[mdsaab]

Poitive thats a very valid point there on the voice activated controls. Almost all of us have them on our cell phones but we never ever use them. So it is indeed a rather gimicky feature.

vb-san regarding poitive's cruze control.
You cant blame him. He is the diesel guru on the forum. Cruze being one of the much talked about diesels after the optra ofcourse.
Poitive keep it up always a joy to read your posts.
Ditto for vb-san too.

[NoRules]

I visited the showroom yesterday to have my first look of the New Fiesta and to check the OTR prices.

The OTR Hyderabad prices are:

Petrol:

Style - 971527.00
Trend - 1034431.00
Titanium - 1081289.00
Titanium+ - 1110574.00

Diesel:

Style - 1093004.00
Trend - 1151574.00
Titanium - 1219137.00
Titanium+ - 1248931.00

Impressions about the car:

Very stylish in the front. Sexy dials, dash and every thing. The front seats do hug you. It did not look bad from the rear, IMO. Side and front view is very good.

Me and my friend then sat in the rear seat and I asked the SE to join us on the rear bench. I am just 5'5" and my friend is 5'6" and neither of us are bulky and the SE was of average build. To my utter dismay the place was so cramped, SE had difficult time closing the door. Rear seat is just not meant for 3 adults.The car is meant only for a family of 4. The rear arm rest is another story. Apart from the hideous exposed hinges, the arm rest is atleast 2 inches too high.

No can do, Ford.

[MaserQ]

Originally Posted by Poitive

Possibly loose some 'body colour' stuff, some chrome, ICE, OVRM's without indicators, lesser electrical wizardry, possibly safety features.

If Ford wants, with all this they'll get and excuse to price a model about 0.75-1.25L lower. Still retaining the handling and FE (especially in diesel) which pulls people to Ford/Fiesta. Now that would be an interesting model for Ford to launch around the festival season.

Rightly said. Dealers will have a hard time convincing first time Ford customers to buy into the Fiesta brand once the novelty factor wears off and the honeymoon period is over. At this juncture, one of 2 things will happen. Major discounting will start or such a variant as discussed above will make an appearance.

Originally Posted by vb-san

This pricing could be some kind of a future-proof one. Maybe they anticipate City and Vento to come up with price hike in the coming months

For Ford sake, let us hope so!

[raul]

Has Ford recently hired someone from Honda? Only that can explain this optimistic adventure at Ford and the dramatic downshifts at Honda.

I think this pricing is totally over the top and unrealistic for whats on offer. In the ANHC case at launch the general feedback was about 1 lakh off, in this case this is 1.5-2 lakhs off.

Given the size of the car, and most will agree when they see the car in flesh and realize how small it is, and things like rear seat space this will be a very difficult sell. I really don't think however hardcore a fan of Ford anyone will be able to justify spending this kind money on the car.

What's even more confusing is Ford has chosen to do this at a time when the majors are rolling back prices to realistic levels. Best of luck Ford, and I have a feeling this bubble will burst in less than 6 months.

[lancer_rit]

Like others have posted, I was shocked at the pricing of the Fiesta - 'Ford' in dreamland ? Esp. cutting down on the petrol engine to 1.5l, one expected the petrol pricing to be rational. I can't see the Fiesta P selling, frankly - neither the enthusiast nor the regular Joe looking for a C segment sedan.
The diesel atleast is a step up from the 1.4TDCi, but why not buy the Cruze or the Optra magnum even.
Sorry, but this is a dud if one can ever be predicted! No USP of any kind, just a mixed bag of this and that which would make it average to good car (leaving aside the price) to either end of the spectrum

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Poitive thats a very valid point there on the voice activated controls. Almost all of us have them on our cell phones but we never ever use them. So it is indeed a rather gimicky feature.

Yeah, voice activated controls in this case are just a marketing ploy – just to say that I got it better than others. For e.g.; will you press a button and mouth a few words (in the right accent) to get the A/C fan speed adjusted, or you will just turn the knob?

Originally Posted by mdsaab

vb-san regarding poitive's cruze control.
You cant blame him. He is the diesel guru on the forum. Cruze being one of the much talked about diesels after the optra ofcourse.
Poitive keep it up always a joy to read your posts.
Ditto for vb-san too.

Thanks mdsaab. It’s indeed good fun with so much of information sharing happen around in the forum, and you’re one key contributor there! And yes, that cruze thing was just a joke .
Those two threads from Poitive are great references for diesel cars in this category.

[Revention]

After visiting FIAT showroom yesterday and looking at T-Jet prices, I realized that the new Fiesta Petrol prices are very much around T-Jet prices. Is it why they [Ford] think their new prices are ok ?

And because of the pricing of recent launches, FIAT sales people looked a quite bolder to me regarding Linea and its pricing . Its gone up too since the past few months.
[ they do have a petrol-to-diesel upgrade offer, but I think very very few would actually get it]

[mdsaab]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Yeah, voice activated controls in this case are just a marketing ploy – just to say that I got it better than others. For e.g.; will you press a button and mouth a few words (in the right accent) to get the A/C fan speed adjusted, or you will just turn the knob?

Hahaha! I was just picturing this in my mind and it was indeed hilarious.
Heres the sales rep going on and on.in various accents and styles of speech AC at 24. AC at 24. AC at 23 dammit. AC will be switched off is the reply. So i quickly override this by turning the knob and switching the AC to 23.

note above scenario is purely fictatious, and was inspired by previous post. No offence meant and is purely to lighten the mood on the thread.

