[MAS]

Sorry for the long break. Work was hectic as we had participated in the India International Leather Fair. Now that it is over, i am back.

Took the car to Vellore today afternoon and back. Dream to drive. The speedo reads 2051 kms. The car sipped 5.4L/100 kms (18.51 kmpl) for the second full tank full. This was when the car was driven completely in the City with A/C on "Auto" all the time. I had also kept the car running for about 2 hours when i had a "in-car" business meeting.

The third full tank is now just below half-way mark with the averaged consumption showing 5.3L/100 kms. The only City drive resulted in 6.1 L/100 kms and i was driving through dense traffic with only 1st and 2nd gears being used. Thanks to my today's long drive, the mileage has increased. Not bad for a new car... eh?!

Originally Posted by souravc

On the EPS , there is one piece of advice thats given on Volkswagen India's Facebook page - I am reproducing it verbatim for you " While turning your steering wheel, don’t hold it to an extreme right or left position for more than a few seconds, doing so can damage the power-steering pump! " Thus its very clear that the pump is overworked at the extremities, maybe that's why the shudder . Given that its become more vocal , it may make sense to have the pump checked

Thanks Souravc. There is no sound at either ends. The sound occurs from the tyres, which sounds as though they are not turning continuously but intermittently. This is just the assumption. The motor's noise is more noticeable while driving in the middle of the night with no stereo. I guess i will check this during the first service.

Originally Posted by KINI

Your ownership report has made me reconsider the fiesta.A well equipped ford with discounts running is a lot more tempting than the Vento considering the recent price increase.

Thanks KINI. Glad my report has helped you to reconsider the Fiesta. I heard today that the price of Vento is expected to go up by a Lakh for which the Vento will come with Leather seats and reverse cam. Discounts are being offered on Fiesta D. Please check this out and hope you join the growing (??) team of Fiesta owners.

Originally Posted by vijayk

The quality of this car with great handling makes me to wait for either Ecosport 1.5D or Fiesta hatch 1.5D to replace my 3+ yrs i10 kappa. I am not considering this new Fiesta or any sedan only due to budget & parking space constrains. Now I am following this thread to know all +/- about this car. Keep updating.

I checked out the Ecosport today at Chennai (Express Avenue). The car looks good, but is much smaller than i expected. The car is expected to come with all types of goodies as i could also see the keyless entry buttons on the pull door handles. Fiesta is a pure driver's car and drives like a dream. Not sure if Ecosport will drive similarly. One thing i noticed is that the GC of Ecosport is not great. The front bumper was hardly 7-8 inches above the ground.

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

The other hatches like the Maruti twins or even the Etios Liva somehow felt more powerful, but the smiles that I got while driving the Figo were not reproduced in any of the others. Hard to explain, but I am sure you understand what I mean.

Sure i do... It is like Mastercard advertisement; "Priceless"

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

1. How reliable & durable is the 1.4 TDCi oil burner? Why I ask is because you have had the Fusion with the same engine for quite some time now. I am somebody who keeps cars for a very long time. My own Alto is about 7.5 years old now & has some good mileage on it & the only reason I am planning to change it is the fuel costs. So, is this motor capable of about 2L kms without major repairs?

Though other Fordians have replied to you, i would give my input

The Ford's 1.4 Litre TDCi is a great engine and i would vouch for it. I had a Fusion earlier and had driven it for 1.31 Lakh kms in 52 months before selling it off. If maintained properly (periodically) and not abused ruthlessly, i see no reason why it will not clock 2 Lakh kms.

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

2. Do Fords have rusting issues?

No issues whatsoever.

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

3. How is the quality of A.S.S & the spare parts?

Quality of A.S.S is improving. Spares are not expensive. For example, Fusion's 1.30 Lakh km service cost me Rs. 2250/-

I had issues with my Fiesta and as i was tied up with my work, i could not take the car for sorting out the issues. MPL Ford has been following up with me almost every other day. Service is improving for sure and if you not satisfied, you could write to MD of Ford India and the response is super quick.

