Dzire Zdi or Fiesta Zxi Tdci - help please.

[dushmish]

Originally Posted by izzy

@dushmish, we own a swift Dzire and are out to sell it after doing around 35000kms in 5months. Our cars run mostly on the highways and we often have to travel at nights. Thus having a fast, fuel efficient and safe car is a must for us. The Dzire starts its trouble when your driving at 100+. Thats when you can feel the car wobble and gives you a feeling that the car would go completly out of control if you have to break at that speed. It can get highly fatal. This is a complaint that we ignored before buying the car. Also, the stability and drivabilty of the Swift is by far the best in its class, having said that, the Dzire is a complete opposite of what the Swift makes you believe.

Get the tyres changed to Michelin XM1+ buddy and you will see what a car it is. It is all to with the tyres. The stock tyres don't provide any grip and are too hard. Noisy like hell. I have done highway driving on both tyres and touched speeds of up to 150 kmph and I can tell you how safe it feels with Michelins.

Originally Posted by izzy

As for the service experience, we own an Esteem and an Alto and have been using it since i dont remember how long (we service them at any random service station but Maruti). These cars are excellent VFM, but when it comes to buying cars today, we dont jus look at the physical quality but quality as a whole, which also includes the way the people at the service station talk to you and address your issues. Maruti service advisors have always been arrogant and ignorant, which is also due to the reason that they have enough number of customers which makes them care less about each one of them. And yes, the service back up is simply not comparable, but lets face it, your car may malfunction once in say 1lac kms, are you really willing to let someone make you feel less important only because there are plenty more like you out there, for that one time in 1lac kms?

I agree, attitude can be an issue given the number of customers Maruti has. It helps to give feedback. Trust me, I have done it, and worked for me. Is it a ZDi that you have? if not then change to alloys and upsize your tyres. You will love the car as much as the City.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

The Fiesta is a much better car than the Dezire. It has got a very responsive engine and a sporty feel to it.

It would have been different if you were going in for the SX4 however, as the two are in the same category.

I would be surprised to know that lower powered, lower torque fiesta engine and a heavier fiesta can be peppier /sportier than Swift DZire.

[greenhorn]

i dont think it should wobble.

I have a friend who has a swift VDi and Dzire LDi, both go on regular and consistent 100 kmph+ highway runs. he feels the dzire has better handling, and is more stable

[manson]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

I would be surprised to know that lower powered, lower torque fiesta engine and a heavier fiesta can be peppier /sportier than Swift DZire.

Perhaps something to do with Ford's handling characteristics. Just drove a friend's couple of months old Fiesta, it seemed like quite VFM package for him. He bought 3 of them together at 7L each on road Thane.

manson.

[lamborghini]

@Diesel Fan: It is not something to do with the handling characteristics (thats a beautiful bonus), but rather they way the engine is tuned. For the city, the fiesta feels amazing to drive and I wouldn't be surprised if it is better than the Dzire. Infact, I found the fiesta to be more responsive at low rpms than a friends OHC 1.5, Getz 1.3 and our Palio 1.6 (these cars being the only petrol cars I have driven in a while in India).

As for maintainance, I have personally found that to be a rumor from the Escort days. Look around at the ownership reviews on T-BHP and a lot of people are happy with the service costs and reliability. Me included! This is our third Ford and my dad loves them now and considers this to be the best city car.

If I was given a choice to buy a car in the same segment all over again, it would definitely be the fiesta. Maybe this time around the petrol as my running has reduced and the S looks seductive! But definitely the fiesta, even over the Linea.
Why?
- Easy to drive in the City
- Good FE
- Good ride/handling
- I like the interiors much more than its competitors (barring the Linea)
- Peace of mind in terms of reliability and maintainance.

[TOR]

Originally Posted by izzy

we own a swift Dzire and are out to sell it after doing around 35000kms in 5months.

Thats 230+ odd KM's per day!

Personally own a Dzire VDi and run 50KM's/day most of which are on state highways(hence lot of braking and turning at relatively high speeds, 80-120kmph).

Never felt the car unstable at all, though would have liked a bit more better brake feel.

Am also running 185/70/14 Michelin XM1+(changed as soon as the car was delivered) so cant say much about the performance of the car on stock tyres.

Are you running on stock tyres?

[DieselFan]

DDIS engine is much peppier than the old FORD TDI engine any day. However well tuned it may be it delivers just 68 HP of power and 140 NM of torque while DDIS delivers 75 HP of power and an amazing 190 NM of torque. Low end grunt of DDIS is much better than Fiesta. This is not only my experience but most members in this forum who own the DDIS/MJD engine.

Handling is excellent in both Swift and DZire. I think it is better in DZire than Swift.

Two people I know who owned a Ford - IKON and escort had given up on the ford service and taken up TVS servicing because of exhorbitant cost of service and spares beyond 50 K kms.

If one wants to pay more than 1.5L for the looks of Fiesta I can't help but wonder why?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

@Diesel Fan: It is not something to do with the handling characteristics (thats a beautiful bonus), but rather they way the engine is tuned. For the city, the fiesta feels amazing to drive and I wouldn't be surprised if it is better than the Dzire. Infact, I found the fiesta to be more responsive at low rpms than a friends OHC 1.5, Getz 1.3 and our Palio 1.6 (these cars being the only petrol cars I have driven in a while in India).

