[Sugeeta]

Aseem, have you been through the first service? Did the FE improve after it?

[wilful]

Originally Posted by aseem

Few updates:
1. Even after some spirited driving car is giving FE of 18.09 - 18.1 in the last to tankful to tankful methods

2. New 2012 Fiestas coming with front armrest that's missing in my car.

3. The fun to drive factor is addictive. It's very difficult to go from this to a car that doesn't handle as well

4. Car literally begs for a bigger engine as the handling is so mature, it gives total confidence to driver and big car feel.

Aseem - great to read your initial ownership impressions on the new Fiesta. I just happened to notice their tech specs and saw that the ground clearance is a mere 156 mm. My Honda City is 160 mm and I still scrape speed-breakers with a load of 4 or 5 people.
Isn't this low clearance on the Fiesta a big nuisance?

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by wilful

Aseem - great to read your initial ownership impressions on the new Fiesta. I just happened to notice their tech specs and saw that the ground clearance is a mere 156 mm. My Honda City is 160 mm and I still scrape speed-breakers with a load of 4 or 5 people.
Isn't this low clearance on the Fiesta a big nuisance?

The fiesta's stiffer suspension and shorter wheelbase should not pose any problems. Ultimately it depends on the speed breaker height. I have scraped the innova's(with 7 people) belly on a very tall speed breaker.

[aseem]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

Aseem, have you been through the first service? Did the FE improve after it?

Car gone for first service as I write. I am awaiting for the driver to bring it back. No complains for FE so far.

Originally Posted by wilful

Aseem - great to read your initial ownership impressions on the new Fiesta. I just happened to notice their tech specs and saw that the ground clearance is a mere 156 mm. My Honda City is 160 mm and I still scrape speed-breakers with a load of 4 or 5 people.
Isn't this low clearance on the Fiesta a big nuisance?

Honda City's suspension and wheelbase make the car do the following:

1) Loose its composure even on small bumps
2) Feel less grippy at high speeds (spelt driver doesnt get the road feel/grip, as in the car is not communicating back and just feeling fast)
3) Touch every speed breaker if there are 3 adults on board no matter what angle you approach the breaker with

Originally Posted by shivasuma

The fiesta's stiffer suspension and shorter wheelbase should not pose any problems. Ultimately it depends on the speed breaker height. I have scraped the innova's(with 7 people) belly on a very tall speed breaker.

Rightly said. Agree 100%, only point I would add is Fiesta's supsension in addition to providing better handling/feedback, is also more comfortable than City's.

[wilful]

Yes - I understand that the Honda City isn't too good when it comes to tall humps. But what I'd like to know is whether the 156 mm clearance shown on the website is right. I ask because I test drove the Automatic Fiesta today and the salesman Rateesh who brought the car for the TD was adamant that the figure of 156 was wrong - he said the clearance is 170 mm. Anyway - have you had clearance issues (I don't mean in comparison with the City)?

[aseem]

Guys quick update on the car so far:

- Car has completed 10k km on the odo. Marginal drop in FE as the car now is running 100% AC and my right foot has become very heavy. Current F.E. last tankful to tankful in stop and go traffic with 100% AC is 15.2 kmpl. A lighter right foot and 17 is easily possible I feel, but never can control myself not to throw the car on the corners.

- Engine refinement continues to amaze me. I am not kidding you, red line the engine even in first gear and the car doesnt complain, no noise, and no coarseness. Alright, the engine doesnt throw you back as much as you'd like, but its got plenty on the tap.

- Test drove Sunny Diesel (no offense to the owners, its got ooooooooodles of space) and the engine/car/suspension combo didnt hold a candle imo to the new Fiesta. Sunny felt like I was driving a petrol, torque/feel/pull/handling no way near Fiesta. If Fiesta is underpowered, I dont know what to call cars like Sunny, Verito, Duster (85 ps), Dezire etc. (again no offence to the car owners, just my opinion as reading reviews before buying Fiesta I read a lot of comments about it being underpowered in TeamBHP, I thought it was more a case of ppl reading the specs on paper and seeing the price and not driving the car and forming an opinion)

- Test drove Swift D as well. Interiors are really good and give premium feel compared to many C segment cars like Honda City, Vento and Fiesta. Not sure about longevity and quality, but absolutely floored by the dash. The car is pretty similar in feel to Fiesta but compartively underpowered. It runs out of steam at high speed and Fiesta feels it can still go on. Vento on the other hand is a totally different beast, but I can garantee that Fiesta beats it in driveability. The Fiesta in my books is more refined.

- At times I feel I can keep up with Audi's and BMW's... trust me I am not kidding. The car really gives a big car feel, super handling, and inspires you to push. But of course I know if they floor it, I cant keep up. But in traffic/cornering I am really there or thereabouts.

- Had to go through painful task of removing the tints, it was a sad day.

- Only niggle so far is that there is a slightest of rattle from the driver door. Trying to ignore it as I dont want them to put a hammer on the door and spoil it further. Maybe as them to oil/grease it and reapply rubber beading in the first service.

- I couldnt be happier, when you see cars like Duster without rubber beading/airbags/abs and I compare it with Fiesta, I really applaud Ford for giving Airbags and ABS even in the base variant.

- Dont see that many cars on the road, but my color really stands out. The car looks very sporty and probably this adds to the exclusivity factor.

