[hrag]

Originally Posted by GTO

Firstly, the 1.4 Petrol. ...Let me assure you that this 1388 cc baby is NOT SLOW from any perspective. ...Braking in either car is superb...The ride quality was extremely European in nature, with that sturdy and heavy feel which the Japanese can only dream about. Overall, the car is well planted on the road.

The handling is not razor sharp, but it is good enough to please 99% of the car buying janta. However, the steering feels lifeless at some speeds and does not provide enough feedback to the driver.

Having driven a colleague's Fiesta 1.4 EXI petrol (I had mistakenly quoted it to be a 1.6 earlier) solo from Pune to Bangalore (890 km door to door, including a brief detour into Hubli to find an ATM) yesterday, I completely agree with the above.

It is on such long drives that one discovers the real strengths and weaknesses of any car. I missed the space between my legs and the steering wheel (as compared to my Indica). Used to the conventional indicator / wiper stalk placement, I did switch on the wipers during some emergency turn-ins (when one has to abort an overtaking move and come back to one's lane on single lane roads). The horn (the #1 safety device above ABS / airbags on our highways ) button has no recess for the thumb and I felt it took some effort to honk.

The engine is really smooth and loves to rev. I felt roll-on times were a little longer than what I expected (no stopwatch measurements, just gut feel). I also felt under-thigh support was a wee bit less compared to the Indica. Overall, a very enjoyable experience. Wish Ford has offered ABS on this version.

Before anybody flames me, my obvious comparison on ergonomics would be with my current car, the Indica.

[hrag]

Having spent an extended weekend (and ~ 1200 km) with the same car (in the previous post), I can safely say:

If you can live with the lack of underthigh support (compared to Tata cars), the control stalks on the wrong side and the low seating, this is one fantastic car. The engine takes on a different note above 3000 rpm and the growl at 4500 rpm is addictive. GTO's observation on the lifeless steering at certain speeds is correct. The handling is very sharp but could be better for some really spirited driving. At highway speeds, the 1.6 will / should do a better job with in-gear acceleration. I'm guessing the new 1.6S will be a hoot to drive on the GQ.

FE over the ~1200 km: Who cares? This was my Deepavali treat to myself.

Anybody wants to kindly lend me a Fiesta 1.6 for a weekend?

[Surprise]

NFS prices are not to my liking. Actually its a small test drive on this machine, which pulled me to the NFS. Was wondering whether I could be able to find any test drive reports dated back to 2005 in TBHP. Was lucky to have this report

Originally Posted by GTO

Later on, I sat on the back seat and found the rear bench angle EXTREMELY upright and uncomfortable! Its almost a 90 degree perpendicular. However, my friend did not have any such issues. He attributed my back seat complaint to the fact that I am used to a "sleeper" position while driving, and have never sat in the rear seat of any car in like almost ever!

Your friend is right

Originally Posted by GTO

The 1.4 Diesel impressed us equally much...... talking refinement which is only available with the Skoda Octavia and above. Unsurprisingly, the unit is pretty torquey and revvs cleanly upto the 4500 rpm red line. There is absolutely no turbo lag - the result being that the driveability in the city is beyond excellence. I just have my doubts on the 68 bhp being good enough on highway runs.

I do my highway runs regularly & hence the diesel. I should be okay with the stock one as I prefer to be only in 120 band and not above it other than instances where the road is CLEAR till my eye can catch.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...g-options.html

Nice thread here in our forum wrt to tuning boxes for Fiesta.

Originally Posted by GTO

The handling is not razor sharp, but it is good enough to please 99% of the car buying janta. However, the steering feels lifeless at some speeds and does not provide enough feedback to the driver.

I knew it a 2005 TD, but could not resist this question, Is it possible to elaborate on the lifeless feel on steering at certain speeds? Any safety issues?

Steering not providing enough feedback to driver??? Only at certain speeds or in general?

[nitinralli]

@Surprise, I am not sure what GTO meant with "Lifeless steering at times". I have been driving this beauty for 5 years now with 1lakh kms done and the last thing that comes to mind is "Lifeless steering". I do both city and highway driving everyday. I also do 120-140 speeds and trust me, you have the complete control with this beauty. There has never been any instance when i felt that the car is not in my control, on the contrary, i have many instance where due to the precise steering, i got out of tricky situations. A car like Verna would have had me in trouble but not her.
So if you planning to buy this car, go head with your eyes closed.
Just my 2 cents.

[Adi_k]

Originally Posted by Surprise

NFS prices are not to my liking. Actually its a small test drive on this machine, which pulled me to the NFS. Was wondering whether I could be able to find any test drive reports dated back to 2005 in TBHP. Was lucky to have this report

Even I came hunting for this review.

Considering that there is a lot of movement in this segment, I would request the gurus to post a detailed review of the Fiesta classic. This review would be very interesting if we consider all that has changed since 2005.

[lamborghini]

Surprise, I guess by lifeless steering, GTO meant that the steering isn't as enthusiastic as the one on the Ikon 1.6. In fact, I remember various reviews talking about the superb handling of the Fiesta, but that the steering wasn't as communicative as the Ikons.
However, by today's standards, the steering is a delight given the light EPS units found on other cars. In fact, in its segment, the only other car I loved driving in terms of steering feel is the Linea.

[Vipin Kumar]

I was also looking for this review. Got a good confidence reading it, since I had booked a 1.4 TDCi SXI before the launch of the NFS. I have asked the dealer to put my booking on hold till the launch of the NFS. Now, I am obviously not ready to pay that much for Titanium (which otherwise I wanted) - Rs. 11,44,000/- on-road.

I have been then considering Vento TDi, but somewhat then decided to go ahead with the original booking of the SXI. Only issue is the new lower segment identity of the Classic, sharing with DZire, Verito and so on (but I am offered a non-classic SXI). It is not more than six months since Autocar Magazine made a comparison among the old Fiesta, Vento, Linea and Verna Transform (all diesel C segment sedans before SX4 D appeared). Should be worth going for this Fiesta...

[FarPatel]

Hi GTO and other Mods, as Adi K requested above, I too would appreciate a refreshed review of the Classic. I have just booked a diesel Titanium after hemming and hawing over the new City, which I had pre-booked but was not able to test as the cars were not registered yet, and the Terrano, which felt great during its test, except for the hard clutch, hard horn and a flat refusal of any discounts or freebies by the dealer.

Anyway, after driving the diesel Classic Tit, I found the pickup and suspension more than enough for my needs, especially if I consider upgrading the tyres to 195mm and/or rims to 15", which is possible without voiding any warranty, according to the SA. This would give me a GC comparable to the Terrano, with a little loss of thrust, probably. The discount and freebies I got were pretty good I thought, which tilted the scales towards my decision.
So, awaiting your new look-in on the old warhorse, please.
Cheers