As for maintainance, I have personally found that to be a rumor from the Escort days. Look around at the ownership reviews on T-BHP and a lot of people are happy with the service costs and reliability. Me included! This is our third Ford and my dad loves them now and considers this to be the best city car.

If I was given a choice to buy a car in the same segment all over again, it would definitely be the fiesta. Maybe this time around the petrol as my running has reduced and the S looks seductive! But definitely the fiesta, even over the Linea.
Why?
- Easy to drive in the City
- Good FE
- Good ride/handling
- I like the interiors much more than its competitors (barring the Linea)
- Peace of mind in terms of reliability and maintainance.

Add absence of 'Tun Tun' looks for the Fiesta vis-a-vis the Dzire.

Originally Posted by DieselFan

DDIS engine is much peppier than the old FORD TDI engine any day. However well tuned it may be it delivers just 68 HP of power and 140 NM of torque while DDIS delivers 75 HP of power and an amazing 190 NM of torque. Low end grunt of DDIS is much better than Fiesta. This is not only my experience but most members in this forum who own the DDIS/MJD engine.

Handling is excellent in both Swift and DZire. I think it is better in DZire than Swift.

Two people I know who owned a Ford - IKON and escort had given up on the ford service and taken up TVS servicing because of exhorbitant cost of service and spares beyond 50 K kms.

If one wants to pay more than 1.5L for the looks of Fiesta I can't help but wonder why?

I don't own either car, but I've driven both in Hyderabad city. I find the Fiesta Diesel far more peppier than the diesel Dzire, especially in city-driving. Don't get fooled by bhp figures and p/w ratios.

To cite an example, the Fiesta tdci delivers 68 bhp and weighs 1200 kgs, whereas a WagonR delivers 65 bhp and weighs 850 kgs. The Fiesta can leave the Waggie gasping way behind, despite the adverse p/w ratio.
Even I found it challenging to overtake a diesel Fiesta while starting from a traffic signal on my 1.6 Fiesta. However on the highways, the ball game would have been different.

Handling is better in the Fiesta than even the Swift, not to mention the Dzire. My friend runs a Maruti dealership in Orissa, and has commented that on highway runs, the boot of the Dzire steps out on hard braking. The Swift vdi has better handling characteristics than the Dzire, but not as good as the Fiesta's.
Even if you go the the high end model that has ABS, please verify if the Dzire has 2-channel ABS or 4-channel. I know for sure that the Swift has ABS only on the front wheels, whereas the Fiesta has it on all wheels.

The only advantage of the Dzire, IMO, is the vast network Maruti has all over India.

[dushmish]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Even if you go the the high end model that has ABS, please verify if the Dzire has 2-channel ABS or 4-channel. I know for sure that the Swift has ABS only on the front wheels, whereas the Fiesta has it on all wheels.

The only advantage of the Dzire, IMO, is the vast network Maruti has all over India.

Dzire has four channel ABS as it also has EBD. And the tail moving out on high speed doesn't happen in the ZDi thanks to the EBD. Not sure of the VDi or LXi. It should be attributed to the tyres more than anything else. The stock tyres are BAD. No grip, all noise, very hard on road, bouncy, no wonder the tail wags.

None who drives on Michelin, Yoko, Brdgestone would report such funny behaviour.

[izzy]

As for the Dzire we own, its already enough for us. Maybe i would recommend the one buys it from us to change over to Michelin or something. And yes the tail coming out on braking is very true. We have experienced it several times, and guess what, even with full load!! Atleast then the tail should stay heavy and straight right? Another reason for letting go of the Dzire was when two of our company directors got sick sitting in the rear seat several times, and we dont even have tinted glasses on her!!

And the good news, we ain't going for a used replacement, rather a brand new Ikon TDCi. Great car and better VFM than most of the sedans out there.

Cheers

[Murugan]

Own a petrol Dzire and also often travel in a freind's diesel Fiesta. As we exit the ramp in our workspot the fiesta hits the ground consistently while the Dzire does not. The passenger load is the same with no luggage in the boot. Otherwise both cars clear the speed breakers in Chennai without bottoming out.

[architect]

Despite the excellent power and torque figures from a 1248cc engine, the Multijet / DDIS can be quite a pain at times in city traffic, as compared to the Ford.

I am saying this because after driving my Palio MJD day in and day out, the Fiesta TDCi felt like a breeze, thanks to the linear nature of its turbo. Drive both cars back to back and you will know what I mean. And I have been left behind by many a well-driven Fiesta TDCi yellow plate cab, simply because the MJD gives out its best only for a meagre 1000 RPM band between 2000 and 3000 RPM, while the Ford linear turbo thrust reduces lag and reduces the need for gear change if you wish to remain in the meaty part of the powerband.

That apart, the Fiesta, like the Ikon, feels a size smaller in terms of handling, such is the "tight" feel of the car.

All other issues: features, maintenance cost, F.E., A.S.S. have been discussed to death out here on TBHP. But for sheer FTD and driveability in city, I would recommend Fiesta. The superior power and torque of the DDIS becomes apparent on highways.

P.S. It is also marginally easier to reverse a Fiesta than a Dzire without Parking sensors.

[bullboy]

After along time .. an update .. He bought a ANHC 6 months back ..