[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Mine works pretty good. I relied on it heavily during my Srisailam trip, as I did not want to fill up lousy fuel there. You can read my travelogue for details.

Seems it is a must have in a car.. Feel bad that its not present in my car. Equally feel bad about the absence of low fuel alarm or blink. Does Fiesta have it too?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Kerb weight : SX4 ZXI - 1200 kg, Fiesta 1.6 SXI - 1130 kg

I think the SX4 is the only MUL offering which is heavier than its competition in the same segment. Must have taken quite some effort to persuade the guys at MUL to think beyond FE.

[praveen_v]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Your presumption might be right to some extent from the point of a good driver/good 'enough' car factor! But most accidents happen when you and your car is being hit/crashed by other vehicle.. so, just being an exceptional good driver or good car does not come into play in such situation.. but airbag will

Front airbags deploy on a front collision. And if a car gets smashed at the front surely the driver has to take some responsibility (Even though it's some other guy's mistake) for it since it happens in his full view. That's what separates a normal driver from a "smart" driver. A smart driver will be able to see such situations beforehand and will avoid getting into it in the first place For example, braking early when you see a bus/lorry coming towards you is trying to make a tight overtake.

The airbag comes in after the crash and i'm discussing about what will actually prevent a crash. If a crash happens, then the airbag is the only thing that can save. No argument on that!!

[1100D]

Originally Posted by praveen_v

Front airbags deploy on a front collision. And if a car gets smashed at the front surely the driver has to take some responsibility (Even though it's some other guy's mistake) for it since it happens in his full view. That's what separates a normal driver from a "smart" driver. A smart driver will be able to see such situations beforehand and will avoid getting into it in the first place For example, braking early when you see a bus/lorry coming towards you is trying to make a tight overtake.

The airbag comes in after the crash and i'm discussing about what will actually prevent a crash. If a crash happens, then the airbag is the only thing that can save. No argument on that!!

Bottomline is however smart you are, you are always open to accidents, in which case airbags help, so no questions about the fact that we really need them.

[spindoc]

Originally Posted by praveen_v

Front airbags deploy on a front collision. And if a car gets smashed at the front surely the driver has to take some responsibility (Even though it's some other guy's mistake) for it since it happens in his full view. That's what separates a normal driver from a "smart" driver. A smart driver will be able to see such situations beforehand and will avoid getting into it in the first place For example, braking early when you see a bus/lorry coming towards you is trying to make a tight overtake.

Sorry for being ...

IMHO, all this talk about "smart" driving sounds good, but doesn't always hold water. Picture this: You are in a normal city road and take a left into a bylane at 15 kph... As you turn you see a tanker lorry coming right at you at 40 kph, on the wrong side of the road. How can we use our smart driving skills to avoid a collision?

see this news item from Apr-07: Yet Another Tragedy Caused By Reckless Youngsters - Indian Road Traffic Discussion !

Airbags make all the more sense in a country like ours where policing is inadequate and road sense/discipline is eminently missing.

[gendarmee]

Although I'm attracted to the Fiesta more than SX4.
But if had to take one i'd be practical and go for the SX4 coz.....FORD's After Sales service is Very bad, Plus the maintainence costs are super high.
Havent heard greatly about maruti *** but would like to try it out coz it'd definitely be cheaper than ford.

Ford sales man will promise you VFM and guarantee that he'll buy the car back within a year for a good price if u change to another ford....Take the delivery of the car drive out take a U turn, and step back in and the best offer is 1.1 lakhs below the market price for a 10 minutes old car

[The Hurricane]

any day the SX4 over the fiesta

[praveen_v]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Bottomline is however smart you are, you are always open to accidents, in which case airbags help, so no questions about the fact that we really need them.

Now who said we dont need airbags?? I was talking about how the need for the airbag can get "reduced" not totally eliminated. It's getting off topic so we will conclude that airbags are absolutely essential.

Originally Posted by spindoc

Sorry for being ...

IMHO, all this talk about "smart" driving sounds good, but doesn't always hold water. Picture this: You are in a normal city road and take a left into a bylane at 15 kph... As you turn you see a tanker lorry coming right at you at 40 kph, on the wrong side of the road. How can we use our smart driving skills to avoid a collision?

see this news item from Apr-07: Yet Another Tragedy Caused By Reckless Youngsters - Indian Road Traffic Discussion !

