[Siva Prakash]

Likes :

• A very reliable car.
• Great hydraulic power steering.
• Handles really well.
• High speed stability is good.
• Good quality interiors.
• Gearshifts are smooth and the gearbox is very well tuned.
• The build quality feels solid and doesn't feel like things will fall apart anytime soon.
• Looks really good and has nice proportions.
• Turned out to be an extremely value for money car.
• Aged really well.

Dislikes :

• Engine is underpowered and only makes around 80BHP.
• Has no safety features except seatbelts.
• NVH levels are really bad.
• Bonnet release is on the wrong side of the car.
• Interiors don't have any features or soft touch materials.

What car?

I was really young when my dad bought the Fiesta, so i don't exactly remember the other cars considered, also there weren't too many alternatives to the Fiesta in 2007, the only ones i can think of are, the Hyundai Verna and the Honda City. I was always interested in cars and spent a lot of time on Team-BHP, but did not want to write anything until i started driving. I got my drivers license last year and have been driving a lot since then.

Why this review?

A review of a 14 year old car that has been discontinued is not going to help anyone, but i still feel like i have to review it, because this review can act like a trial run to the other reviews that i want to write and i also think that the Ford Fiesta deserves a review, although i will keep it short.

Exterior

The car is really well proportioned, it doesn't look like a compact sedan trying to follow the sub 4 metre rule nor is it as big as a typical C2 segment sedan.
These are the dimensions :
Length : 4282 mm
Width : 1686 mm
Height : 1468 mm
Wheelbase : 2486 mm
Here are some images :

I really like how the headlights look.







Any tips on how to get this paint off?



No shark fin antenna, although it wouldn't have looked any better.











New Yokohama Earth tyres. (175/65/R14)



The recently changed front shock absorbers.



New rear shock absorbers.



Undercarriage of the car.



The new rear shock absorber.



The bonnet does not get any insulation



neither does the boot.

[Siva Prakash]

Interiors :

The interiors are very basic although the quality is good, the car's interiors have never been thoroughly cleaned which is something i am planning on doing.

Here are some images :

The pedals are well spaced out, and there is no dead pedal.
Heel-Toe shifts are tough to do.









I am 5'7, sitting behind my driving position.





Pretty big boot, slightly smaller than the 5th gen Honda City.



AC vents closed.



AC vents open.



The rear seats don't get headrests.







Only the driver's window switch is illuminated at night.



Basic but functional controls.



The car's infotainment.



The instrument cluster look really good at night.

[Siva Prakash]

Driving the 1.4L Petrol MT -

The engine is not that powerful and the power delivery is very linear unlike the turbocharged cars nowadays, what makes it fun is the gearbox and steering combo, the manual transmission is pretty smooth and the clutch is light which makes city driving very enjoyable. The steering is a hydraulic power steering which is the best part about this car, all the other cars i drove had an electric power steering which felt artificial compared to this.
The gearing in this car is very city oriented, all the gears are short(higher gear ratio), 100km/hr in 5th gear comes at 3000 rpm which i think is very high and 15km/hr comes at 2500-3000 rpm in first gear. I think they did this to make sure that the rpm's are always high because the lower end of this engine is quite weak. Brakes are good but not excellent.

Ride and comfort - The car is very stable at 100km/hr, expansion joints and wind don't affect it. The NVH levels are really bad and the engine is pretty noisy at expressway speeds, no efforts have been made to reduce the wind or tyre noise. Comfort in the city is decent, suspension is not too stiff but we still feel the bigger bumps on the road.

Reliability - The car NEVER gave any troubles, it started everyday and didn't give any warning lights, all this with regular servicing. (except for once, forgot to change the battery and the car went into limp mode, it was fine after changing the battery).
The car is still running on its stock clutch. When a car has been this trouble free for such a long time i think it deserves a paragraph to talk about its reliability.

[Siva Prakash]

Conclusion
Since the fiesta is already 14 years old and lacked any kind of safety features it was time for an upgrade which is when we got this

The Honda City ZX CVT.

I will be writing a detailed review for this sometime soon.

The future for the Ford Fiesta - I will be using it to go to college everyday.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Your car will go to our homepage this weekend

[hellmet]

Siva Prakash, I must say that's a really well maintained car, especially given it is driven on Hyderabadi roads. Your dad deserves a lot of credit for his driving skills.

I'm a big fan of simple cars from the previous decades, and your Fiesta makes me jealous (in a good way). The roomines, the simple design language, and a sedan unrestricted by the <4m size rule, are all things that are (mostly) lost in today's cars.

I wish you many more years of happy and safe driving in the lovely Fiesta, and best of luck for college!

[viXit]

A wiiiiide grin on my face as soon as I opened this thread, we owned the same fiesta albeit in ZXI Trim. Our upgrade was also a honda city But 4th gen.

This was such a beautiful car! The boot was something else altogether, my grandfathers golf kit would just be swallowed and every other car we thought of upgrading to, had trouble managing it. The effortless gearshifts put a smile on your face everytime.

