I have a 22-year-old foster son whose name is Freedom. Freedom now has a new name: we call him Figo - and he loves it!
Of course, if you haven't seen the TV ad for the new and nifty little Ford Figo, you're probably thinking I've lost the plot. But really, if you haven't driven a Ford lately and you're in the market for a budget runaround that's fun and hugely economical, take one of these for a test drive.
The bottom-of-the-range Figo (they all have 1.4-litre engines) comes in at only R109 900 and the model I drove, the TDCi Ambiente (turbodiesel), is a little more at R125 000.
And while you might, at first glance, think it's a Ford Fiesta, it's not. Well, not completely, anyway.
It was engineered and built in India and, although chunks of the car come straight from the Fiesta - such as the brakes, exhaust, suspension and even the steering, Ford SA says these bits and pieces have all been remodelled, tweaked and adapted specifically for the Figo.
The new hatch is shorter than the Fiesta and comes with a bunch of standard equipment that's terrific on a car costing so little.
OK, you have wind-up windows (I'd almost forgotten how to work them!) but, with the diesel model you get power steering, antilock brakes with electronic brake pressure distribution, front crash bags, central locking and aircon. And a five-speed manual gearbox.
Easy to park, easy to steer, quick on the uptake, and perfectly adequate for two adults and a pair of kids, the Figo is fun, frugal and fairly frisky with a top speed of about 162km/h.
Beneath that cute bonnet the neat little engine pumps out 51kW and 160Nm and, while it might not give you whiplash on take-off, the Figo is brisk enough when you need it and delivers more than adequate drive.
I liked the stylish and surprisingly spacious interior, and also enjoyed the fact that it feels well-made and solid. It's very appealing to look at, with those big slanting headlights and that front grille, and you'll love the colour options, girls!
My favourite is called Squeeze (I kid you not!), a kind of bright green. There's also Colorado Red, Chill, Sea Grey,and even Moondust Silver.
The Figo not only looks great but also really does offer the kind of value and quality not generally expected from cars in this class - nice one, Ford!