Which car to choose: Ford Fiesta EXi Limited edition or Swift Dzire VDi

[1968chensaro]

Friends,

After a lot of research, I have narrowed my choice between Maruti Swift Dzire VDi and Ford Fiesta TDCi EXi Limited edition. (both these cars are diesel).

Both cars have their advantages and limitations. To the best of my knowledge, I have listed them below:

Dzire (On road: ~ 6.5 lakhs in Coimbatore, average Fuel efficiency: 17-20 km/litre):
Maruti service network +ve
Good mileage +ve
Cramped rear seat -ve
Looks -ve
Ride quality -ve (compared to Fiesta)
Road side serivce facility +ve

Fiesta Limited edition (On road- 7.2 likh in Coimbatore, Fuel efficiency: 16-19 km/l):
Service network -ve (only one dealer in Coimbatore)
Maintenance cost -ve (higher compared to Dzire)
Looks +ve (compared to Dzire)
Rear seat comfort +ve (compared to Dzire)
Suspension +ve (very smooth and have a smooth drive)
Road side servicing - ve( I was told that Ford vehicles can be serviced only in dealer service stations. In Coimbatore, there is only one dealer and he place is 15 km away from place).

Added to that, the limited edition Fiesta has height adjustable driver seat and soft feel seat fabric, both of which are good value additon. The regular Fiesta EXi Diesel was not having these features and was costing Rs, 7.6 lakhs on Road, Coimbatore. They have reduced prices by ~ Rs 50000 and also have added feature mentioned above along with MP3 music system, which makes this particular model of Fiesta a good value for money option.

I am planning to have this new car for next 10 years and hence the spares availability is a must.

I am confused which to choose between these two cars. My heart says to go for Fiesta, but my mind says to go for Dzire. Dear Friends, can you help me?

Regards,

Sivakumar

[ku69rd]

Sivakumar,
The ford fiesta does look exciting, but the vehicle lacks power (could be my opinion) , looks wise i would rate Fiesta higher than Swift DZire. Comparitively the Swift Diesel is a lot more responsive and a lot more fun to drive. M.A.S.S is for sure better than ford and having a single A.S.S would be a tedious experience. Fuel returns in a swift diesel is much respectable compared to Fiesta.
My Selection would be pinned down to Swift Dzire if you are looking for a no frill thriller and the fiesta if you are willing to undergo the pain. Also if you are keen on the hatchbacks would be worthwhile waiting for the new ford Figo or Fiago?

[jkdas]

My vote for Fiesta coz of their new pricing. And its a more better built car than the DZire. IIHO, a Maruti will command more resale value and will have better A.S.S and cheaper parts. The engine is its biggest plus point.

Go for the Ford if you dont want a punchy engine. Do check out threads wherein TBHPians had the same query when they wanted to get a VFM diesel sedan.

[GTO]

What's the wait period of the Dzire VDi down in Coimbatore. Is a potential wait period a deal breaker? If so, then its simple.

If not, and you don't seem to be keen on the handling advantage of the Fiesta, I'd say the Dzire will serve you well. It's got more power, the Maruti peace-of-the-mind factor and great mileage. The back seat may be short on space (like the Fiesta), yet the backrest is more reclined (unlike the upright one in the Fiesta). And hey, the price difference between the two can get you the Dzire VDi which comes with some more goodies (climate control, drivers seat height adjustment etc.).

[1968chensaro]

Thanks a lot GTO and all friends.

Dear GTO, thanks for your reply. I would like to clarify some points:

Wating period for Dzire:
the waiting period in Coimbatore for Dzire VDI/ZDi is approximately 6 months. Waiting period is not a constraint for me. I am prepared to wait, if I choose Dzire. In fact, if I book today, the chances are that, I will surely get the vehicle with BS IV emission norms.

Back seat space:
During test drive of both the cars, myself and my family, found that Fiesta has more shoulder room than Dzire, which translated to better back seat conveniene.

Height adjustment of driver seat:
Dear GTO, I think Dzire VDI is not coming with neither driver seat height adjustment nor with tilt steering. It doesn not have climate control also. I think you were mentioning about Zdi model. Dzire Zdi in Coimbatore costs ~Rs. 7.5 lakhs.

My initial budget is Rs. 6.5 lakhs only and I have stretched to Rs. 7.2 lakh, based on the goodies in Fiesta.

My trouble:
As rightly said by GTO, Dzire will have Maruti peace-of-mind. Dzire was my first choice, until I stumbled upon Fiesta limited edition (read my first posting). Because of the better rear seat comfort / good driving manners / additional features and better shape of Fiesta (compared to Dzire), my mind got diverted to this car.

But when thinking of Ford service / single dealer in Coimbatore, I am really worried. Previous owners whom I talked to, told me that the servicing is good and the service cost is also nominal. They also say that for Dzire service has to be done for every 5000 km. But in Fiesta, this period is every 10000 km. As per these people, the service cost is less in Fiesta. They also said, that accident repair and component replacement cost of Fiesta will be costlier than Dzire by approximately 20% to 50%. (on the worst case).


This has still compounded my confusion.

That is why I wrote in my orignial post as:
"My heart says to go for Fiesta, but my mind says to go for Dzire. Dear Friends, can you help me?"

confusion still continuing. Please help.

