[MAS]

Atlast managed to put up my ownership thread on the Fiesta

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...1-5l-tdci.html

Would try to update the thread on the experiences with this great car.

[aseem]

I am about to write something that may make ppl lol, however these are my true feelings after a series of test drives today across cars from different segments. I had an opportunity to drive Vento, Jetta and Fiesta back to back today. I am closing on a decision soon and would update you shortly, and promise to put up a review too.
So here are my observations in the order of the cars I test drove extensively today.

Vento in the City (90% of my run) the car feels really ordinary. Its cramped for width at the front, with the dash hitting my left leg. The clutch is hard and the interiors are just boring as in they dont have a character. Its there, quality is ok. Plastics feal cheaper than my ANHC. But thats all subjective. Once I was on on the open stretch (highway with twisties), the car just transformed into a different animal altogether. The handling is way better than City but still not whats required for that engine. The engine simply flies. I was hitting speeds in no time. The speed pedal however did feel heavy, not progressive, couldnt hit the footwell, and somethign felt strained. I cant nail it, but it wasnt smooth as silk as far as engine refinement is concerned. But boy oh boy, what speeds. I could imagine being on highway in this monster all day long. But back to the showroom the reality bit me when I met traffic and the heavy clutch (I drive ANHC AT) showed me a trailer of whats to come. I wasnt convinced and contemplated moving a segment up and spend some more greenbacks. Next up..

Jetta what a difference 5 lakhs make. The car was simply awesome and reminded me of my time overseas when I had rented it. It was so refined and felt almost like petrol. The car had poise, refinement, handling, and enough torque and speed to keep me involved. Having said that, the torque in Vento is more addictive than Jetta and I was at saner speeds on same roads. Blame it to traffic or whatever, but the car just blew me away.

Back on planet earth the decision of Vitamin M being lost in upgrading to Jetta made me goto the promised land.. Ford Showroom.

Ford Fiesta just to give you a context I am guy who openly states that driving my Swift 1.3 was more involving than driving my ANHC AT. It used to eat the speed bumps, not get disturbed by spirited driving and was just plane planted on the corners. So you can call me a handling freak not a out and out speed freak as 90% of the times I spend in City. Having said that with low expectations I checked out Fiesta. Exterior from front, good -> check, tyres were beefy -> check, rear dont need to say anything hear, its just fugly.
Coming to the interiors, I am not chauffer driven and drive alone or with 2 ppl 90% of the time. The front of Fiesta cabin is much better than Vento. Anyone that says Fiesta's interior (I am not talking about color choice) but the dash is worse than Vento is smoking something funny. The seats hug you and the thigh support is awesome. I took the car out through some bad roads and I was amazed that it was poised. At the same broken tarmac my ANHC would have thrown me left and right up and down. But Fiesta was well poised. Out on the road with little expectations from the engine I begin to accelerate and I found that in City it has more useful torque than Vento and was eager to accelerate (subjective). The gearing is tall, and you do require an occasional down shift, but anyone that says Diesel Fiesta is underpowered for Indian conditions is probably spending too much time reading on T-BHP and too little time test driving the vehicle itself. It brought a grin to my face. The car was adequate + in speed dept. I was hitting sane speeds w/o any struggle. But what blew me away most? The handling. I am telling you, Fiesta is in the leagues on Jetta and not Vento in this department. It just holds its own and feels so refined. I was just enjoying placing my car wherever I wanted to place it.

You are guessing where I am leaning towards in my decision making. Now its just deciding whether I need cruise control (wont get me anything in resale) or whether I should settle for money control and settle for Style. Keep watching...

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by aseem

I am about to write something that may make ppl lol, however these are my true feelings after a series of test drives today across cars from different segments. I had an opportunity to drive Vento, Jetta and Fiesta back to back today. I am closing on a decision soon and would update you shortly, and promise to put up a review too.
So here are my observations in the order of the cars I test drove extensively today.
…
…
You are guessing where I am leaning towards in my decision making. Now its just deciding whether I need cruise control (wont get me anything in resale) or whether I should settle for money control and settle for Style. Keep watching...

That was quite an entertaining test drive report. Thank you

Couple of points. One of the fellow bhpian who did a TD mentioned that there are some improvements in the 2012 batch. I will suggest that you wait until they launch the Petrol DCT. Who knows, probably the quality upgrades and price correction may come along with that.

And secondly, the Ford sales manager in my place was suggesting to go with the Trend variant, which has all the standard safety features, audio system etc. available. And if the Bluetooth and VAC setup is needed, Titanium should be one to go for.

[KINI]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Couple of points. One of the fellow bhpian who did a TD mentioned that there are some improvements in the 2012 batch. I will suggest that you wait until they launch the Petrol DCT.

Any idea when the Petrol automatic is scheduled to be launched??

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by KINI

Any idea when the Petrol automatic is scheduled to be launched??

