What is that the Fiesta 1.4 does better for 1 Lakh more compared to the Ikon Flair?

[kiku007]

Hi
My friend has to decide between the Ford Ikon Flair and the Fiesta 1.4 P. He asked me if it is worth paying 1 Lakh more for the Fiesta and what is that the Fiesta does better for 1 Lakh.
I own an Ikon so can comment on it but I’ve not even traveled in a Fiesta. So based on the reviews/comments in Magazines & T-BHP I listed the below,
Ikon
+ Good Value for Money @ 5.2 Lakhs On Road
+ Better Handling than the Fiesta
+ Less power on paper but has a more responsive engine.
- 6 Year old model
- Depreciation
- You will have to listen this from people, “oh why did you buy the Ikon? They have stopped it or going to stop it”
- How long is Ford going to sell it?
Fiesta
+ New New New!!!
+ Modern interiors
- I don’t want to comment
Now here’s the help I need,
* My Friend will drive 15-20 Kms/Day. Occasional Highway trips (Once in a month max)
* His need is a good spacious 3 Box Sedan with peppy (For City) engine.
* Budget – 5-6.5 Lakhs
* Please add/remove from the list above for the pros & Cons for the two cars
* Is it worth paying 1Lakh more for the Fiesta 1.4P?
Polite Note: He’s not interested in A or B segment Hatches, so please don’t suggest the Palio or Chevy UVA. His Family owns the following Cars, Swift, and Qualis & Maruti 800

[goldie_malhotra]

- For starters, the Fiesta is a new design
- The 1.4 in Fiesta has much more horses and feels more peppier than the 1.3 in the Flair (1.6 Ikon is another thing altogether).
- More functional interiors, somewhat better looking too.
- Better handling, and higher top-speed.
- Much improved brakes (is ABS an option?)
- Perhaps marginally better FE (not sure)
- Much more refined engine, lower NVH levels, and better ride comfort.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

My friend's father got himself a fiesta 1.4 EXi

The mileage he is getting is 8-9 kmpl... On the highways, the figure just touches 10... He has complained to the service guys... The reprogrammed the ECU, i think... But still hasnt improved much...

Now, they are saying the CNG version will be out soon... And then, they can give him a CNG kit...

[theMAG]

For starters the Fiesta is a generation newer from the ground up - the Ikon was derived the-then European Fiesta. The 1.4 engine is leaner than the 1.3 in the Ikon. Ford also has learnt from the Ikon and the boot is not raised in the Fiesta for better rearview. Modern plastics, more aesthetic interiors. And the Fiesta is definitely going to be around 5 years from now if your friend plans to go in for finance.

[benbsb29]

I was faced with the same set of questions from family members and in-laws when i had decided on purchasing an Ikon. What they didnt realize that i had stretched my budget to get the ikon, and actually was going way overboard of i had to stretch for the Fiesta.

When i went in for my car's service, being quite friendly with the sales people at Cauvery Ford was asked to take the Fiesta for a test drive. What i drove was the 1.6 petrol edition. My observations are as follows :

Fiesta :
More spacious on the inside,
Adjustable steering wheel which is deperately lacking on the ikon,
Excellent NVH levels which again is not so good on the Ikon,
Newer car which again adds to pride of ownership (relative),
Newer interior aesthetics,
Better brakes.

Even wifey after the test drive commented on the NVH levels on the Fiesta. If all this is worth the extra lakh, go for the Fiesta, else the Ikon, even the Flair version is pretty decent value for money according to me.
Took it on a trip from Bangalore to Kerala, and the car's handling was excellent even on roads which were more SUV like than car-like.

[LandCruiser]

From what I have experienced the IKON 1.3 is underpowered particularly when AC is ON and with 2-3 people it doesnt pull that well. It is aging and going to be obsolete soon.

Fiesta is more roomy, better driving position, comfortable, really good interiors, gives marginally better FE, better NVH.

Getting in and out in a fiesta is better than IKON. More mileage, more comfort. For me these will be the deciding factors in favor of Fiesta in this case.

