[BUSA]

Flat out performance - Petra

Driveability - Fusion

Ride - Fusion

Handling - Petra

Durability - Petra

Space - Fusion

Overall you win some you lose some.

[GTO - Touring]

Ride - Fusion

No ways, the Petra is unbeatable for ride quality

GTO

[shuvc]

hmmm .. so even at the price point of the Petra, it doesn't have too much going for it .. except for maybe the Ford brand name .. not sure whether that is a +ve or a -ve )

it's actually quite surprising that in a forum full of enthusiasts, the Ford 1.6's (Ikon, Fusion) rarely get a mention .. wonder why ?!

Is it the cars or the company ?

[v_s_natarajan]

since i keep driving Petra all the time and since i also own a Fusion,
let me add my two cents here. Plus i also used to own a palio.
if you give more passenger side comfort, ABS, adjustable driver's seat plus some little goodies like stash boxes, to Petra, it will be like Fusion.

Petra has a great Engine, a solid Build, good handling.
Trust me, i am lover of fiat cars.
At the same breadth, Fusion has great Duratec engine, great Drivability and handles beautifully and has an all round comfort for people who ride in that.

If you people really ride both cars, then you can understand what i am saying.
To the rest of the people who do not own or ride both these cars, i have nothing to say

[BUSA]

handles beautifully

How come with a Ground clearance of 195mm its doing no good to the handling. Even OD said that the car has poor handling, just the Duratec engine is good thats it. Both the car is overpriced!

[v_s_natarajan]

Originally Posted by BUSA

How come with a Ground clearance of 195mm its doing no good to the handling. Even OD said that the car has poor handling, just the Duratec engine is good thats it. Both the car is overpriced!

Like I said, that was only to people who ride/own those cars.
As for your question about handling, try driving it.

[solly]

Originally Posted by BUSA

How come with a Ground clearance of 195mm its doing no good to the handling. Even OD said that the car has poor handling, just the Duratec engine is good thats it. Both the car is overpriced!

Busa OD is really impressed by Fusion's handling, check out the track test in the latest issue where the Fusion whips even the baleno. In fact I have ridden both Petra and Fusion, I rank them on par in performance and handling and for breaks the fusion is far better. On top of this you get a SUV stance and great ground clearance and service support of ford. Now if the Base Fusion is available for around 6lacks on road you know which one to choose. As an icing on the cake, owners and mags report a very good fuel efficiency.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by shuvc

hmmm .. so even at the price point of the Petra, it doesn't have too much going for it .. except for maybe the Ford brand name .. not sure whether that is a +ve or a -ve )

it's actually quite surprising that in a forum full of enthusiasts, the Ford 1.6's (Ikon, Fusion) rarely get a mention .. wonder why ?!

Is it the cars or the company ?

One reason I can think of for the ikon not being mentioned is The Lousy Brakes.....

and above that - The great Indian Obsession for Japenese cars.

[BUSA]

Since the base fusion has nothing and its costlier then a top of the line Ikon its better to buy an Ikon. I say its a wonderful car. Plus its the best drivers car. Most smiles per mile!

Forgive my ignorance.

But where is Ford from?

[shuvc]

The problem with the IKON , for me at least , is that I'm not too comfy in the drivers seat .. leg space a bit inadequate (am arnd 185cm) .. and engaging 5th gear means hitting my left knee ..

Ford .. wasn't dear ol' Henry a good ol' American ?

[hrag]

Originally Posted by shuvc

The problem with the IKON , for me at least , is that I'm not too comfy in the drivers seat .. leg space a bit inadequate (am arnd 185cm) .. and engaging 5th gear means hitting my left knee ..

That's because the space in the Indica has spoilt you

Each time my Ikon friend gets into my car, he is amazed by the fact that he doesn't have to do a mini-gymnastic routine to get comfy in the driver's seat.

[hell_rider]

I test drove a fusion recently based on the interest in the car of late and also primarily based on v_s_natarajan's review on his fusion.

have to pretty much agree with the points he has made explaining his decision to go for the fusion.

but i have to concur with GTO on ride quality. the petra / palio has impressed me the most with the ride quality.

also the fusion isn't actually as high as you would expect it to be, though in fact it has one of the highest ground clearances. but height is certainly not SUV like. it is certainly higher than most (all ?) sedans though, and all round visibility is excellent.

my minor gripes on the fusion:
1. no dead pedal or extra space in the footwell.
2. individual ac vents cannot be closed. (i think...did not look very closely)

but then, as is obvious, i'm just nitpicking.

overall,
1. it comes across as a well engineered product.
2. most of the essentials are covered in all the models, base to top-end. all models get power windows (all 4), power steering, battery chargers/12 volt outputs, etc etc. So people going for the base model of the Fusion do not end up with a lemon as in the case of the base models of the SWIFT or the Getz.
3. Excellent space - FRONT AND REAR
4. Reasonably OK interiors, plastics could have been better but not a major concern at least for me.
5. good boot space, much more than any hatchback can give you.
6. excellent storage options.
7. flexible rear seating (60:40) and configurable options.

i found it a very well rounded package. its unfortunate that FORD priced it a tad too expensive where it enters serious C segment territory.

but then, you cannot ignore the fact, that even the base version of the Fusion offers so much more it terms of practicality, comfort, build quality and pride of possession when compared to the SWIFT ZXI, or the top-end Getz. So maybe it isn't really that unreasonably priced. And now with the reported price cut, it that much more attractive.

p.s.
whats with FORD and its persistence with SEFI engines ? Why no MPFI ?

[navinb9]

I'm also an owner of Fusion since last 1.5 months and I just can't see any problems with the car other than this minor ones:

- No space next to clutch to keep your feet
- key slot in the boot is kind of hidden so you have to bend and slide the key.

Other than this, the car is a pretty good engineering product. I'm getting a good mileage of 11+ in Noida city driving with 70% of the time AC on. I had a long drive as well and the drive was very good and smooth (its a beauty on the highway).

Also, if you go through the user manual, there are lot of good features for wipres, coded key for extra safety etc which obviously can't be advertised. The price was definitely higher but with recent discount of 80K, a 1600 machine with good features and mileage definitely deserves around 5.5-5.6 lacs.

Cheers,
Navin

[RedOne]

With all the price revisions and discounts, it's bound to impact the resale value. Any idea what a 1 year old Fusion sells for?

gears,
Red-One.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by hrag

That's because the space in the Indica has spoilt you

Absolutely !

Ease of ingress and egress plus how comfortable my legs are, when seated in the cockpit, is one of the first things I tend notice when I'm checking out a car ... the Indica does spoil one .. big time ..

For me the Ikon is among the most cramped .. so too is the Corsa .. Esteem is kinda tough too .. Baleno and Accent better (better still with tilt steering at max height) .. Petra .. aha now that is more near Tata territory .. Swift is comfy too .. Need to check out the Fusion .. looks like it has lotsa space ..