Originally Posted by sansvk

Congrats MAS!!!
This is exactly the kind of ownership review I was looking for. I hope this would help me decide between the NFS and the Ecosport to replace my Figo. Inspired by this thread I will be booking for a NFS test drive some time in early Feb and hopefully the prices would be corrected.
My only concern so far is that I havent seen a NFS in my office open car park or for that matter on the streets of Bangalore, it still seems like a collectors item piece. Happy driving!

Thanks sansvk. Glad my report has helped you. If parking space is not an issue, i would suggest you to go in for the Fiesta. The ECOSPORT is almost the same size as the Figo, but it will come with a few more goodies than the Fiesta (Start-Stop Button). I get to see a few NFS on the roads in Chennai. But it is definitely quite scarce. Hope Ford does a price correction and we could get to see more Fiestas on T-BHP and on the road.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

The fiesta does seem to be the perfect drivers car but hampered by average engines and poor quality interiors!
I thought the New fiesta would replace our indigo as the family car but due to the poor interior quality and lack of beige interior option my dad has refused it.Has the space though.
Hope you have a great time with the car and Ford should reward you with excellent service and reliability for sticking with the fiesta brand when no one gives it a second look!!

I dont know about Bangalore but here in Goa i see quite a lot of New fiestas, especially around my area.Counted about 11 in a radius of 10 km!

Fiesta is a great car. The engine has adequate power and is very much driveable (no question of being under-powered). Some parts of the interiors are bad, but most of them are good. I am sure it is way way way better than the Indigo.

Unfortunately, Fiesta is like the "sour grapes" story. People get turned off by the price and do not realize the inherent quality it offers.

Originally Posted by vickster

Hello MAS please give your feedback on the fog lamps. I bought the base Style variant and got the fog lamps fitted at the dealership. But sad to say I am pretty disappointed with the lighting performance and range of the lights. I can hardly make out the lamps are switched on. The lamps along with installation and a new switch assembly cost me Rs.13,000. My wife's figo in comparison does a brilliant job with fogs.

Congrats on buying Style variant. I would rate the Fog lamps to be moderate. They do not light up the road beyond a few meters and the light throw is not as good as my earlier Fusion's.

Originally Posted by Berry

Congrats bro, I am too happy for the fact that you chose this over the over-hyped Verna, Fiesta has been my favorite amongst the competition in it's class, I don't know why it is not selling much.

Thanks Berry. I liked the Verna for everything except the way it drove. Car's are bought one purpose; To drive or be driven. I found that the Fiesta is miles ahead of the Verna in this department and this made me put my money on the Fiesta.

Originally Posted by shajufx

Congrats on the new Fiesta !!! I have not seen a single new Fiesta on road here in Bangalore, call it exclusive, rare, over priced or whatever word comes to anyone's mind. Very well written user opinions here, thanks for sharing your view.

Having owned and driven the previous version Fiesta (2009 to 2011) and being a die-hard Ford fan right from 2001 (feel of mustang from my colleague) I would say, Ford has got it wrong this time over pricing the car beyond expectations. I would not pay 12+ lakh for a Fiesta after going through your 'rusted' and 'sharp' part images I still have no idea why its costing a bomb. Probably Ford can not do a price cut leaving all the present owners furious.

I was in Bangalore a few weeks back (during my time with Fusion). I did see atleast 5 Fiestas in my 36 hours of stay in Bangalore. I guess, i was dreaming of my car all the time and noticed the New Fiestas.

Please drive the New Fiesta and you will be in love with it. The sharp edges and rusted parts have been my observations. I would not say that everyone would put these negatives in their ownership report. Please do not be discouraged by these trivial points.

Originally Posted by ampere

Awesome review @MAS. Just noticed it. I had come to the same
conclusion. In case Ecosport or Duster. did not work out, my back-up was always the Fiesta
(though you know, how comfortable one gets with the GC of Fusion).

I still have some time at my hands (this year) before I seriously start looking at replacement for my Fusion.

Congrats once again.

Thanks ampere. Fiesta is an amazing car (guess i am saying this for the "n"th time). Fusion is a great all-rounder. The high GC is a major plus of the Fusion. The Fiesta on the other hand is a pure handling car. When compared to the Fusion, the Fiesta has no body roll and the steering is even more accurate. Looking forward to your "What car" thread soon.

