Ford Fiesta

I already own a Fiesta 1.4 EXI petrol model. Its been 3.5 years and I am so much in love with the car. Thinking of upgrading my car now and even before buying fell in love with Fiesta 1.6 S after reading the review below. I am pasting this review from Auto Car India magazine website just to make all you Fiesta owners proud of your purchase.

So all u guys if u love driving and have constant flow of adrenaline rush in your blood then do read this review.

I am so damn sure you will fall in love again after reading this review and people who bought other cars will start envying you.

The Ford Fiesta S is the closest thing there is to a front-wheel-drive BMW. Whoa! That took a bit. Now some of you must be scratching your day-old stubble, wondering what on earth is going on. 

The resemblance is uncanny. Let’s start with the ride quality. On its stiffer, lower springs, harder dampers and lower-profile tyres, the S has the same skippy, sometimes thrashy, often unsettled low speed ride of a BMW 325i. Just not to the same extent. Larger, deeper bumps produce the same loud crash from the suspension and there is often some rocking over poor patches. Close your eyes(only if you’re in the passenger seat, of course) and you’d actually think this car was Bavarian! And once the speedo arcs its way over 80 or 90, the unsettled demeanour disappears in much the same manner. 

Then there’s the motor. Smooth and very tractable it may be, but just like any good BMW petrol, there’s no sudden step-up in the powerband. It all builds up in a linear and progressive manner — the motor gains in enthusiasm the harder you wind it. It seems like it’s saving its breath for the top end, because once you get to 4000rpm, it positively aches to rev harder. And it sings all the way to 7000rpm. No huff, no puff, no stress, no strain.  
The steering is similar too. A bit weightier than normal at low speeds, it drenches you in feel as you turn harder and harder into a corner. Especially chatty once the tyres are fighting for grip, the exceptional body control delivered by the shorter, harder springs of this car make it amazing to drive on the limit. The best part: the S responds to the steering, throttle and brakes even when you are generating considerable slip from the tyres. But to experience the best this car has to offer, you must take it to some good driving roads. Just like you would  any self-respecting Bavarian. 

We started our long-term test of the Fiesta S with a hammed-up picture of Autocar staffers lining up for the car. Of course, we were exaggerating at the time. But now this is true. The car is in big demand on weekends, with its snub nose often pointed in the direction of a hill station. 
It doesn’t do too poorly in the city either. The flexible motor is a joy to use in the traffic, the audio system with its punchy amp is simply fabulous and I find this car just the right size for crowded city streets. The Fiesta is also very sensitive to tyre pressure. Set the cold tyres to exactly 30psi(recommended for low loads and speeds), and ride quality improves considerably. But go up by just a pound, and ride quality gets noticeably harder. 

The car is sensitive to driving styles as well. Allow the Fiesta S motor to lug from a very low engine speed and the Ford consumes fuel at a fair lick. But drive it with a little more gusto, keep the momentum going and this motor will give you good fuel economy and performance. Even with regular bursts of hard acceleration thrown in, the Fiesta S gave us 9.2kpl. Take a bit of care and this will easily jump into double digits.

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Ford Fiesta Review

After extensive deliberation(and no little research) I decided to plump 8.5 L of my hard-earned(ok, ok, not exactly) cash on the Fiesta TDCi ZXi. Some of my initial observations on the car for your benefit(hopefully)!

A word of warning though – the car is only a month old. I have, therefore followed the instructions provided to me pretty religiously. Hence, no speeding beyond 80, no revving at low rpm, no highway driving and generally handling the car with kid gloves. I shall update this when I get the car back from my first service and have started to explore its limits.

Engine, Gear Box, Drivability: Extremely refined for a diesel engine, though not as noiseless as some of the reviews might lead you to believe. However, if you switch on the AC, draw up the windows and you hardly hear any noise. Slight sluggishness and minor lag at low rpm - but very negligible and surely forgivable for its many other positives. Extremely smooth gear shifts – the car is tailor made for city driving in India. You are very comfortable driving at low speeds and low gear. The entire car has a very solid feel about it – from the reassuring “thud” the doors give you when you gently close them to the stability of the cars around corners to the smooth braking. It is definitely a drivers cars, without the sporty feel and exhilarating acceleration

Exteriors:Much better than the Ikon. I especially like the smooth body flow and the head-lamps. I do have some grudging admiration for the quirky looks of the Verna though!

Interiors: Pretty much satisfactory, though it gives a “plasticky” feeling for an expensive(hey, it is for me) car. Some good touches include:

(a)    Warning when the headlamps are switched on while you exit

(b)   Reading lamps at the rear

(c)    Very comfortable seats – especially at the rear.

