[basilmabraham]

Superb review Reehan

I think this was one of the most awaited reviews for a car. And what a way to get it done. Full marks to the team-bhp review team. As some one mentioned in an earlier post, this review raises the bar for team-bhp reviews itself. As I always say, team-bhp never stops to amaze me. Thanks for the excellent effort put in the review.

As far as the car goes, I am happy that I bought the Fiesta TDCi SXI, before it was 'Classic'ed. I am missing a few features, for sure, but overall I feel the Classic seems more VFM for a buyer with a strict budget. All the new features could be overlooked for plain value for money factor. Also, I feel that the Classic looks much classier than the new Fiesta, me thinks.

With competition gearing up like never before, perfect pricing from the word go would be the most important thing for this car. The unattractive rear looks and few missed features would be overlooked if Ford continues to keep the VFM tag.

PS: A noob question, How does cruise control work without automatic gears? Would it be possible to set cruise control at 40kmph in 4th gear and then change to 5th, would cruise control still work.

[arup.misra]

Fabulous review Rehaan Enjoyed reading it.

Was waiting in anticipation for the new fiesta as I need to buy a sedan in the next month or so, but it seems to be a bit of a disappointment. I have driven the 1.6S old Fiesta several times (on long trips I may add) but the new fiesta doesn't seem upto the mark to me.

Eye sore to me

1) Boring grey interiors. I don't buy the logic of beige being difficult to maintain. I have an Accord in the family with 3 young kids but haven't faced any major issues in maintaining the interiors.

2) As mentioned by fellow bhpians, the front and rear interiors appear, the ford way to balance costs, front end nice and jazzy rear end dull and boring

Guys / Experts, if were to rate AHNC, Fluidic Verna, Vento and the new Fiesta (all petrol) what would your top pick be.

[RavenAvi]

Production of Ford’s popular four-door Fiesta sedan kicked off last week at Ford India’s passenger car manufacturing facility in Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai.

The Maraimalai Nagar engine plant will produce the advanced 1.5L Ti-VCT petrol and Duratorq TDCi diesel engines for the All-New Fiesta.

The 172,175 square metre Maraimalai Nagar plant is the sixth Ford facility in the world to produce Fiesta. The other facilities are located in Nanjing, China; Cologne, Germany; Valencia, Spain; Cuautitlán, Mexico; and Rayong, Thailand. to further support its sales and export growth plans in India. When the expansion programme is completed in mid-2012, powertrain production capacity will increase from 250,000 to 330,000 units per year.

The All-New Fiesta, which will be available in showrooms later this year, is the first of eight new vehicles that Ford is planning to introduce into India by the middle of this decade.

Source - Ford starts Fiesta production - CarWale News

[Hammy]

Neat Review Rehaan.

Being an owner and a big fan of the TDCi myself I am feeling really jealous by seeing the stats of the new diesel heart. 1.5L, 90Bhp and 204Nm of torque as compared to the 1.4 TDCi which punches out 68Bhp and 160Nm of torque. A meagre 0.1L difference and thanks to advanced technology we have such a huge difference in engine performance stats. <sob sob>

[vnabhi]

Fantastic review, Rehaan, though belated! Rated 5 Stars!

Now we can kiss goodbye to all the conflicting reviews we've seen so far.

It was a good strategy to get the NFS reviewed by someone who owns a Fiesta---this the best way to bring out the real differences between the old and the new models, and the lack of punch in the new petrol has thus been unravelled. Now I am all smiles for owning a 1.6 Duratec Sigma!

I must say I am pretty impressed with the car, and most of the things I'd seen in the US Fiesta seem to be there in the Indian version too.

I'm happy that Ford kept lots of cubby holes and deep pockets in the front doors for water bottles, which seem to be an Indian adaptation. Kudos also to the great music system and the funky dashboard.

The only negatives IMO are:-

1. Absence of punch in the petrol version. But if they still sell the Classic with the 1.6 motor, then enthusiasts will not be disappointed. I think they will plonk in a 1.6 in the future in the form of a 'limited' edition.
2. Absence of a driver's arm rest, that others provided in the segment.
3. Absence or reading lights in the rear cabin---the Classic has one on top of each rear door.
4. The height of the rear arm rest, and the ugly hinges. I wonder why they did not replicate the one from the Classic sxi.
5. The absence of facility to lock the rear doors by the rear passengers. What happens in a collision, when the driver and front passenger are unconscious, and the rear passengers want to get out?

Now the only part remaining is the pricing---I'm sure ANHC price cuts must be giving Ford guys a tough time.

[Satya79]

Superb review Rehaan. Looks like Ford has a winner on their hands with the correct pricing.
Really good photos Stratos. The car looks striking from the front side profile.
I do wish Ford had given a beefier engine, especially the diesel. That would have taken to game to Vento in all parameters.