Originally Posted by Poitive

Congrats MAS mate! Much delayed on this thread, but you know about my "break" from the forum.

The car quality seems such a mixed bag, with evident cost cutting in some components and high quality in others. With excellent dynamics and a good steering on the one hand, and not so good interiors. But what the heck! When one is behind the wheel, most of it would be forgotten and one would just enjoy how good this feels to drive.

I hope you don't get that humming sound (and vibrations) I had mentioned in my TD.

Now you do drive a LOT on the highway. Do you find the cruse control truly useful? I had my doubts about it. You may be the best person to answer this.

Happy driving mate.

Welcome back on again Poitive. Kind of missed your presence here.

The car has covered 2000 + kms in 30 days (did not touch the car for 18 days). The cruise control is a very useful feature. I use it very often on the highways. As my travel has been largely on the Chennai-Bangy highway, i could continuously use the Cruise control for a maximum of 12 kms. I do use it intermittently and makes driving even more comfortable. Once i get on the Chennai-Trichy NH45, the Cruise Control can be used extensively.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Hi MAS, do you managed to get these issues (above) checked, especially on the EPS? Do update us on this. Thanks!

Thanks for asking vb-san. I did not get the time to take the car to the A.S.S and have postponed this for the first service, which happen during this week.

Some more good points
- The audio of Fiesta works for 1 hour after the key has been removed. The bluetooth function also works for this 1 hour.
- The low fuel warning glows and shouts when the "Distance to Empty" reaches 90 kms (earlier my Fusion has 80 kms as the limit and no audio warning)

[KINI]

Originally Posted by MAS

Thanks KINI. Glad my report has helped you to reconsider the Fiesta. I heard today that the price of Vento is expected to go up by a Lakh for which the Vento will come with Leather seats and reverse cam. Discounts are being offered on Fiesta D. Please check this out and hope you join the growing (??) team of Fiesta owners.

My purchase will only be after April 2012!!So I'm afraid we can't avail the great discounts the 2011 models get!!The car will be a replacement for our SX4 ZXi which is a brilliant workhorse for us.
But yeah,the Vento and Fiesta D are on the top of our list!!
Reverse cam in the Vento??This is new!!

[DudeWithaFiat]

Originally Posted by MAS

Fusion's 1.30 Lakh km service cost me Rs. 2250/-

Sorry for going OT. Thats really cheap for a B+ segment car for 1L+ service. The radiator fan and power-steering problems you mentioned happened after that? I see so many used Fusions coming up for sale these days and a friend is considering buying one. Any idea on what is the waiting period of spares after ordering them? Thanks in advance.

[blackfire_9]

Thanks for your replies mate. And yes, I am satisfied that the engine does not have any issues & should go on comfortably for the kind of mileage I am expecting.

The only cause of worry, as I had also shared on the Figo review thread, was about problems related to injector seals that a lot of people had reported. But most problems were reported from outside India, so I am not sure if it was a problem limited to some foreign lands only.

Moreover, I believe that though we at TBhp are slightly better informed about cars, some times the fears do come alive especially when you are moving into a different brand after continuing your loyalty to a national brand (Maruti Suzuki) for almost 2 decades. And this is precisely what happened with me as well.

Please do keep sharing your experiences here.

Originally Posted by MAS

The Ford's 1.4 Litre TDCi is a great engine and i would vouch for it. I had a Fusion earlier and had driven it for 1.31 Lakh kms in 52 months before selling it off. If maintained properly (periodically) and not abused ruthlessly, i see no reason why it will not clock 2 Lakh kms.

Quality of A.S.S is improving. Spares are not expensive. For example, Fusion's 1.30 Lakh km service cost me Rs. 2250/-

[sharadmumbai]

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Sorry for going OT. Thats really cheap for a B+ segment car for 1L+ service. The radiator fan and power-steering problems you mentioned happened after that? I see so many used Fusions coming up for sale these days and a friend is considering buying one. Any idea on what is the waiting period of spares after ordering them? Thanks in advance.

I would also love to know about it as i had bought a used fusion in nov. i am loving the car and its giving me the same driving pleasure as ikon and fiesta. The spares specific to fusion are quite expensive while those shared with fiesta are reasonable. I changed the right side rearview mirror and it cost me 5.5k. Deepfusion: another fusion owner though also confirms that the regular service is not more than 3k and service interval of 10k is quite reasonable.