(d)   “Kilometers to empty” is a cool feature to have – though I have my doubts about its accuracy!

Mileage:Have consciously not checked this yet – but I think I am currently getting upwards of 15kmpl – will keep you posted on this during my 3 month update!

Cons: There are a few which a potential buyer should be aware of:

(a)    Ford is an expensive car to own – period. The savings you gain for this miserly diesel car would be more than off-set by the maintenance costs you may have to bear over the years.

(b)   Limited options for authorized service stations in most cities

(c)    Hydraulic power steering just does not give you the same joy as the electronic power steering does – that is a big negative

(d)   Finally, it is clearly not a sporty car – I expect to have a lot of complaints about not being able to eat up the road on highways.

To summarize, I am pretty happy with what I have got; but I knew of most of the negatives before I got the car and hence my expectations were suitably tempered. Know what you are getting into and buy the car on its positives – primarily fuel economy and driving and riding comforts and you will do fine!

I am consolidating all my reviews at https://re-view-central.blogspot.com/ - do check it out.

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After a long survey I finally bought Ford Fiesta 1.4EXI. I had bought the car in Sept., 06. Its been over five months and around 3000Km, so I thought its the right time to write a review. Before deciding on the car, Mouth Shut had been the primary source of review and I had been greatly helped by this site to take a correct decision. So the review is on Mouth Shut.

The cars that I was initially considering was Ford Fieasta 1.4EXI, Honda City ZX - EXI, Chervolet Aveo, Maruti Baleno, Hyundai Accent and Hyundai Verna. Maruti Baleno and Hyuncai Accent was being phased out so I stopped considering it. Verna was to be launched. I did not want to take a risk of purchasing a vehicle without user feedbacks. So I test drove the first three. I started with Chervolet Aveo. I had read a lot about the problem with the gearbox, so that was playing on my mind. The drive was OK, nothing great about it. Next was Honda City.

This is an excellant car with very smooth steering wheel. Power was somewhat less and one needed to shift to lower gears to regain the pickup after braking. I test drove the Ford Fiesta next. The driving experience was excellant. I really understood why this is called the drivers car. The front panel is the best compared to all the cars I have stated. The price is the lowest. The steering is harder as compared to Honda City but that does not matter much. The engine is better responsive at higher speeds but better that the other two at lower speed. Also paying a Lakh of rupees more to get a Honda City for its better average and less power did not seem to be a good idea. All these prompted me to go for Ford fiesta 1.4 EXI.

My wife regularly drives the vehicle and finds it easier to drive than the our Maruti 800. After two services I am getting an average of 13.5 in mostly city driving. Till date I have not been able to find fault with the vehicle except for the fact that one has to be very careful at high speed breakers else the bottom gets a hit. I think Ford should look into this matter and improve the ground clearance.

In all I highly reccomend this vehicle and it is indeed value for money. I got all the accessories (music system, fog lights, auto cop, etc) fitted in the showroom and bargained a very good deal from the dealer. Check the Ford website for the base price before bargaining from the dealer. Also check the date when the car was received at the showroom.

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I own a Santro and a Getz and I am very satisfied with the overall performance and the quality of service I get from KUN Hyundai in Chennai.  Having ownned two Hyundai cars, it is natural to have a soft corner and when I look for an upgrade, I preferred a Hyundai.

As my driving is changing and would be anywhere between 2500 to 3500 kms a month, I wanted to go in for a diesel car.  I had a chance to test drive both Verna VGT CRDI and Fiesta TDCI.  I had ruled out TATA as they are still good truck makers.  I have the following observations and would like to share it with you.

Engine -

Verna VGT has a great engine with excellent pick up (read it as "out of the world"!!).  But that’s like it.  It is very noisy and a lot of vibration creeps into the shell. Fiesta TDCI is a great car to drive, but it is not as aggressive as Verna.  The engine is a lot more refined, docile and very silent.  The noise and vibration levels are so low that I felt it was a petrol engine.  Excellent work by Ford, even though Hyundai personnel claim their engine to be two generations ahead of Ford!!! (I guess two generations on the negative side)

Looks -

Highly subjective, but most of you would agree that Verna’s styling is confusing.  Feels as if the designer had taken a “pee” break half way through designing the car and the guys at Hyundai were so impatient that they picked up the “half-completed” design and made the car.  Fiesta is not a great looking car either.  But I would consider Fiesta to be elegant and decent.  Best part being the head lights.

