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They tried this, but some how it was too late. By then the vibes had already died out. Also some people did not like the boxy looks from the back.

I sincerely hope this becomes a reality. I feel that most players in India have
realized that public requires cheaper and smaller SUVs. Its just that, they don't know where to start this game. (A You-first attitude as its an unexplored market).

if they had realized there was a market out there for a good little SUV with diesel power and the general bells and whistles then maybe the dunderheads at maruti would have brought their Vitara in around 6-7 years ago. but they didnt which is why we are cribbing now sitting here!

Don't they already have the Vitara, or am I missing something ?
I was considering it but the price and reported poor interior qualities put me off.

I would be more interested in the SX4 Crossover. Also sold as the Fiat Cedici in some markets.

It is basically a SX4 without a boot hanging at the back. When viewed from the side, it has an 'estate-wagon-ish' feel about it. I'm sure the boot would be pretty large, just like the Jazz.

Think about it, a car with a great diesel engine, good GC, AWD, chunky tyres, decent interior space, all coupled with Maruti's super service-backup in India, it would be perfect!

Ford must look at building something on the same, or similar lines.

The SX4 hatch definitely looks good, though its showing the age now. But that’s predominantly a hatch with a bit of beefy looks. I hope Ford is looking at a proper mini-SUV here, with the famed driving dynamics :)

Think of a 'base' model of the above mentioned without the AWD and other electronics but all basic SAFETY features at a much lower price and it will be like clap:.

Ford and Maruti, are you listening?

@suhaas - its the people who dont own mondeos who think its not reliable. 7 years and 85000 kms later i can tell you that it was one of the most reliable cars that i ever owned. All that was required was regular scheduled service. Infact i spent less on the mondeo than i did on a indica turbo in 5 years.

Im sure most mondeo owners on the forum would agree with me. The cost of spares was a lot higher than the accord at that point of time, but there was away to get around that.

I always thought that Ford would launch the new fully loaded version, waited for the longest time, but since i dont see it happening i settled for a laura.

not the grand vitara. they have another model called the samurai in some markets and vitara in some markets - plain vitara this time.
its like a better appointed gypsy. its a functional utility vehicle which would have been the logical gypsy replacement had they even bothered about that segment over the last 20 years!

I think it's more than just a hatch. It's quite a large car, the SX4. The boot just adds length, not to mention, boot space! :p The GC would be great too, especially for India road conditions. And the diesel would be the icing on the cake. It would be a great car, but it is dynamically flawed, the SX4.

That's where Ford always shines. In terms of driving dynamics, Fords never disappoint. Even the taller, SUVish Fusion was a great handler. Let's hope Ford leaks some of that magic into the new mini-crossover.

agree:

That's good to know, R.P.M.

I've always loved the Mondeo, It's the perfect entry-level luxury car. It was, and I believe that it could be, if Ford re-launches it, kits it to the brim and prices it competitively.

So it looks like it was the expensive spares that killed it. Also, Fords used to suffer from terrible depreciation. They just couldn't gold their value as well as Hondas could, and still can. I remember our Ikon was eventually sold after 6 years for a price of just 1.8 lakhs! When we bought it, it was 7.5 on the road!

It has improved though, off late.

the SX4 A Pillar can be a pain in terms of visibility in city driving especially when making a right turn on our narrow roads.
the Ford Mondeo when launched was quite an expensive car - close to 20 lacs on road as it was a CBU. If they relaunch it now also, given the way things have evolved, there would be relatively less takers for it I think.

That's true.The large A-Pillar creates a blind-spot for the driver and round-abouts are an absolute pain. I see several cars suffer from the same problem. The Jazz, too, has an issue concerning its A-Pillar, but it isn't as bad as the Civic.

It was indeed a CBU. I believe Ford should assemble the Mondeo in India, if they ever want it to be successful. Localization is the key here. Relaunching it as a CBU would leave Ford in a position where they're going to merely re-live the past.

Localization would not only bring the cost of the car down and make it more affordable, spare parts would be cheaper too. The new Mondeo is a brilliant car, and would be an instant leader in the D-segment. But I'd like to stress on localization again, without which, it would bomb badly, again. :)

If all these manufacturers only listened to us, we would have far greater choice and quality available to us by now. And the tendency of the Indian manufacturers to "milk" the consumer would become a thing of the past.

Take Hyundai Tucson - the top spec used to cost around 9 lacs equivalent, brand new, in SE Asia in 2005-2006. That spec had a few things that the Indian one didnt have - side airbags and so on.

The Indian spec was slightly watered down and came to consumers here at an on road price of nearly 20 lacs - on account of it being a CBU and because of the 120% import duty.

Now, 5 years later, one can buy one of these around 9 lacs - which was the price for a brand new one 5 years ago in S E Asia! To top it off that one had a better spec. Isnt this ridiculous?

Hyundai could easily have leveraged their huge facilities and built this brilliant vehicle in India with a high percentage of localisation. This could have been a brilliant entry level SUV for the masses.

If Hyundai had bothered to do this, then M&M and Tata would have risen to competition and kept the prices of Scorpio and Safari etc under control while loading it with lots of goodies. Nothing like a bit of competition to get these fellows to re-calibrate.

As it stands both M&M and Tata are guilty of milking the Indian consumer by over-pricing their products and charging unreasonably for features which are considered mandatory and basic when applying International Standards - we Indians are only buying these vehicles on account of lack of choice!

I couldn't agree with you more Shankar. :thumbs up

There is one query though. If the Tucson was a CBU, then isn't it supposed to be pretty much the same car sold abroad? How was it watered down for our market? As far as I know, a car gets watered down for our market only if it is localized, a la, the Polo, the Swift, etc.

I don't think localization would have brought the price down to the same prices quoted in other markets. Ours is a different sort of market. It would probably be much cheaper, but still a lot more than the other markets. Eg, the Civic.

Anyway, we're going terribly off-topic now. Back to Ford's latest.

So what's Ford's 5-year plan? What do they hope to roll out onto our shores in the near future? The mini-crossover is on the cards, as discussed. Then there is the much talked about Focus sedan that should have been here in 2005. The new Fiesta is said to be available in hatch-mold soon enough. How precise is the information on the hatch?

Yes it is and it isnt. The India Tuc spec came with only 2 front airbags and no side curtain airbags. I think the International one had ESP which the Indian one doesnt have. However the Indian one has 2 airbags, 4 disc brakes, ABS, TCS and 4WD.

About Ford I have heard absolutely nothing yet - on new crossover or anything else. I dislike this extreme secrecy on the part of the mannufacturers!

I have sat in one of those, and almost same as a Swift (actually same wheelbase as of Jazz). Better leg space than the Swift, but narrower.

What I meant to say was, I hope the offering from Ford is better than an SX4 hatch kind of a car. Actually they have so many samples available internationally, which they can tweak and get to India. It’s quite time for manufacturers to treat India as a matured market.

And if they get the car before the launch of Duster, quite possible that Duster will bite the dust! :)


Oh yes, completely agree. And even worse is, after all those secrecy, they come up with a compromised product – e.g.; Fluence, New Fiesta.