[S_U_N]

^I took a test drive of Fiesta petrol yesterday. Spoke to the sales guy about Fiesta classic. He said it will take time - and will not come before June. He also mentioned that it would be more expensive than the current Fiesta (I think he was confused between the new Fiesta and the Fiesta classic).

Off-topic: With the current offers, the SXi petrol comes at around 8.1 lacs (and there is some room for negotiation) and you get a 22' LCD TV.

[sidindica]

Ford Fiesta Classic

• Ford will rename the Fiesta sold in India as Fiesta classic and will be launched on April 7 with reduced price and a segment down. Ford's attempt to steal the limelight from the etios and manza. Information courtesy Indian Autos Blog through Ford India.

[swiftnfurious]

Hmmm! Will have to wait for the prices of both the models. Sid, any idea on the feature list of Fiesta Classic ? The new Fiesta launch should be also around the corner !! So whose gonna hit the market first ? AHNV / Fiesta ?

[MileCruncher]

So will the Fiesta Classic come in the same price range as the Limited Edition variant that was launched some time back.
I for one will be waiting for 7th April to see what's on offer from Ford.

[dot]

A real timely thread. My friend is looking for a sedan around this budget, I was telling him about the Fiesta Classic. But we didnt know when it will be available. Now that the launch date is known, this information will be very useful for him. Thanks Sid.

[motorworks]

Ford fiesta classic--While it may look like a great buy, I have a few reasons that it may not be too:-
1) The fiesta was launched in India in 2005. After 6 years, it's just too old in the Indian market. Almost all cars which were launched during this period have gone for a complete new model including the Swift & Verna.
2) Ford fiesta does not have a great re-sale value. One of the worst resale values in petrol and the diesel is moderately better.
So buying one now would mean that you would have this for the next 3-4 years atleast and meaning a 10 year old model.
If the new verna is launched even with a 15% premium over the fiesta classic, I think its a better buy.

[SPARKled]

The Fiesta classic if priced well especially the diesel should still be a good buy for people and fleet operators who only want a sedan and a good mileage. Its still a competitive car if you dscount its age. Spark PS omission is quite mind boggling. But if they are selling the LS at the Alto LXi price then its fine. FYI LS did not have a rear parcel shelf even in aug 2009 when I got mine. BTW are they still offering the 3 year maintenance package on the Spark?

[smrtdvl]

Already a call taxi operator has launched his service here in coimbatore with 50 Fiesta's and the owner of this group has said that they'll increase their fleet to 250 by this year end. So are we going to see Fiesta as a premium taxi in metro's in the near future?

PS: Attached a pic from the launch of this taxi service.

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Ford fiesta classic--While it may look like a great buy, I have a few reasons that it may not be too:-
1) The fiesta was launched in India in 2005. After 6 years, it's just too old in the Indian market. Almost all cars which were launched during this period have gone for a complete new model including the Swift & Verna.
2) Ford fiesta does not have a great re-sale value. One of the worst resale values in petrol and the diesel is moderately better.
So buying one now would mean that you would have this for the next 3-4 years atleast and meaning a 10 year old model.
If the new verna is launched even with a 15% premium over the fiesta classic, I think its a better buy.

1) The Swift too was launched in 2005, so the Dzire is old as well. But getting a car a segment higher at the price of the Dzire is a deal.
2)Well, we could see the resale value (of the classic) being better, with increasing demand. Also IMO, the resale of the present fiesta is not that bad.
3)Right now, the Fiesta TDCi with ABS and an audio sells for around Rs 7 lakh, while the present Verna, sells for almost 8.5 lakh, nearly 20% more.
The Fiesta classic will be sold for say, a little over the Dzire's price, the price difference will increase! And I don't think the new Verna will come with a reduced price tag.

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

So not sure if the reduced price is really true.

If the reduced price is not really true, then the Fiesta Classic is not true either.

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

So are we going to see Fiesta as a premium taxi in metro's in the near future?

PS: Attached a pic from the launch of this taxi service.

We do have Fiestas as "premium" taxis in the metros for quite some time. In fact, they've been available for hire in Mysore since 2006! It's very popular in the car hire business. I've seen yellow board SXis too in Bangalore.

BTW, is it just me, or does the 1st Fiesta Taxi in the pic have an alloy wheel??

