Re: The Heart Vs. Soul Debate : Linea TJet versus Laura 1.8 TSI An idle mind is a devil's workshop indeed. What all ways the mind would find to keep itself engaged is quite astonishing indeed. For a guy like me,who currently is obsessed with my next car,it is natural that my mind turns to cars. It is more like a craving for alchohol, can't get beer because you are in Gujarat (bootleggers excuse), you go and try out fruit beer.
So, here I am, in good ol Navi Mumbai babysitting a toddler for 4 days with little or no work to do otherwise. With the 3Ps of life keeping me busy in intervals (for the uninitiated in the parenting world, it means pee, poo and puke),what do in those hours when the kid is asleep? I call up the neighborhood dealerships and take cars out on a spin.
Yesterday was the day of the New Ford Fiesta, a diesel one at that. I have always been a big fan of the Ford cars, especially the handling and the rear seat comfort. Having spent innumerable kilometers in the rear seat of a Flair Rocam (travelling to places like Banswara) and covered some decent mileage behind the wheel of a 1.6 Nxt, I love the way these fords hug the road.They might be small impoverished brethren of the Stang, but they are horses nevertheless. Little needs to be said about the 1.6S, as it is arguably amongst the last of the naturally aspirated delights that can be seen in our country (Cedia owners might scream bloody murder, but heck, each to his own).
I was so fascinated by the impending launch of the Mazda derived New Fiesta, I actually went to the unveiling at at local dealership with Rasna,Balloons,the works and saw the drapes being pulled off the car by a local politician, No guesses on the color of the car here! It was an entertaining event with a few aficionados, some retirees, some gaonwallaas and the extended families of the dealership employees attending the function, replete with a power point presentation by a suit shod sales executive. My wife, whom I had dragged along found all this very amusing and had a hearty laugh throughout. Checked out the car,loved 3/4 of the car, turned a blind eye towards the derriere, which was the safest thing to do with the wife around. Checked out the pricing, ouch, gulped down a Rasna and scooted out. No test drive car for the next month, so pretty much buried the thought of the NFF.
Yesterday, was reading the initial ownership experience of MAS and the thought surfaced again. Why not test drive the Fiesta and see if the DNA is being carried forward? I am not in the market for a diesel car, but was keen to know how the EPS with PDC weighed up against the old hydraulics. Called up Bhavna Ford Nerul on the board number, was quickly patched to the Sales Exev-Venkat, who showed great interest and enthusiasm in making a car available for test drive. I was supposed to land up by around 1PM, but got caught up the rigmarole till 5PM. Get a call from Venkat at 5:30 and after contemplating to push it back, I decide to take the test drive immediately. Jumped into the Sparky and in 5 minutes, reach the dealership.
Five minutes to complete formalities and we are in the test drive car, a titanium plus diesel which has clocked 8900 kms.
Since the New Ford Fiesta has been discussed threadbare in the reviews here, let me stick to a few observations:
- Call it Boron Steel or Moron Steel, this steel is heavy and is brilliant. If I were to buy this car, I need not go to Talwalkars. The car feels incredibly safe and to me is a must have,having spent the better part of my driving life in a tank,I cannot accept anything less.
- The diesel,a refined one at that, is quite rev happy and pulled cleanly. Might be the mileage on the car,I felt that the power delivery was quite linear and the torque adequate for city driving and good for stable highway runs. There is no turbo kick, no sudden power surge, it is all nice and easy. I expected a hard clutch based on the reviews, but to my surprise, found that the clutch is quite easy on the knee.
- The approach road to the showroom has its share of potholes and I purposely sent the Fiesta into one of those ruts and oh boy, she came out flying. Did I mention that we were not thrown inside the car? Since most of my commuting these days is inth rear seat of a Dzire (cabs), any car that flattens potholes gets a thumbs up from me. The steering was super light at parking speeds and weighs up, albeit eerily as speed picks up. I say eerily because I know it is an electrical unit and I don't expect these units to mimic hydraulics. Also, I did not bother myself with the gadgetary as I am not a big sucker for party tricks, If they are there, its a plus, if they aren't there, doesn't hurt.
- Since I knew this car is not a rocket, didn't want to do any speed tests. I was keen on exploring how the car handles hills and all that goes with it, which according to me is a true reflection of a car's handling prowess. It did help that Parsik hill was just round the corner and what better way to reach the Mayor's bungalow and protest on the state of the roads than land up in a tank? Started the hill climb in 2nd gear, 2500 rpm, kept climbing to 3500 rpm, a switchback comes along, swing in, don't jab the brakes, use engine braking, come out grinning at 3000 rpm. Climb up on a straight, drive over a manhole cover to dislodge the car from its line, no luck, the car holds its line, kudos. Sweeping corner, 2nd gear,ride the torque wave turn in, no understeer, keep the steering pinned get out with very less body roll. Loved it!
-Reach the top of the hill, only to find that the Mayor no longer resides in the Bungalow, turn back disappointed, no three point turn, happy again, cruise downhill and reach the dealership.
- Now back in the dealership, discuss the not to exciting aspects of the car, i.e. the price. At 13.05 lakhs ( 2012 mfg, corp regn) and 12.80 Lakhs (2011 mfg, corp regn) on road Mumbai, this car is certainly not cheap but not unaffordable either. The only thing that works against this blue oval is the lack of perceived value for money.
- To wrap up, I did check out a 2012 manufactured Fiesta and Ford seem to have worked on the feedback pertaining to quality. The rear plastics were much better than the TD car in terms of look at feel,no linings which were agape, no rusting components anywhere. Hope that this kaizen continues at Ford.
Parting thoughts- will the test drive make me a convert to the oil burning blue oval, perhaps not. What it has done is made me appreciate how much ford has done with so little. She might be a pricey dame, but which one worth her salt isn't?
Last edited by mnemonic : 18th January 2012 at 16:24.
Reason: typo
|