- The decision to replace the Fiesta in the future is really tough. Any guy who has driven a driver oriented car will feel my pain. There are very few rare drivers cars out there.

- I am eagerly awaiting to add the EcoSport in my garage

- Lastly, its been a hell of a ride!

Originally Posted by wilful

Yes - I understand that the Honda City isn't too good when it comes to tall humps. But what I'd like to know is whether the 156 mm clearance shown on the website is right. I ask because I test drove the Automatic Fiesta today and the salesman Rateesh who brought the car for the TD was adamant that the figure of 156 was wrong - he said the clearance is 170 mm. Anyway - have you had clearance issues (I don't mean in comparison with the City)?

No issues on ground clearance at all. Just like Swift/SX4 you can easily jump small speed breakers and the big ones also dont need any planning whatsoever. I guess the stiffness of suspension and the wheelbase has a lot to do with it. The low g.c. aids the driving/cornering yet there is no penalty to pay when handling bad roads.

[Blow Horn Ok]

I can sense the love you have developed for the car in your words.. and i appreciate it! Enjoy the car and keep it in your garage as long as you can.. why are you thinking about replacement in future @ such an early stage?

[aseem]

Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok

I can sense the love you have developed for the car in your words.. and i appreciate it! Enjoy the car and keep it in your garage as long as you can.. why are you thinking about replacement in future @ such an early stage?

Not replacement, an addition

[Blow Horn Ok]

Originally Posted by aseem

Not replacement, an addition

Some one asked me when am I planning to sell the figo.. I said i don't plan to sell it. I may add new vehicles but never sell it

Its not the best but it puts a big smile on open/twisty roads, which very few cars in this segment provide!

[aseem]

Car gone for 2nd service. Main complaints:

- Steering shaft noise as experienced by other members. I think its going to be replaced.

- Some rattle developing in driver side window. Very minutest of rattle. I am not bothered about this yet as main focus on the steering shaft issue. Will deal with this later.

Other than that, the car continues to ponder along. Looking for a 2nd runabout for highways. Maybe a pre-worshipped Yetti is calling me.... stay tuned.

[sanhan10]

Originally Posted by aseem

Car gone for 2nd service. Main complaints:

- Steering shaft noise as experienced by other members. I think its going to be replaced.

Hi Aseem. Read your very helpful posts with interest as I have recently brought home a Fiesta Diesel Titanium and am loving the car! But whats with the steering shafts of the cars? Has yours been replaced and has the shaft noise gone? When driving the TD vehicles in Guwahati (4 in all), all had moderate to severe steering shaft noise, so much so that I had to ask my dealer if this was a generic problem with the car. He had the courtesy to have one car serviced and allow me to drive it again. The noise was less, but some rattle still remained. My car has only done 220 kms and I have not noticed any rattle from the steering. Keeping fingers crossed.

[DeKay]

Aseem,
First of all, a great review. It shows how much time you have devoted for the same.
These are some questions I had,
1. Did the steering shaft noise problem get resolved? What was the problem and what was the solution?
2. What is your current odo reading?
3. Any other issues with the car?
4. Are there any rattles apart from the driver door rattle? Also, did you get this rattle sorted out?

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by aseem

Car gone for 2nd service. Main complaints:

- Steering shaft noise as experienced by other members. I think its going to be replaced.

- Some rattle developing in driver side window. Very minutest of rattle. I am not bothered about this yet as main focus on the steering shaft issue. Will deal with this later.

Originally Posted by DeKay

Aseem,
First of all, a great review. It shows how much time you have devoted for the same.
These are some questions I had,
1. Did the steering shaft noise problem get resolved? What was the problem and what was the solution?
2. What is your current odo reading?
3. Any other issues with the car?
4. Are there any rattles apart from the driver door rattle? Also, did you get this rattle sorted out?

Hi Aseem, it will be great if you can let us know about how these issues were resolved.

Also, I recall your posts on the Ciaz thread stating the Fiesta is long sold and you got a City as replacement. Please let us know why you sold the Ford. The ownership of new Fiesta is few and far between here in T-BHP as the car sold very little and any information from actual owners will be very helpful.

[aseem]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hi Aseem, it will be great if you can let us know about how these issues were resolved.

Also, I recall your posts on the Ciaz thread stating the Fiesta is long sold and you got a City as replacement. Please let us know why you sold the Ford. The ownership of new Fiesta is few and far between here in T-BHP as the car sold very little and any information from actual owners will be very helpful.

I sold the 2010 City 1.5 automatic in 2012 to buy the Fiesta. Sold Fiesta couple of months back as I have relocated.
Fiesta was a gem of a car. Only 4 problems:
1. Average interiors
2. Poor rear seat space
3. Looks smaller then other cars in segment
4. Ugly rear which has been corrected to great extent in the new car

I loved the car very much. Absolute joy to drive. Very well sorted dynamics.

The steering issue was resolved. Paid some 4-5 k as warranty had elapsed. Nothing big or serious. Drove like new till last day of ownership.

If resale and space not high on agenda then by all means go for it. You would have a grin on your face when you drive.

[deetjohn]

Yeah, Ford has improved the rear quite substantially. The angle I don't like is the side profile. The rising window line has left a lot of metal above the rear wheel.

Originally Posted by aseem

If resale and space not high on agenda then by all means go for it.

If I may ask? Did you lose a lot and was it not easy to sell?