[Mustang.101]

[quote=Arkin evoisrevo;2303182]

Originally Posted by sidindica

BTW, is it just me, or does the 1st Fiesta Taxi in the pic have an alloy wheel??

Taxi Taxi is a premium taxi service and all their cars (fiestas) do have alloy wheels and also other premium features.

Btw I agree with your point that fiesta does not have poor resales. It is definitely much better than the Ikon and i sold my Ikon 1.6 which i bought in 2002 for 5.8 Lacs for 1.25 Lacs after 8.5 years in 2010. And very enjoyable, those 8 years were (Master Yoda dialect) .

So its not that bad after all as many people believe it to be.

[xingamazon]

Motorbeam website has an update that the Fiesta classic will be launched on April 7. So close and not a sign from Ford on this yet.
Ford To Launch Fiesta Classic On 7th April


Edit: Noticed even Mustang.101 has confirmed about the timeline.

[amrisharm]

This is great news, in terms of the fiesta being down graded price wise. I have driven the car and it is a hoot to drive plus the exterior dimensions are perfect for crowded indian cities.

Just speculation on the pricing (for reference using kolkata OTR prices as listed on "what car" mag)

Price of the cheapest petrol fiesta Exi 7.06 L. With the following features:

-1600cc engine
-A/C
-Power windows F/R
-Tilt steering adjust
-central locking no remote

Now looking at the competition:

maruti swift desire VXI:

-1200cc engine
-A/c
-power windows f/r
-cd player
-central locking with remote

OTR price kolkata :Rs 5.99L

Tata Manza Safire Aura petrol:

-1368cc engine
-A/c
-Power windows f/r
-Tilt adjust steering
-central locking with no remote
-cd player

Price OTR kolkata: Rs 5.75 L

Toyota Etios G:

-1500cc engine
-a/c
-power windows f/r
-Tilt adjust steering
-Remote central locking

Price OTR kolkata Rs. 6.21 L

So feature for feature, if ford is to seriously have a go at competing with the entry level sedans from its competitors then the price has to be slashed by atleast 1 lakh rupees. By doing so Fiesta will start with a now mouth watering price of Rs. 6.06 lakhs.

And for the kinda money we may see a lot of buyers being drawn to the fiesta. The tata as we know is not great on build quality.

The desire has issues with its looks. Plus there is talk of the new Desire being under 4 m long to avail tax benefits so i dont know whether we will be able to tell if its a hatch or a sedan after they shrink the boot even more.

that leaves the etios to do direct battle with the fiesta and that should be an interesting fight, although i am sure we all agree the toyota will win this battle. Having said that the sales numbers are sure to increase vastly for ford. From their monthly average of 1000-1500 units per month. If that happens, then that in itself will spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S for ford and its new but old classic fiesta .

P.S I seriously hope and pray ford does not put in the figo 1.2 L engine in it in an attempt to reduce cost. The engine is barely able to handle the figo's weight, i cant imagine the performance if it is put into the heavier fiesta.

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by amrisharm

P.S I seriously hope and pray ford does not put in the figo 1.2 L engine in it in an attempt to reduce cost. The engine is barely able to handle the figo's weight, i cant imagine the performance if it is put into the heavier fiesta.

There may be a remote possibility of Ford plonking the 1.4 L engine that was doing duty earlier , but certainly not the 1.2 L from the Figo.

Having said that, as most reports suggest , it is indeed going to be the rev happy 1.6 L

[allwheeldrive]

Figo which is getting exported to South Africa from India has the 1.4 Litre Duratec Petrol engine. It makes business sense to plonk that engine to the Fiesta Classic. Price can be reduced and the additional 15K tax for engines larger than 1500cc can be avoided. It will help to bring the starting price below 5Lacs ex-showroom.

[Abhi_Automobile]

So feature for feature, if ford is to seriously have a go at competing with the entry level sedans from its competitors then the price has to be slashed by atleast 1 lakh rupees. By doing so Fiesta will start with a now mouth watering price of Rs. 6.06 lakhs.

True , but there are 'never ending' special additions and discounts available on it. For e.g. My BIL picked one up at 5.95 lacs on road Gurgaon. Of course, Ggn registration structure had a lot to do with the lower price tag but they were offering 80k flat discount.