[imp!]

If you are going to consider a Cedia Sports, you should look at a used one. New ones depreciate like crazy !

But if you are willing to consider a used car, a used Honda Accord fits your budget like a T !

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

[quote=Gilead;
I am not sure if you took it on any rough roads. The ride is fairly harsh on bad roads at slow speeds due to the stiffer suspension set up.dream to drive on good roads and on the highway.

.[/quote]

Given that Ford did a lot of testing at track down south, I can't blame ford for the harsh ride. The fact that we are getting 'track spec' handling in a very practical sedan at price that suits the middle class more than makes up for the slightly harsh ride. Although I haven't driven the FiestaS much but I got hooked to it the very first time and through out the drive I never really bothered about the not-so-plush ride. With that kind of suspension setup the car makes average drivers look and feel like a pro. Well almost.


Regards.

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by imp!

If you are going to consider a Cedia Sports, you should look at a used one. New ones depreciate like crazy !

But if you are willing to consider a used car, a used Honda Accord fits your budget like a T !

Last gen Accord is anything but fun to drive. Its handling is nothing to get excited about and the performance is adequate (unless you're talking about the V6). Accord isn't FTD though it a good car and offers lot of snob value.

@MODS--Sorry for back to back posts for I hadn't noticed the quoted post before. Merge this post with my last one if required.

Regards.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by YC.BALENO.CHD

Given that Ford did a lot of testing at track down south, I can't blame ford for the harsh ride. The fact that we are getting 'track spec' handling in a very practical sedan at price that suits the middle class more than makes up for the slightly harsh ride.

That's right. Handling and ride quality don't go hand in hand. One of them has to be compromised to make the other one better. Same is the case with BMWs as well. The ride on the 1.6S on bad roads is harsh, but it's not a deal breaker for me as roads that I drove on are fairly decent.

aparth: Rather than the last gen Accord, you could pick up a used Civic like GTO and put in some suspension mods to make it stiffer.

[s3va]

As per the recent updates Linea T should be launched by Jun 10. The link below should have some pointers.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1806651

I think it would be worth a wait. Linea is not a new car in the market. So you dont need to worry about a new car that needs to prove itself aspect and all those. Of course handling in a Linea wouldnt be as great as a Cedia, but then you are paying a premium for a new Cedia. But then with a Linea T, you are getting 108 bhp in a car less than ~10 lacs.

So with the list of cars now you have, its a performance vs. budget vs. availability matrix for your to decide now !

[shamanth]

I am having ANHC Automatic, Last weekend i drove Ford Fiesta Sports of my friend as we went for trip OOTY. Here are my observations

• Both Front seat and back seat comfort of ANHC is way ahead of Fiesta. Front seats of ANHC is much bigger and comfortable for long drives. Felt front seat of my Zen was better than the Fiesta.

• Fiesta Ground clearance has got compramised due to skirting in sports model, still its little bit better than ANHC

• Found my ANHC AT much powerful and faster than 1.6s, i am not sure about ANHC MT.

• In curves ascending ooty fiesta has difficulty to pull in 2nd gear, had to use 1st gear mostly, where as my ANHC was climbing hairpin bend with ease in 2nd gear in my ANHC Automatic(Ya, you can easily identify which gear its going in AT after few days of driving experience).

• Suspension of both cars are good at higher speed.

• City has only one light in entire cabin, where as in fiesta many lights including dash box light. Good bottle holders in fiesta at doors easy to fit bigger bottles.

I choose city since i was completely sold out for it futuristic looks.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by shamanth

Fiesta Ground clearance has got compramised due to skirting in sports model, still its little bit better than ANHC

Not really. The suspension is stiff so it never sags like the ANHC. Only a really bad speed breaker can cause it trouble and even then I don't think the skirts will hit.

And yes, the ANHC does feel faster but I personally think that's because the ANHC 'feels' a lot lighter than the Fiesta. The Fiesta feels 'heavy' which is a little more confidence inspiring. The ANHC will be faster in a drag, but they will be fairly evenly matched in real world situations. e.g. Hondas typically have poor low end whereas Fiesta does not have any dead spots. Of course, the Fiesta will not be able to rev as high as the ANHC. It will max out at 6600 RPM or so. The 1.6S has a different exhaust set up compared to the regular Fiestas, so it really sings above 3K RPM.

As for pulling on the ghats, the Fiesta should do better as both cars make identical peak torque but the Fiesta makes it around 3.5K whereas the ANHC makes it close to 5K RPM or so if I not mistaken. If the ANHC is pulling in 2nd gear, the Fiesta will easily pull even in 3rd gear. Maybe your friend's Fiesta was carrying additional weight and hence struggling, but on paper, the Fiesta is a better puller.

As for high speed stability, the Fiesta runs on wider, low profile tires and that helps at the cost of ride quality.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by Gilead

Not really. The suspension is stiff so it never sags like the ANHC. Only a really bad speed breaker can cause it trouble and even then I don't think the skirts will hit.