Airbags make all the more sense in a country like ours where policing is inadequate and road sense/discipline is eminently missing.

Yeah Airbag is the most important safety device,after seat belts.

Get out of the car and run away if you see a tanker coming like that

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Seems it is a must have in a car.. Feel bad that its not present in my car. Equally feel bad about the absence of low fuel alarm or blink. Does Fiesta have it too?

Yes it does have this feature. In my Srisailam trip, it started blinking when there was about 75 kms of fuel left....I mean the DTE showed 75 kms. Since the milestone showed Hyderabad as only 55 kms away, I decided not to fill up till I reached my regular bunk near my house.

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

any day the SX4 over the fiesta

Have you ever driven the Fiesta? I am pretty sure you havenot

[narayan]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Who cares what people says.. its your car and as long as you enjoy a good rapport with the dealer/workshop, that is what all that matters.. And I will also say this.. once one buys a particular car after much dilemma, one tend to make a point to cast "my" car/service to be superior than "yours".. a typical trait to re-assure oneself that they have taken right decision..

good u raised this point..

1) so one needs a rapport with the dealer to get good service
2) one tries to paint a rosy picture of A.S.S. to justify ones buying experience...

i think when u look at these aspects, all though i voted for FIESTA 1.6 earlier, the SX4 definetly wins here bcos, MUL is one company which has taken its A.S.S to such levels that u dont need to have a rapport with the dealer to get good service... so as a consequence, u really dont have to justify hard on how good ur A.S.S. is

i think this makes a big difference in deciding the segment winner...

i for one dont belive that a dealer is one with who I need to build "rapport" with to get good service..after all we are talking of 6-7 lakh priced cars...

and MUL even when i owned a "humble" used esteem, gave me excellent service in comparison to HONDA which needs a good kick up their crot$H for the terrible A.S.S.

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by narayan

good u raised this point..

1) so one needs a rapport with the dealer to get good service
2) one tries to paint a rosy picture of A.S.S. to justify ones buying experience...

i think when u look at these aspects, all though i voted for FIESTA 1.6 earlier, the SX4 definetly wins here bcos, MUL is one company which has taken its A.S.S to such levels that u dont need to have a rapport with the dealer to get good service... so as a consequence, u really dont have to justify hard on how good ur A.S.S. is

i think this makes a big difference in deciding the segment winner...

i for one dont belive that a dealer is one with who I need to build "rapport" with to get good service..after all we are talking of 6-7 lakh priced cars...

and MUL even when i owned a "humble" used esteem, gave me excellent service in comparison to HONDA which needs a good kick up their crot$H for the terrible A.S.S.

But what I was talking to was with reference to other brand.. And yes, you are right in this aspect of Maruti A.S.S.. Irrespective of new/old customer, small/big car, their services do not differ and nor do one require an explicit rapport to be maintained..

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

But what I was talking to was with reference to other brand.. And yes, you are right in this aspect of Maruti A.S.S.. Irrespective of new/old customer, small/big car, their services do not differ and nor do one require an explicit rapport to be maintained..

I disagree. There was a Maruti dealer named Mitra Automobiles in Vizag about whom I'd heard horror stories in the Nineties. Most of us were going to another Maruti authorized service centre.

This apart, when I took my WagonR to the famed Saboo Motors near my new house on Raj Bhawan Road, they did not show interest, and said I needed to take my car to their other service point at Diamond Point, about 8 kms away. They tried to justify by saying that their branch services cars less than 2 years old ! They were more apathetic when they learnt that I had not bought my car from them. I registered a complaint on MUL, and they did not have the courtesy to respond so far! Talk of Ford apathy, it looks like MUL is not much different.
Regardless of this, I must admit that Maruti was the first in India to focus on customer delight, and hats off to them for this. However, there are aberrations in their customer focus,as reported above, and also by several Team Bhp members.

[Royal_Snake]

would choose fiesta over SX4 because SX4 sucks in everthing

[sbala]

I would choose Fiesta over SX4 - I would say SX4 is a 4 seater car not 5 - Ppl sitting in the back feel that they are seated in the second floor

Fiesta is always fun to drive car than SX4 - i strongly believe that SX4 is made to price under 8L - lacks build quality

The only adv. in SX4 is its Ground Clearance - which is very low in case of Fiesta.

Ford has localized most of its Fiesta parts. So, maintenance will not eat your pocket.