[deepfusion]

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Sorry for going OT. Thats really cheap for a B+ segment car for 1L+ service. The radiator fan and power-steering problems you mentioned happened after that? I see so many used Fusions coming up for sale these days and a friend is considering buying one. Any idea on what is the waiting period of spares after ordering them? Thanks in advance.

In Delhi atleast, finding spares for the Fusion is not at all difficult. Any unusual items, like the floor carpet, which we normally don't change, is also available within 3-4 days.

I had a mind to change the carpet during the current service, but the stores guy at the Service center told me it would be available after 3 days, and so came back with the soiled carpet.

At the service center, there was a silver mondeo waiting to be serviced. I was told the spares for the mondeo are ordered and usually available within a week. They get the spares from the UK.

So, don't worry. Ford is good there.

But Ford is built tough. Though the fusion has some rattling issues with the rear doors. DIY for some close cell foam and you are done. You could also go through my review here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ci-review.html

May be that gives you and your friend some confidence.

Originally Posted by sharadmumbai

I would also love to know about it as i had bought a used fusion in nov. i am loving the car and its giving me the same driving pleasure as ikon and fiesta. The spares specific to fusion are quite expensive while those shared with fiesta are reasonable. I changed the right side rearview mirror and it cost me 5.5k. Deepfusion: another fusion owner though also confirms that the regular service is not more than 3k and service interval of 10k is quite reasonable.

Hi Sharad.

The spares are not expensive IMO. You have a mini crossover which is above the normal hatches, and segment wise, the spares are not expensive. For example, the headlight (single) for a Honda City is available at Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 5,500. Headlight for the Fusion is available in a pair and costs Rs. 9,000.

I got the strut changed for Rs. 2,500 approx.

But the front bumper is expensive, at Rs. 16,000.

So, according to my experience, in case of an accident, its expensive, if you don't have a zero depreciation insurance policy. Normal maintenance is not expensive.

[vijayk]

Originally Posted by MAS

I checked out the Ecosport today at Chennai (Express Avenue). The car looks good, but is much smaller than i expected. The car is expected to come with all types of goodies as i could also see the keyless entry buttons on the pull door handles. Fiesta is a pure driver's car and drives like a dream. Not sure if Ecosport will drive similarly. One thing i noticed is that the GC of Ecosport is not great. The front bumper was hardly 7-8 inches above the ground.

Thanks for your update. I didn't find time to check Ecosport at EA. I am waiting for its launch to conclude all the speculations going on now. The next one I am also looking for is Fiesta Hatch and I hope it wouldn't disappoint in handling department like current new Fiesta.

I hardly find new Fiesta on road in Chennai. Last week I have seen one black on flyover near Kamakshi hospital and always one white in my office parking lot. For me it looks good even from back.

[Poitive]

Originally Posted by MAS

Quality of A.S.S is improving. Spares are not expensive. For example, Fusion's 1.30 Lakh km service cost me Rs. 2250/-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Service is improving for sure and if you not satisfied, you could write to MD of Ford India and the response is super quick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fiesta is a great car. The engine has adequate power and is very much driveable (no question of being under-powered). Some parts of the interiors are bad, but most of them are good. I am sure it is way way way better than the Indigo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, Fiesta is like the "sour grapes" story. People get turned off by the price and do not realize the inherent quality it offers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks Berry. I liked the Verna for everything except the way it drove. Car's are bought one purpose; To drive or be driven. I found that the Fiesta is miles ahead of the Verna in this department and this made me put my money on the Fiesta.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please drive the New Fiesta and you will be in love with it. The sharp edges and rusted parts have been my observations. I would not say that everyone would put these negatives in their ownership report. Please do not be discouraged by these trivial points.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome back on again Poitive. Kind of missed your presence here.

The car has covered 2000 + kms in 30 days (did not touch the car for 18 days). The cruise control is a very useful feature. I use it very often on the highways. As my travel has been largely on the Chennai-Bangy highway, i could continuously use the Cruise control for a maximum of 12 kms. I do use it intermittently and makes driving even more comfortable. Once i get on the Chennai-Trichy NH45, the Cruise Control can be used extensively.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some more good points

Really sorry for the delay, MAS. Yours was amongst the first few threads I posted on, on return.

