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-   -   My Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXI completes 13.7 years and dies by drowning! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/38261-my-ford-fiesta-1-6-sxi-completes-13-7-years-dies-drowning-3.html)

Hi Vnabhi Belkin,Itrip(what was the name even had tried this) are quality Fm transmitters but cannot be compared to a direct source(cd,Ipod etc),but if you are not that much bothered about the quality of music they are fine and one thing i noticed about these transmitters there is static disturbance when you near some tower or a signal not sure why and that is a big turn off

Thanks yogi1771. I think I shall give Belkin a try. Do you have a ballpark figure of how much it costs, and if it's available in India?

I came across this review quite late. I must say a very detailed and precision reporting covering almost all the aspects right from buying experience to pros and cons. It is a great drivers car and i am sure it always begs for slogging which hopefully your giving it to her:D

However, 8.5K kms in a year is quite less. Perhaps , you use the Waggie more than this one?

Nope, I use the Waggie less--my wife and son use it on and off, and I use it once a week only. My BIL, however put the Waggie to good use--2000 kms in 45 days!
My office was only 8 kms away from home in J Hills, hence the low mileage on the Fiesta, despite a trip to Mumbai in Dec.
My office has relocated to Ascendas a month ago and is 13 kms away, so hopefully I will be able to munch more miles.
Thanks for the accolade.

Nice review!
In general, after driving a small car for many years, driving a sedan is a pleasant experience indeed.

Just curious to know if the tires are stock or have been changed / upgraded.

I'm still using the stock MRF ZVTS tubeless tyres, though I feel tempted to change to Michelins or something like that, for better grip during fast cornering.
But currently I am having a financial crunch. This apart, even the stock Bridgestones of the WagonR are due for a change, having clocked more than 45 K kms.

A great review, vnabhi! I own a Ford Ikon 1.6 currently and was actually searching the internet to check out the reviews on a few cars when I stumbled upon this review and it actually convinced me to try out the Fiesta ( I was not considering a Ford vehicle earlier as I have not bee totally satisfied with the ***). Anyway i took a TD and am now convinced to buy this car. Being in the armed forces I's getting a very good deal as the Ex showroom CSD priced for Fiesta 1.6 Sxi in Jalandhar is 6.04 lacs only and the company is also offering a discount of 24K. that makes the Sxi cost 5.80 lacs...can't get better than this!!
About the FM transmitter to connect mp3 players to the stock ICE, I think the ICE in the Sxi has an aux input (although not in the front), why don't you try connecting your mp3 player through the aux in?

An 1.6 Sxi for 5.8 Laks :eek: You can buy it with your eyes closed then. My 1.6 Zxi costed 5.92 Laks ex-showroom chennai.

There is no aux in at the back of the unit, I am told by service personnel of the dealer.
BTW, congrats on your sxi, you've got it at an unbeatable price! I've paid 8.3 for it, with alloys and life tax, that too after a corporate discount of 15K.

Hello vnabhi and other fiesta owners.

It's great to read about your experiences with the car. I am also considering to buy one and based on your reviews i'm more confident about the car but I have some doubts about the ground clearance of the car. How has your experience been driving on bad roads and going out of the city? Has the low ground clearance ever been problematic?

The fact that there is no aux at the back is a bit disappointing :(

I have not yet purchased it, intend to do it around 20th of May as I'm going away to Leh for a few days. Anyway the discount of 24K will be valid for this moth atleast. Add about 20K as the insurance premium and 3K registration (Yes, Chandigarh registration no. costs only 3K), I'll have 1.6 Sxi for 6 lacs.
The ICE clearly has an Aux input button on the front and it also selects aux input on the display, I wonder why they haven't given the jacks, I must confirm with the electrical mechanic at the dealership. This will be one major disadvantage if i can connect my mp3 player to it. also I'm still concerned about the After Sales and Support since an old ford customer I've actually found them lacking in this department.
Lets hope for the best!!

Wish you a good journey and happy times with the sxi when it arrives.
As regards Aux display, pl dont get deceived by it--even my unit displays 'Aux' if I press the AM button twice.
What matters is whether they have the aux input at the back.

I've answered the GC question in my review. I've never had an issue with GC, except once when I 'raced' over a speed-breaker with 5 in the car---I was on an unknown street and looking up at a landmark my BIL was pointing at, and I went over the hump at 35 kmph. It scraped it at the left back, but when I went to get it serviced, there were hardly any scratches on the bottom.
So I would say GC is better than a Honda City, but not as good as an SX4 Zxi

Ok guys, for those of you who were wanting more details on the FE, here is an extract from my spreadsheet. Pardon the bad formatting.
Date Place Odo Litres Mileage
18-Nov Shell bunk 178.33 15.37 11.6
1-Dec Shell bunk 215 17.29 12.434
20-Dec Shell bunk 205 17.4 11.78
21-Dec Reliance A1 Plaza Sholapur 327 19.52 16.75
24-Dec IndianOil Belapur 488 33.65 14.50
24-Dec Reliance Bunk 313 22.39 13.97
26-Dec Refilled at Shell 396.7 24.15 16.42
9-Jan-08 Shell bunk 242 18.43 13.13
26-Jan-08 Shell bunk 182 14.32 12.71
5-Feb-08 Shell bunk 75 6.5 11.54
2-Mar-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 297.6 25.465 11.68
24-Mar IndianOIl Full Moon 326.4 30.3 10.77
8-Apr-08 IndianOIl Full Moon 439.4 36.2 12.14
19-Apr IndianOIl Full Moon 241 21.6 11.16
11-May IndianOIl Full Moon 246.5 23.5 10.48
25-May I ndianOil FullMoon 267.8 24.52 10.92

vnabhi, I am not getting such good FE figures as you have got. In the first 1500 kms of usage, my FE has hovered betwen 8.5 & 11. ( I got 11 for 600 km of highway driving). I am wondering whether something is wrong :
a) Being mindful of the run-in period, I normally don't go beyond 2.5 k rpm..I have touched 3 k rpm a few times. The max speed on highway has been 120 kmph.
b) I upgraded tyres to Michelin PP1 195/60 R 14. I was told that this may reduce FE by a max 0.5 km, but is this the culprit?
c) The recommened air pressure in the manual is 30/35 psi normally and 30/44 psi under full load. But mostly, for Michelin, I have gone with 30 psi for all tyres( under normal load).
d) In the last fill, I tried nitrogen instead of air, but that seems to have actually reduced the FE a little bit.

May be, I need to wait a bit more, but any comments from anyone would be welcome.

sridharps, going by your figures for speed and revving, you should be getting as much as me. Looks like your tyres are the culprit.
Can you PM Suman and others over this? I also use system G on and off.