Interiors –

Both cars come with dual coloured interiors.  I personally preferred the interiors of the Fiesta.  The bright (orangish?) beige interiors of Verna get dirty too fast and make the car look older than it really is.  Plastic quality on both cars is equally bad.  Space is slightly more in Verna than in Fiesta.  Seats (quality and support) in Fiesta are better.  Instrumentation is basic in both cars I drove, but Fiesta offers three versions compared to just one of Verna (I would not consider the optional ABS offered in Verna to be another version)

Ride and Handling –

I did not feel very comfortable driving the Verna (even though I was biased towards Hyundai).  Starting the vehicle gave a feeling as though Chennai was struck by an earthquake and the familiar diesel clatter was very audible.  The pick up was impressive, but I did not feel “safe” while driving the car.  Running the car over (rather into) pot holes had shocks and jolts transferred to the passengers.  This is a great cause of concern for me as these “jerks” would make a person much more tired.  The gear lever is oddly placed and has an odd shape with longer throws.  There were glaring jerks while accelerating the car (after a gear change).  The car did not pull smoothly and gave a feeling as though it was an Indica.  Not a very pleasant experience.

I had the chance to drive the Fiesta almost immediately after the Verna.  The engine starts very smoothly without any vibrations and has a very silent idle and almost no vibrations.  The pick up is nowhere near the Verna, but is not bad either.  I could feel a small lag in acceleration, but after a few minutes I got used to it as the pick up is great once we cross the ~1300 rpm.  The best part of the drive is the way the car handles the pot holes (absorbs almost everything including decently high speed breakers).  It is unruffled by the challenges presented to it by the bad roads of Chennai.  The small gear lever, which is accurately placed, with its short throws enhance driving pleasure.  It is truly a driver’s car with an engine which would satisfy most of our requirements (of course, Verna would be a better car if one has to drag race everyday).  Driving the Fiesta gave a high degree of confidence and I felt very safe.  I was also positively surprised when I slowed the car to 20 kmph in 4th gear without using the clutch.  There was no sign of any jerking of engine or any noise of strain from the engine.  Truly a very pleasant experience.

No prizes for guessing that I was truly impressed by the Fiesta in every aspect even though I started off with a bias towards Hyundai.  Fiesta is a better car when compared to Verna (Diesels only).  But I get worried to decide to buy a Fiesta when I read the horror service stories of Ford and the high maintenance cost.  I am also very happy at the way Ford handled me in their showroom (MPL Ford, Mr. Rajan). The person could answer every question thrown at him, arranged for the test ride almost immediately and had a follow up form filled in.  The guy at Access Hyundai was not interested in selling the car; looks as though complacency has set in at Hyundai showrooms.  I just hope this improvement is shown by Ford in their service sector.

Would update once I have an ownership experience of Fiesta!!!

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Do you like to drive around corners? Do you want a car that handles brilliantly? Do u want a car that has the capacity to absorb patholes? Do you want to have that brilliant build quality? Do u want a drivers Car?? whats ur choice??? if ur ans to all the above qstn is "Yes" then trust me go fida its fiesta all the way. The car that helped Ford to get the brilliant growth figure almost close to 100%.

Last month we had a trip to Ooty with one of my frnds fiesta I just want to check how fiesta became the drivers delight. I personally drive Verna and Optra. We started in the early morning with his Fiesta TDCI... we got an excellent FE.... do u know how much 20 km/l with Xtra premium diesel and full AC. Mind blowing handling in highways.. we had some gear shifts but managed to cross 3 digits very quickly.

Its easy to get into any traffic and handles like a rally car. AC is superb. Nice interiors with factory fitted sanyo CD player to excite us. Hairpin Bends....Really the real test starts here.. We are really happy to notice that the fiesta really behaved like a dream in haor pin bends. Hats off to ford guys who made such a car which is a brilliant handler. When other cars struglled we didnt faced any understeer or unsettled rear in big bends where we did like a rally champion. Tyre we used is Bridgestone potenza G3 with 193/ R14 specs.

Drive it to beleive it.... Enjoy driving...

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I purchased my Ford Fiesta 1.6(Petrol) in Oct 2006 and overall I am pretty satisified with the car.

Most of it is good about the car  - Features, Interiors, Performance, Mileage(10.6 kpl which is pretty good for a 1.6 compared to the rest in market)

However, this is a GOOD car troubled by BAD servicing.

I must tell you that the service technicians have very little knowledge and I have never seen a middle aged man in the servicing centers with almost all of them being young inexperienced fellas.

