[dhanushs]

Last week, I had a chance to drive The New Fiesta Diesel (1.5) , and the All New Verna Diesel (1.6) around the city and a short highway stretch. Please note that this was a very short drive, and more like an initial impression, than a drive report. Also, most of the minute details are covered by the extensive t-bhp review of both the cars here: Verna , Fiesta. In this report, I will try to covey my ideas as a aam-aadmi buyer.

Sorry, had no cam at that moment, hence, no pics. For super detailed pics, please refer the Official Test Drive Thread.

The Verna:


Somehow, driven the previous gen Verna and going by Hyundai Standards, I had some preconceived ideas about the New Verna, its handling and interiors. But then, for the real part.

Pros:

• Just as I expected, Great quality interiors.
• Loaded with equipment, considering the onroad price.
• The new power/torque benchmark. 128PS and 260NM of torque.
• Power delivery.
• Start/Stop, rear camera et al, are fancy..
• Top end comes with 6 Airbags, Leather seats, 16 inchers, all round discs and also a 5th Alloy Wheel.
• Built quality not bad, considering a Korean. (certainly not upto the leagues of the VW's and the Fiats)
• Paint Quality
• Space.
• Very unlike the previous Gen, this car drives and handles much better, though straight line stability could have been better.
• You can buy a Verna for for ~7 lacs as well as ~12 lacs.

Cons:

• Literally lifeless steering @ dead speeds.
• Claustrophobic rear seating. I'm 5'9" and the glass area starts above my shoulder.
• ICE, atleast in the car I drove it wasn't upto the mark. And, straight on the face, felt like a OE equipment.
• Less friendly SA, means, you cant upgrade anything. Even plug and play speaker upgrade is not recommended.
• Handling not upto the mark of the competition. I would rank Fiesta>T-Jet>Vento>Honda City>Verna.
• The seat height adjust doesnt really work to your liking. (Still I managed to find my sweet positioning, not sure if everyone can.)
• You can buy a Verna for for ~7 lacs as well as ~12 lacs.

The New Verna is a generation ahead of its predecessor, and IMO, its worthy and does its job real well. The car is better in almost all ways, when compared to the old Verna. Vast improvement in areas of equipment, looks and handling.

Look at the new Verna, and you will be mighty impressed, considering the last version was the transform. It looks good from almost every angle. Sometimes classic, sometimes beefy muscular, sometimes futuristic, well, in any case, I didn't find nothing wrong with its looks. To me, its not a hit-or-miss, and definitely a hit.

Get in the front, and the car gives you the feel that you got what you paid for, if not more. Everything seems to be in place, and feels 10L. The dash, the dials, the faux wood, everything felt nice, and upto the mark. The climate control felt a bit confusing, at 1st (due to the knowledgeable SE), but managed to figure it out, and set the temperature in a jiffy. Glove box is cooled: Kids and men would love it. Plastics inside are of good quality and felt OK. The dash of the car looks mature, and the in the car I drove, the material used was of very good feel, and almost soft-touch. The upholstery is no where boring, and the beige imparts a aura of spaciousness. But, whist adjusting the height adjust, I felt loosing the thigh support. You need to position it highest, for max thigh support, which is of very much importance to me (along with support at the sides). The steering too felt OK, and the controls easy to use.

Get in the back (well, getting in itself is a task for a mediocre 5'9"er), and you sit in a hole. The recline angle, room, space, everything is acceptable, but the fact that you are still sitting in a hole makes the rest very much unacceptable. Well, if you have a friend whom you have something against; offer him a long ride at the back of the Verna. By the time you reach your destination, the scores should be settled. . The good thing about the rear of the Verna is that, the transmission hump is very well hidden, and doesn't protrude and is not an irritant. This makes life for the 5th passenger a bit easy.