The FE of the Fiesta seems rather impressive. Sugeeta too has posted 18+ in city!

About the engine being talked of as underpowered - it may have a lot to do with changing benchmarks. Would have been more than satisfied with it. But then Vento & Venra (probably unfair to compare the 2.0 Optra) came up with a lot more powerful engines with loads of torque. The Fiesta feels adequate, not thrilling. The thrill, however comes from the composure and steering response. Aah! I feel like being in a Fiesta now

The MD (or the secretary) responding soon - Such things can go a long way in assuring people. If one knows whom to talk to, in case of a problem and hope that it is taken care of, it goes a long way.

While I would quite agree with the interiors being a lot better than the Indigo, would also add that the Manza is a big step ahead of the Indigo. The quality, like the Fiesta, remains inconsistent, but it is pretty good on the whole; especially for the price one is paying. With your high benchmarks for handing, I doubt you would even have checked out the Manza, MAS.

This is for Berry - Mate, the Verna is good for the city. In fact it is brilliant in the front in the city for a lot of people. But if you are fond of driving and expect to use the car at high speeds, much better cars are available. Fiesta is in a totally different league. Would very much agree with MASs theory of "sour grapes". The handling of the Fiesta did deserve a higher powered/torque engine though.

MAS, I too often wonder, if some of us tend to point out more flaws in our experiences than others (like rusted parts etc you mentioned; I quite hate the steering wheel of the Optra LS, some other things I am about to bring up on my thread). But maybe the cynical side of me is popping it's ugly head again!

MAS, did you do 2000+ in 30-18=12 days? Or was that 48-18=30?

Am a bit surprised about the cruise control being useful in our conditions. Or maybe, things are a lot worse up here, in the North. Would like to have your comments after you have had more trips. Right now, maybe the novelty factor of this feature may be playing a role in it getting used.

The "some more good points" do seem useful. At times one wonders how cars are designed - so well thought in some things and so poorly in others (rear armrest height). Or maybe, we don't realize the constraints they had.

Originally Posted by sharadmumbai

I changed the right side rearview mirror and it cost me 5.5k. Deepfusion: another fusion owner though also confirms that the regular service is not more than 3k and service interval of 10k is quite reasonable.

Originally Posted by deepfusion

I
You have a mini crossover which is above the normal hatches, and segment wise, the spares are not expensive. For example, the headlight (single) for a Honda City is available at Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 5,500. Headlight for the Fusion is available in a pair and costs Rs. 9,000.

I got the strut changed for Rs. 2,500 approx.

But the front bumper is expensive, at Rs. 16,000.

The routine maintenance seems VERY cheap. However the parts mentioned above seem rather expensive. With a Honda, one is anyway expecting to pay premium pricing. But I may be off the mark here, as I haven't had to source these parts for quite a while now. BTW, from what I found a side view mirror of the Optra (not the auto folding one) costs ~2,200. (debateably a D segment car selling at much lesser).

Originally Posted by vickster

I bought the base Style variant and got the fog lamps fitted at the dealership. But sad to say I am pretty disappointed with the lighting performance and range of the lights. I can hardly make out the lamps are switched on. The lamps along with installation and a new switch assembly cost me Rs.13,000.

Congrats on the purchase mate! It is one composed car. Loved it for it's manners across conditions.

AFAIK, well focused fog lamps would not be very prominent when turned on. They are meant to focus on the sides, thereby making the edges of the driveable surface (road) visible in dense fog conditions. Often, so called fog lamps are taken as additional light sources for normal conditions - not something they are meant to take care of.

[sharadmumbai]

Originally Posted by Poitive

The routine maintenance seems VERY cheap. However the parts mentioned above seem rather expensive. With a Honda, one is anyway expecting to pay premium pricing. But I may be off the mark here, as I haven't had to source these parts for quite a while now. BTW, from what I found a side view mirror of the Optra (not the auto folding one) costs ~2,200. (debateably a D segment car selling at much lesser).