No car is perfect and like any other car even my car has few glitches which I have complained about in the last 3 servicings and never got fixed

1. The tail lamp never works. There is an electric problem because of which it shorts withing few minutes/hours that I get it from the service center everytime. They just replace the bulb and give it to me everytime.

   
   




2. There is a hauling noise from the engine section which is very low and has to be listened carefully but it is very irritating to hear even a little noise in a car which is otherwise so silent when it is turned on. Everytime I complain about this I either get responses that they are not able to hear it(deaf guys) or they have fixed it(they think I have some kinda mental disorder)

   
   

3.  Car doesn't have a problem handling bumps, but roads that have cuts, it seriously suffers and it has hurt the shocks quite a lot. The car gives a big shake and there is also some problem with the right shock. Again, they say that there is nothing wrong with the car(One guy even told me that it is designed to be that way). I gave up trying to convince them.

1. The car handles bad roads pretty well but surprising on rough roads(roads that are good but aren't smooth) the interiors are quite noisy. The list of things that turn noisy only keeps increasing and nowadays it's the driver's door.

Leave alone the additional problems that you complain about, they don't even do the things that are in their checklist during the free servicing. They didn't rotate the tires as I saw that my left tire which had a crack was at the same end.

Forget trying to get the car fixed, it is impossible for them to diagnose the defects as they do NOT have the aptitude and attitude to fix the car.

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I recently bought a Ford Fiesta(Petrol) Exi. Well the moment I took control of the car I felt the difference of a Ford.The car is amazing and looks like a tiger ready to prowl.

The design and ergonomics of the car surely gives a hard time to the best ones in the market.

The quality of the material used for interior is also good.I did not find anything that made me think that I settled for the wromg car.

The only problem I faced was getting the music system and central locking installed.The models present at the showroom are not up to date and most important they are "OverPriced". If you want to get those fitted outside, make sure that you get it installed from a qualified accessories shop.If the electric system gets damaged(even if any wire is cut) you stand to lose the warranty.

However I got it installed from outside and I am pretty content to have a great music system.

Actually the good accesssories shops are well equipped with all types of wiring.

It is a strategy of Ford dealers that they will try to convince you not to get thje musice system fitted from outside.

I got my music system fitted from(Car Decora), an accessories shop near NIT faridabad.The guys over there are well equipped with all the things required to fit the stereo.

Instead of cutting the wires they use "Couplets".

Lastly, having said all these, I feel that this car combines both looks and performance.

Really a car to go FIDA.

Happy driving and be safe.

Dipankar

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I bought my fiesta last November end, 2006. The model purchased was 1.4 EXI petrol version. I must say that the car is doing pretty well. It has done 3000 km in the past 2 months.

Starting with the dealer, Saluja ford have done a pretty good job uptil now. Full marks to them as maintaining customer relation.

The car itself is a heart throb. Goes excellently on all quadrants- style, comfort, performance EXCEPT one "THE MILEAGE".

Despite the big claim that the company makes, my car is still giving me 11 km/ltr in city without AC

(weather is cold here this time of the year). The service engineers says that the will improve after the 3rd service but I have my doubts. I bought the 1.4 instead of 1.6 for its "supposed " better average.

So my advice, this is a near perfect car that ford has wheeled out in all quadrants as far as luxury and performance goes. But better think twice before u bet on its average. I will update this review time and again when the car does more kms.

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I am anil from Rajkot I have  a problem in my new Ford Fiesta about the tyre geting wear out only from one side to which the dealer and the CRC of Ford call it a normal wear out which is not at all normal. They have overlooked my complain. They simply call it as normal wear but they never give the reason why this problme is. They are interested in selling new cars and not interested to solve the problem of customer. For the complain of my problme in Ford Fiesta I have been visited to the dealer for nearly five to six times but they simply kept on changing the sides of the tyres and checking the wheel alignment and balancing everytime.

I was more shocked when the service department of the dealer also knows that the tyre is really getting wear our and that was the reason they kept on changing the tyre everytime they did not give any detail about that to their Company. Wish I had purchased any other car then Ford Fiesta cause other people are giving very prompt response and are solving the problems within the couple of hours but m fed up with this people.

If any one wants the corespondese between the CRC of Ford and my self I can send them the copy and by those corespondense everyone can know that wht a customer is asking and what the CRC of Ford is replying. They reply something else then what a customer like me has asked. Now I am searching for the help from where I can get to solve my problem

Thanking you,

Anil Ghedia

919824234488

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(25-05-2007) Dealer does not have parts ! I have to wait for One more week till they gets them and installs, ! this dealer is more then 10 years old with FORD !