Driving the New Verna felt very much different than the old version. This engine with VGT, performs real well. The raw pulling power alone is sufficient to put a smile across your face. The 'turbo kick', though not as evident and fun as the magnum or swift (which is a good thing - less but turbo lag), is enjoyable. There is a fair bit of lag, to make your highway drive fun, and its suppressed just enough by the VGT, to not make your daily city drive irritating. The power delivery does not abruptly end after a certain rpm. I didn't take it to its limits, but still I felt pretty good range for a diesel. My drive was not an elaborate one, but all the while, in and around the city and the short stint of a straight highway, the 1.6 mill was powerful, fun and practical.

While going in for the test drive, I had this impression that, the Hyundai is a bad handler. Maybe due to that, for a Verna, I was satisfied, if not impressed by the way this car handles. When compared to the previous gen, the All New Verna is leagues ahead in terms of handling. Please note, that even if its much better, the Fiesta, T-Jet and the Vento are still ahead (Fiesta is miles ahead). Did not get a chance to to take it to the speeds the engine is capable of, but, somewhere along the line, I felt, the car is not built to the engine, and will give up much before the engine gives up. Throw in a few corners, and the car will manage, but throw in a couple of high-speed corners, and it starts to express its dissatisfaction by mildly scaring you. (In the previous Gen, you wouldn't even think of throwing it at corners, just shift down and drive home safely)

Rounding up, the New Verna looks good, has a superb engine, and has quality interiors for which you pay for. The only glitch is the slightly less (Note: Its no where bad) dynamics, when compared to competition. But then, for the common man, its NOT.. NOT a deal breaker. On the whole, I think we have got another great machine in the C+ segment to choose from. Coupled with Hyundai's A.S.S, I strongly believe the All New Verna is going to make numbers, and competition restless.

Pic Source: Team-BHP's official review

[dhanushs]

The New Fiesta


I drove the Fiesta immediately after I drove the Verna, and mind you boy, you have to do exactly that to know the difference. More on it later.

Pros:

• Handling.. Handling.. Handling.. A typical Ford at it!!..
• NVH. Hard to say its a diesel mill.
• Voice Controls - Works really well, and Cruise Control. (Atleast in Kerala, not sure that anyone can use it practically)
• Built Well. You get a nice feel opening and closing the doors.
• Stunning looking Front End.
• Funky Dash Design (Hit or Miss).
• Good Supportive front seats.
• Awesome steering (to hold), as well as crisp response at speeds (Considering its an EPS)
• Safety; Boron Steel (?)
• Practical Engine, minimal turbo-lag. Claimed to be pretty frugal.

Cons:

Everything at the rear is a deal breaker for this car. I'll try to list them out, along with the others.

• Pathetic Plastic Quality at rear. This doesn't get better up front either.
• Rear End Design, the huuugggeee disproportionate bumper, and the puny tail lamps.
• The rear door padding of the New Fiesta is exactly (if not worse) of same quality if the Figo. It doesn't even have a fabric lining.(Please note that you can get 3 base Figo's for the price of one titanium + Fiesta)
• Rear neck restrains are terribly designed. With them ON, I can assure you that you cant travel more than 20 kms, with those.
• No Leather Seats option.
• Well, for elders the dash layout seemed to be like a toys spread out (but, I liked it).
• The Fit and Finish is bad.
• I somehow managed to pull out the plastic part of the seat height adjust lever. That's how its built.
• Engine is nowhere powerful as its competitors. The Vento and the Verna
• PRICE!

Look at the Fiesta right in face, and you know you are looking at a modern, contemporary sedan. Its pleasing and uber-cool. If you are a late-20's or early 30's guy, you immediately, recognize, that this car is for you types. Its super like from me for the front design. The best angle to look at the Fiesta is the front 3 quarters, or rather, the front 3.5 quarters. Move sideways, and the design starts getting slightly okaish (Kinetic?).. Move towards the back, and the entire build up from the front is lost. My friends 5 year old nephew mentioned that the cars rear looked like an egg with two lights. . BAADD!