You are bang on but large parts of fusion including the engine are shared with Fiesta and hence cheap and easily available. Issue is with Doors/bumpers/etc which are specific to fusion and cost a bomb.
Also, recheck on the side view mirror cost along with the inside assembly for Optra as for me the outside mirror cost 2900/- and inside assembly cost 2600/- and treated as separate but in most cases, both need to be bought.

I feel that lets move this discussion to my/deepfusion's thread and stick to MAS's Lovely Fiesta.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by KINI

My purchase will only be after April 2012!!So I'm afraid we can't avail the great discounts the 2011 models get!!The car will be a replacement for our SX4 ZXi which is a brilliant workhorse for us.
But yeah,the Vento and Fiesta D are on the top of our list!!
Reverse cam in the Vento??This is new!!

I spoke to a good friend of mine and a prospective Vento customer. He was informed by the dealer in Chennai that the price is expected to go up by a Lakh and the additional features will be leather seats and reverse cam.

SX4 with its higher GC will be a car similar to Fusion. When shifting from a Fusion to the Fiesta, i am being very careful about where i put every wheel.

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Sorry for going OT. Thats really cheap for a B+ segment car for 1L+ service. The radiator fan and power-steering problems you mentioned happened after that? I see so many used Fusions coming up for sale these days and a friend is considering buying one. Any idea on what is the waiting period of spares after ordering them? Thanks in advance.

I had an issue with the radiator fan and power windows. The radiator fan cost me about 12K, but i did not change the power window motor as i was about to change the car.

General service for a Ford is very nominal. As the engine is shared with the Fiesta, most of the parts are cheaper, expect for any Fusion specific parts.

Originally Posted by sharadmumbai

I would also love to know about it as i had bought a used fusion in nov. i am loving the car and its giving me the same driving pleasure as ikon and fiesta. The spares specific to fusion are quite expensive while those shared with fiesta are reasonable. I changed the right side rearview mirror and it cost me 5.5k. Deepfusion: another fusion owner though also confirms that the regular service is not more than 3k and service interval of 10k is quite reasonable.

The service cost of Fusion averaged about 5 K including the radiator change, drive shaft bearings and front wheel bearings. Fusion is a wonderful car; wish you a great ownership experience.

Originally Posted by Poitive

Really sorry for the delay, MAS. Yours was amongst the first few threads I posted on, on return.
Thanks for posting buddy.

The FE of the Fiesta seems rather impressive. Sugeeta too has posted 18+ in city!
I am extremely happy with the mileage. The real-time mileage indicator is a boon and i have changed my driving style to extract better mileage. No more lugging the car in any gear, minimum use of clutch

About the engine being talked of as underpowered - it may have a lot to do with changing benchmarks. Would have been more than satisfied with it. But then Vento & Venra (probably unfair to compare the 2.0 Optra) came up with a lot more powerful engines with loads of torque. The Fiesta feels adequate, not thrilling. The thrill, however comes from the composure and steering response. Aah! I feel like being in a Fiesta now
Secretly, i would have loved a 1.6 Litre Engine under the hood. I wish the Fiesta had a Verna engine. It would have been the best combination.

The MD (or the secretary) responding soon - Such things can go a long way in assuring people. If one knows whom to talk to, in case of a problem and hope that it is taken care of, it goes a long way.
Ford reacts well to the mails and push their dealers to sort out the issue. Ford also follows up directly if the issue raised has been sorted out. MPL Ford's Service Manager has been very prompt in following up with me to bring the car for service to sort out the issue.

While I would quite agree with the interiors being a lot better than the Indigo, would also add that the Manza is a big step ahead of the Indigo. The quality, like the Fiesta, remains inconsistent, but it is pretty good on the whole; especially for the price one is paying. With your high benchmarks for handing, I doubt you would even have checked out the Manza, MAS.

Manza's interiors are good looking, but somehow do not feel "built-to-last". Fiesta's interiors gives that feeling and is tightly put together. You are right, i did not even consider the Manza.

MAS, did you do 2000+ in 30-18=12 days? Or was that 48-18=30?
Sorry for the confusion. I used the car for 12 days out of the 30 days.

