[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by Delta Wing

Got sms from FORd INDIA today:
What's the All-New Ford Fiesta got to do with Gadget Guru? Find out today @5.30 pm on NDTV Profit, Rpeat Telecast @10 pm on NDTV Good Times.

My guess that they will try and harp on the fact that its such tech savvy car with voice controls and IPOD seemless integration. I think its a fantastic idea and will definitely help ford position the car as a car fit for the urban cool.

[Poitive]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Will the base versions will have ABS & Airbag?




Most probably current Classic SXI will be discontinued, which is even more costlier than the diesel base version prices you had mentioned, not taking into the Rs.50k discounts offered.

Guess current F.Classic SXI-D is more than 8.5L Ex-Showroom. Will they price the newer model with lot more additions, lesser than the existing current model (even if its going to be phased out)? Diesel top end should be lesser than Verna SX D to make an impact

Had visited a Ford showroom a few weeks back when they had mentioned that the top model of the Ford Classic (SXI, I presume) was not available as of now.

[optimist]

I would like to apply for a helper/volunteer position if the Team-BHP review is happening in Bangalore. No salary is needed.

[aravind.anand]

The 9-11L price speculation is just approximate guys, relax. Read the ACI's pricing expectation in the first drives of cars that had not been launched then, but are on sale now, you will get an idea about what I'm trying to say

An insider information that I got, Fiesta would roll off assembly lines on either June 23 or June 29. Don't know how far it is true though.

ACI editor had also tweeted that the Diesel Fiesta is very refined and punchy! Has brilliant ride and handling, and the electric steering the the best around! Lets await the T-bhp review now

[pamishra]

BS Motoring has reviewed the All New Fiesta

NEW! Ford Fiesta test and review

[powertrain]

Two reports & both claim diffrent tyre sizes for Fiesta Titanium
BSM - 185/60/R15
ACI - 195/60/R15
Here's the link
BSM - NEW! Ford Fiesta test and review
ACI - New Ford Fiesta review, test drive | Autocar India

[Urban_Nomad]

Checked out the New Fiesta in the flesh sometime back. There is one parked at the "Select Citywalk" mall (Saket). My impressions:

• Looks a bit on the smallish side. Bilkul front and front 3/4 looks nice and clean.
• The rear was just plain disappointing. Ford might as well just hang a couple of tubelights at the back. On second thought, it might look better than what they have right now .
• The car was locked and I could not get inside. From outside though, the interiors seemed well put together and looked quite neat.
• The Ford rep at the stall suggested an on road price tag of 8.5 - 11 lacs. I seriously doubt it though. I believe Ford is putting the theory of misdirection to good use (rumors of a high price followed by a "VFM ish" tag to surprise the masses and stir the competetion ...... case in point, Figo and (Chevy) Beat.
• It would come equipped with some giimicky stuff like "voice activated everything". Eg - you say "New Ford Fiesta, set ACC temperature to 23 deg", and the car would comply". Would reserve my comments on utility till I see these features in action. As of now, just seems like a gimmick.

[niranjanrvce]

Originally Posted by powertrain

Two reports & both claim diffrent tyre sizes for Fiesta Titanium
BSM - 185/60/R15
ACI - 195/60/R15

I happened to have a good look at the NFS at Metro Ford, B'lore on Monday.

The tyre size on the Titanium was 195/60/R15. Double checked this since they seemed to fill out the wheel well very nicely.

Other impressions:
- The car looks much better in flesh than in pics. The blue has solid road presence. The front and side profile looks stunning. The back could have been better.
- The front seats are amazing. Excellent contours. The seats just hug you. Excellent under thigh support too.
- The interiors looked well put together. The central console is funky but isn't as complicated as it looks in pictures. The dashboard had an anti-skid kind of textured finish. However, I like the soft touch dashboard of my current Fiesta better.
- The steering was just perfect to hold. Chunky and just the right size. The seating position too was nice.
- The rear seats are no better than the current Fiesta. Absolutely no increase in space. And they are placed quite low. Not many are going to like this.

Was told the launch will be in early July and existing customers will be informed when the bookings officially open.

[Revention]

I have a gut feel that old 1.6S would be missed by many.
But I hope I am wrong.

[oss]

Originally Posted by allwheeldrive

1.5 litre engines (below 1500cc) means Ford gets to save Rs 15000 on excise duty which is not much in this segment...But still...

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The new Ford Fiesta does not qualify for small car excise benefits because it's longer than 4meters, so offering engines of any size would not save them tax. Maybe they want to use the Diesel in a hatchback in future.