Get into the front, and the exterior (front end) design cues follow you. Its futuristic. The steering wheel is awesome to hold, and so is the design of the dash and the dials. Though mature people might find it funny, and commented it looked like a toy car dash. I felt the steering wheel to be of very high quality. The dash too is of good quality plastics. The switch gear et al, do justice to the price paid. However, the fit and finish of the car is not upto the mark. The silver console on which the ICE buttons are spread out lacks quality and does not feel good. Though, its much better than the City. The dials, MID are well designed, look good, and are easy to read. The voice controls works like a charm. And, it even recognized a typical mallu accent. I tried the temperature - 17 in the video, and bingo!

I did not get a chance to try out the cruise control, though I was told it can be set from a speed of 30kmph. The ICE, when compared to the Verna was better. Though not upto the standards, but still its acceptable. Also, Ford SA is friendly enough to let us upgrade the speakers.. even the alloys and tyres. The front seats offer good support, but I'm not sure if it will be the case, for a person who is better built than me. I'm 5' 9", and medium built. The seat fabric looked good, but I didnt like the feel it offered for a 12 lac rupee car.

Get into the back, and there you go. I'm sure that, any serious car buyer, thinking to buy his 1st sedan will SURELY be turned off. EVERYTHING at the rear in the New Fiesta is a deal breaker. From the lights-on-an-egg style exterior design, the huuggeee bumper, the recline angle, the poking and extremely irritating headrest design, plastic quality to the transmission hump, the fabric less/full plastic rear door padding... the EVERYTHING is outright cheap and badly designed.

Let alone the plastic door padding quality. Shell out 10k, and get them done aftermarket, but then, I'm particularly irritated about the rear neck rest design. When completely pushed down, it pokes into your back, and when pulled up, it keeps your head straight as a statue in a museum. I NEVER found the correct positioning. As mentioned above, one cant travel 30 mins at the rear. Well, in the Verna, if you can settle the score with your friend at the end of the journey, in the Fiesta, this and more will happen before half-way. I can assure you of that.

The only + about Fiesta's rear when compared to the Verna's is that, its not claustrophobic at all. Even though from the outside, it might seem like. Remove the head rests, and I'm sure that things should improve atleast 10 times. but, unfortunately, its said that the head rests cant be removed, and if done, its permanent. If it were me, I'd permanently remove the head rests.

Now, get into the drivers seat and turn the ignition. Things start to get better suddenly. The Fiesta's NVH is very well dealt with, and you can barely make out, its a 1.5L diesel under the hood. Slot the gear, and like the outgoing model, this one too has minimal turbolag. The downside is that, along with the reduced power output when compared to the Verna there is NO 'turbo-kick', which.. down here, is the new market favorite. (All credit to the Swift). Even if there isnt the turbo-kick, this engine is surprisingly free revving, and does its job well, all the way till 4-4.2k. Beyond which, like all other diesels, there is no point. I was said that, given the practicality of the engine, the new Fiesta should be the most fuel efficient car in its segment.

If there is ONE thing that can coverup all the downsides of the All New Fiesta, and can make a deal out of a customer, its the Handling!!.. I'm no newbie to Ford's handling DNA, but still, the new Fiesta left me impressed. Give it a few sweeping curves, and you'll be coming out of the curve with a huge grin. Even not-so-enthusiast drivers were transformed to small time Rally Drivers. How I wished the engine had more punch!

The steering, even though an EPS unit, felt very direct. Very unlike other EPS units, Ford has managed pull out every drop of fun from the unit. It is perfectly calibrated. IMO, its really an achievement to get this sort of feedback from an EPS. but still, I miss the 'ol pure hydraulic unit of my IKON. The controls too are easily accessible.

Rounding it up, what I'd say about the Fiesta is.. its a car for a young couple, with a 5 year old, and a dog. The young couple sits upfront, the 5 year old and dog at the back. With no fabric and bad quality plastics at the back, the owners needn't watch out if the dog is scratching at it. They can enjoy the ride the Fiesta is giving them.

What I mean is, apart from being overpriced, the New Fiesta is faar from being a practical sedan. Considering the C Segment, which is its target market, how many would buy the car for pure driving pleasure and nothing else?. No powerful engine, no good interiors, terrible back seat, no features that Verna offers. Just some impractical and fancy features like the cruise control and voice commands.

