It’s been little more than a year since I got my “Sweetheart” and a yearly review was due for the last 2 months. Here we go:
Why Fiesta?
I was looking for a car in the range of 7lakhs, preferably sedan. I wanted something that can roar on the roads, basically looking for a car with driving pleasure, so the back seat comfort made no sense to me. Fiesta 1.6S, Aveo, SX4, Verna and Linea; these are the car qualified for first pass. All of these cars loaded with 1.6litre petrol engines except for Linea and have decent power around 100PS. Linea existed in the race because it was new to the scene and got dashing looks. Now it was time to cut down the choices, Verna ruled out first because of looks followed by Aveo, there were been rumours about GM’s future existence. Finally I ended up with SX4, Fiesta and Linea. I liked the aggressive looks and high GC of SX4, but didn’t like interior plastic quality and personally I didn’t want to purchase a Maruti. Linea looks extremely gorgeous and got that oomph factor, but after test drive got a feel 1.4litre engine is not good enough to pull this beauty.
Finally called Fiesta for test drive and within an hour got a Fiesta 1.6S ready outside my apartment. On the first sight I fall in love with this Aquarius Blue lady. Took it for a test drive, I got more impressed: precise steering, comfortable seating position, smooth breaking and what more I notch upto 150kmph and it was astonishingly steady, no vibration at all. Interior material quality is satisfactory, finishing was good. What I didn’t like about the sports model was the dark coloured interior.
The agent was intelligent enough to ask for a test drive a Fiesta SXi model, who has a beige interior and more luxurious feeling. I didn’t feel much difference in driving though 1.6S holds better in curves. Now, I am down with two choices: 1.6S and ZXi model (didn’t wanted to pay 40K extra for airbags and leather seats of SXi model). Here are pros and cons of the both models:
Fiesta 1.6S:
Pros: Great sporty looks, 15inch alloys, sporty spoiler and body skirts, dual airbag and sporty pedal.
Cons: Dull interior, no adjustable head rest and hand rest on the rear seat. Costing around 7.2lakhs on road.
Fiesta ZXi:
Pros: Luxurious interior, costing about 6.75lakhs on road after discounts.
Cons: No alloy wheels, no airbags, lacks that Wow look of 1.6S.
After lots of thoughts in my mind I finally decided to go for a Platinum coloured Fiesta 1.6ZXi.
I was supposed to get the car by March, 2009, loan process delayed my ownership and finally I got my car on 2nd May.
Post-mortem:
No doubt, Fiesta is a real fun to take on the road. Like any other cars it has goods and a few bads.
Pros:
1. Excellent driving pleasure. I hardly feel tired after long drives.
2. Very responsive steering.
3. Great pick-up.
4. Good FE, I am getting 12+ in city with full AC.
5. Good sound system.
6. Lots of utility compartments. I really like the coin-chamber.
7. Good AC though automatic climate control would be plus point.
8. Luxurious looking, good quality interiors
Cons:
1. Average rear seat space. Good for 4 people only.
2. 168mm GC and bumpers on Indian roads sometimes don’t go hand in hand. Many times needs to get dead slow to negotiate those mountainous bumpers of Gurgaon.
3. No USB input in music system.
4. Relatively small ORVM.
Services:
I purchased the beauty from Harpeet Ford, Gurgaon and so far, having a good experience with them. Once they called the car to change the AC thermostats. I am also getting regular call from Ford Chennai regarding the servicing of the car.
I have opted for Total Maintenance Plan for Rs 7500 for 2 years and it covers all the serving costs so far.
Upgrade, Accessories and Gadgets:
1. 14” Acelere Wheelz Alloy, Cost: ~Rs14000 for set of 4.
2. Reverse parking sensor. Beeping one! Got it as complementary with the car. I really hate this one, every time I reverse get complains from the rear passengers about its annoying beep. Someday I am surely going to through this away.
3. Autocop Gear lock: Pin type gear lock. Cost: Rs1150.
4. MapMyIndia Navigation device. Vx140: 4.3inch touch screen. Cost: Rs14000.
5. Belkin FM transponder for Ipod.
Driving, fuel efficiency and some performance highlights:
My daily driving is normally below 10kms. FE is better than what I expected, 12-13kmpl in city with AC.
Done quite a few long drives:
- Gurgaon - Siliserh - Sariska Tiger Reserve
- Gurgaon – Pushkar – Ajmer
- Gurgaon – Delhi – Agra – Fatehpur Sikri – Bharatpur - Mathura
- Gurgaon – Jaipur
- Gurgaon – Mussorie – Kempty Falls – Rishikesh – Haridwar
- Gurgaon – Kota – Ranthombore National Park
- Gurgaon – Sariska Tiger Reserve (Revamp)
- Gurgaon –Shimla – Amritsar
FE on highway varied depending on speed, I am always getting some 15+kmph on those drives. It gave the best mileage @ 80kmph / 2500rpm, The best I got was the drive to Pushkar, Rajasthan, a delightful 17.75kmpl. But I must admit, that was in a near ideal condition. After Jaipur, there was no traffic at all, excellent quality highway, and I hardly crossed 90kmph speed and most of the time I was cruising at 80kmph without touching clutch and brakes.
Few days back, I did a pick-up test on deserted newly made 6 lane road in Gurgaon. 0-100kmph in 12secs against company claimed 11.43secs, that’s also after 1 years of possession. The maximum speed clocked so far is 170kmph, and the car was rock steady, I could have done more, but my instinct restricted me from doing so.
Mods I wish to have:
1. Searching for 1.6S spoiler for long, yet to find one. Can anybody help?
2. K&N cool air-intake (only after manufacture warranty is over).
Some Quick Facts:
- Model: Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zxi, 2009
- Dealer: Harpreet Ford, Gurgaon
- On Road Cost: 6.75 Lakhs
- Mileage: 13500kms
- Mileage: City->12-13kmpl; Highway-> 15+kmph
- Acelere 1.4in alloy wheelz.
8th July 2010, 03:58
. Even I own a Platinum Beast and very much agree to your views on Fiesta. Your post detailed everything to the T. Good to know that you are enjoying your ride by the trips you have made in the past one yeay. many more happy mile crunching. 
, it seems as though the roads have been empty whenever you rode your Platinum wonder. I am struggling to get an avg of 13-14 with both city and highway ride. Now you know why Fiesta is known as a drivers car, anyone who drives keeps driving for long just for the fun of it.
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