[Vasuki]

Good Review. Funky Dash board. Cruise control in this segment is appreciable. Wrt to Diesel,Even though the ford, from Old fiesta days, comes with lower power and torque compared to its rivals, the driveablity had been excellent. But I feel this time they have taken this up too far. Only 204NM torque compared over 250NM for both Verna and Vento. And as per review it feels a bit under powered. IMHO, it is high time ford matches up with the rest of class in engine power too.

[dkaile]

I see Team-BHP sending a clear message to these manufacturers to wake up. The Indian customer is not dumb anymore and will not lap up any brand at any price.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Poitive

Aravind, you are a very polite person and it is good to have such interactions on the forum.

Yes, sure they will have takers. And yes again, that had it been priced lower there would have been lesser complaints. We really do base our expectations on what we pay for it, so it is pretty reasonable.

What one does think of the lost opportunity for Ford here. (and now one for Fiat Linea 1.6 too - A$$ can't change overnight). With a more realistic price point and focus around it's core appeal (driving pleasure) had they priced it lower (even if without all the fancy gizmos) it would have gotten a lot more takers. More on this line of thought below.


Cruze control - pretty useless unless on is on the GQ cutting across Rajasthan.

Voice activated controls? Isn't it easier to just reach for (ergonomically designed) knobs?. Give it 1-6 months, one may never use it unless one wants to flaunt some gizmos to his girl. Remember voice activated features on cellphones?

Hey Poitive, thanks for supporting my view and for complimenting me as well
Yes the cruise control is useful only on the highways, but even the highways are cluttered with animals and morons in our country!
And the Voice controls! Yes, they are more of a gizzmo rather than a very useful feature for controlling the air-con or the music controls, but for attending calls and reading out messages or calling up someone, it is pretty useful I feel.
PS: The Voice activated controls remind me of my Sony Ericsson Walkman phone now! It came with 'shake me controls' which essentially means that you can shake your phone to and fro to change to the previous or next song, then tilt your phone to increase or decrease the volume. I used this feature and showed it off to my friends and relatives when the phone was new, but now I forgot this stupid feature altogether until this Voice control debate came up. I just exercised those 'Shake Me' controls now, its fun actually

[Vipin Kumar]

I am a new member here and this is my first post in the forum. I am one of those who waited for the launch of the New Fiesta Sedan, and left it finally! Though this forum is about the NFS, it has hardly addressed the fate of the old 1.4D/1.5P SXIs which are still priced much above Classic LXIs and CLXIs and only approximately a Rs. 60,000/- less than the NFS! This is a difference that is almost there between, say, Style and Trend. (Interestingly, the Style D will be supplied only after October!). I had booked a 1.4 TDCi SXI before and kept it on hold till 15 July, for the new Fiesta! But apart from pricing, personally I didn't particularly get a premium feel inside the New Fiesta due to its monotonous gray shade and cheep door livers inside. And the funky design in and out also--I did not appreciate much though I thought it will make me get used to it in due course. In the meanwhile I was also torn between the choice for SXI and a Vento. Vento's waiting period has been disturbing although the sales guy assures me 2-3 months delivery. Then there was a non-classic SXI, readily available. And I am getting it with 3 years warranty and a total discount of Rs. 37300/-. The on-road price after discount comes to 9,27,000/-. I am also planning to take a fourth year extended warranty, if available. I found the Vento offering only 2 years warranty though its engine is a better DOHC 1.6L one. I hope I won't have any headache for at least four years with the SXI. Any news with anyone about the phasing out of SXIs in the near future, in the wake of the new global Fiesta?

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Revention

After visiting FIAT showroom yesterday and looking at T-Jet prices, I realized that the new Fiesta Petrol prices are very much around T-Jet prices. Is it why they [Ford] think their new prices are ok ?

Good point. At least when I was buying, the TJet, though an attractive option, seemed overpriced (OTR higher than my AT VEnto IIRC). The Trend variant is priced about 50K more than the Vento HL, whereas if they were comparable, the Fiesta would presumably have galloped off the shelves. Even the though the diesel engine is no match for the Vento Tdi in terms of outright performance, the 23.x ARAI is quote tempting and would probably not have been a deal-breaker.

For MT petrol Vento buyers, the Fiesta is probably still a decent option, though the ghost of the classic engine will continue to haunt !

But cruise control on an MT car? What were Ford thinking?

[carfreak77]

Originally Posted by noopster

But cruise control on an MT car? What were Ford thinking?

I do not see what is wrong in having cruise control on a MT car. In the US, so many manufacturers give cruise control on MT cars and it works wonderfully. All you have to do is be above the minimum speed for cruise control to engage and your foot should be completely off the clutch. You can then increase or decrease your speed by pressing + or - on the steering wheel. I know for a fact since I have driven many MT cars there and used cruise control quite a lot. Now it may be more convenient on an auto car but its certainly helpful on a MT as well. Cheers!

[Guna]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Yeah, voice activated controls in this case are just a marketing ploy – just to say that I got it better than others. For e.g.; will you press a button and mouth a few words (in the right accent) to get the A/C fan speed adjusted, or you will just turn the knob?

Very good point. Many features would be marketing ploy and potential buyers feel good about possessing them but never use in reality. But it would be a nice thing they can show to friends with pride
When you are driving, you want the process of setting temp (or any other task) to take least amount of attention. You dont want to be paying extra attention about what you said, accent and what the system is doing in return etc. It can lead to some funny moments if you are traveling in a group. In a nutshell there is a social barrier against users adopting this interesting piece of technology.

As others have expressed, very ambitious price. Many normal buyers (not the enthusiast variety) want space, comfort and a feel of luxury (read beige interior) along with good reliability, FE etc and this group of buyers is going skip Fiesta while shopping, more so with this pricing.