[1100D]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Nice battle for the 2nd place .

Good one! But the first place car in your opinion, whatever be your debate, wouldn't be considered by anybody who loves a car for what it should be. It does not handle, it does not provide driving pleasure.

Yes there are a lot of things going for it, but all that is secondary to the driving pleasure bit for some people.

So be happy with what you think is a winner. But we are not discussing that car in every thread.

[praveen_v]

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

My respect for Ford and the way they implement car dynamics has gone up tremendously. In calculus, we test continuity of a function only at its limits (no point in testing at every valid point of the function) - Same way, normal features like mileage, A.S.S, looks etc are important, but I'll always say that the way the car handles in extreme situations is the most important thing.

Absolutely true. After all the car dynamics determine how one negotiates a tight situation. Our lives depends on it and you can throw every other factor out of the window when it comes to our lives.

No one tells or advertises about these things. You cannot test it during test drives/Ownership, but it requires a tight real life situation to realize the value of the car(and the value of the life).

IMO safety features are secondary. They are only backups when the car fails to save you out of a tight situation. ABS is an exception which helps in getting out of tight situations. A good stable var will not give a chance to the safety devices most of the times when it's at the hands of a sensible driver.

So one Fiesta owner has come vouching for it's stability under braking. Can any SX4 users share such experience?

Originally Posted by Proxima

To all those who recommend the Fiesta, dont you think a visual upgrade atleast is due? If it is, does it make sense to buy this version now?

It looks very dated IMO, nothing special about it. I mean - when a red Fiesta passes me on the road, I might not even notice it. I might give a glance if a red SX$ passes me.

And isnt the 1.6 litre engine the same as what was there in the 1.6 Ikon? SO engine upgrade on the cards as well??

Hehe... you dont notice the fiesta because it'll be gone before you take the time to see. Fiesta is no Bad looker but SX4 is no great looker too. I dont care about what people outside feel, but I care about how i feel in the driver's seat!!!

By the way I have a small doubt. Does the SX4 have Distance to Empty meter and driver seat height adjust???

[blue_pulsar]

We are a bunch of automobile enthusiasts discussing here. Many people say that they prefer SX4 since its a Maruti/Suzuki. Guys, any idea what the aam junta might think?

Car-per-car, Fiesta is better.

Also, when we say VFM, doesn't it also include the resale value? Second hand buyers always 'prefer' Maruti becuse of the A.S.S/dealership network, because, that is the time when A.S.S is required more.

[The Hurricane]

i would always go for the sx4 over the fiesta due to the following reasons which are as follows:
1) maruti's service network
2) maruti's reputed customer servie
3) awesome GC of sx4 suitable for our indian roads
4) cheaper parts
5) fantastic equipment list on the sx4
6) huge boot and interior space

The reasons for not choosing the fiesta are as follows:
1) bland looks
2) rubbish looking design of the alloys( ohh come on ford after all we are paying 8 lakhs... don't be so stingy)
3) compromise on certain areas of quality just as the leaving out the rubber strip of the front and rear windshield.... this is just too much on cost cutting........ no aesthetics at all
4) front bonnet release on the left side..... how could they even forget that.... thats just being careless and taking indian customers for granted
5) no co passenger airbags even now.....why on earth does ford wanna compromise on the indian passengers safety....
6) pathetic resale value for ford's petrol cars......
7) complaints on bad service and customer care....
8) small interiors space.....
9) no MP3 stereo
all the end i have to also mention that the fiesta had a very good engine with a crisp gear shift and a not to bad suspension..... but i personally belive ford has done a lot of cost cutting just to make profits..... even maruti has done it with sharing parts with the swift, sx4 and the grand vitara.... but still not to the extent that ford has..... driving on the sx4 gives u so much confidence when in flooded roads and humps.....16 inch tyres generate so much of grip...... hats of to mauto for bringing a product like the SX4.... the fuel efficiency is abt 11km/l in city with ac full time on... on the highways i have got till about 15km/l.... which is think is good for a car this big and heavy...... finally i have to say both cars are equally good just depends on what each person values when buying these cars.........

[suman]

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

i would always go for the sx4 over the fiesta due to the following reasons which are as follows:

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

The reasons for not choosing the fiesta are as follows:

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

all the end i have to also mention that the fiesta had a very good engine with a crisp gear shift and a not to bad suspension

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

finally i have to say both cars are equally good just depends on what each person values when buying these cars.........

Lol, sounds like one major flip-flop between the two. At the end of it, I came away a little confused. Then, from your statement below, I gathered that you own the SX4 -

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

on the highways i have got till about 15km/l.... which is think is good for a car this big and heavy......

So, isn't it time you changed your avatar mate?

