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Old 15th July 2011, 00:16   #691
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

This is a shocker self goal from Ford. There is way too much inflation in the auto market and there is little need for Ford to make its own small attempt to push the needle higher here. Diesel or petrol none of of the C segments including ANHV have any reason to be priced over 10 lakhs imho. The Fiesta does not look like a 10 lakh car from any angle.

Who would have thought that one day we would be speaking positively on Honda pricing!
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Old 15th July 2011, 00:17   #692
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by xingamazon View Post
Its ironic how things change...
First Ford brings in Ikon and makes waves.
Then they bring the Fusion and disappoint people.
Next they bring Fiesta to gain some respect.
Then Figo wins everyones hearts over, to an extent that NFF is discussed to extent of 670 post even before price is announced.

Then, crap they announce the price and take three steps backwards in its customers mind.

Just two months back it was considered that Ford was great thinker with Figo pricing, and GM was a snub with failed products.
Now with the NFF pricing and on other hand launch of BEAT TCDI, ironic how the tables have changed and GM has become a better thinker, and has got an upper hand.
Not to worry, I am sure you wont be disappointed with GM. They haven't announced the prices of their Chevy Diesel Baby yet, which I am sure will be a La-NFF pricing

Last edited by anu21v : 15th July 2011 at 00:22.
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Old 15th July 2011, 00:24   #693
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

Funny all the way ! I just cant digest that they took this much time to build the hype and launch this car at that price. I see absolutely no logic for Ford to price the car above Verna! What does the car boast above Verna - the handling or the voice activation feature ?! Trust me, this will irritate the prospective customers too. Next time Ford tries to pull a trick of this sort, people may not even wait for the price announcement. At least I expect Ford to charge NO cancellation fee for people who cancels their booking, as a goodwill gesture.

On the other hand, Ford had everything at their disposal for the best pricing. They had ample time to gauge the response of SX4 D & Verna D and still goofed it up. Figo was a hit in the initial time, and its not doing as great as it used to be, in spite of the killer pricing. Here you have a car that is wrongly priced from day 1, customers canceling the bookings on the same day of launch and whats the outcome going to be?

I was thinking the reason for the new Fiesta petrol to be priced at 8.23L ex showroom when the competitions have their model at 7L or 7.5L max, and then it hit me that its because of the Fiesta Classic SXi.

Looks like even the magazine Gurus [Sirish, Hormazd, SVP] have been cribbing about the prices and I am getting all those vibes from Twitter from the time the announcement has been made.

Last edited by swiftnfurious : 15th July 2011 at 00:32.
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Old 15th July 2011, 00:40   #694
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

I fail to understand how many people on the forum are talking about how good the handling of the fiesta is without even test driving it!!
Glad to read that some other BHP-ians are going ahead with buying the car (like me!)
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Old 15th July 2011, 00:47   #695
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by Adi_k View Post
This is true for petrol but the diesel needs more power.
You are right, I missed mentioning petrol.
On road bangalore pricing is going to be worst!
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Old 15th July 2011, 02:18   #696
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
Well Surprised to read that- "It took them years to prove themselves after the initial years of a series of unsuccessful cars."
I thought the Santro was the biggest hit for hyundai which helped it build the connection with the population at large. The updated Santro Xing again became a best seller and still manages 5k + units. The mid level sedan accent almost revolutionized the use of diesel engines in India with its crdi engine used in the accent. Even the old Verna managed decent numbers.
They did have some flops but those were all above 10L category.
If you read the line before this, it clearly meant that Hyundai cars were not very well accepted at a premium price. The santro is a great succes & Accent too did well but mainly due to the Diesel Engine and was never a segment leader. They were still considered as only a small car manufacturer. Although, to be fair to them all their launches were were pretty decent cars but were not a major success mainly due to the brand image.

However, today the scenario is different. All their major cars in the market are best seller in their respective segment including i10 (would not compare wagon-R to i10 as in comes with a smaller engine), i20 & now the ANHV. The Santa Fe too is doing decent numbers. Today the buyer is eagerly waiting for a Hyundai launch even before any announcement. look at the threads on the new Avante & the i45 (Sonata). The cars are not yet announced, not even sure if coming to India or not & when. But still the consumer is asking & demanding for them to be launched in India. Today a Hyundai car (ANHV) becomes a best seller within the first month of its launch & that too by a good margin.

This kind of buzz was never there for a Hyundai car earlier but today the times are different. It took them time & a lot of effort to reach this point & that too is well deserved. And this is what i meant when i made that statement.

Quote:
Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
What about Toyota? They came with an outdated Qualis, while it was still selling like hot cakes they brought the Innova. Priced it at a premium and it still became a segment leader. The fortuner is again a very recent example. The Etios has started gaining in numbers and the Liva will follow soon. Barring the Altis Diesel ( even that is not exactly a flop show), I think Toyota is the brand which has taken the maximum risks in the market and each time has surprised everyone.
Would agree with you here. Toyota have done very well. However, it would be interesting to see how the Liva performs as the competition is much fierce in this segment & specially with Honda slashing Jazz's price.
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Old 15th July 2011, 07:58   #697
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

This is a blunder! Ford has goofed it up. The pricing is just way off!

I believe, the base variant, Style Petrol should have been on par with the Honda City and the Style Diesel should have undercut the Verna 1.6 and the Vento Highline Diesel for the new Ford to make sense.

The good thing about this pricing is that, it again makes sense for owning a Petrol sedan. For, those who love petrols, all you need to convince the head is put the Fiesta Diesel onto the excel sheet as well.