PIC Source : Team-BHP's official review

[dhanushs]

Out of these two, If I were to buy a car:

If I was single, or need a car to go out with ONLY my wife, then the Fiesta it is. Plastics be damned (Mind you: the dash and switch gear are of good quality), I wanna drive my car the way it should be. And the way, the Fiesta drives, the driver and co-passenger is not gonna concentrate on the bad parts and crib about it. They are gonna enjoy the drive!

If I was looking at a practical family sedan, which will be mainly used to go on weddings and on long trips with family, which includes my dad and mom, then its the Verna (Out of the two, or its the Vento).

Some Quick Comparo Points:

• Slot the reverse, and when in the Verna you get to see the entire rear on your ORVM, which is pretty impressive. In the Fiesta you get nothing. Except for a beep when you are too close.
• Pay 12 Lacs, and in the Verna you get leather seats. In the Fiesta, OK quality fabric.
• Verna Says: I got 6 Airbags; beat it!.
• Again, pay 12 lacs, and you get a full size alloy wheel in the Verna, where as in the Fiesta you get a size lower steel wheel.
• The looks of Verna appeals to a larger part of the market, where as Fiesta's target market is extremely narrow.
• Hyundai's A.S.S quality and reach is only 2nd to Maruti, but Ford?
• Ford still has that expensive to maintain image, where as Hyundai, even though there are numerous examples of being more expensive in the long term, has managed to elude that image.
• Give 'em both a few high-speed sweeping curves, and its Fiesta that comes out bragging.. I'm sure in a curvy 1000 meters lap, even if its lacking a ~35PS of additional power and ~60NM of additional torque, the Fiesta should come out a second or more faster. But do we all buy cars to drive on tracks?

[GTO]

Thread Moved from the Assembly Line to the Test-Drives forum. Thanks for sharing!

[bala80]

Dhanushs - Very well written comparo report, thank you very much for your effort. I found your observations and comments neutral, honest and straight forward. I think the verna is a deserving car to take the honours and the pricing of the fiesta makes it a no brainer at all. Wish ford had priced it more sensibly.

One questions for you -

- Does the steering of verna weighs up enough at speeds around 100 kmph? The old one used to get a little nervous around this mark, even if its on a straights and you will just not have the confidence to push it more even if the roads allow. You will hold on to the steering rather than cruising in a relaxed fashion. This would require additional concentration on the road, which will make you tire faster during a long drive. I hope you understand what I mean here...

By the way, I dont think the verna comes with pure leather seats, I read somewhere it is some leather feel seats (art leather?) and not the real one. I could be mistaken though.

[KPS]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Last week, I had a chance to drive The New Fiesta Diesel (1.5) , and the All New Verna Diesel (1.6) around the city and a short highway stretch. Please note that this was a very short drive, and more like an initial impression, than a drive report.

Thanks dhanushs, well written and it is very easy for the a buyer to relate to what you have written.

Originally Posted by bala80

One questions for you - Does the steering of verna weighs up enough at speeds around 100 kmph?

The steering feel is light but consistent. You get used to it with use. Personally I like the light steering as it make so much sense in the city. I never had a problem using the light steering even at high speed.

Cheers

KPS

[fuel_addict]

Nice crisp comparison there. The handling is the only saving grace for the Fiesta. At that (steep) price point, the Verna is leagues ahead in terms of equipment and power/torque. Being a Hyundai, it'll attract a fair bit of stick for its poor handling and ultra light steering. The new Verna does not completely put that to rest but certainly does not fare badly. The interiors and fit/finish are leagues ahead of the Fiesta.

I drove the new Verna recently on a straight 4 lane road and was impressed with the acceleration of the car. Turbo lag was minimal and so was the kick once the turbo kicks in. Gear change indications were accurate. Overall a good package.

[ghodlur]

@Dhanush

Great reviews, a good detailed views of both the cars. I do agree that you need to take the test drives of both the cars back to back for real comparison.