[The Hurricane]

hey suman thanks for the nice comment... well having been working with the GM back in India (Chevrolet) and in UK (Vauxhall)..... i have really grown to liking the company and especially the brand chevrolet...... yes i do own an SX4 is india ...... over all the product impressed me more than any chevrolet product and even the Fiesta..... so bought the product on the basis of reasoning and not just personal attachment to a brand....

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Its no brainer.. the sheer number of Maurit owners, service centres etc, will naturely contribute louder voice leading to characerization of Maruti A.S.S being on stars. I am sure if Ford had been No. 1 seller and have that much service centres, it would have the same "good" knighthood.

If people like you were willing to try out the same, you could have also joined the list of satisfied Ford owners. Time and time again, i have gone on and said about how my dealer has been providing me with excellent service, but when people flatly refuse to even acknowledge the same, one gives up.

[diabloo]

The SX4 is way quicker but not as much fun to drive, but the Fiesta is a charmer. This is one of those heart versus mind things. The SX4 is the car to buy – it's practical, is a good family car, does everything well, etc, etc, etc. But when you hear the Fiesta's engine note and the muscular sound emerging from the exhaust, you tend to get selfish thoughts... Just remember not to drag it against the SX4, that's all.

Tests - So who's driving? - Business Standard Motoring

[diabloo]

Take it easy mate, I was stating the obvious.

Originally Posted by 1100D

Good one!

[prskumar]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Tests - So who's driving? - Business Standard Motoring

Thanks for the link. Nice article. So for driving pleasure it's Fiesta and for practicality it's SX4.

But many buy for practicality, hence SX4 sells more than Fiesta 1.6

[suman]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Tests - So who's driving? - Business Standard Motoring

To each his own, here's what Autocar has to say about both -

The Fiesta 1.6 - "The 1.6 with its 101bhp is much quicker with the 0-100kph sprint taking 11.66 seconds, which again is not too far from the City ZX VTEC." (Read the article here - :: AUTOCAR INDIA - CAR AND BIKE MAGAZINE ::)

The Maruti SX4 - "The SX4 takes a modest 12.1seconds to 100kph. Modest because, the Honda City, with its 25bhp defecit is not too far off the SX4's perfomance. The Suzuki’s all-new M16A motor doesn’t exactly leap up to the red line, laboring up after around 5000rpm, the motor getting coarse and strained. There is no variable valve timing system and as a result top-end performance suffers and this is why its not as fast as it could be" (Read the article here - :: AUTOCAR INDIA - CAR AND BIKE MAGAZINE ::)

Of course, I'm guessing that you've driven neither of them?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

When we compare the FE of same-segment cars, one main thing to be taken into consideration, is the city of use. There is no point comparing the FE of a car plying in say Blore to another one driven in Gurgaon.

I read here a Fiesta1.6 owner-review where an FE of 12kmpl in city is mentioned. But given his place of usage (somewhere outskirts of Delhi with free roads, speeds above 60kmph etc), it is effectively the highway FE. So, we can guess what the actual city FE would be like.

to give an idea about how FE changes between Chennai and Gurgaon, my OHC with a FFE used to give 7-8kmpl in chennai and i get 11kmpl in gurgaon !! ( but i still miss chennai - for other reasons of course ! )

[narayan]

wow ! this is becoming a proper FIESTA 1.6 VS SX4 thread !
why not throw in a poll and see where the numbers are ?

[suman]

Originally Posted by narayan

to give an idea about how FE changes between Chennai and Gurgaon, my OHC with a FFE used to give 7-8kmpl in chennai and i get 11kmpl in gurgaon !! ( but i still miss chennai - for other reasons of course ! )

I'm sure the difference in the roads would have a positive impact, also because your commute for the most part is within Gurgaon itself. But for people doing the daily commute between Gurgaon & Delhi (or vice versa), I don't think anyone can call it "highway" conditions throughout. During rush hour, people are stuck in jams for upto an hour.

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

hey suman thanks for the nice comment... well having been working with the GM back in India (Chevrolet) and in UK (Vauxhall)..... i have really grown to liking the company and especially the brand chevrolet

Ahhh, OK, got it now mate!

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

2) rubbish looking design of the alloys( ohh come on ford after all we are paying 8 lakhs... don't be so stingy)

Agree with you, the OE alloys could have been much better looking, more so because they source from Aura & they have such good looking ones

Originally Posted by The Hurricane

3) compromise on certain areas of quality just as the leaving out the rubber strip of the front and rear windshield.... this is just too much on cost cutting........ no aesthetics at all

Just curious on how this reflects on quality or cost cutting?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by suman

I'm sure the difference in the roads would have a positive impact, also because your commute for the most part is within Gurgaon itself. But for people doing the daily commute between Gurgaon & Delhi (or vice versa), I don't think anyone can call it "highway" conditions throughout. During rush hour, people are stuck in jams for upto an hour.

TRUE - was just trying to express the one good point about my move to Gurgaon ...