Am a bit surprised about the cruise control being useful in our conditions. Or maybe, things are a lot worse up here, in the North. Would like to have your comments after you have had more trips. Right now, maybe the novelty factor of this feature may be playing a role in it getting used.
I was hesitant to use the Cruise Control at the beginning, but now i use it the moment i see a free stretch of road. If the speed of the car is lower than the set speed, the car pulls amazingly to achieve the set speed at the lowest time possible.

Some design faults

- When both wipers are lifted, the left wiper (passenger side) has to be lowered first followed by the right wiper (driver's side). If the right wiper is lowered, it gets tangled with the left wiper.

- While driving the car, the head light and fog light switches are not visible as the steering blocks the view. I will have to take off the eyes from the road, peep around the steering and use the switches.


I sold the Fusion via MPL Ford's second hand car network (Mahindra First Choice). The Fusion was further sold to another dealer (Chennai Cars), who in turn sold it to an individual. The individual who bought the car called me on land-line and asked me where i had serviced the car. One thing led to the other, and i was surprised to hear that the speedometer was reversed to 80 K kms and he had bought the car for 3.35 Lakhs (i sold it for 2.8 Lakhs). I did tell him the truth, but i am not sure what he will do about it.

My advice to everyone who are planning to buy a "pre-worshiped" car is to check and double check with the owner and the service centre; find out the history of the car before signing the cheque book.

EDIT: I have not touched the car since last Sunday's drive to Vellore and back (Speedo is still at 2051 kms). I will be taking the car on the NH-45 on Saturday for a trip to Trichy/Dindugal (700 - 800 kms) and back the same night.

I called up the MPL Ford Service manager, Mr. Sampath and asked him if the 2500 kms service could be done with higher kms. He immediately accepted and agreed to carry out the first service "free of cost" if the car brought in below 3300 kms. Ford is pretty flexible with their service and this is very encouraging. I will take it next week after my long drive. Even though Ford does not recommend an oil change at 2500 kms, i will have it changed.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by MAS

I sold the Fusion via MPL Ford's second hand car network (Mahindra First Choice). The Fusion was further sold to another dealer (Chennai Cars), who in turn sold it to an individual. The individual who bought the car called me on land-line and asked me where i had serviced the car. One thing led to the other, and i was surprised to hear that the speedometer was reversed to 80 K kms and he had bought the car for 3.35 Lakhs (i sold it for 2.8 Lakhs). I did tell him the truth, but i am not sure what he will do about it.

This is outright forgery to say the least. Poor guy, feel sorry for him. No doubt your Fusion would have been well maintained, but then while purchasing the car he would have thought it to be a steal, an 80K run Fusion for just over 3 lacs, whereas it had actually run by a whopping 50K more kms. Good that you shared with him the actual mileage, he can at least take due care of its maintenance. I didn't expect such type of odo rigging by a reputed used car dealer like Mahindra First Choice. How can we trust any used car dealer? Hence I have always been of the opinion that if purchasing a used car, buy it from a known source (a friend, acquaintance etc), else you are setting yourself up for a rude shock.

[KINI]

Originally Posted by MAS

I spoke to a good friend of mine and a prospective Vento customer. He was informed by the dealer in Chennai that the price is expected to go up by a Lakh and the additional features will be leather seats and reverse cam.

Thanks for the info!!The fiesta D Titanium is what I am eyeing now!!Superbly loaded,adequate power,decent handling!!But then its 2L above our budget. But I'm going to stop here,I'm going

[MAS]

Was sleepless on 10th Feb Night, as i had planned to take the car for a long trip on 11th Feb. Started early on Saturday for my Chennai-Trichy-Dindugal-Trichy-Chennai one day trip. This was my first trip on NH-45.

It was a 800 km + trip and the car returned an average 4.9 Litres/100 kms (20.5 kmpl). On the highways at 100 kmpl the car was sipping an average 4.7 Litres/100 kms (varies between 3.3 to 5.6 litres/100 kms as i was driving with cruise control). No tiredness whatsoever. As i used to drive the Fusion to these Tier II cities, compared to it, the New Fiesta has no body roll (absolutely glued to the road), very little road noise inside the cabin (contributes to less tiring journey) and much better in-gear acceleration (makes overtaking easy and lower gear shifts).

