[supremeBaleno]

Hey prince85, congrats on your new car, man.
So, you are one more guy who put his money where his mouth is.
And before I forget, do well in your exams.

[v1p3r]

I'm sorry Aseem, but if you bought your car from the same dealer who meted out this treatment to you, I can only say

I have detailed my experience with both dealers clearly. In addition, I was given a TD of the Swift on the launch date, with me alone in the car, as per my request. So the new-car-test-drive-is-tough theory is a load of manure. Besides, why advertise test drives then? Is Ford India really that stupid?

This ought to set the record straight. A presumably intelligent and well-informed (TBHPian after all!!!) adult walked into three showrooms, Honda, Ford, and apna Maruti. This is what he said:

Originally Posted by prince85

i booked a Baleno VXI in pearl silver shade today....I am happy with my decision. I test drove the NHC VTEC, Fiesta 1.6 (warm service offerred by Shakti Ford) and the Baleno...Baleno is a breed apart

[GTO]

Similarly priced Ikon SXis are cheaper than equivalent Baleno LXis in the second hand market. This was before the Fiesta was brought in. I am using this logic.

Your logic is incorrect then. Because 3 years down the line, there will be an entirely new car (and not the Ikon) which is competing against the same Baleno which was selling next to the Ikon in the used market.

I'm sorry if I sound slightly offensive here Rush, but you do own two cars that stand for diametric opposites, the Mercedes and the Honda. Which one gives/gave you tireless service and performance, and which one made you call your lawyers? Japanese cars may be tinny, but they don't have electronic glitches galore. They don't cost the earth to service.

OOPS! CAUGHT! Good Point. I absolutely agree that Mercedes gave my lawyers some business (and me a very nice black CDI).

Buttttttttttttttttttttttttt the Fiesta is as simple in mechanism as the Baleno. I suppose you would agree that its not got the potential to be an electronic nightmare like the C180?

I cannot comment on ride/handling or speed since I have not driven the car yet.

Exactly!

GTO

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by GTO

Your logic is incorrect then. Because 3 years down the line, there will be an entirely new car (and not the Ikon) which is competing against the same Baleno which was selling next to the Ikon in the used market.

GTO, I pointed out that the Ikon was cheaper than the Baleno, given similar new prices, before the Fiesta was launched. At the time, the Ikon was very much a current model.

Again, I have to ask, if Fords like the Ikon and Fiesta are such good handlers, and have such great chassis(es?), why don't we see them on tracks, in championships, in the INRC?

Now, will someone PLEASE get me a 1.6 Fiesta to drive?

[yogi1771]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Having heard so much about the so-called good looks of the Fiesta, I just had to go have a look. And they seem to be rarer than Balenos on Chennai roads. But, the fact that they had a stall in my office complex helped. Did not test drive as all I wanted to evaluate were the looks.
My observations :
Exteriors :
Front view - it looks different. But nothing that would make me say, "Wow".
Back view - nothing to write home about. Looks like a much smaller car than the Baleno from behind.
Side profile - higher at the mid section like the NHC. No looker there too.
Interiors : Now this was good and better than the Baleno.

The OTR price for the display car (fully loaded) was 7.7L. Would I pay that kind of money for these kind of looks ? No, Thanks. I would rather pay the same dough or a little more and go for the elegant looking Optra.

on ur this point that they r rarer than balenos in chennai when was the baleno launched i am not sure and still u can count number of cars on ur fingers here in mumbai

[Floyd de Souza]

Originally Posted by yogi1771

on ur this point that they r rarer than balenos in chennai when was the baleno launched i am not sure and still u can count number of cars on ur fingers here in mumbai

Don't know which part of Mumbai you come from...but I see quite a few Balenos nowadays and I hear that the numbers are increasing. And the more cars there are on the road, the more it will sell irrespective of whether it is old as long as it is still relevant in the mind of the consumer. That is why the Esteem still sells. The zen has lost its relevance now and therefore it has been stopped.

[GTO]

GTO, I pointed out that the Ikon was cheaper than the Baleno, given similar new prices, before the Fiesta was launched. At the time, the Ikon was very much a current model.

Prices irrelevant. Right now Ford ikon competes against the Baleno in the used market. 3 years from now, the Fiesta will compete against the same 10 year old Baleno in the used car market. Your guess is as good as mine.

