SX4 ZXI or Fusion Plus Petrol?

[snaronikar]

Between your choices, I would prefer to go in for SX4 for the pros others have put in this thread. It offers a better package than Fusion+.

[vnabhi]

Basically it is your call. But in Hyd, I'd rate A.S.S by Mody Ford to be better than that of Varun Motors, which is the Maruti dealer.
I own a petrol Fiesta for the past 14 months and am quite happy with the service by Mody Ford.

[Glass]

@vnabhi:
Thanks for the info. Is the difference in maintenance costs between Maruti and Ford huge? - including any variation in break-downs and replacements needed? I think you are the right person to ask with a Fiesta and a Wagon R.

[gopinathann]

The problem with Ford is that to change a particular part, they will tell to replace the whole set. That is why they call the spare cost is very high. In the forum also I have read that changing the faulty central locking in one door involved changing the entire set.

[kaush666]

well its upto you now to decide...its only with the SX4 and the Fusion+..I would also recommend the Mahindra Renault Logan..It's refined and great except for its boxy style..You can also opt for the Swift Dzire but you might be a tad cramped at the rear..It's upto you..

[Glass]

Thanks. Logan - good but I don't want people to hire my services
Swift Dzire - you said it, too cramped.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Glass

@vnabhi:
Thanks for the info. Is the difference in maintenance costs between Maruti and Ford huge? - including any variation in break-downs and replacements needed? I think you are the right person to ask with a Fiesta and a Wagon R.

Well, I've not changed any part on the Fiesta so far, and on the WagonR I only had to change a headlight and two bulbs at the rear over the past 7 years. Therefore, I've no idea about cost of spare costs. But being a higher segment car, I'd expect the spares of the Fiesta to cost more.

As far as servicing goes, the labour charges and oil change charges of the Fiesta are a bit higher, but then the Fiesta takes more engine oil then the Waggie. On labour charges the ballpark figure would be 30% extra for the Fiesta. I paid labour charges only once so far for the Fiesta---during its one year 20K Km service.
I'd like to quote my recent experience with Varun Motors. I went there to have my headlight and left brake light changed. I also wanted them to check why my wiper fluid was not getting sprayed on the windscreen. They said it would take couple of hours for those jobs. So I told them to just change the bulbs,which they did in 25 minutes (job actually took 10 mins) and charge Rs 50 as labour charges.
A couple of days later, I got a 'post service' customer care call asking 'how was the service, sir?'. I said the headlight is 'performing' well, and that it was the spare bulb that had come with the car. Never heard something so ridiculous.
A few days later, when I took my car to Saboo Motors near my house, they took one minute to fix the wiper fluid issue--a pipe was disconnected, that was all. They did it for free. If Varun had cared to look at it while removing the headlight bulb, how come they missed it? I was right beside the mechanic when he was doing his job, and he replied that it would take them an hour to dismantle the washer unit to diagonise the problem.
See what I mean on Maruti service?

[kaush666]

you could search on the homepage of t-bhp for reviews on those vehicles..full details along with the pros and cons and things that wear out quickly , similar choices of cars etc.. are provided in the test drive section..

http://www.team-bhp.com/web/index.php?categoryid=3&p114_action=displaylisting
The above link is for the Ford Fusion review in Team BHP

[anupmathur]

Or you can save yourself the trouble and simply go with the overwhelming vote here for the SX4!
But, but... buying a car is a very personal thing. Go with your heart! That will give maximum joy of ownership.
Or go with your mind for a perfectly rational choice that suits the job at hand.

[kaush666]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Or you can save yourself the trouble and simply go with the overwhelming vote here for the SX4!
But, but... buying a car is a very personal thing. Go with your heart! That will give maximum joy of ownership.
Or go with your mind for a perfectly rational choice that suits the job at hand.

anupmathur is absolutely right Glass...Go ahead and buy the car of your choice..You heard the pros and cons and you might be very confused..Its upto you now..Take a very very wise decision. All The Best.

[ballkey]

If you're buying the Fusion, I'd suggest buying a pre-owned one. The advantage is,
- The petrol ones are usually not that abused - you're likely to land with a fairly low-mileage specimen.
- The petrol engine is bullet-proof; should last atleast a lakh kilometres
- Fusion has terrible resale prices - atleast the petrol ones. so you get good depreciation benefits.

The old-model Fusion+ actually looked better, had better features, and was a pretty nice car. It still is; but for the resale.
If you want a new Ford, I'd suggest sticking with the Fiesta.

[Glass]

Hi guys,

I am closer to a decision (a couple of days more) and am veering towards the Fusion+ petrol for the following reasons:

1. Rear middle seat: Will definitely be necessary. I don't want to curse the SX4 each day for not being comfortable there. Showroom has no solution.
2. Driveability: FF+ is more compact and easier to drive in the lanes and by-lanes and with the better visibility on my kind of drives.

Minor issues seem to exist with both the cars, but overall owners of both cars seem quite happy. On A.S.S., I plan to go for the extended warranty covering 4 years. I have picked up a price list for Fusion spares and I am told the prices are now a little better with lesser imports and more local production. I visited the Mody Ford service station and got some assurances from them. And yes, the Fusion+ costs 70-80 K lesser than SX4.

@ballkey
I would rather go for a new one, though I do understand your point that logically an old Fusion is a prize catch. I would like to keep it for a long time and want the smell of the new car's interiors
You know, it is heart over the head!

Thanks.

[Glass]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Allow me to add a twist to the story. If you search in the forum there is a thread on problems related to SX4. So why don't you look at the following too?

Chevy Aveo ( only issue could be the notchy gearing, A.S.S is supposedly improving a lot)
Swift Petrol ( Good nippy car to drive, cramped interiors, saves you lot of money)
Renualt Logan ( Decent Car, good interior space)
Ford Fiesta Petrol ( Lovely drivers car, A.S.S supposedly a problem but talk to owners in Hyderabad)
Fiat Palio ( Awesome drivers car)
Getz Petrol ( Loads of interior space)

So broaden your horizon and test drive all of them and go with your heart.

Your twist is turning into a reality, mobike.

I TDed an Aveo 1.6LT today and found it decent. It wasn't too low on seating either.
Ok, let me start with a blank slate again!

[simran]

You can look at the Honda City as well. Space is good, 5 people can sit comfortably. Luggage space is good. Reliability, quality of parts is great, so is mileage, and Service seems to be improving. With the new Honda City around the corner, you will get good discounts.

Things against it are that its for sedate drivers, and you need to go slow over ill-designed speed breakers.

Also, you can keep it forever, and it won't trouble you much.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by Glass

1. Rear middle seat: Will definitely be necessary. I don't want to curse the SX4 each day for not being comfortable there. Showroom has no solution.

This is purely personal but its very useless reason for not going to SX4. How many times do you drive fully loaded. I think its a tradeoff between 3 ok seats or 2 very comfortable seats.

But anyways, even if you select Fusion, you are going to enjoy the car.

Problem with Aveo is GC which is low. and if you are thinking for that, then why not, Accent, Indigo, city, and many more.

I think you need to first decide what do you really want. Else you will be like a ping-pong ball, the way I was for last 6 months, jumping from one car to other.

And belive me, HONESTLY, this forum gona confuse you more