[esteem_lover]

I think paying 1 lakh more for the fiesta makes sense, especially since your friend is not on a budget. The fiesta is a new car & i think it is a bit more peppier than the flair's 1.3

[sivadas]

Both being india specific models, Ford has tried to improve upon all aspects for Fiesta based on user feedbacks for Ikon. This inlclude design changes like 'boot is not raised', minor modifications like changing the power window button positions and of course upgradation to newer and better engines. Wheelbase being the same, interior space is identical. Better AC, better brakes, vibrant colours, much better interiors and better gearshift are some other plus points for Fiesta.
But your friend has to decide if all these changes are really important to him. It is quite possible that Flair appears good enough for him.

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My friend's father got himself a fiesta 1.4 EXi

The mileage he is getting is 8-9 kmpl... On the highways, the figure just touches 10... He has complained to the service guys... The reprogrammed the ECU, i think... But still hasnt improved much...

Now, they are saying the CNG version will be out soon... And then, they can give him a CNG kit...

I have worked with a ford dealer earlier in the marketing division for a couple of months.
We used to check out how the test drive(TD) cars used to perform.
These are the observations regarding the FE in the flair:

1. when driven by the customers/prospects mostly in the city with 90% AC during the TD the FE was observed between 11 kmpl to 13 kmpl.

2. when driven by the dealer's drivers mostly in the city with 90% AC the FE was observed between 12 kmpl to 15 kmpl. (in this case, if the FE drops to less than 12 kmpl, the drivers are questioned about their driving by the accounts department). I know one particular driver who constantly returned 14kmpl.

These calculations were made by dividing the number of kilometers between the tank fills with number of liters put in.

Each of the TD cars are sold at 10,000 km for a price around 50K less.

P.S. I am currently neither associated with ford nor would buy a ford car in hyderabad (even though my favourite car is Ikon 1.6) . The ford cars are well built, But I have seen the attitude of the dealer w.r.t A.S.S. That was a pathetic attitude.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by sivadas

Wheelbase being the same, interior space is identical. Better AC, better brakes, vibrant colours, much better interiors and better gearshift are some other plus points for Fiesta.
But your friend has to decide if all these changes are really important to him. It is quite possible that Flair appears good enough for him.

With respect to the vibrant colors available on the Fiesta, i believe even the ikon comes with the same set of colors. My ikon Flair is the Jewel Violet color, which was originally meant for the Fiesta, i believe.

[BWN]

Flair is a Good VFM package and the service costs are not so expensive as projected generally.It is surely marginally higher than maruti or hyundai but not too high.

Having said that, in my opinion, Fiesta 1.4 Duratec engines are way better than Rocam's in terms of Refinement and NVH.Moreover, Flair definitely struggles loaded with AC and for city driving, the high boot will be a problem.Though the issue are not so serious, Flair has a lesser shelf life ahead than Fiesta brand.... So dude... 1 lac is justified.... as your friend is not on a fixed budget....

[kiku007]

Thanks a lot for the inputs guyz..My Friend is going to take a Test Drive of the Fiesta this saturday. Please suggest the things he will have to check during a Test Drive.

Also am a bit surprised to hear from some posts that the Fiesta handles beter than the Ikon coz from the day the Fiesta was launched every Magazine said the Ikon handles better.

[ferrari.frenzy]

Hi all,

My first post!!

Thanks Kishore - for starting this thread on my behalf!!

I am test driving the Fiesta this sat - before that 2 things:

1) Shld i go for the 1.4 or the 1.6?? (Hope i'm right in the prices!!)
1.4 on road > 6.55 Lakhs
1.6 on road > 7.30 Lakhs (Here, I think i'll be stretching my budget a bit more than i expected to)

2) But, can i also look at the option of Verna Petrol for this price??

I have read a lot of threads on this - still seem to be bit undecided!! So, i bring it to the forum here!!!

Help meee!!!!

[yogi1771]

go for the fiesta1.6 u will enjoy the power,and the handling of the fiesta is better than the verna so will enjoy driving it and as for the a.s.s it has improved quite a lot at least here in mumbai(personal experience) not sure over there though

[v1kram]

If the a.s.s for Ford is better in your place then it's better to go for the Fiesta, testdrive both the models (1.4&1.6) and go for the one which you like.