Verna CRDi V/s Fiesta TDCi - part 2 Part - II (Fiesta's driving impression)
The dealer was very prompt. Within 1 hour of the call the car was there outside our office for the test drive. No elaborate badging for a test drive car. Just a white car with registration plate in place and all meters functional! It was a ZXi with ABS. Again the car was around 5000+ kms old but looked to be in good condition.
After Verna I was expecting the Fiesta to be a damp squib considering the meagre 68bhp output. However first things first. The car is cramped! And that is to put it mildly. With two people from the dealer, including a girl in pant-suit who seemed to be the supervisor, at the back along with me I had this umcomfortable feeling she was almost sitting on my laps! Also, the seat pitched a little backwards or pushed behind by a tall driver immediately scrapes your knees at the back. The story in front is also not very encouraging. The knees touch the steering column, even with the tiltable steering set up at its max up position. Seating is also pretty low and getting in and coming out of the car takes some effort.
The interiors and the fittings in general are top notch though. Compared to the boring dashboard of the Verna it has a dual tone dashboard with aluminium finish mixed with the black. Even the gear lever is in sporty aluminium finish. The dashboard has a Ford emblazzoned music system fitted into it. Anyday better than a skeletal open slot. The doors close with a very reassuring thud. And the boot is cavernous. In fact they should have tried to liberate some more space at the back by reducing the boot size. But then that would have probably meant a more upright rear windscreen and smaller parcel tray.
As I tried to ease the car of the curb the gear took some effort... It is not as smooth. Next, the car stalled. I wa s horrified. Not because I stalled the car but I was perplexed with the clutch. It is so heavy that you need to stand on it to make it depress. Next time I managed to pull off but not before telling the sales guy that the clutch is horrendously hard. As I started driving the next thing that had me swearing off was the gear's throw. It is very uncomfortable to hold... partly because it is so far ahead and so straight that you feel like you are driving one of those tempos or vikrams. On top of that it makes a lot of issue about shifting... No smooth throws here. You have to make an effort everytime you shift and the throws are longer than that of the Verna.
Compared to the monstrous 110bhp of the Verna a 68bhp engine of the Fiesta should be downright pedestrian, right? Wrong! I was surprised to find that this baby pulls. It may not be an eager sprinter a-la Ben Johnson but it definitely is no slouch. We had 5 people in the car and the AC on, and yet stepping on the gas had the car pull briskly. It is not as fast as the Verna. It can not be... but pedestrian it is not. However, the engine shows two different characteristic under different driving styles. If you drive like a gentleman you will never realize it is a diesel. The car is refinement personified. No engine noise, no tire howls. Its pretty quiet inside the cabin. However as soon as you want to be the next boy racer the engine changes course. It accelerates but with a massive whizing noise from the engine. In fact although it accelerates pretty fast the engine almost sounds out of breathe.
The brakes are a delight as much as the steering is. You can twist and turn the car as fast as you want and then stand on the brakes but the unflappable demeanour is maintained. The car firmly holds the course. Now I am not sure if it was majorly due to the fact that the car had ABS fitted. But if that is so then the ABS definitely makes a massive difference.
So having driven both the cars what did I feel, particularly considering the fact that the on-road price of the ZXi TDCi and the CRDi are about the same? If I were to buy one of these I will jump for the Verna CRDi. This inspite of the fact that Verna looks downright ugly when compared to the Fiesta's understated European looks. This is mainly for two reasons. One, Verna is a hoot to drive. Change those tires to something substantial and the car will be an absolute delight. Add to that at such premium pricing I will not buy a car that cringes on space. Fiesta is a squeeze when compared to the cavernous Verna. |