[vikramv007]

Originally Posted by needforspeed88

The diesel is the main money spinner and as far as i can see the diesel prices have only been cut by 30k which is petty amount for a 10 lakh rupee car [on road price ]. When you look at the Verna with a monstrous engine, outstanding looks , great feature list, Hyundai sales and service network, resale value why would anybody give more than a glancing look to the Fiesta diesel model unless they are a ford loyalist.

The Ford in much better than the Verna except for the feature list and the so called Hyundai after sales service which i am not very impressed with. The Verna s ride and handling is horrible, the steering lacks complete feel and the 1.6TDI's in the rapid/vento except for the fact they are a tad noisy completely outclasses the Verna's 1.6 motor. Sure the Verna has 126bhp but with the ride and handling there is absolutely noway one can use that power.
Personally I would rate the Diesels as follows
1. Skoda Rapid
(+ve's: VFM, Space, Performance, quality, decent ride and handling)
(-ve's : A tad short on features, Skoda after sales service)
2. Ford Fiesta
(+ve's: Brilliant ride and handling, Feature list, Millage)
(-ve's : no enough power to exploit the chassis, space)
3. VW Vento
(+ve's: Space, Brilliant engine, decent ride and handling, VW badge)
(-ve's : Price)
4. Hyundai Verna
(+ve's: A long feature list, Hyundai after sales service, VFM)
(-ve's : sloppy ride and handling, engine lacks the punch of the previous
Verna, in gear acceleration is poor)

[vvijay]

Originally Posted by kiku007

My Fiesta ZXi has those 5!

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Sounds crazy! The sxi in the Classic has 5 cabin lights!

Just to make my post clearer, I'm not talking about the number of cabin lights. I'm more shocked at the elimination of reading light, DTE, fuel computer which was earlier present in those models and that its a feature not to be eliminated on this car. if it was a misinterpretation from my side.

[needforspeed88]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Not without reason.
Chuck it into a corner at , lets say, a decent speed, and then youll know.

Yeah thats why one sells nearly 5 times as much as the other model. The masses do not go any where near the handling limits of a car and please the handling bit about Verna is a hugely exaggerated fallacy. The outright grip is there but it rolls a bit more due to city centric soft suspension. People do not go rallying in their cars. The Verna is the king of the segment and that too by a comfortable margin.

P.S: Owned the previous Verna in the family and have taken a couple of test drives of the new Verna too.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by needforspeed88

Yeah thats why one sells nearly 5 times as much as the other model. The masses do not go any where near the handling limits of a car and please the handling bit about Verna is a hugely exaggerated fallacy. The outright grip is there but it rolls a bit more due to city centric soft suspension. People do not go rallying in their cars. The Verna is the king of the segment and that too by a comfortable margin.

P.S: Owned the previous Verna in the family and have taken a couple of test drives of the new Verna too.

Was talking about why fiesta loyalists ARE fiesta loyalists.
Rest, full points to you.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by kiku007

My Fiesta ZXi has those 5!

I really didn't understand the model re-jig. Someone please put a nice old vs new chart

To add fuel to the fire, what's the price difference between the Classic SXi 1.6 Petrol and the Fiesta 1.5 Ambiente?

Actually as of now, The Fiesta 1.5 Ambiente is cheaper than a Classic SXi 1.6 by about 30k (OTR Pune as per Carwale).

So, For 30k less, you get
1. A new gen car
2. More horsepower but less torque
3. Better handling
4. Overall More Fuel efficient.
5. 15" Wheels
6. Fatter Rubber (195/60R15 Vs 175/65R14)

You Lose:
1. 1 Airbag
2. 14" Alloy Wheels
3. Front Fog Lamps
4. ICE
5. Steering Adjustment ?

But the issue actually is that it is not the SXi which gets the no.s for the Classic Fiesta. Still the 2012 Fiesta looks much more VFM now compared to earlier. The petrol with the DCT should actually be fun, power efficient and fuel efficient all at the same time.

[vvijay]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

You Lose:
1. 1 Airbag
2. 14" Alloy Wheels
3. Front Fog Lamps
4. ICE
5. Steering Adjustment ?

Do we lose ICE and steering adjustment on the Ambiente? I don't think so, I guess both of them are standard across the variants. Losing ICE, I don't see the VFM tag coming along with the newly priced variants.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Actually as of now, The Fiesta 1.5 Ambiente is cheaper than a Classic SXi 1.6 by about 30k (OTR Pune as per Carwale).

So, For 30k less, you get
1. A new gen car
2. More horsepower but less torque
3. Better handling
4. Overall More Fuel efficient.
5. 15" Wheels
6. Fatter Rubber (195/60R15 Vs 175/65R14)

You Lose:
1. 1 Airbag
2. 14" Alloy Wheels
3. Front Fog Lamps
4. ICE
5. Steering Adjustment ?