The car is highly regarded in the ICE forum because of it's high placement of speakers. Some good damping, insulation under your hood and boot will quieten your car down considerably and a 2 DIN Flush fit system can transform your car and make it feel a decade newer! The Fiesta accommodates some mods easily. Since this is now yours, make it your project car

I see that you're a college student from Hyd itself, would love to meet and get a ride in your fiesta sometime!
I love it's instrument cluster!

[TheHelix0202]

The most beautifully maintained "old" car that I've ever seen. Good job!

You didn't mention the name of the shade though. I vaguely recall seeing the same thing years and years ago, though the orange was always fresh in my mind.

[mayankk]

Oh man, that does bring back fond memories of my"champagne" 1.6 sxi.
That's a beautifully maintained specimen you have, congratulations!
And that's a lovely shade, I haven't seen this ever.

[kamilharis]

Congrats on your new car and your 'old' car still look young. Hats off to your dad and yourself for maintaining it well.

I would recommend keeping the Fiesta for few more years as good Fiestas are hard to come by. And since it is a 1.4L mill the insurance value also comes far cheaper than the 1.6L mills.

[Siva Prakash]

Originally Posted by hellmet

Siva Prakash, I must say that's a really well maintained car, especially given it is driven on Hyderabadi roads. Your dad deserves a lot of credit for his driving skills.

I'm a big fan of simple cars from the previous decades, and your Fiesta makes me jealous (in a good way). The roomines, the simple design language, and a sedan unrestricted by the <4m size rule, are all things that are (mostly) lost in today's cars.

I wish you many more years of happy and safe driving in the lovely Fiesta, and best of luck for college!

Thank you, yes even I am surprised that it held up so well given that most of the driving was in the city. The sub 4 metre rule is the reason why this segment of cars disappeared.

Originally Posted by viXit

A wiiiiide grin on my face as soon as I opened this thread, we owned the same fiesta albeit in ZXI Trim. Our upgrade was also a honda city But 4th gen.

This was such a beautiful car! The boot was something else altogether, my grandfathers golf kit would just be swallowed and every other car we thought of upgrading to, had trouble managing it. The effortless gearshifts put a smile on your face everytime.

The car is highly regarded in the ICE forum because of it's high placement of speakers. Some good damping, insulation under your hood and boot will quieten your car down considerably and a 2 DIN Flush fit system can transform your car and make it feel a decade newer! The Fiesta accommodates some mods easily. Since this is now yours, make it your project car

I see that you're a college student from Hyd itself, would love to meet and get a ride in your fiesta sometime!
I love it's instrument cluster!

Thank you, I didn't know that the car had potential for audio upgrades but I first want to get the car in perfect mechanical condition which is why I changed the tyres, shocks and a few other miscellaneous things. I don't want to make any upgrades to the car, because the Honda City can be used for the long drives where good audio and NVH levels are necessary.

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

The most beautifully maintained "old" car that I've ever seen. Good job!

You didn't mention the name of the shade though. I vaguely recall seeing the same thing years and years ago, though the orange was always fresh in my mind.

Thank You, I think the name of the colour is jeans blue.

Originally Posted by mayankk

Oh man, that does bring back fond memories of my"champagne" 1.6 sxi.
That's a beautifully maintained specimen you have, congratulations!
And that's a lovely shade, I haven't seen this ever.

Thank you, the 1.6 sxi must have been a joy to drive.

[Siva Prakash]

Originally Posted by viXit

I see that you're a college student from Hyd itself, would love to meet and get a ride in your fiesta sometime!
I love it's instrument cluster!

Sure, we should meet sometime.

Originally Posted by kamilharis

Congrats on your new car and your 'old' car still look young. Hats off to your dad and yourself for maintaining it well.

I would recommend keeping the Fiesta for few more years as good Fiestas are hard to come by. And since it is a 1.4L mill the insurance value also comes far cheaper than the 1.6L mills.

Thanks, yes we will keep the Fiesta for a few more years at least.

[akshay380]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Oh man, that does bring back fond memories of my"champagne" 1.6 sxi.
That's a beautifully maintained specimen you have, congratulations!
And that's a lovely shade, I haven't seen this ever.

Haha I am expecting three gentleman to comment here. One down, two to go.

OP, that is really well maintained car. I own the 1.6 petrol and the way this thing handles is something that has to be felt.

[Liverpool]

Delighted to read the thread. What a beautiful car. Timeless design. Don't matter if it lacks the tech. today's cars are offered with. It was basic and raw. And as petrolheads that's what we always want - a car we can connect to. A friend of mine had the same model. drove it a few times. Love the steering feedback and body control it offers. (Hyundai if you're listening please take notes!!).
beautifully maintained, don't look like a 14-year-old car.
When I bought the Honda city in 2009, I was comparing these two cars. And just because ANHC was a fresh model with better power figures I opted for the city. The City is still with us-driven by my wife these days.
Safe driving.

[francisvellara]

Great review of a beautiful car. We owned the same car (1.4 petrol EXI, 2007) but in Paprika Red. This brought back fond memories of that car. Funnily enough, we upgraded to a Honda City too (4th gen though).