[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

The Yezdi is my dad's '94 Roadking. I shall surely post some pictures soon if not open a thread of its own!

Hey that's a fantastic Roadking which your dad has. Was it picked up from the showroom? Why don't you start a thread after collecting his inputs? Would be nice to have...

BY the way, congratulations on the RED Car, looks very good

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Hey that's a fantastic Roadking which your dad has. Was it picked up from the showroom? Why don't you start a thread after collecting his inputs? Would be nice to have...

BY the way, congratulations on the RED Car, looks very good

Thanks Mahesh saar!

Yes, the Roadking was picked up from the showroom. It was red when dad bought it in '94 and got it repainted to silver sometime in '05-'06. Honestly speaking, I've ridden the 'king a couple of times till now as I feel overwhelmed every time I sit on it and fear where I'll ruin its beauty. My dad has been encouraging me to ride it though and I will surely start a thread of it own soon.

[amolathalye]

Porschefire ,

You have summed it up so well. Ford has a "Soul". Yes I feel the same way when I drive my 6 years old Fiesta 1.6 SXI. Once a Ford always a Ford. Enjoy your drive and take care of the beauty.

Regards
Amol

[VKS]

Hope you are enjoying the time with the Car.

Have you put the seat covers on the Fiesta? The light Grey is a dust magnet and I can already see it getting dirty with 6 months of usage. The option is either to go for a professional cleaning every 6 months or get a seat cover(only Fabrics for me).

Personally, I will prefer the original seat covers with the contours and details. What is your view?

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by VKS

Hope you are enjoying the time with the Car.

Have you put the seat covers on the Fiesta? The light Grey is a dust magnet and I can already see it getting dirty with 6 months of usage. The option is either to go for a professional cleaning every 6 months or get a seat cover(only Fabrics for me).

Personally, I will prefer the original seat covers with the contours and details. What is your view?

No I haven't got seat covers in my car. As I've mentioned before, I want to go the leather way in the near future. I do agree that the seats are prone to getting dirty and the only option is to install a seat cover. You also get the 3M Fabric cleaner and it works very well but excessive usage will weaken the fabric.

[Dieselritzer]

Hi, its been some time that you have posted any new pics of your beauty. Can you please do so?

Also, how is the high speed performance of the car? actually the engine? I drive a ritz and on a wide open expressway, at 120, the RPM is at 3K, and the engine a bit noisy.

I am looking for a long distance cruiser, the body of Fiesta is capable, how about the engine in this regards?

[vnabhi]

@Porschefire---I saw a paprika red new Fiesta for the first time near ISB, Hyderabad, and immediately remembered your beauty.

The car looks awesome from the front and the rear looks better than the earlier model.
Being rare, it was really a head turner.

While on this topic, was curious to know if you've taken EW and if yes, how much i cost.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

@Porschefire---I saw a paprika red new Fiesta for the first time near ISB, Hyderabad, and immediately remembered your beauty.

The car looks awesome from the front and the rear looks better than the earlier model.
Being rare, it was really a head turner.

While on this topic, was curious to know if you've taken EW and if yes, how much i cost.

Thanks mate! I must confess I'm really proud of the color as it is quite rare. While the rear is not as good looking as the front, it has really grown on me. It has to be one of the most interesting derriere in cars, if I can say so without offending anyone!

Yes, I have gone for the extended warranty. I'm not sure about the exact figure but it must be between INR 3-5k. I'll PM you the exact amount when I go through the documents.

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Hi, its been some time that you have posted any new pics of your beauty. Can you please do so?

Hope this post of mine satisfies!

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Also, how is the high speed performance of the car? actually the engine? I drive a ritz and on a wide open expressway, at 120, the RPM is at 3K, and the engine a bit noisy.

I am looking for a long distance cruiser, the body of Fiesta is capable, how about the engine in this regards?

First of all, let me honestly tell you that this is not the fastest engine around and if straight line highway bashing is your cup of tea, you might be a tad disappointed. This is the only con of an otherwise brilliant, tractable, efficient engine.