But the issue actually is that it is not the SXi which gets the no.s for the Classic Fiesta. Still the 2012 Fiesta looks much more VFM now compared to earlier. The petrol with the DCT should actually be fun, power efficient and fuel efficient all at the same time.

Thanks for the details. IMHO that's too close for comfort when we consider the discounts on the SXi.

[gemithomas]

FORD Does it AGAIN!!! They Screw up a Product with irresponsible Pricing and when the Product is almost dead they reduce price.

Majority of Indian Customers make their purchases by perceived value. And the interest in a new vehicle is never followed up with relaunches / variant juggles / updates. If you are perceived as "Unacceptably Costly" during launch, no matter what correction you make. The mass would not come back. I thought Ford had learnt this with the Fusion Experience. But the All New Fiesta Debacle proved me wrong.

Wake Up FORD!!!

[Fusion2006]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

...
By the way I felt Fiesta Classic is more spacious than the new Fiesta. Anyone else?

Yes. And I also had the same reaction to my TD as you have described.

[sids911]

Does this mean the top end hatch will not breach the 7.00 L mark? (when and if it gets launched, sighhh, I still want that Hot Hatch Ford!)

[v.anand]

^^Given the same engine options, hatch must not be any cheaper than the sedan. Sedan being pricey is again a perceived value. Fiesta hatch boot has adequate space, similar to Jazz and Polo and looks so much better than sedan. IMO, part of the reason the new Fiesta sedan doesn't sell is because of the way it looks.

The hatch mechanism is much more complex and looks and feels more sophisticated compared to tinny feeling dicky door of sedans. Want more proof, try the boot door in a Laura and Jetta, cars of the same segment and same production line. Polo and Vento is another example. The only solid feeling dicky door I have come across is that of Fiat Linea.

I completely agree with Fiesta Vs Verna part. No matter how many equipments Verna comes packed with, Fiesta as a car is miles better IMO. The steering and suspension in Fiesta, Verna can only dream of. To Verna's credit, it looks much better visually and that attracts the masses.

Fiesta Petrol lacked any USP all this while, the introduction of Automatic however is the masterstroke. Its the best auto tranny in the segment and Ford are in the right direction to market it adequately, case in point back to back advertisement in TOI today.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

FORD Does it AGAIN!!! They Screw up a Product with irresponsible Pricing and when the Product is almost dead they reduce price.

From what I have seen, the outside world hasn't seen much of the new Fiesta, if at all any. So, Ford can simply consider that they are launching a totally new product and move on. For those who rejected the car because of the high price and bought another car, it won't matter anyway. And those who are going to consider buying a car can definitely look at the Fiesta as an option.

In my opinion, from now on, the biggest challenge for people in the ford sales team is convincing people to buy the car despite the weird looks, esp. the rear.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by v.anand

IMO, part of the reason the new Fiesta sedan doesn't sell is because of the way it looks.

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

In my opinion, from now on, the biggest challenge for people in the ford sales team is convincing people to buy the car despite the weird looks, esp. the rear.

I dont think that's the main reason why the fiesta did not sell well. If the dzire and sunny can sell with those" unappealing" a** Why cant the Fiesta? Its more due to a combination of high price, non luxurious interiors and compact design of the the car and to a slight extent, the engines!I know people who bought a fiesta either because they loved the handling or they wanted something different from the regular bunch and dint mind the negatives that much!

other people rejected the car due to the above reasons , it dint provide the feeling of a big, luxurious and spacious car which their neighbors could envy!

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

I dont think that's the main reason why the fiesta did not sell well. If the dzire and sunny can sell with those" unappealing" a** Why cant the Fiesta? Its more due to a combination of high price, non luxurious interiors and compact design of the the car and to a slight extent, the engines!I know people who bought a fiesta either because they loved the handling or they wanted something different from the regular bunch and dint mind the negatives that much!

other people rejected the car due to the above reasons , it dint provide the feeling of a big, luxurious and spacious car which their neighbors could envy!

In the case of Sunny, there is 'space' that will make you forget everything else. Talking about looks, even though sunny's rear resembles that of the Dzire, it's no way as funny looking as the Dzire (in my opinion, of course) And remember, Dzire is from a segment below where people have a totally different set of requirements and mentality. When the car costs more than 10 lakh rupees, it better look good. The advantage Ford has is, that the previous gen (the classic) was a famous car, which they might be able to ride on.

I agree with you on the 'envy' part, though. To some extent, a decent looks could have alleviated that.

[bala80]

I still feel if ford had introduced an ambiente verison in the diesel model and priced it on par with skoda rapid TDI ambition, more people would consider it. For the moment the base variant of diesel starts at 8.99 lakhs and they could have removed cruise control, ACC, fog lamps(?), music system and such frills and had priced it around 8.25 lakhs - that would have been an extremely attractive proposition.