingly: 2020 Ford Figo Freestyle 1.5 Trend

This vehicle is sold as Ford Ka+ in some markets

A gap well filled

Posted: September 28, 2020

The numbers
Basic prices: Trend @ R233 700 and Titanium @ R255 100
Engine: 1496cc, naturally aspirated, DOHC, 12-valve, inline three-cylinder
Power: 91 kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 150 Nm at 4250 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 175 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 5.8 l/100 km
Tank: 42 litres
Luggage: 256 - 835 litres
Ground clearance: 190mm
Turning circle: 10.2 metres
Warranty: Four years/120 000 km with three years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: Four years/60 000 km at annual or 15 000 km intervals


Gaps are there to be filled. Bases are there to be covered. Ford detected a new one and did something about it.

There was no baby SUV in the line-up, so engineers aimed CAD kit at the Figo hatchback to create a Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV). Success; gap filled and base covered. They named their new-born, “Freestyle.”

It’s aimed at young buyers who like to get out into the boonies over weekends, so we expect that Titanium grade, with its superior connectivity and kit levels, would be the one most in demand. But older folk or budget-conscious parents, preferring unfussy basics, might opt for Trend.

Apart from an extra 16mm of ground clearance (190mm vs. 174mm) Freestyle gains integrated skid plates to enhance underbody protection; black coloured grille, wheel arch mouldings and fog lamp surrounds; special lower-door decals; its own bumper styling; roof rails; bespoke upholstery in a sophisticated two-tone interior and individualised features including parkiing alarms at the rear.

The two models share a 1.5-litre petrol engine, 15” alloy wheels with 175/65 tyres, equivalently sized steel spare and five-speed manual gearbox. Six colours are available: Canyon Ridge, Moondust Silver, Smoke, Ruby Red and White Gold in metallic finishes with Diamond White as the only solid colour.

Our Trend test rig came standard with tilt-adjustable steering wheel (no buttons), powered mirrors, electric windows with one-touch down for the driver, fog lamps at both ends, intermittent wipers, low series analogue instruments, trip computer, shift indicator, manual air conditioner, four-way seat adjustment (distance and backrest angle), sturdy rubber mats on floor and boot, and basic four-speaker audio with Bluetooth and MyFordDock that includes USB and auxiliary. It’s in the “pie warmer” on top of the dash, with space for a small-to-medium phone as well.

Safety kit comprises two airbags, ABS brakes, antitheft alarm, the reverse parking aids mentioned above and powered door locks with drive-away locking.

Titanium ups the game to six airbags, Ford Sync®3 music centre with 6.5” touchscreen, seat height adjustment for the driver, electric automatic air conditioning, rear view camera, automatically dimming rearview, pushbutton starting, Ford MyKey and auto-on headlamps.

The engine puts out a useful 91 kilowatts and 150 Newton-metres despite not having a potentially troublesome turbocharger, so performance is suitably perky for a small family car such as this. It swallowed a pair of hefty adults and a week’s necessities for a trip to the ‘Berg as our test regime. The little motor revs freely and is decently torquey, so we often found ourselves being admonished to “shift up” well before the seat of pants indicator felt it necessary.

And, had we been carting two or three more people rather than supplies, they would have fitted comfortably into the back seat area. We mention that specifically because the cargo space measures just 256 litres under cover; sufficient only for one large suitcase, a medium camera bag, two small barbeque grids, hiking sticks and a couple of soft items squeezed into gaps.

Freestyle turns on the proverbial dime, feels solid, handles confidently, absorbs minor road imperfections well and offers a commanding view outwards. It’s competent rather than exciting, so Compact- is a better label than Sport- Utility Vehicle. But we still liked it.
Ford can consider this a gap well filled.

Test unit from Ford SA press fleet

We drove a Figo sedan in 2018

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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