Drove the car at a constant 100 kmph set on the Cruise Control, accelerating to 110 kmph whenever required & cruising again at 100. Used the Cruise Control extensively; probably for 80% of the kms i covered. This drive made me realize the benefit of Cruise Control. Apart from lowered fatigue, i was able to concentrate more on steering the car and was driving the car like i would do in a video game .

Even though the headlights light up the road much better than the Fusion (thanks to the double barrel headlights), I guess i will upgrade to 100/90.

Speedo reading is 2800 + kms. Will be taking the car for 1st free service tomorrow. Issues to be addressed
- Rusted parts to be painted
- Oil change (though not recommended by Ford)
- Sound from the wheels when steering is turned at crawling speeds
- Slight (very slight) creaking from the right front window glass.

Overall, loved driving the car. I have plans for two more long trips this week. Will keep this thread updated.

Originally Posted by KINI

Thanks for the info!!The fiesta D Titanium is what I am eyeing now!!Superbly loaded,adequate power,decent handling!!But then its 2L above our budget. But I'm going to stop here,I'm going

Go for it Kini. Fiesta is a great car and IMO is better than the Vento. If you drive often on the highways, i would suggest you to go in for the Titanium + as the Cruise control is a very useful.

[MAS]

Took the car for 1st Free Service on 14th Feb 2012. I had booked for a Quick Service at the New MPL 3S facility at Pallikaranai. The facility is huge and not cramped like the old OMR service station i used to take the Fusion to.

The service was completed in 2 hours time. They did the usual checking and looked into the complaints i had

a. Loosely hanging mudguards over the rear tyres
This was fixed with plastic rivets, which was forgotten by the Ford guys during delivery. The funny thing was i had to pay for these rivets, even though they cost peanuts.

b. Rusted parts
The service guys painted the rusted silencer clamp and the steering shaft with Aluminium paint. Looks decent now. To fix the mudguards, they had to remove the rear wheels and i found the cast iron mould that hold the wheels to have rusted. I requested them to apply grease to the part before fixing the wheels.

c. Steering noise
The service guys also found the noise (thank God). After detailed investigation, they showed me their "Technical Service Bulletin" (TSB in short). Ford had instructed the dealers that in case of such a complaint, they have to remove the steering shaft, lubricate it with special "lubricating grease" and put it back. Since the shaft was just painted and as this job would take about 2 hours, i postponed the whole exercise to 10 K service.

d. Oil change
I pushed for an oil change. The guys checked the oil and found it to be in pristine condition. Hence, oil change was postponed to 10 K service.

The 1st Free service cost me Rs. 81/- (for the wiper fluid and the rivets)

Few points about the new MPL 3S facility
- This is a brand new facility being inaugurated today by Ford's MD, Micheal Boneham.
- This is on the road connecting Pallikaranai and Pallavaram (next to Lanson Toyota)
- Biggest service facility for MPL in Chennai
- Since it is a combination of Sales, Service and Spares; it is easy to find the top brass of MPL in this facility
- MPL is also opening an accident repair workshop close to this 3S facility (about 300 meters further towards Pallavaram)

Drove the car to Ambur/Vaniyambadi and back yesterday. In the evening while driving back from Ambur, i had enough time on hand for the next appointment (in Vellore). So, put the car on Cruise Control at 60 kmph from Pallikonda Toll all the way to Vellore (25 kms). The ACC was on at 23 Deg C. The car's real time fuel consumption averaged at 3.0 Litres/100 kms (33.33 kmpl). Would reiterate here that Cruise control is a boon for all frequent highway drivers.

The average fuel consumption during the trip (500 odd kms), was 4.9 Litres/100 kms (20.41 kmpl).

I found another interesting feature of the Fiesta yesterday...
The ACC
- Chills to the bone
- When switched on and with no air directions chosen, the ACC seems to have sensors at all vents. The cold air was regulated in different vents at various intervals. This helped cool the car quickly after parking it in the afternoon sun.
I did not have this feature in the Corolla i owned earlier.

[ampere]

So looks like Cruise mode is a beautiful feature for the highways.
This is the first data on highway mileage of Fiesta that I have seen. Thanks for sharing.

Sincerely hope the new Ecosport comes with the cruise control feature.