I am unable to understand these manufacturers really: Whats the point of a powerful diesel, if handling is twitchy and nervous (read Hyundai) and whats the point of superb dynamics when the engine is not scorcher (read Ford).
Wish one could plonk the Verna engine in the Ford....now that would be a car to buy!

[Jammy28]

Excellent Review Rehaan. It was worth the long wait.

Here are few questions for you:
1. How does the Cruise control work? Given the traffic condition in India, is it really usable in our roads?
2. How is the rear view for reversing?
3. Is the 15" tyre adequate? Would you recommend a tyre upgrade?

[2cents]

Excellent and detailed review, reflects how important this car is for the most happening C segment. Two questions:

1. Can the passenger doors be unlocked by pulling the lock lever twice, or is it only after disabling the central lock? What happens in the event of an accident!
2. Do you have a picture with the rear door windows down as far as they go. I think this is the only car in the segment with this -ve.

[libranof1987]

One helluva review!

I was wondering which Fiesta review this was; since I'd checked T-BHP a few hours earlier and there was no updates on the old review. And no review would fill up 5 pages so quickly. Hah! Surprise me!

Anywho, I hope I'm not the only one but I'm kinda disappointed with this Fiesta. For all the hype generated, the car evokes mixed feelings.

What I like :
- front design
- really cool centre console
- Airbags & ABS on all variants.

What I can't understand :
- drum brakes in the rear?! DRUM?!
- how the rear part of the car looks like that of an Amby while the front looks modern
- really high tail-lamps so an out-of-place bumper
- no lock for the seats and REALLY boring panels
- the front doors have a chrome-coloured door handle while the rear have the dull black one.
- Why 14 inch for the spare?!

They should have made the rear look smarter and the interior something other than black.

I've a question : the way the tail-lamps are, wouldn't the indicator not be so easily visible to the following vehicles; they are positions almost on the side panels.

Given a choice right now, I'd still go for ANHC!

PS : I've attached 1 of the pics. Why are there 2 symbols for Fuel? Also, what are the symbols (marked by white rectangle) for?

[supremeBaleno]

Awesome review, Rehaan. And very detailed too.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Well, there are a couple of reasons why 1.5L displacement was chosen. A lot of countries have their regulations structured in a way that favours 1.5 liters as the highest common factor. China, for example, breaks up incentives for engine classes in 1.5L increments, and India has an excise benefit for Diesel engines which are less than 1500cc.

Another benefit to the Indian consumer due to 1.5litre engine is in reduced Insurance premium (3rd party), since the current rates are skewed against 1.6litre engines - see below :

Upto 1000cc : Rs.740 (Rs670)
1000-1500cc : Rs.880 (Rs800)
Above 1500cc : Rs.2750 (R2500)

So, if you have a 1600cc car (like me), compared to a 1500cc, the additional 100cc results in paying more than 3 times premium.

I would love to see the genius who came up with these slabs. What happens the moment a car crosses 1500cc ? Does it become a super-car that could wreak havoc on the roads, leading to 3rd party claims, which necessitate a higher premium ?

P.S.: The rates were infact increased further this year - old rates in brackets.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

2) The tyres on the car is goodyear eagle nct 5, however the spare wheel has goodyear GT3. Was this lone GT3 an oversight or is there any reason behind this?

Perhaps its due to the 14" steel wheel size, vs the 15" alloys on the car? I'm not sure off-hand what sizes GT3 and GT5s are available in... but that might be the reason.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

3) is it not a little inconvenient and unsafe to have the cup holder right next to the aux and usb interface in the event of a spill.

If you're worried about them being "electronic parts" that could be spilled on and damaged - its not really an issue, as they are just plugs.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

4) Does the car give out warnings for all the doors open (individually) in the center console.

Yes i think so.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

5) Isn't it surprising to see the 1.5 Litre engine make only 90 bho and 204 nm Torque when the 1.3 MJD VGT exceeds with 207 NM torque on paper.

This comes down to the measurement being at "peak toque" only, which sometimes is not the best indication of how fast, powerful or drivable the car is overall. Also note that the Fiesta is 204 nM across a range from 2000 - 2750 RPM.

See my reply here (Some numbers in brochures don't make sense...)

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

6) Did Ford hint about any extended warranty packages that would be made available.

They were tight-lipped about this.

Originally Posted by VeluM

Would like to know whether the brakes setup (Disc-Drum) with ABS works efficiently both during regular and emergency (panic) braking.

I too was interested in how the ABS system works with drums at the rear. Apparently, its not that different from when it has discs all around, and it is still a 4-channel ABS system.