Regards,

Sivakumar

[k2max6]

1. You have a single ford service station in Coimbatore.Ford's service also isnt known to be good; In case this particular service station starts giving crappy service you wont be even having an option to try a different service station.

2. The Fiesta is already 70k expensive than the Dzire.Moreover whenever you sell it a corresponding model dzire would sell at atleast 40-50k more than the Fiesta.

3. Maintaineance is expensive as compared to Dzire.

4. Infact i read somewhere on t-bhp itself that the new fiesta is due next year.Resale will again take a hit.And if the changes are quite major it will follow the ikon way.

I am not saying ford fiesta is a bad car, infact its a good car(Not to forget the perfect handling) but the points i have mentioned are according to the situation and are purely subjective.

[swiftnfurious]

Sivakumar, I noticed that you are keen about the back seat comfort as well. How often are you going to have occupants at the rear? Also for me, it would be a fiesta anyday with the requirements that you have mentioned.I prefer the features at a good price and as far as i know, ford cars dont burn your fingers unless you meet with accidents [spare costs]. After all we drive carefully right!

[Archer2005]

When it comes to anything worthwhile in life, Siva, the heart must rule!!

DZire is the most oddly integrated sedan (?) on the road today.

and also btw, you buy a car to drive, and not to take to the service station and resale etc etc, right?

Else we would all have been pretty happy with the money in the bank and hiring an auto.

If you ever want to sit in the driver's seat in a sub 10L car, Ford it ought to be.

For backseat driving, it just doesn't matter..

If in doubt, ask the heart!

[xingamazon]

Not sure if you have made the decision already, anyway few of my points to help your decision making.

1. If you are going to drive the car yourself, I would surely recommend Fiesta, as it is popularly known for being a driver's car.
2. Secondly, Fiesta as the market is considered is in a different league and Swift is in the league of Ikon. Dont just go by price point.
3. The new Fiesta will surely not mean stoppage of the current Sedan.

[garyjacob]

So whats the final buy?

Iam also thinking of selling my current swift petrol and go for a diesel sedan as my monthly run has increased now.

[aarenes]

If one intends to keep for 10 years or until it dies a natural death (which ever comes first), considering resale value as a parameter is not worth while.

I would use the following tie breakers
- Checkout Fords service network and if the folks are good enough; go for it. At least its an informed decision or calculated risk you will be taking.
- If you are not wary of taking risks, simply stick to the formula and buy Maruti.

Remember - you cant get rewards if you dont take risks.

[rajshenoy]

Dude 10 year sounds too long for me, i bet you will end up upgrading by half way mark, at least thats what people typically do.

But if you really keep it for 10 years, i dont think resale value matters after such a long tenure and in todays automobile scenario, i am sure even Maruti will come up with many more newer models and as peoples taste changes, so will be the availability of spares etc..

Ford has been continuing with iKon since so many years, which could mean, Fiesta too will not fade away so easily.. definitely not before iKon

So As aarenes said, do some groundwork on local dealership and rest, you leave it to your heart.

Modern cars dont need much maintenance unless you abuse them. And the routine expense is typically similar on all the cars of same category

I have seen alot of Fiesta as a taxi here in Bangalore(which according to me means, its a tough car and doesn't require much maintenance )

[DieselFan]

IMO Swift is the automatic Choice for CSK. Its reliability and MASS availability just about anywhere in India as well as the cost of maintenance make swift a way better choice than Fiesta. Initially you may find Fiesta attractive but one should always not go by the looks when making long term decisions ;-).

[nairrk]

I Recommend for Fiesta (It is not because I just bought a 1.6Zxi).
Just last sunday, I have taken the car for a long drive (500kms in 2 days). As I said in my thread, in the past I have driven all models of Maruti cars (except Dzire and sx4) and Hyundai Accent. But never had the fiesta experience/pleasure in any of those cars. Even if you do not like to drive, once you sit on the wheel of Fiesta then you will love to drive the car always. Built and stylewise fiesta is far superior than Dzire (ofcourse my opinion).
have seen many fiesta's on the road in the 15 days which itself says that Ford has changed a lot to attract people to buy their cars.
Go for fida..

[advaitlele]

It has to be Fiesta.

Why?
1. Good rear seat comfort; and as I gather from your post you are looking for rear passenger comfort
2. Great engine. Though I dont own, inclining to buy one in next quarter.
3. Good overall ambience and goodies.
4. Overall good VFM.

The Fiesta wins here IMO mainly because
1. If you are planning to keep it for 10 years, any car be it Maruti or any other would have comparable resale value. Parts cost and Maintenance cost would also be similar over such a long period.
2. For 700k that's the best car you get in India at present. But as someone pointed out, there might be new Fiesta down the line; and so if you are ok to wait; do that.
3. Dzire is the ugliest looking car in India today -- This is MY OPINION with all due respect to other Dzire owners (which I have right to I think, even when Mods are watching ). I am not even doing TD as my hunt is on right now and wont buy that even someone offers me new Dzire at 50% of cost. As an afterthought, I might actually do that if some offers me Dzire at 50%, and sell it off at 75% or 80% and that would help me pay the down payment for my new car

Do post what finally you chose. All the best for your hunt.