[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

With all due respect, Samurai San - I doubt if ANY car is underpowered to the extent that you have to offload 3 people to start off on a gradiant. Overloaded Ambassadors and Premier Padminis have done this time and again on our ghat roads before the 'new generation' cars arrived.

I mean start from zero. BTW, may be it was little more than 30 degree. Also, I didn't try any revving and clutch dumping since it only had 300Kms on the odometer. However I do have photo of that place where we stood wondering after that experience. None of the overloaded trucks are able to enter this incline. Couple of times they had to offload at the main road before entering. It is the road to our new office. We decided to redo the road and reduce the incline. Later in the day I was careful to enter that incline with some momemtum like 10-15Kmph, then it worked.


The steep part of the metal road is not visible. You can see the road horizon little above the knee of the person on the left. It gets steeper from there to the main tar road which is completely hidden. What you see just above that metalled road horizon is the other side of the tar road.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I remember you had a similar situation with a gradiant on the approach to your parent's (or in-laws?) house - we discussed this about a year ago.

That was Indigo diesel test drive by my father-in-law. The incline begins after a 90 degree turn, after the car almost stops. That was a different road.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Samurai

That was Indigo diesel test drive by my father-in-law. The incline begins after a 90 degree turn, after the car almost stops. That was a different road.

Hmmm... looks like you pick your home and work locations specifically to test cars. Get an SUV.

[CaliforniaKnight]

Right now the BALENO at 75 and the FIESTA at 54.....

[supremeBaleno]

As of now, it is Baleno - 77 and Fiesta - 54.
Nice poll, BTW. :-)

[sumitsingh]

Have voted for the Fiesta.

-Sumit

[LandCruiser]

I voted for Fiesta. Baleno is too old. Some one may want to have that as a second car for fun. Not my choice.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

Baleno is too old. Some one may want to have that as a second car for fun.

The poll figures seem to indicate otherwise. Anyway, to each his own.

[xezas]

Drove a Fiesta 1.6 (5.5k on the odmeter)today for over 15 kms in Bangalore roads and a little on the out-skirts. I drive a Baleno Lxi(6.5k on the odometer) everyday. My impressions on the Fiesta:

Refined: The Fiesta does not surge ahead like the Baleno on the 2nd gear at very low rpms which gives you a more controlled feeling. Not an upstart like the Baleno. Can't decide whether it's really a good thing in the long run but for the duration I drove it, I liked the laid-back feeling of a powerful engine rationing out power as needed.

Good visibility: Maybe it's the height difference, maybe it's the sun-film but I got a distinct impression that I was seeing more of the road on all sides better with the Fiesta.

Good maneuverability: Spot-on handling pretty much like the Baleno.

ABC positioning: The clutch felt a bit hard to depress and my foot kept hitting the part of the car above the clutch. Also, I'm spoilt by the Baleno in which I am almost horizontal while driving (like apna Schumi...) so the sitting and driving took a bit of getting used to. Also, the three levers felt a bit crowded in the Fiesta but that could just be my overactive imagination.

Lesser vibrations: Don't know how to quantify this one. Maybe it's the lack of a steering wheel cover in my car and the presence of one in the Fiesta. Maybe it was the firmer suspension that jolts back firmly instead of the slight wavy feeling in the Baleno.


Less roomy: The Baleno feels quite a bit roomier than the Fiesta. The abundant dash of the Baleno helps in this, I guess.

Front Seats: Not as comfy as the Baleno but really good nonetheless.


These are my personal opinions and are to be treated as such only. One thing is for sure: Given the choice today between a Baleno and Fiesta (money being out of the equation), I'll still go for a Baleno.

[LandCruiser]

I got my Fiesta 1.6 sxi Moon dust silver yesterday. Driven 50 kms so far. It is somewhat sluggish under 2000 RPM. Otherwise it feels good. Stereo is adequate to listen inside the car, it doesnt go bang bang. Fine with me.

MPL ford delivered it with a small dent on the bonnet and scratches in the front chrome grill. They have given in writing to rectify both.

[suman]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

I got my Fiesta 1.6 sxi Moon dust silver yesterday. Driven 50 kms so far. It is somewhat sluggish under 2000 RPM. Otherwise it feels good. Stereo is adequate to listen inside the car, it doesnt go bang bang. Fine with me.

MPL ford delivered it with a small dent on the bonnet and scratches in the front chrome grill. They have given in writing to rectify both.

Congratulations on your new ride & welcome to the Fiesta club! Wish you many years of happy motoring.....the car will grow on you, believe me!

[Revvhead]

Duede, you have to be kidding.
You should have rejected the car outright man. There is no way you should allow any dealer anywhere to saddle you with a pre dented / scrathed car!!!
Unless you had a reason for wanting it that urgently

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

I got my Fiesta 1.6 sxi Moon dust silver yesterday. Driven 50 kms so far. It is somewhat sluggish under 2000 RPM. Otherwise it feels good. Stereo is adequate to listen inside the car, it doesnt go bang bang. Fine with me.