Originally Posted by VeluM

I'm not sure about all-disc setups automatically being better than the normal (and cheaper) disc-drum arrangement because of the braking distances of the Corolla and Innova. I read that the Innova does better despite the disc-drum setup.

I'll agree here that a disc/drum set up could many times be better than a disc/disc setup, depending on implementation. In practice, there's two parts to this :

1) The technology you have
2) How well it has been applied

Discs definitely have the advantage, though in some cases, the entire set-up (pads, pistons, calipers, brake lines, booster, valving, bias, master-cylinder, tyres etc) of a car with all-disc might not be as well set-up or implemented as that of a disc/drum car.

Add to that, there's basic phsyics - where the mass of the car makes a huge difference. In fact, once you get into a certain "inertia class" (based on vehicle weight), you're required by law to have discs all around. I think the Fiesta is just below that inertia class.


More replies soon!
cya
R

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

PS : I've attached 1 of the pics. Why are there 2 symbols for Fuel? Also, what are the symbols (marked by white rectangle) for?

The symbols marked by you from L to R are :

1. Water in Fuel warning
2. Powertrain warning
3. Low fuel warning
4. Traction Control
5. Cruise Control

[optimist]

Lunch can wait Thanks for the long detailed review

The body panel alignments did not seem right. Gaps are also visible. Hope these do not get carried over to the production in their hurry to launch.

What is that chequered thing between the spare tyre space and the silencer? Aluminium? The last bit of pipe on the silencer seems to be in the air only.

Regarding the horns / upholstery material as "isn’t too exciting" All can be changed or customized. Not a problem at all

Don't know if it's me only but 2 trip meters are a necessity.

The driver side window auto down control seems to make sense.

Does the display continue to show date and time even when it is totally off? I guess it must be at key on / engine off position.

Seats are very inviting, begging you to throw the car around. Hope it is really so.

The locking function at the center console might be better as the front passenger can be a bit more involved in the drive. Is the door locking /unlocking speed sensitive as there are no door controls? It's nice that the doors do not have individual controls as kids or impatient ones tend to jump out as soon as they think the driver has stopped.

Can you please explain how the wiper controls work? is that a step less adjustment of delay/speed?

What are the two slots/grills below the ac controls? Can the directions be switched on in whatever combination required? There are no combo options shown.

The rear stop light is sooo dumb. Why did it have to be so big?

It's nice to know that the sound is good and got a 9/10. For non ICEers like me, it's good news. Track numbers means that we have to dust off the grey cells.

What is the material of the insulation under the hood? Is it likely to retain water?

The locking latch for the floor mats is a neat one.

What is this mysterious little flap? (Mods: we need a head scratching emoticon.) It could have just been bigger till the bottom of the arch to prevent mud spattering.

A question for the tyres section would be how to rotate the wheels at intervals if the spare is a non alloy? Each time unmount & rebalance? More importantly hope ford will provide an option to get a single alloy for the same. BTW any idea of the alloy PCD/J/offset specifications?

What is the range of orvm adjustments? Could the left one be adjusted to show the rear left wheel? (for eg. Kerb - tyre gap while reverse parking or for use near "parking reserved marker size stones"? Do the vanity mirror covers hold up while driving on rough roads?

"Surprise! A storage drawer under the passenger's seat" = WOW!

Does the rear fog lamp go off during forward gears? Is the throw of the single reversing light suffecient? Do you have a snap of what the view is from the rear view mirror?

Can the passenger airbag switched off and is it occupant sensing? A deployment will mean the whole dash will need to be replaced. Not just a dash panel.

<Text Deleted>

hey i'm while reading some review points. Nice descriptions. Thanks for the nice and detailed review. Well worth the wait. Apologies for the long post. took 3 hours to type and in the meanwhile the thread grew from 5 posts to 5 pages

[vignesh_ny]

Superb Review Rehaan! Voted 5 Stars. Ford's neutral stance in the B segment Aka the figo did make sense to me , but having a jack of trades in a C class sedan where ford is seen as the josh machine seems a bit uninspiring. I have my reservations on whether it will set the charts on fire, though I sincerely hope it does.
Honda - Gem of an Engine
SX4 - Maruti Reliability
Vento - Brut of a diesel engine
Fiesta - I fail to fill this area for the new fiesta

[RGK]

Super review Rehaan. Ford has started to position good products for the customers. Vento, Verna & Fiesta are going to be the customers choice of diesel sedan's.

If Ford comes up with good pricing - top end around 10Lakh+ OTR, then it has a good chance of making the top as it did in the hatchback segment last year. Good to note that Ford has made safety features available for all variants.

I saw this new fiesta a week back and had a nice road presence.

What are the different variants going to be available?.

@supremebaleno - Insurance premiums are nothing but highway robbery