And yes, the ANHC does feel faster but I personally think that's because the ANHC 'feels' a lot lighter than the Fiesta. The Fiesta feels 'heavy' which is a little more confidence inspiring. The ANHC will be faster in a drag, but they will be fairly evenly matched in real world situations. e.g. Hondas typically have poor low end whereas Fiesta does not have any dead spots. Of course, the Fiesta will not be able to rev as high as the ANHC. It will max out at 6600 RPM or so. The 1.6S has a different exhaust set up compared to the regular Fiestas, so it really sings above 3K RPM.

Oh ya, the Exhaust sound has a roaring sound, i just love it when i rev it at 1st and 2nd great. 1.6S has the best sound, feel like driving a sports car.

[jayanth_yk]

Intresting, between ANHC and Fiesta 1.6S, I currently own an ANHC-VMT, and have tested both cars before deciding on the former. I personally felt that Fiesta 1.6S was well planted on the ground at high speeds, which obviously is a proven fact. However I felt that ANHC has a better pull and feels like it offers more power than the fiesta, mainly due to a better power/weight ratio. ANHC weighs a well 30Kgs less than the 1.6S.
Power comparisions apart, coming back to the question of ANHC or Fiesta 1.6S, I would defnitely say ANHC (unbiased opinion) simply because it offers best peace of mind in terms of reliability, which to me is the biggest attribute for an automobile. As somebody already stated earlier in the post, the extra premium of 2L can be recovered from the best re-sale value ANHC offers. Ofcource there is no price for peace of mind

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by jayanth_yk

Intresting, between ANHC and Fiesta 1.6S, I currently own an ANHC-VMT, and have tested both cars before deciding on the former. I personally felt that Fiesta 1.6S was well planted on the ground at high speeds, which obviously is a proven fact. However I felt that ANHC has a better pull and feels like it offers more power than the fiesta, mainly due to a better power/weight ratio. ANHC weighs a well 30Kgs less than the 1.6S.
Power comparisions apart, coming back to the question of ANHC or Fiesta 1.6S, I would defnitely say ANHC (unbiased opinion) simply because it offers best peace of mind in terms of reliability, which to me is the biggest attribute for an automobile. As somebody already stated earlier in the post, the extra premium of 2L can be recovered from the best re-sale value ANHC offers. Ofcource there is no price for peace of mind

As the Thread started has stated, his car is not going to remain stock. Thus those 2L can contribute a lot to the modifications. Just a ECU remap and CAI alone adds around 10 bhp to the FiestaS. That alone shows how 'tuneable' that engine is.
Yeah, the city has a better re-sale but that can only be termed as an advantage if the car is to be sold within 3-4 yrs. Also, ford's *** has improved significantly.

The ANHC may fetch better Resale but then you also paid 2L more when buying it. So, I fail to understand what great advantage it really holds.

Yeah, the city has more snob value and all but it misses on the equipment front. Also, what I feel is that 'snob value' and 'badge prestige' is an issue when the budget is above 15 lakhs.
Otherwise, 'Fun to drive', 'equipment list' and 'after-sales' should be the deciding factors.

There are some fronts where the ANHC scores over the FiestaS but looking at FTD and VFM, the S seems a better buy and like I said instead of dishing out a premium of about 2 lakhs on the city, the moolah can be used for mods.


You own an ANHC and yet you have stated that your view is unbiased.

I own neither of the two cars and having driven both of them quite a bit, given the requirements of the Thread Starter the 1.6 seems a much better bet. And this is from someone who has had a 1.3 OHC and a NHC in his garage for a fair bit of time. So its not that I do not understand the benefits of a Honda.



Regards.

[jayanth_yk]

You own an ANHC and yet you have stated that your view is unbiased.

Well, I should have put trying to be unbiased.

Let's revisit the requirement
My main requirements are :

* Great performance - Should be fun to drive! - Fiesta scores just over ANHC
* Should have all the safety features - ABS, Airbags, etc. - ANHC wins here, since this is standard across all variants
* Good looks. - ANHC, no debate on this
* Mod friendly, as i don't intend to keep my car stock for a very long time. - I am not sure about ANHC, am sure OHC had good support.

It's a great debate though.

[raghu230506]

Originally Posted by jayanth_yk

* Mod friendly, as i don't intend to keep my car stock for a very long time. - I am not sure about ANHC, am sure OHC had good support.

EMT Variant which is now available gives a freedom to go for MOD as much as possible, though Honda cribs about warranty it can still be done, MONTY (T-BHPIAN) had done excellent MODS in his car without any issues from his dealer.

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by jayanth_yk

...
* Good looks. - ANHC, no debate on this
....

Visual appeal is highly personal, and opinions differ.

I feel ANHC's grill is of an old man smiling after a visit to the dentist and having a grill put on his teeth.

Wifey says the bonnet looks like a rolled out chappati dough.

No offence to any owners here.

This is a nice debate, and it will make sense sticking to technicalities.

[sandeepmohan]

The Ford Fiesta S is your best bet.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by jayanth_yk

* Should have all the safety features - ABS, Airbags, etc. - ANHC wins here, since this is standard across all variants

Not sure how the ANHC wins on the safety aspect when the 1.6S that is under consideration has ABS, EBD and airbags as well. And it runs on wider low profile tires which provide additional safety in an indirect manner by offering more grip.