Ford is all set to launch the Freestyle CUV (as it calls it) in April 2018. The company has said that the bookings of the car will start from April 7 and the launch of the car will follow soon. It was in February that Ford showcased the Freestyle for the first time in India and we brought you all the news from there. Ford plans to position the Freestyle between the Figo hatchback and the EcoSport Compact SUV.
Also Read: Ford Freestyle Launched In India. Click For Prices
Visually, the Ford Freestyle comes with a rugged styling with a host of black design elements for the grille, bumper inserts, underbody cladding and ORVMs among others. The Freestyle also gets larger sweptback headlamps, silver skid plate, subtle character lines on the bonnet and profile, side-body cladding and roof rails all of this to give it that much needed crossover look.
Also Read: Ford Freestyle - Features Explained in Detail
(The Ford Freestyle will be available in 4 variants )
Also Read: Ford Freestyle Spotted Again Ahead Of Its Official Launch
The big USP is the ground clearance and no it does not look like the Figo is put in stilts. The company has worked hard to make sure that the Freestyle is capable on road an off it too. You can't take it off-roading though, however, we think it'll do well off the beaten path. The folks at Ford India say that the Freestyle comes with Active Rollover Prevention (ARP). The system recognizes an impending rollover and selectively applies brakes to resist. ARP builds on Electronic stability control and its three chassis control systems already on the vehicle - Anti-lock braking system, traction control and yaw control. However, this is only available on the Titanium and Titanium+ variants.
As is always the case with Ford cars, the Freestyle will be available in 4 variants - Ambiente, Trend, Titanium and Titanium+ and will come with both the petrol and diesel powertrains. The petrol is a 1.2-litre motor, which churns out 95 bhp and there's a peak torque of 120 Nm on offer. What is important to note here is that the petrol motor returns fuel efficiency figures of 19 kmpl. The diesel is a tried and tested 1.5-litre mill which develops 99 bhp and 215 Nm of peak torque. It's fuel economy figures stand at 24.4 kmpl which are quite good for the segment.
Beside this, the Freestyle comes with safety features like dual airbags and ABS as standard while the side and curtain airbags are available on the Titanium+ variant only. You also get reverse parking sensors and seat belt reminder as standard (The Aspire and Figo have it only from the Titanium variant).
(Ford Freestyle comes with safety features like dual airbags and ABS as standard)
Also Read: Ford Freestyle: All You Need To Know
Features like automatic Climate control and push button start/stop are available from the Titanium variant while SYNC 3, rain sensing wipers as also Android Auto and Apple CarPlay will be provided only on the Titanium+ variant.
Bluetooth, USB, embedded navigation, the touchscreen infotainment system as also steering mounted controls are available on the Freestyle from the Trend variant onwards. The company plans to launch the Freestyle this month itself and we'll have the review for you in the course of today!
