[mkh]

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

...
This brings me to another car that a lot has been said about. The Ford Fiesta. This is fast becoming a popular car. My question is; "Is the Ford Fiesta the ideal replacement for the OHC?". I think so. Anyone who has driven both the cars extensively, can you share your experience.
This thread is not to compere the cars like a shoot out but to see how the Fiesta fits into the shoes of the OHC, what it does better than the OHC and what it's missing compared to the OHC.

Fiesta is surely a popular car here- at TBHP but the sales figures tell otherwise- its quite far behind the SX4 and at par with the verna...so maybe putting it in a higher league is probably personal pref and liking based on ownership experience than an absolute comparison...Linea is a better car as such than fiesta on some aspects...and so is the verna...overall OHC was OHC

[ACM]

Yes and No

Yes today the Fiesta gives the kind of high that OHC gave but there is a major difference, with the OHC you got the best engine possible, in a bare minimum spec vehicle. People like the OHC for the engine and possibly reliability but have actually come across many who have had a bad time (reliability) with models older than 5 years so possibly the only real good thing about the car was the engine. Which could give a lot more than the chassis could handle.

The Fiesta on the other hand handles superb, but compared to the chassis the engine feels underpowered - both in diesel and petrol spec. I personally like the Fiesta much more as it as a fun car to drive around bends, up and down winding hill/ mountain roads. It also feels a safer bet, and besides the creature comforts are really nice.

Like GTO mentioned (an angle that I had not thoughts about) it feels exactly like the Lancer did. Have driven both and the observation is bang on though I did not realize this upfront. That said the Lancer was a segment above where Fiesta is positioned today.

[suman]

Originally Posted by AirWind

Fiesta: + Fun to Drive, + European, + safety with ABS & Airbags, - expensive maintenance, = average image, - poor resale, - poor A.S.S

Do you have any statistics or is this just your own perception?

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

But the Fiesta does to todays competition what the OHC did to its competition back then.

I couldn't have put it across better

[mkh]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

An OHC is an OHC and a Fiesta is a Fiesta. Both cars are very different from each other.

But the Fiesta does to todays competition what the OHC did to its competition back then.

Shan2nu

In what way? The sales figures do not reflect the same..in fact the ANHC sells more than double the fiesta even though its a 40-50% more expensive car....and fiesta with its N number of special editions manages to just be at par with the verna, or more and not even close to what SX4 sells?
Maybe its a great value proposition but Ford has trouble translating it into numbers..

Originally Posted by AirWind

OHC: + brand image, + mileage, + reliability, + cheap maintenance, = okay A.S.S, + Fun to revv (VTec), + excellent resale ('01 OHC's command a better resale than a '05 Fiesta)

Fiesta: + Fun to Drive, + European, + safety with ABS & Airbags, - expensive maintenance, = average image, - poor resale, - poor A.S.S

Ford has trouble keeping the image of a high maintenance cost and poor resale away, they have reduced part costs but still much more than the local boys maruti and hyundai...resale is the worst in this segment..

[joshdrive]

Originally Posted by mkh

Ford has trouble keeping the image of a high maintenance cost and poor resale away, they have reduced part costs but still much more than the local boys maruti and hyundai...resale is the worst in this segment..

Hi: Do you have specific details on how high is spare costs in the segment where Ikon and Fiesta plays? How come Hyundai become a local boy?

[WindRide]

A complete outsider question - If Fiesta is such a great car, why doesn't it sell in great numbers? It seems to be a bottom-dwelling fish in the tank.
Is it because the maintenance is perceived to be high? How true is this opinion?

[joshdrive]

Originally Posted by WindRide

A complete outsider question - If Fiesta is such a great car, why doesn't it sell in great numbers? It seems to be a bottom-dwelling fish in the tank.
Is it because the maintenance is perceived to be high? How true is this opinion?

Its because of the brand perception. People equate Ford to high maintenance. Its not true and the informed crowd (less in number) opts for Fiesta. Verna and Linea have similar sales numbers as Fiesta.

[mkh]

Originally Posted by joshdrive

Hi: Do you have specific details on how high is spare costs in the segment where Ikon and Fiesta plays? How come Hyundai become a local boy?