Had Ford concentrated more on the rear seating, the platics (esp those rear arm rest hinges, they look yuck!!!) and the pricing they would have had a real winner on their hands the same way they did with Figo. Alas they gave the advantage to Hyundai, VW and Honda on a platter.

[shajufx]

A very good and practical comparison to say the least. It sounded very neutral to me. I had done a back to back TD of previous Verna and Fiesta (both petrol) when I wanted to upgrade 2 years back (2009). It was the handling and overall stability above 80 kmph that made me go for a Fiesta and I never regretted about the decision. My budget that time was maximum 8 lk if I remember correctly !

Right now if I put myself in the same shoes, I might be forced to pick up a Verna purely based on the budget part and the extras it offers for the money. Not ignoring the fluidic, head turning design which is any day better than the previous generation. Fiesta might win the best sedan to drive around, but I feel they have miserably lost it on the pricing part. Hope the Jazz price-cut story does not happen on Ford.

Spotting on road part: I see atleast 3 to 5 new vernas on road, but not a single new fiesta till date. Probably not many are rolling on the road !

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by bala80

Does the steering of verna weighs up enough at speeds around 100 kmph?

Yes, when compared to the old one, there is a vast difference in the New Verna. Feedback is less, but still its consistent, and one does not need much effort to keep the vehicle in its track. Lets say, if in the old Verna it was 100, here it is 140. I could not take it above 150, but still, compared to the old Verna, it was OK. However, considering the ease with which the engine propells the car to those speeds, the car, should have done better.

[nikhil.kumbhar]

Verna is giving very tough competition to Honda City and VW Vento. Whereas I loved old Ford Fiesta model. My uncle has Ford Fiesta Diesel (2010 model) limited edition. Total value for money. Many people are worried about Fiesta's maintenance and A.S.S, but surprisingly, our experience with A.S.S. was superb. Car is also damn good on highways. I seriously feel that new Ford Fiesta Model will give tough competition to City and new Verna. Well looks are also quite similar to City and new Verna. Ford should have worked more on looks.

Btw is Maruti planning to come up something for this segment? DZire, though sales figures are good, still considered as entry level sedan whereas Maruti SX4 is very weak on numbers.

[swiftnfurious]

Good one Dhanush ! Pretty un-biased & honest, a typical t-bhp'ian way of comparison! So looks like the handling issue was hyped to an unwanted extent in the Verna, mostly by people who have never driven it. If the car handles well upto a 120 kmph, it should not be a deal breaker. But still out of curiosity, how will a Swift driver feel about the Verna & Fiesta's handling? If you could compare it, would be nice. And agree with you on the front styling of the new Fiesta ! STUNNING to say the least. I have seen ONLY one new Fiesta so far on the road & LOTS of Verna, but the Fiesta looks are so futuristic.

[AirWind]

The volumes speaks for Verna's VFM.... I walked out of the showroom after hearing Fiesta's OTR price, didnt even bother to TD.

Someone I know in Ford admitted, they just messed it all up with the pricing. Wonder Ford had a a fluke with Figo's pricing success???

Anyways watch out for limited editions soon... LOL

[gemithomas]

Excellent review. Ford really got it wrong with the New Fiesta. I think they wanted to bring out a shocker pricing when they were putting up things (especially at the rear both inside out) on the car but then at the very last moment decided on another way to shock all those who were eagerly waiting for the car.!! Bad. Its really sad to see another excellent car go this way.

[oxyzen]

Awesome Review. Rated it 5 stars.

Not only is this thread informative but also entertaining. Some of the witty comments deserve applause.

The comparison between Verna and Fiesta is not complete until you add in the Vento.
It feels much faster than the Verna and handles much better.
Now if you are considering the sluggish Fiesta (Only lag & no punch) why not consider the Linea MJD as well. No offense for me Fiesta is a senseless buy. You have pointed out its demerits pretty well but I believe there is no point in handling if there is no power.

BTW can we have a similar comparo with VW Vento as well?