I was looking out for a car in the 5-6 lac bracket and with the current crop of cars in India I had planned to wait for some more time till a) A better car comes across b) I manage to increase my budget.
So when I heard and read about the Feista I was more than keen on checking out what the car had on offer. I have driven the 1.3 Icon couple of times and though I liked its handling and power I was not too impressed with the seats as I had a lot of pain in my legs when I traveled over 200 Kms in one day.
So I ended up at a Ford Dealer and took the top end i.e. 1.6 SXI for a spin and the moment I shut the door I knew that the drive was going to be special. I have a habit of driving a car slowly for about 25 meters to get a feel of the engine “purr” the noise in the cabin and the suspension under slow riding conditions and what most impressed me this time was the engine. Its unmistakably Fordish and very responsive. Put the car in thud and let go the clutch while stamping the foot hard on the accelerator and you get a shove as the car sets to gain momentum and the gear shifts are very impressive and building up speed is really easy. I can only imagine how the car would go on Express way after you pay the toll :-)
I was a lil disappointed with the suspension and it didn’t feel as good as the Balenos (comparing it to the Baleno as it’s the only sedan which is in the same price bracket ast the Feista). This could be because the Baleno comes with independent McPherson sturts for all the four wheels, really impressive work by Suzuki.
The handling is amazing, ride is towards the harder side and interiors are pretty decent (a lot of chrome) for the top end version. Oh yes and the AC is fantastic, it was 31 dec C outside and the AC managed to cool us off in 30 secs flat. Another thing about the AC is that it doesn’t seem to TAX the cars performance too much.
The 1.4 is a tad underpowered, but I believe for those who are looking for those extra KMPL and can sacrifice 19 odd BHP for better mileage, it’s a steal. But you don’t get “chrome” and the Mondeo styled steering wheel, and though the interiors don’t look as classy as the top end model it looks good enough.
Last but not the least, the looks. Well it looks like a mix of Corolla, ICON and the old City from the front. The Merc inspired rear end looks chunky and I liked it. Overall I think it’s a car which has what it takes to make a statement on the looks alone, given that it looks a lot bigger than it is.
This is Fords best shot at re-establishing itself in India, and it this car fails, I doubt if anyone would be interested in looking at the famous blue oval in the future. They had to get it spot on for this car, and they have come very close to achieving it.