I bought my Ford fiesta 1.6 Fida Edition in October 2007. Its a Panther Black coloured Scrotcher!
Here are some facts :
Car : Ford Fiesta
Fuel : Petrol Unleaded
Engine Capacity : 1.6 Litre Duratec
Colour : Panther Black
On Road price : 7,80,000 with 2 year extended warranty
Mileage done : 12300 Kms (40% on Highways and rest in Bangalore City)
Fuel Efficiency : 9.8 in City , 16 on Highways, Overall 13 Kmpl.
Minor Hitches:
1. Steering column vibrations on bad roads.
2. Bad allignment/Balancing at Vijay Wheel Allignment led to steering wheel shaking vigourosly from 100 Kmph to 125 Kmph. Gets smooth at speeds higher than that.
3. Remote boot opener button in the driver console doesnt function occasionally. Have faced this issue 4 to 5 times in the small period of my ownership.
4. Motor rubber belt makes noise (undesirable)
Engine and Performance:
The Duratec Engine has been ultra smooth and even after 12000 Kms, Engine sounds the same. No signs of aging which i have observed in small cars after a period of time. The 1.6 L Duratec is a bomb and is very addictive too! I can see why this car is great for both city and Highway driving... Has a lot of low end grunt which should be very useful in city driving. No need to change gears often. Slot it in 4rth Gear and u can drive all day. The Knock sensor in the Engine comes in handy too!
I have reached top speeds of 170 Kmph and is very stable. Even in windy conditions which i experienced in some of my long drives, the car seems rooted at high speeds. 120 to 130 Kmph is very much "cruising" speeds for this beast.
Ground clearance:
This is one big issue with Fiesta. Load 4 Adults and drive around bangalore city. U r sure to scrap ur bottom atleast once. Think of it
It really pinches my heart every time, my car needs to go through this torture.
Fuel Efficieny :
Depends on the driving style though. I drive 1st gear till 20 Kmph, 2nd Gear till 35 Kmph, 3rd till 45 to 50 Kmph, then slot it to 4rth. With a clear road ahead, slot it to 5th as early as 50 to 60 Kmph. Do this day in and day out .... u get 10.2 to 10.5 Kmph. But this is not the way i prefer to drive my Fiesta 1.6. Its built to be revved and revved hard. Thats what i do and doesnt disappoint me on this front too... gives a decent 9.8 Kmph in city driving and 16-18 Kmph on 4 lane Highways!
Build Quality:
Not very happy with the way doors thud when shut. Even an Indica fairs better in this regard. Dont know whether i need to get it fixed.
The plastics and the interiors have nothing to complain on. They look classy even after looking at it day-in, day-out for the last 8 months!
The switches, gear shift, are all of very high qaulity and need not think about them.
Notvery happy with the head lamps. I plan to go in for the 110 Watt bulbs as i do quiet a few long drives over night.
Ride Quality:
Feels very splush with the standard MRF-ZV2k tyres on 14 inch Ford Alloys. Need suggestions on upgrading them for better ride quality.
The Kenwood MP3 player from Ford is also pretty good for Normal usage, I am not the person who prefer headbanging stuff.
I have done 2 long trips;
1. Bangalore- Munnar- Kumarakom 1600 Kms
2. Bangalore-davanagere-Almatti-badami-bangalore (1500 Kms )
Both these trips, i observed under varied conditions that the AC is a brilliant unit on the Fiesta. The cooling is very instant and a fan speed of 2 is good enough most of the times. from 3rd speed, the fan becomes very noisy. Ford could work on this front. The steering feels a bit heavy in traffic conditions.
Overall, Ford Fiesta 1.6 has been a true performance vehicle to me, great on highway straight stretches, very impressive on Ghat roads and corners, and good in city conditions too! FE is decent enough for a 1.6 Litre petrol guzzler. Seating 4 ppl is very comfortable too. For this price, if i look back, i made the right decision in going for the Ford, with Verna, Aveo and City waiting to be driven home.