Coming to the high speed performance, well, do I need to say anything? The chassis-suspension-steering is leagues and leagues ahead of all its rivals and puts some D segment cars to shame. It is planted at speeds and inspires confidence. It might lag behind on the straights but give it a piece of twisties and it doesn't take much effort to put the others behind. The power delivery is linear although I'd have liked if there was a bit more 'push you back in your seat' kind of surge. The engine is barely audible even in the city. Highway cruising is easy and it can maintain 100-120 all day without breaking a sweat.

I will be driving down to my native which is about 470kms from Bangalore during first week of May and will comment better on the highway dynamics after this trip.

6 months Update



The Ford is almost 6 months old nearing the 7k mark. Nothing much to report really. Everything's normal. The car is being driven daily either by dad or me and covers atleast 60kms everyday.

Pros -

- Looks and looks. This will always be my first point in the 'pros' section.

- Consistently getting 16-17kmpl within the city.

- ACC has been working efficiently and keeping the cabin cool what with the temperature in Blore hitting 38-39 degC.

- SYNC is a boon and every car must have it IMO!

- Auto folding and adjusting mirrors. Click a button and you can save your OVRMs from those pesky motorists.

Cons -

- Suspension-clutch-gear on the harder side. I witness B2B traffic everyday and the clutch takes a toll on your left leg.

- The gear that you choose at crawling speeds is quite tricky. While the first gear is not quick enough to close the gap in traffic, the second gear always seems over enthusiastic. The car literally jumps as soon as you leave the clutch. A little tricky in B2B traffic.

- During the first service, made a mistake of allowing the service personnel to add a soap solution to the windscreen washer. Every time I use it on a dry windscreen, it leave bad soapy mark.

- The seatbelt buckle makes an irritating noise when it comes in contact with the seat. Any solutions for this?

Looking forward to the long drive next month and the car will go for its second service after that.

For now, some pictures -


Notice the tight wheel well? Yes, the suspension is that good.












The interiors have held up well.






This car definitely oozes character!!! Its got a soul and is evident from its face.




Always on its toes for a twisty piece of tarmac.


For those who say the alloy design of the new Fiesta is boring, here's a picture of a Ferrari 550!!!


And finally, that's me trying to look smug for a photographer friend and I failed big time!!!

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

The Ford is almost 6 months old nearing the 7k mark.

Edit:

7k done!

[Dieselritzer]

Superb pics man. I dont know when i can afford it, but its such an aspirational car for me right now. And thank you for your inputs on the high speed performance and i'll be waiting for more details post your long trip.

And one more important aspect is the gear ratios and the hard clutch. Mumbai has horrible B2B traffic and this will be a pain. Im not sure if the upcoming Figo aspire compact sedan will come with a diesel automatic option. Petrol isn't my preferred choice due to frequent long distance trips to native places.

Skoda should take this car, put in their engine and the DSG and hand it over to Maruti for after sales service

[Porschefire]

Update

The Ford has completed 8595 kms now and is inching its way towards the 9k mark. This post will mainly highlight my highway experience with the Ford.

Ever since my last update, I've been waiting for May 1. My cousin's Upanayana (thread ceremony) was scheduled on May 2 which meant driving down to my native, Udupi. The first 15 years of my life were spent in Udupi and for most part of my teenage years spent there, I absolutely hated it. Bangalore was THE city to go as almost all my aunts, uncles and cousins were settled there and life seemed more bling! Summer holidays were the most exciting part of the year as my sister and I would travel to Blore for the whole of 2 months! We did move to Bangalore eventually and very soon became a tiny part of the daily grind. Over the period of time though, I've almost reached my saturation point with Bangalore. Don't get me wrong, Bangalore is still 'Nanna (My) Bengaluru' for me and I absolutely adore it but there are days when I just want to pack my bags and leave. And go to Udupi. My native. I absolutely love going there now. Life has indeed come a full circle for me.

Anyways, the trip was planned for 4 days and we were to leave early morning on May 1. I usually take the Shiradi Ghat but since it was closed for renovation, we decided to take the Bangalore-Hassan-Chikmagaluru-Sringeri-Agumbe-Manipal-Udupi route. Plan was to visit the temple at Sringeri. We started at 6am and reached Udupi by 6pm with couple of stops for breakfast (1 hr) and at Sringeri (3 hrs).
The return journey was also done in the same route and took almost similar time.