Originally Posted by viper_711

Not sure about this but I distinctly remember paying higher road tax and higher insurance when i got my Palio 1.6 about 2 and half years back. This was in BLR and may not apply to the rest of the country.
Anybody from BLR can throw some more light on this?

Originally Posted by manualManuel

I think anshuman is right. The excise duty is 10% for cars measuring 4 metres or less, and with diesel engines below 1500cc or Petrol engines below 1200cc (i.e., small cars). Beyond these limits its 22%. So if a car falls within the scope of 'small car' it will have lower excise duty, and hence lower ex-showroom price.
Viper, in Karnataka I think its different tax percentages for cars upto 5 lakhs, upto 10 lakhs and above ten lakhs. Since the Palio 1.6 would be more than 5 lakhs, it would have a higher tax percentage than that for a 1.2 Palio which would have cost less than 5 lakhs. With regard to the difference in insurance, I'm not sure.

Well, Allwheeldrive is actually correct. In addition to the small car norms of <4m & 10% excise, the govt sometime in 2008 levied an additional 15k & 20k flat duty on cars based on the engine capacity.

Cars with engine sizes above 2.0L will have to pay an extract 20k as excise duty and cars in the 1.5L-2.0L engines will pay 15k excise.

There was a proposal to have similar duty for diesel engines as well, but got dropped later. With the Petrol prices going through the roof, who knows the proposal may come back into reckoning again...

[aravind.anand]

But that 5k incentive is not worth the expenditure involved in the development and testing frankly. IMHO, its a move that would benefit Ford across the ASEAN countries, as many markets in this region have no 4m regulation, but have 1500 cc engine size limit for tax break up. And mind you, these aren't small incentives, but like our small car benefit (large). And since our country is a fuel efficiency conscious one, we came in the radar of the new smaller, more efficient engines as well

[Surprise]

2011 Ford Fiesta sedan voice-activated control demo | DWS Auto India

Stefan Muenzinger, vehicle integration head, B-car segment, Ford, said plenty of emphasis has also gone into safety features in the car. The car has a 5-star NCAP rating and passing a 55 kmph crash test successfully. Says Muenzinger, “We wanted to provide a light, but solid feel to the car, and hence have used high grade steel in key structural areas.”
All variants of the car are likely to come with ABS and airbags as standard, a healthy trend we are seeing more carmakers adopt. Another first for Ford is the introduction of electronic-power steering in the Fiesta, in the interest of better fuel economy (less load on the engine). Ford so far had only hydraulic power-steering in their cars, a feature that has endeared them to many drivers for its positive road feedback and handling. The power steering apparently features “Pull-drift compensation technology” which automatically keeps the car in a straight line, when there’s a banking on the road (some roads are sloped towards the centre, some towards the side).

Looks like Pull drift compensation feature will be very useful for our roads. How efficient it will be? Can the driver notice as it happens?

Those of you who were worrying about Ford parts being expensive, here’s some reassurance from Ford. Nigel Wark, executive director marketing and sales, Ford, says “The diesel Fiesta will have a 44 percent less total cost of ownership compared to its immediate competitors over a 100,000 km of service. The petrol Fiesta’s maintenance costs will be about 40 percent lower than the others.” Also read: Talking Ford with Michael Boneham.

Have to wait and watch, whether on longer term, Ford scrawls forward here

We will be driving both variants of the car in a few hours and will get you a detailed report.

We had enough of starters, waiting for the MAIN stuff

New Ford Fiesta review, test drive | Autocar India

Auto car is the first or one of the first, to put up a review on NFS...total reads till date is less than 15k. The number of visits would have been in multiple "x"'s, if its here in TBHP.

Anyway, we are getting the reviews earlier than what was anticipated last week Hope to have one soon here at TBHP

[luky_13]

Saw about a dozen Ford Fiesta's undergoing a photoshoot on NICE road, Bangalore yesterday at 0930 hrs. Most of them Blue or Red, all were marked TEMP registration. The rear looked almost like a hatchback, could not click any pics though.

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by luky_13

Saw about a dozen Ford Fiesta's undergoing a photoshoot on NICE road, Bangalore yesterday at 0930 hrs. Most of them Blue or Red, all were marked TEMP registration. The rear looked almost like a hatchback, could not click any pics though.

Most of the vehicles driven by Auto Mags / Journalist during the test driving were blue. The same must be being used for the photoshoot.

Cheers,

[libranof1987]

I was passing thru' Old Airport rd yesteday when I saw a couple of huge Ford Fiesta banners at Matthan (a up-scale hotel exactly in front of The Leela).

Was there some press release/conference regarding the launch/promotion?