Freestyle driving 101 with the Blue Oval

Ford Motor Company Southern Africa recently launched their Figo Freestyle, a compact utility uehicle (CUV) based on the popular Figo hatchback.  The car is said to appeal to younger drivers who like more compact and affordable vehicles.

We will be spending the next few weeks with the car, and its description fits my needs rather perfectly. My “need” is that I am going to be teaching my youngest daughter how to drive a manual car. So, compact is good for manoeuvrability and confidence building, and affordable is even better as my children are financed by the Bank of Dad.

The model we are going to use is the Trend and this means we get 91 kW of power and 150 Nm of torque from the 1.5-litre three-cylinder Ti-VCT Dragon engine. I think 91 kW will be enough to scare me with a teenager at the wheel, so we should be fine in the power department. The Freestyle has a ride height of 190 mm, which is 16 mm higher than the standard Figo.

This is said to enhance the Figo Freestyle’s all-round capabilities, while the integrated front and rear skid plates provide an enhanced level of underbody protection when driving on rougher road surfaces. You get where I am going with this?

I hope this does not turn out to be something that is needed, and we stay on the black stuff and not end up riding through granny’s roses at the house next door. Now before I get a call from Ford asking for their car back, my daughter can drive an automatic car, she just wants to learn how to operate a clutch and change gears. So Dad gets the job of teaching her.

Jokes aside though, safety is of paramount importance when you put a young inexperienced driver in car, and here the Freestyle comes well equipped. The standard safety and security package on the Trend model incorporates driver and passenger airbags, ABS, remote central locking with drive-away locking function, electric windows all round, as well as a perimeter anti-theft alarm and engine immobiliser.

Priced at R226 700, the Ford Figo Freestyle Trend comes with a four-year/60 000 km Service Plan, a three-year unlimited distance roadside assistance and a four-year/120 000km comprehensive warranty. Watch this space at the end of August when I bring you the verdict of my time spent in the car and whether my daughter learnt to drive a manual car. Wish me luck and patience.

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