I haven't done the calculations, but I guess if I were to buy the Honda City base model now, I will be getting fuel for free in the initial years when pitted against the Ford Diesel. The Ford will take a long time to break even! Thanks Ford!
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Old 15th July 2011, 07:59   #698
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Revention View Post
On road bangalore pricing is going to be worst!
You are right. Petrol ranges from 8.3L to 9.5L ex-showroom while diesel ranges from 9.4L to 10.6L ex-showroom. Check out the link below:

Ford Fiesta on road price in bangalore | On road price of Ford Fiesta In bangalore | CarDekho.com
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Old 15th July 2011, 08:16   #699
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by swiftnfurious View Post
Funny all the way ! I just can’t digest that they took this much time to build the hype and launch this car at that price. I see absolutely no logic for Ford to price the car above Verna! What does the car boast above Verna - the handling or the voice activation feature ?! Trust me, this will irritate the prospective customers too. Next time Ford tries to pull a trick of this sort, people may not even wait for the price announcement. At least I expect Ford to charge NO cancellation fee for people who cancels their booking, as a goodwill gesture.
Swift, sorry to disagree here. Is it a sin to price the Fiesta above the Verna?
No doubt that the pricing is a bit of a shock – more because, the widespread expectation was to undercut the competition. And the long interval between the unveiling ceremony and actual launch added fuel to those thoughts.

I feel Ford should have garnered better acceptance with the Fiesta if they held back the launch of the Titanium variants. The Trend variant itself is equipped on par (or above) with the likes of Top end Vento / City.

I have a different thought here. It was public who billed this as a Battle Royale (Fiesta v/s Verna). The fact is Ford really cannot match with Hyundai on sales chart – even if they price the Fiesta below Verna. Suzuki and Hyundai enjoy unmatched fan following in our country, and IMHO the only other manufacturer who can get into that elite group is Toyota.
I am not so disappointed with the pricing here. The Fiesta (now classic) was never a volume seller, but it never had much quality related complaints, where as the Figo played the VFM card, but appear to have some kind of compromise on quality. If Ford has set a realistic sales target for the new Fiesta, and quality is not compromised, I for one, will be happy to put my money on it.

Once this shockwave settles, the new Fiesta could ignite the following:
1) Fight it out with Vento, and force VW to make the highline trim more desirable
2) Give a new life to the Linea. On driving dynamics Ford is closer to the Fiats, and the Linea now looks like a true VFM car (especially the T-Jet)
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Old 15th July 2011, 10:53   #700
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by vb-san View Post
Once this shockwave settles, the new Fiesta could ignite the following:
1) Fight it out with Vento, and force VW to make the highline trim more desirable
2) Give a new life to the Linea. On driving dynamics Ford is closer to the Fiats, and the Linea now looks like a true VFM car (especially the T-Jet)
I doubt it.. Maybe, only if the Fiesta sells in decent numbers. I dont think it will get anywhere close to the Vento/SX4 numbers, let alone City/Verna.
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Old 15th July 2011, 10:56   #701
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by nkrishnap View Post
The pricing seems to have created some space for the fiesta hatch. Now the diesel hatch can be prices at around 7-7.5 lakhs.

Somehow I can't see the Indian market ready for a diesel hatch at 7+ lakh...also there have been some posts about the hatch being a bit more expensive than the sedan version, for various reasons.
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Old 15th July 2011, 11:08   #702
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

Its would be good to compare the base trim levels of the Ford, Verna, City and the Vento to see which manufacturer is giving the most at the entry level model.
EG: If you compare the base variants of the Fiesta and the Verna, Ford is offering some really good safety features at the base price.
ABS with EBD
Driver Side Airbag
Front Passenger Airbag

Entertainment - 6 speaker music system
Height Adjustable seat belts Etc
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Old 15th July 2011, 11:17   #703
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

In spite of all the bad press the pricing of NFS has earned in less than 24 hours of its pricing announcement, my booking still holds good.

Planning to take it under the Company Leased Vehicle Scheme of my organisation. That gives me net tax benefit of approx. 20% over the 4 years of the lease tenure on cost of car, road tax and insurance. Fuel and maintenance earn me another 33% tax break. Hope to own it for at least the next 4-5 years.

Last edited by Sugeeta : 15th July 2011 at 11:19.
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Old 15th July 2011, 11:27   #704
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

On-road price in Bangalore

FORD NEW FIESTA PETROL
1.5 P Style 995484.00
1.5 P Trend 1059853.00
1.5 P Titanium 1107801.00
1.5 P Titanium + 1137767.00
FORD NEW FIESTA DIESEL
1.5 D Style 1119789.00
1.5 D Trend 1179724.00
1.5 D Titanium 1262044.00
1.5 D Titanium + 1292854.00

Last edited by Revention : 15th July 2011 at 11:29.
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Old 15th July 2011, 11:37   #705
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Re: Ford Fiesta : Test Drive & Review

Unfortunately Ford has become the new "Love to Hate manufacturer" because of their pricing of the new Fiesta. Honda used to draw the most flak for charging a premium, but now they've become VFM as far as the City goes.

I can't remember seeing so many negative comments in any other official review thread. I wonder if the general public will reflect Team-bhp member's sentiments in their car choices.

Price drops in the immediate future will do a lot of harm to their image, and sticking to their high prices will probably hurt sales especially after the immediate novelty factor of the car wears off. I believe they are in a fix.
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