Petrol variants driving sales of the Ford Freestyle

The Ford Freestyle went on sale in India in April and so far, registered respectable figures in the first two months on sale. Ford India is reporting stronger demand for the petrol variants of the Freestyle compared to the diesel.

Also Read - Ford Freestyle petrol review

Speaking yesterday at the delivery of the 1 millionth Ford car in India, which happened to be a Freestyle, Anurag Mehrotra, president & managing director, Ford India said -

We initially programmed for much higher diesel mix but we are finding that the petrol mix is almost 60-70%.

The shift can be attributed to a shrinking gap between petrol and diesel prices and also the fact that the life of diesel vehicles in regions like Delhi NCR is restricted to 10 years. Ford sales have traditionally been biased towards diesel, which accounted for 70% of their total sales. The shift is being observed across products lines driven by a rise in demand for automatics.

Ford's new 1.2 L 3-cylinder petrol engine that powers the Freestyle has been received very well. Being the most powerful naturally aspirated 1.2 L available in India, customers seem to be appreciative of its performance and real-world fuel efficiency figures.

The Ford Freestyle petrol employs a 1,194 cc engine developing 96 PS at 6,500 rpm and 120 Nm at 4,250 rpm. A 5-speed manual is the sole transmission option available. It has an overall fuel economy rating of 19.0 km/l. There is no automatic petrol variant available, for now. The diesel variant shares the 1,498 cc 4-cylinder engine with the Figo, Aspire, and EcoSport. However, in the case of the Freestyle, there is a new 5-speed manual gearbox on offer.

Also Read - Ford Freestyle variant wise features and specifications

Main highlights of the Freestyle's features list includes 15-inch alloy wheels, driver seat height adjustment, rear washer and wiper, push-button start, height adjustable seat belt, electrically adjustable and folding ORVM, automatic climate control, six airbags, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, Ford MyKey, and SYNC3 infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support.