The Route.


The Road

Midblowinglyfreakinglyamazingly AWESOME!!!
I mean, this is one best pieces of tarmac that I've driven in. For beginners, perfectly laid out roads from start to finish. Yes, there are some bumpy stretches (which are required to test your vehicle's capabilities)but not a single pothole anywhere! As most of you will know, NH48 from Blore to Hassan is a bliss and triple digit speeds can be maintained without breaking a sweat. From thereon, its a single lane dual carriageway to Chikmagalur and further. This stretch all the way till Udupi is brilliant. The amount of curves that you encounter in endless. Perfect mix of fast, slow, tight corners and hairpin bends at Agumbe. The cherry on the cake for me was the numerous 'essess' that I encountered after Chikmagalur! Man that was orgasmic to say the least!!! I can go on and on but I better stop at this. I highly recommend this stretch if anyone's planning a trip to Udupi.

The Car

The previous paragraph is valid only if you have a capable machine at hand and am I proud to tell you that I drove on this stretch in my beloved Ford Fiesta! Need I say more!?
Dad did not get a chance to drive the Fiesta and he was so pissed that he grabbed the keys off my BIL and drove his Xcent on the way back!

Engine

Yes, on paper it is under-powered! Yes, on the straights the competition will make you eat their dust. It is not as exciting as the older 1.6 mill, maybe! Is it boring then? NOT ONE BIT.
The engine for me is a gem. It has enough juice to cruise at triple digit speeds all day long. 120kmph is done at a leisurely 2.5k rpm and 140kmph takes it to 3k rpm. Even a small hatchback can do these speeds but the amount of confidence you get at these speeds is a million times better in the Fiesta. Overtaking is a breeze if you are in the turbo zone. If not, just drop a gear and you are off! Easy peasy. I felt the engine is more relaxed on the highway than in the city. The turbo kick is more pronounced now and me happy!

Gearbox

I had to wait this long to realize how slick this gearbox is!!! In the city it feels a little heavy but no such problems on the highway. It felt like loading a well oiled gun. Click-Load-Boom. It was a joy to use on the twisties which were mainly done in 3rd and 4th. 3rd gear is a gem as you have enough torque to enter and exit a corner, negotiate an incline or a decline as fast as you can.

Suspension and Handling

The car was loaded with a big trolley bag, 2 small trolley bags, 2 medium sized kit bags and couple of plastic bags. On the way back there was an additional 21kgs sack of rice. There were atleast 3 passengers at any given point of time. The advantages of having a stiff suspension setup was apparent here. You can see in the pictures below, there is no dip at the rear due to the weight. The car was driven fairly aggressively on the entire stretch from Bangalore-Udupi-Bangalore and not once did the car bottom out. However, I did manage to scrape the belly on the speed breaker once I reached Bangalore (there were 5 people on board at that time though)! The car is very stable on the straights and corners flat! Absolutely no body roll at all! Nil! Zilch! Zero! Null!

Steering

Razor sharp. Precise. Fun. Fast. Feedback is tremendous. You will know what the front wheels are doing. The weight from the steering is true and the way it changes directions is something that has to be experienced by everyone. No corrections required at any point of time. On some twisty stretches, a fresh coat of paint was applied at each end of the road. I took that as a reference, pointed the steering wheel at the desired line and the car simply followed the line without any complaints.

Tires

The tires were set at 33psi and the ride was comfortable. Surprisingly, the grip levels of the Goodyear NCT5s were better on the highway than within the city! However, we encountered heavy rain on the Hassan highway on the way back and there were huge puddles of water on the road. I was doing about 80kmph and every time I went over a puddle of water, there was minute loss of grip so had to slow down a little bit. Wet weather grip is tad low IMO.

Brakes

A tad disappointed. I mean they work well and bring you to a stop in the least possible distance but they lack the bite and feel. I'm not sure if I'm the only owner who feels so. Even dad feels that the brakes are not upto their mark. Second service is due shortly and I will ask the Ford personnel to look into it. I'd love if other owners can advise me on this.

