Ford’s sub-four metre Figo Aspire sedan, expected June-end, enters a heavily contested segment with players like Honda, Maruti and Hyundai already present.

Walk around the Aspire and it becomes apparent that Ford has maintained its corporate identity with the car’s Aston Martin-like grille and headlights. The front-end design features a large hexagonal grille with chrome surround and chrome horizontal slats on the top variant. The headlamps are more compact when compared to the sharper styling of the larger Fiesta.

Viewed from the side on, the Figo Aspire looks quite stubby with the flat nose and tail adding to this effect. Styling on the flanks is rather plain with the shoulder line rising and falling gently over the wheel arches.

There are plenty of details at the rear to try and keep the rear bumper busy with Ford trying to keep the car below four-metres. The tail-lamps are simple, single piece wrap-around units with the top-spec model getting a thick band of chrome running across the boot lid. The black cladding on the lower portion of the rear bumper and the extension of the rear wheel arches prove that Ford has also done a lot of work to smoothen the airflow of the rear.

Get into the car and the similarities to the other Fords just become evident. The dashboard, centre console components, steering and gear-knob are mostly carried over from either the larger Fiesta or the EcoSport compact SUV. The high-set audio system gets a large screen and wing-shaped button sets. On the top-end Titanium model, the car gets chrome on certain dials, circular air vents and Ford’s SYNC infotainment system with Applink. The climate control system is a more compact unit than the one found on the EcoSport, as is the instrument cluster.