Again, I have to ask, if Fords like the Ikon and Fiesta are such good handlers, and have such great chassis(es?), why don't we see them on tracks, in championships, in the INRC?

Motorsport participation depends majorly on manufacturer support. Bottom line.

GTO

[yogi1771]

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza

Don't know which part of Mumbai you come from...but I see quite a few Balenos nowadays and I hear that the numbers are increasing. And the more cars there are on the road, the more it will sell irrespective of whether it is old as long as it is still relevant in the mind of the consumer. That is why the Esteem still sells. The zen has lost its relevance now and therefore it has been stopped.

my point(to supremebaleno) here is fiesta has been launched a few months back whereas the baleno a few yrs back so cant compare and say i see more balenos than fiestas give it some time and then u can compare or say i c more balenos than fiestas

[amitoj]

Heh... all this Baleno vs other car debates remind me of the batting partnerships in an indian innings.
Baleno and lancer
Baleno and City
Baleno and ikon
Baleno and Fiesta
Baleno and Accent

and now it will be
Baleno and Aveo.

Just replace Baleno with Dravid to see the analogy.

LOL... from being compared to Nutan to being compared to Dravid... wotta journey!

Cheers
Amitoj

[suman]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

I guess its enough of these arguments , we can see what the poll numbers are showing and where the priority of most bhpians are ...

Absolutely correct! On an all-India basis though, the figures are showing Fiesta in the top ten for January 2006, the Baleno doesn't figure unfortunately; lets wait and see what the Feb figures reveal.

[suman]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

And what makes you so sure that the remaining 43 who voted for the Fiesta have driven or even been in a Baleno ? The poll does not impose any requirement on the voter to have actually testdriven the 2 cars. All it says is "Which car would you choose to buy NOW of the two ?" based on the voter's perception and any info that he has on both the cars.

SB, please read my post carefully....I'm talking about people who are PRAISING the stability, interiors and road holding of the Baleno; surely not something you can do without checking out both the cars wouldn't you agree?

[suman]

Originally Posted by prince85

BTW, i booked a Baleno VXI in pearl silver shade today, am waiting to take delivery on the 31st of this month which incidently is the date of my last TYBCOM examination.I am happy with my decision.

Congrats on your new purchase & best of luck for your exams!

[Samurai]

OK, I own Baleno Lxi and I drove around my father-in-law's Fiesta 1.4 petrol all day this Saturday. These two models are very similarly priced. Here are my views:

1) Looks wise Fiesta wins hands down over Baleno.
2) Better stock tyres (175/65R14 tubless) when compared to 165/80R13 tubetype of Baleno.
3) Better Interiors than Baleno.
4) High seats and short hood similar to Santro. Feels like driving a small car like Santro. Good for city traffic. Baleno has low seat and loooong hood.
5) Driver seat is not as comfortable as Baleno, can't be good for long highway drives.
6) Gear shift not that great, felt Baleno gear shift is better.
7) The torque simply sucks, it simply couldn't start in a 30 degree gradient with 5 five people. I had to offload three people before it could take on that road. I had to downshift to 2nd in uphills where Baleno effortlessly had climbed in 4th.
8) No fun driving, just a people hauler.

Summary: I couldn't wait to get back to my Baleno.

[s0uljah]

Baleno or Fiesta ??
BALENO

Congrats prince, enjoy the car... im sure you will. hehe

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by suman

Absolutely correct! On an all-India basis though, the figures are showing Fiesta in the top ten for January 2006, the Baleno doesn't figure unfortunately; lets wait and see what the Feb figures reveal.

As you would agree, the all-India market does not comprise of people who are as car-aware as Team BHP-ians. What they are looking for in a car is not what people on this forum look for and so decisions might not match. Any new product will generate some initial enthusiasm among consumers, but then that is just the "Intro" stage for the product. There still remain three more stages in the product life cycle - "growth", "maturity", and "decline". Let's wait and see, how it turns out to be.
As regards sales of Baleno, the A3 segment of Maruti comprising Baleno and Esteem grew by 109% during the year 2004-05. The 2005-06 figures are not available yet, but by the number of New Esteems and Balenos that I see, I am sure that these figures would have been bettered. A new car being in the top ten in the year of launch is good. But what is truly great performance, is cars that have been in the market for 11 years (Esteem) and 7 years (Baleno) registering such stupendous growth.