Fuel efficiency

The car was loaded to the brim with Shell Diesel before the journey. The tankful-tankful method was employed to calculate the FE only on the onward journey. It took 30ltrs to cover 545kms translating to a FE of 18.17kmpl. Not impressive but it has to be noted the car was driven aggressively on the entire stretch with so much weight to haul. I could have driven her more sedately and have easily extracted 21-22kmpl but then the whole purpose of me getting ready for this epic journey with my Fiesta would've been void.

Other significant points

- Kudos to Ford for giving those front seats on the Titanium variant! While in any other car, you'd roll around everywhere, the seats in the Fiesta keeps you perfectly in place! Those side bolsterings are magical. A clear example would be my mum who on the way back had a sound sleep while I was ripping through the corners. She did not feel the directional changes one bit!

- The ACC was upto its task to keep the interiors cool even at 36-37 degC with humidity.

- Space at the rear is very less and you feel the pinch while on a long journey.

- Boot is carnivorous.

- The rain water on the car was flowing in a weird pattern around the car. Something to do with the aerodynamic design I feel.

- Headlights are bright and light up quite a bit of the road ahead.

I couldn't click many pictures as I was more involved in the drive but here are a few of them.


Two bodies, one heart. With its body building brother, Ecosport TDCi.






The Convoy.

A note on all the cars -

GT TSI & Fiesta - Most fun of the lot. BIL's GT was flying in the corners in the 'S' mode.

Sunny AT - Most spacious and comfortable of the lot, after all, its a CAAAAR!

Ecosport - This one has the best attitude of the lot. You can easily mistake it for an SUV when it pulls up behind you. For me, the front and rear design is striking even today!

Xcent - Best all rounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Easy car to live with.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

- Boot is carnivorous.

You mean Cavernous?

Great update from your end. The F.E also seems decent considering the way the car was driven. Hope the upcoming Aspire is able to hold a candle to the Fiesta's abilties in ride/handling.

[abhii176]

I know am very very late to the party but that's a real beauty you got on your hands there porschefire. She absolutely stunning in red. I'd always thought the brown and white look really good on this beauty, but you've got me thinking now! I can see you're having a lot of fun with her, that's one of the best parts about a Ford. They're always such a joy to drive! Happy mile crunching mate!

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

Boot is carnivorous.

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

You mean Cavernous?

Well, it did eat up his luggage

Originally Posted by Porschefire

GT TSI & Fiesta - Most fun of the lot. BIL's GT was flying in the corners in the 'S' mode.
Sunny AT - Most spacious and comfortable of the lot, after all, its a CAAAAR!
Ecosport - This one has the best attitude of the lot. You can easily mistake it for an SUV when it pulls up behind you. For me, the front and rear design is striking even today!
Xcent - Best all rounder. Jack of all trades, master of none. Easy car to live with.

This summary shows you're a true petrol head, and not a fan boy - you see the positives of all cars, not just the ones enthusiasts go ga-ga over.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

You mean Cavernous?

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Well, it did eat up his luggage

Lol!!! My bad! Don't know when Cavernous became Carnivorous! Although, as Arun rightly mentioned, the boot is indeed carnivorous to have eaten up so much luggage!

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

Great update from your end. The F.E also seems decent considering the way the car was driven. Hope the upcoming Aspire is able to hold a candle to the Fiesta's abilties in ride/handling.

Thanks. Dad was disappointed though that it did not return 25kmpl as Ford had promised!
The Aspire will surely be a well rounded car and hope the EPS is calibrated well as in the Fiesta.

Originally Posted by abhii176

I know am very very late to the party but that's a real beauty you got on your hands there porschefire. She absolutely stunning in red. I'd always thought the brown and white look really good on this beauty, but you've got me thinking now! I can see you're having a lot of fun with her, that's one of the best parts about a Ford. They're always such a joy to drive! Happy mile crunching mate!

Thanks mate! I was completely satisfied with my purchase and this trip took the satisfaction to a whole new level.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

This summary shows you're a true petrol head, and not a fan boy - you see the positives of all cars, not just the ones enthusiasts go ga-ga over.

Thanks for the kind words mate, one of the best I've received so far. I love automobiles and I feel that every car is perfect in its own way!