Intro
After many promises and a long period of waiting, at last Ford has launched Fiesta in Indian roads. As any American auto manufacturer Ford From the beginning itself has not given priority to the design, Most of the models from ford in Indian roads r outdated, that is the first reason why I don’t like ford. Before going into fiestas review let us see the previous models from ford...i.e. the Icon (all variants), ford Icon is absolutely a drivers car, (the small steering wheel of icon has taken the driving pleasure to another level) but for the rest of the passengers it will be a strenuous drive, this is mainly because the rear suspension of Icon is a bit hard, and it does not fully dampen the vibration. As a result the passengers can feel each and every pot holes on roads. The interior of Icon is of Medium quality plastic, which does not appeal to an average customer; it is very evident that Ford does not understand Plastics. The main problematic areas in Icon were the Electrical System, brakes and the suspension system. And coming to the fuel efficiency of the Icon (and its different Flavors) the figures r not that impressive- just around 12kmpl on the higher side, when in city condition With AC turned on u can expect around 9 to 10 kmpl if you r lucky.
Build quality
I was lucky enough to get a test drive the new Fiesta (Thanks to Kairali Ford-Local Ford Dealers). I was not impressed when I first saw the fiesta: once again ford has neglected the overall design of the vehicle, just the old look of a simple sedan. Ford has taken care to maintain consistency in the panel gaps, and the quality of the paint work was also good. The interior of the fiesta is not so spacious when compared to the other C segment cars, the leg space in rear is just barely enough, when the front seat is pulled all the way backwards. Some people might find it difficult to get out of the car (from rear). On the front there is ample leg space. Driving position is pretty spot on and sporty while the controls fall to hand most naturally. The dash panel and most of the interiors is of medium quality grey plastic which has been given visual relief with fabric liners in crucial locations especially on doors; the display is good and easily readable. The driver visibility is good, there is ample adjustment available for driver’s seat both for height as well as for reach, and the seats seemed pretty comfortable. There is nothing much to say about the interiors, almost same as the C segment cars.
Coming to exteriors, as I have already said the paint job is good. The over all design looked like a bulky miniature version of the older Honda City. The headlights and tail lamps r designed to adhere with the body contours. If we look closer the front end has slight resemblance to the Japanese cars and the rear portion is inspired from the C class. But I seriously doubt whether this model will make heads turn in another 6 months…lets wait and see.
Fiesta is available in both Diesel (1399 cc) and Petrol (1388cc 82bhp@6000 rpm) and a 1.6 variant. The one which I got to test drive was the diesel variant.
Performance
Before going into the test drive results let us see the performance of the Air conditioner in Fiesta. As u all know the ford Icon 1.6 had the best air con in its class. And the results of Fiesta is also not bad, since the outside temperature is not that hot here I could not test the real performance of AC, anyway the cabin was cooled to a comfortable level in just 15 seconds.
Next comes the crucial road performance of fiesta, I was able to get steady 110 Kmph (you cannot go beyond that in Kerala roads). But as per the feed back from other customers from north India it is evident that Fiesta can go well beyond 150 Kmph cruising speed. Because the Kerala roads r always busy I was not able to harness the full 68 horses to the fullest (one more reason is there…the sales guy did not allow me to go beyond 110 Kmph). The diesel engine was doing its job nicely. Surely the new diesel engine is very much refined; it did not make much noise when compared to the other diesel engines. The diesel engine is a high pressure common rail system- along with a tiny pilot injection system which injects diesel before the main event giving a small early burn that softens the big bang. The steering did not require any undue effort and its not too bad in the traffic either, with 16kgm of turning force in just 1400rpm u just have to stick on to one gear and rest will be taken care of by the torque. So, in terms of drivability diesel is brilliant. Fiesta is able to make it to 100 in just under 13 seconds.
Coming to comfort level; the comfort level has increased when compared to the icon series. The independent McPherson struts up front and semi-independent twist beam at the rear is doing a good job. The noise coming into the cabin is also considerably reduced, but not as efficient in Optra (I love optra for its silent cabin)
Fiesta is also available in 1388 cc petrol engine that’s good for 82 bhp at 6000 rpm and which as of now comes only in the basic Exi version costing around 5.86 lakhs ( this is the cheapest Fiesta Around). The diesel too comes in just one variant that includes an in dash CD player as standard and among other things gets better interiors than the petrol Exi version. The diesel version is slightly highly priced at 7.33 lakhs. There will be a top of the line petrol variant which is the 1.6 SXi that comes with leather seats and in dash CD changer, alloys and some aluminium for the interiors and retails for around 7.2 lakhs. For 26000 rs you can have the option of ABS on either the 1.6 version or the Diesel version.
Final Verdict
Ford fiesta is a brilliant car to drive, but it doesn’t look special. The inner space is just enough but passable when compared to other cars in same segment. The diesel engine is a brilliant option. As If now Fiesta is a decent alternative to the current C Segment top scorer i.e. the Honda City. If u r looking for a car, that is fun to drive, Fiesta is a good option. But look out for the 100 bhp version of new Honda City.
See the comments section for technical Specifications
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