Team-BHP - WHOAAA!! Went Fida - Ford Fiesta 1.6S Panther Black

Friends,

I finally went Fida on 19th of September and got my Ford Fiesta 1.6S Panther Black. Thanks to everyone on this forum, especially the Fida gang for your posts; it did go a long way in helping me make this decision.

Some history of the vehicles I have owned earlier:
1. A pre-owned Fiat Padmini (white)
2. Basic M800 (white).
3. Yamaha RX-100 (Black). Well almost - it came that close, therefore it still features in my mind and hence in this list.

Why did I choose the Fiesta 1.6S?:
The hunt for a car began some time in the month of June this year. I had sold my M800 (after 11 years) before leaving for the USA in 2007 and was of the firm opinion that a top-end hatch would be the perfect choice for our family. With the traffic situation in Pune, it just did not make sense to buy a bigger car.

I was enamoured by the i20 and also struck by the looks of the Punto. So in my mind, it really was between the two that a winner had to be chosen. I test drove both the cars but still could not decide. Primarily because of the pricing of the i20 and the unknown factor of the newly launched Punto.

I started asking friends about which of the two cars they would recommend and around the same time I chanced upon Team-BHP and started reading related posts.

One day a friend said "Fiesta?" and I said "No yaar, a hatch is fine for me". He insisted I atleast find out what it would cost and I gave in and called a dealer. To my surprise, the ZXI was 6.8L OTR since the company I work for was listed in the A-list for that month. I thought, "A test drive will not be a bad idea.". So a TD was arranged for and the sales person promptly arrived one weekend morning in an Aquarius Blue 1.6S and I took it for a spin. I thought, "Not bad yaar. I CAN handle this car (read sedan) in city traffic AND that too in Pune".

Another TD was requested for the same afternoon and this time my wife and daughter took a ride in the back seat of the car. My wife loved it completely. The idea of owning a sedan slowly began to settle in our collective minds. For me, safety features were a must-have and so the ZXI (without the airbags) had to give way to the SXI - Leather seats, mahogany console and well the all-beige interiors. "How long will it be able to stand the wrath of our little two year old?" we thought. Still it seemed to be the perfect choice. All the wonderful posts in Team-BHP related to the Fiesta also convinced me that it was indeed a good choice.

The SXI was thus decided upon till Ford decided to replace it with the SXI Premium (sometime in mid-July if I remember correctly). The month of July passed since the dealer said that the price I would have to pay for the SXI had gone up by around 25K. I was told that some component of the discounted price was no longer a discount for the new launch.

Mid-Aug I got a call again that the new SXI would cost be only around 5K more than the old SXI. So I went to the showroom to see the new-look SXI. I loved the alloys it came with but I was pretty upset on seeing the chromed ORVMs. I had fixed my mind on a Black sedan and felt that the chrome ORVMs would look jarringly obvious (subjective).

I asked if the ORVMs could be replaced with body coloured ones. Negative.
I requested he check if the old Black SXI was available in stock with any other nearby dealer. Negative.

We were thinking of going back to our original plan of a B+ segment hatch when the heart almost screamed, "Why not the 1.6S?". The idea was floated and my wife agreed whole-heartedly. We had seen a brand new black 1.6S at the showroom earlier and we both felt that the little aluminium accents inside the car were better highlighted with the darker surroundings. We would have to give up on softer suspension and some mileage but what the heck if we have to go fida let's go fida completely.

The 1.6S was thus the chosen one.

Initial Ownership

It's been around a month since I got it and it has already done around 1800 kms. It read 21 km when I got it from the showroom. Predictably these have been mostly highway miles with two Pune-Nashik

trips (450km per trip) and one Nasik-Shirdi trip (200kms). The rest of it has been driving in Pune and Nasik city.

What do I like about the car,
1. Handling - It handles like a dream - instruct the car and it obeys. Steering, brakes, fast corners et al. Never felt as if I'm driving an 'oversized' (my initial take on sedans in Pune city) vehicle.

2. Power - It seems to always have something in reserve. I'm sure some BHP-ians would have taken it to its limit but for my driving appetite it feels more than adequate. "With great power comes great responsibility" I solemnly keep saying to myself these days.

3. Music system - Better than what is typically expected of stocks.\

4. Ample Leg room offered.

5. Good looks - though not as good as the Linea (subjective), it seems very well-poised and balanced.

What could have been better,
1. The in-city mileage: The car is being driven almost 100% with the AC on. I have taken readings multiple times now (full to full) to calculate the mileage.

First calculation said the mileage was 10.5 with around 210km in-city and 230 kms highway.
Next time the mileage calculated was 12.96 with around 70 kms in-city and 230 kms highway.
The next calculation was a baffling 14, this time it was almost 200 kms highway and 40 kms of in-city driving. Admittedly, the city this time was Nasik so it was a lot less crowded also the highway trip was an overnight (almost zero-traffic) trip to Shirdi and back (from Nasik).

The above figures make me believe that while the highway mileage is okay for a 1.6 CC, a better in-city mileage would have worked wonders.

2. Missing Dead-pedal.

All in all, I feel that this car gives you the confidence to drive.

This definitely seems to be the car-equivalent of the Yamaha RX-100 I almost had!