MPL ford delivered it with a small dent on the bonnet and scratches in the front chrome grill. They have given in writing to rectify both.

[Boom Shiva]

Landcruiser, I agree with Revvhead. You shouldn't have accepted the car in any state other than "showroom condition". I know it's really exciting to see your new car and to take possession of it, but over enthusiasm can really blow up in your face, especially with some of these dealers. As protocol, they should have done a pre-delivery inspection and fixed the problem before you have even see the car.

Anyways, all the best with your new car, hope to see pics soon!

[venkatrx]

Just two months back before purchasing my Baleno, I test drove(always with 4 people) NHC ZX, Baleno and Fiesta, the following were my observations between Fiesta 1.6 and Baleno Vxi.

1. Looks : Fiesta looks like a merc, what more can i say. NHC, didn't like the post-modern design, Baleno - if looks matters the most no one will buy a baleno.

2. Power : Baleno seemed powerful compared to Fiesta. NHC is underpowered. In my testdrive there is a slope, both Fiesta and Baleno were able to climb on 2nd gear, but on NHC we had to use 1st gear.

3. AC : During sunny afternoon, Baleno took about 2 minute to cool, Fiesta took about 4 minutes to cool. (Blower was too noisy in Fiesta). NHC took about 3 minutes and its blower is too noisy.
Climate control feature in Baleno seems very convenient.

4. Steering & Control : In Baleno the steering feedback is good, But Fiesta/NHC steering seemed very artificial with very little feedback.

5. Interiors : NHC looked great, Fiesta seemed pretty good, Baleno nothing to talk about.

6. Seating Comfort : Baleno seats seemed unbelievable both at the front and back with the armrest. NHC was pretty good but not as good as Baleno. Fiesta driver seats were good, but the rear seats seemed big but not comfortable, the hand rest has cupholders which is uncomfortable, because the cupholder plastics touches your arms.

7. Suspensions : Baleno seems to sail over bad roads, Fiesta is OK, NHC rear-seats vibrates a lot. [NHC guy told that in ZX model to increase the ground clearance they have made the suspensions stiffer]

8. Ground clearance : Both NHC and Fiesta are good, they didn't scrape anything during my test drive. Baleno it scraped 1 speedbreaker. Though on paper all of them claim around 170 mm, only Baleno seemed to scrape.

9. Headlights : Baleno is very poor. NHC and Fiesta were very good.

10. Fuel economy : Based on user feedback, Baleno 10.5, NHC 14, Fiesta 12

[supremeBaleno]

Venkat, nice unbiased review. Just a few comments / queries.

1. Looks : Fiesta looks like a merc, what more can i say.
<<Looks like a Merc ? What do you mean by that ? Is it a compliment or don't you like the Merc's looks? I for one, find the Mercs to be stately and impressive, as far as looks go. So, if the drab-looking Fiesta is compared to a Merc, for me it is sacrilege. >>

7. Suspensions : Baleno seems to sail over bad roads.
<<Very true. It is a pleasure driving around in a Baleno. >>

9. Headlights : Baleno is very poor.
<<One thing that I hope MUL will look into. Pathetic lights. >>

10. Fuel economy : Based on user feedback, Baleno 10.5, NHC 14, Fiesta 12.
<<A Ford returning more FE than a Jap ? Improbable. I get 12 kmpl (city) and 16kmpl (highway) with 100% a/c. Infact if I remain below 100kmph on highways, I am sure this would improve to 17 or more. But then I don't mind sacrificing that extra FE for the adrenalin rush that hi-speed driving gives.>>

<<BTW, how did the NHC and Fiesta fare when it came to city driving ?
With the Baleno, it is like driving an AT car. No need to keep changing gears every now and then. The engine does not complain even when we are at speeds of 20-25kmph in the top gears. That is one thing I love about the Baleno.>>

[goldie_malhotra]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

1. Looks : Fiesta looks like a merc, what more can i say.
<<Looks like a Merc ? What do you mean by that ? Is it a compliment or don't you like the Merc's looks? I for one, find the Mercs to be stately and impressive, as far as looks go. So, if the drab-looking Fiesta is compared to a Merc, for me it is sacrilege. >>

frankly, I have never been able to see (or imagine) how a fiesta rear looks like a mercs. One can spot the wide body, with stylish angular tail-lights of a mercs from any distance, and distinguish it from the narrow, chunky rear with rounded-off tail-lights of the fiesta.

sorry, fiesta owners - but i find the styling of the fiesta is just average and dull, whereas the stylish-ness of a mercs is in a different class altogether. its like being even more imaginative than comparing a aveo to an optra or the NHC -ZX to a civic/accord.

<<BTW, how did the NHC and Fiesta fare when it came to city driving ?
With the Baleno, it is like driving an AT car. No need to keep changing gears every now and then. The engine does not complain even when we are at speeds of 20-25kmph in the top gears. That is one thing I love about the Baleno.>>

the NHC is really breezy to drive, with its good low-end torque and light steering and small turning radius. i find it one of the easiest sedans to drive around in the city.