No idea. This process followed by Ford India is quite irritating. They do an unveiling, and then kill the product – first by indefinite wait for the actual launch, and then by shock pricing.
I have dropped an enquiry in their website as well

[KINI]

Originally Posted by vb-san

No idea. This process followed by Ford India is quite irritating. They do an unveiling, and then kill the product – first by indefinite wait for the actual launch, and then by shock pricing.
I have dropped an enquiry in their website as well

Thanks Vb-san.Yes,it is quite irritating.But I am hopeful that Ford India is delaying it so as to price it competitively (increased localisation). Somebody had mentioned that a price correction is in the offing,eagerly awaiting that!!

but can somebody shed light on when the Ford Focus is going to be launched??A friend of mine whose neighbour works at Ford India was told that it would be released by the middle of 2012.Maybe Mustang.101 can enlighten us!!

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by KINI

Thanks Vb-san.Yes,it is quite irritating.But I am hopeful that Ford India is delaying it so as to price it competitively (increased localisation). Somebody had mentioned that a price correction is in the offing,eagerly awaiting that!!

:

Will the new fiesta get the beige treatment after the price correction??? With the current colour combination the new fiesta's the interiors dont look like they belong to 10 lakh car! Also it will help the interiors to look less claustrophobic and give it a luxurious feel.

Originally Posted by KINI

OT but can somebody shed light on when the Ford Focus is going to be launched??A friend of mine whose neighbour works at Ford India was told that it would be released by the middle of 2012.Maybe Mustang.101 can enlighten us!!

If ford is planning to launch the focus then the price corrections on the fiesta may give a slight hint . But since no one has seen the test mule and no word from ford, i guess it might just be a rumor!
Does ford have the space to manufacture the Focus at its Chennai facility??

[KINI]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

Will the new fiesta get the beige treatment after the price correction??? With the current colour combination the new fiesta's the interiors dont look like they belong to 10 lakh car!

Beige interiors??Highly doubtful!!But expect fit and finish to be better at most!!Infact,a bhpian compared the 2011 and 2012 Fiestas and said that the 2012 Fiestas' interiors are slightly better!!

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by aseem

II should settle for money control and settle for Style. Keep watching...

I would recommend the NFS anyday over the Vento, the kit level is awesome and Ford does not offer anything as basic as the TL in the NFS. The Trend variant is a good package, however I would suggest you go the whole hog and get the T or T+.
The NFS as a driver's car is awesome, the seats are awesome like you mentioned,the footwell is spacious and comfortable, unlike the Vento your knee does not hit the dash while operating the clutch. There is a very useable dead pedal which is relaxing on long drives, the Vento footwell is in the same league as the Fiesta Classic, and that is not a compliment. The adjustable headrests once pushed down give you an wide view though the IRVM. The ORVMs are really good and electically foldable(Vento does not offer this).

[aseem]

There was time when several bhpians used to say we need more manufacturers to give black interiors and they've had enough of biege. I see quite the opposite reaction now that a manufacture has actually gone ahead and did just that...

[KINI]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

I would recommend the NFS anyday over the Vento

+1, In terms of features, safety, FTD-the Fiesta scores.
However, the Vento has a more powerful engine and the interiors are better put together even though they are sorely lacking in features. The top end Vento is pretty comparable to the Trend variant of the Fiesta D!!

A member of our forum however reported rusting on the cast iron parts used in the Fiesta. I underdstand it's not a major problem and it shouldn't affect the car in the long run. Could somebody please clarify on that?

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by aseem

There was time when several bhpians used to say we need more manufacturers to give black interiors and they've had enough of biege. I see quite the opposite reaction now that a manufacture has actually gone ahead and did just that...

i dont think the fiesta interior colour is fully black,its kind of gray in some areas and grayish blue else where.The cruze all balck interiors looks much better than the fiesta's one.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by aseem

There was time when several bhpians used to say we need more manufacturers to give black interiors and they've had enough of biege. I see quite the opposite reaction now that a manufacture has actually gone ahead and did just that...

So well agree with that, I always prefer dark interiors compared to the standard beige ones. But guess majority still prefers beige and somehow strangely it’s associated with a more premium feel. Infact I find the interior colour scheme of the new Fiesta quite appealing, except for the mobile phone inspired buttons. It was in vogue when the Fiesta hatch was launched a couple of years back, but now in the era of touchscreen smartphones, that part looks a bit of an overkill

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

i dont think the fiesta interior colour is fully black,its kind of gray in some areas and grayish blue else where. The cruze all balck interiors looks much better than the fiesta's one.

Isn't the Cruze interiors supposed to be better anyway? Afterall its competing in a segment above the Fiesta.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Isn't the Cruze interiors supposed to be better anyway? Afterall its competing in a segment above the Fiesta.

The Cruze quality may belong to a segment higher but i was talking about the colour scheme used.All black looks way better than the grayish blue colour in the fiesta!

I for one like beige colour because it brightens up the interiors and gives an airy feel, though cleaning might be an issue. India is not a Large volume market where manufactures can give interior colour options for every model it sells, even then the common Indian mentality is beige is better than black!

[vnabhi]

I prefer black to beige. I felt yucky when I sat in the rear seat of my colleague's ANHC VMT that had beige all over.

Cleaning is going to be a huge problem for beige interiors.