I have comparison sheets prepared by ford themselves comparing spares- articles they published in magazines to show facts that they are at par in spares. The fiesta diesel spares are little higher than the verna diesel but the petrol spares are still quite high- i saw this sheet when my friend was contemplating buying a fiesta 2 months back- he did buy the diesel special edition.Spares cost are down from last years but still more than others and the image will take time to change i guess.
I meant Maruti as the local boy- maybe a mistake, is that ok?

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by joshdrive

Its because of the brand perception. People equate Ford to high maintenance. Its not true and the informed crowd (less in number) opts for Fiesta. Verna and Linea have similar sales numbers as Fiesta.

This is true. Perception of higher maintenance reflects in the re-sale values as well. Ford is not blameless here. Older Ikons and Mondeos were indeed expensive to maintain. ACI did a spare parts comparo between Fiesta, Verna and ANHC. Fiesta spares were on par with Verna and less expensive than ANHC. I uploaded it somewhere in the common Fiesta thread that was closed. Hondas generally have a 'snob' value in India. Add Honda's legendary reliability into the picture, is it surprising that Honda sells more? This snob value goes for a toss when you go to the west and mostly see only old people driving Hondas. The avg. age of a Civic buyer is close to 50 if I am not mistaken.

Originally Posted by mkh

I have comparison sheets prepared by ford themselves comparing spares- articles they published in magazines to show facts that they are at par in spares. The fiesta diesel spares are little higher than the verna diesel but the petrol spares are still quite high- i saw this sheet when my friend was contemplating buying a fiesta 2 months back- he did buy the diesel special edition.Spares cost are down from last years but still more than others and the image will take time to change i guess.
I meant Maruti as the local boy- maybe a mistake, is that ok?

I have seen those same brochures (ACI article) as well. If i remember correctly, the sum of all Fiesta petrol spare parts that were compared came to 72K whereas it was 88K for ANHC. Verna petrol was not included in the comparison. Fiesta diesel spares were slightly higher than the Petrol spares.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Gilead

The Fiesta may have only about 100 BHP only but it packs a great deal of punch. It was the fastest around the track on ACI tests beating out much more powerful cars including Hondas. It's not even worth comparing to the Verna petrol which also has a similar power output on paper. As far as reliability is concerned, OHC would definitely have the edge but the Fiesta isn't too bad either. The Fiesta feels heavy because it's a far more safer car than the OHC. No debate on the re-sale aspect.

Spot on! The Fiesta 1.6S is currently the best driver's car one can buy under 10 lakh rupees. However, it still isn't what the OHC was at the time. If Ford has (sensibly) bumped up the power of the 1.6S variant to say, 120 BHP, I'd retract my statement.

It's sad that this decade has seen very few cars for the enthusiasts.

I have just the thread for you to pay a visit to : Where are the driver oriented cars?

Originally Posted by ACM

Like GTO mentioned (an angle that I had not thoughts about) it feels exactly like the Lancer did. Have driven both and the observation is bang on though I did not realize this upfront.

Thanks. I owned a Lancer for 1.0 lakh kms and thus, was able to easily draw a parallel between the two. The Lancer was at the top of the ride & handling chart for its time. It's overall driving experience was much superior to the OHC.

Originally Posted by WindRide

A complete outsider question - If Fiesta is such a great car, why doesn't it sell in great numbers? It seems to be a bottom-dwelling fish in the tank.
Is it because the maintenance is perceived to be high? How true is this opinion?

The Fiesta is not a sales leader because:

- The mass market doesn't really care about driver-oriented cars

- It had small interiors at the time of its launch, and now they feel all the more compact with the advent of larger competition

- Old design. The Fiesta is now the oldest within the 7 - 8 lakh rupee segment. The "conservative" styling brings a multiplier effect. Compare that to the Swift. It still doesn't look old, even though the hatch has been around for 6 years (and is everywhere. Literally!!).

- Ford's reputation is definitely a putoff to customers. And as someone else posted, not without reason. The earlier Ikons (and Mondeos) had some pretty outrageously priced parts. And the Indian market has an elephant's memory.

The new Fiesta sedan is just around the corner and, to be honest, it's long overdue.

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by GTO

If Ford has (sensibly) bumped up the power of the 1.6S variant to say, 120 BHP, I'd retract my statement.

I drove the car but didn't find it very exciting.

Originally Posted by GTO

Old design. The Fiesta is now the oldest within the 7 - 8 lakh rupee segment.
The new Fiesta sedan is just around the corner and, to be honest, it's long overdue.

I was told that the New Fiesta is coming soon.