(5-12-2007) Lost pickup on the way , found out the coolant is boiling and errupting from its chamber,It has changed color and was like gray mud.engine temperature needle was on highest point and the fan to cool engine was running even the car key was removed

Called the Dealer and he Immediately suggested that It has to be towed to their work shop.

After 2 hours the towing vehicle arrived and took the car to workshop. This happened on Saturday.

Monday . reported that engine Oil or Coolant some how managed to get together in side the engine and the radiator and it has to be cleaned before they can tell what is wrong.

Tuesday . I went personally to see the car and found that they have opened the

top of the engine and waiting for ford HO permission to open the block containing

the pistons.All electronic scan shows nothing abnormal ,

no error of any sensor.

you all are aware of ford Quality and ford people ,

Lots of real comment and feed back on this review in past posted in this forum , ( Some of them are By dealer driven comment )

engine failure are real shameful thing for car manufacturer and real pain for the consumer.

I am not sure when I will get back the car repaired.

I will never kow why this happened and no body in ford will dare to tell it to me.

still to day 19-05 2007 I am not told any thing about it.

After one year and 2 months and around 17 thousand Kilo meter driving

I was really luckey that I had extended warreny !

Now take trouble and suggest what should I do ?

After it arrives from the dealer Should I keep this Car ?

As I will not be able to know what happned inside the engine and what got repaired and of the Quality of repair as I have experiance that ford lacks quality.

By the way the old dealer Called Nikki ford from where I purchased the car and had very bad experiance of servicing is No more with the ford !

the maruti dealer which I mentioned in the following review is now ford dealer !

Now read this is the Frist old review

Neverever Ford again:Very bad Service and Quality

From the first day I have feeling that I Ford India is not a good Company as when I found out the best model of diesel car is to be "clubbed" to get out the best of it, that was a very bad policy of ford India.Now Mine is about 9 months old and is diesel ZXi ,done 12000Km

When ever the car is started or stopped It gives heavy Jerk, like earthquake.

Some time people inside the car complains that if it hit by other car !

I told it to Ford service in madras ,

They never have heard about it !, As usual with all Service Support In India!

as One can not specify the Jerk so they blindly said that its in their specification limit ,

I tried with other Fiesta too all of them have same problem and as they will get older the engine mounting rubber ( of Ford Quality) will go away , then it becomes more of a Quality Engine which I paid more then 6laks of rupees!

Never ever Autocar review mentioned it! they had special Technical review on it only Bla bla ...

Before buying this car make sure that these jerks fits at your specification of 6lak jerk.

Some one said that this

car was designed in Australia by some Indian team !

and when visited Australian ford site I found that for my surprise that Ford at Australia advertising on their web site that they Designed the Australian car in Ford Germany! Wow what a way to sell cars!

From the first service I felt that I have been cheated on the name of free service and On the third service I confirmed with the ford Service support and acknowledged to them that keeps the car for a day and returns with spraying the water to show that it was washed.

before giving the car to dealer for third service I took some photographs of dust accumulated on the engine and marked x with my fingers took the photograph !,

When the car arrived after the third service the mark was there !

Now this is the ford Quality and Quality washing of a dealer who enjoys dealership from last so many years and Ford India tells me that they have not any complain for them.

As I have maruti alto and the Quality of washing the Cargo Motors Narol ,maruti dealer is giving is un comparable , either the ford are amateurs or they are just cheating.

There is something wrong with the engine insulation specially if its get wet, I have told not to try this car when the water is on the road.

Car is having front brake wobbling problem and it is never solved by ford or their service Niki ford Ahmedabad.They keep car for 3 days and tried changing the disk and the other parts but failed till date.Lastly the Ford service engineer also tried to solve but failed.

Disk has casting defect and in the rain it gets rust very fast .the brake pad gets stuck every time if the car is not diven for 2 -3 days. it never happned with alto!

Rubber quality of Wiper are also of very poor quality and I have changed them more then 3 times and within 3 or 4 days they show scratches on them,as they are from some other model and they never stick to surfce of glass.Never use in while driving in rain as it makes the visibility poor.

Again Maruti is far far better in this wiper case ,

Front Windshield glass is also of poor quality and within 3 months it had shown that Quality of Ford India.case of hardning not done proper.

Chrome fitting at front grill and over the number plate light shown the Bad chrome done ! with lots of hesitations they have changed it , it took Four months and lots of phone calls to service and high blood pressure.

Horn quality is bad cheap and within one week it started to show ford Quality,

it took three visits to just to get it replaced with the good one.

Now at this time of writing I have a Fused door open lamp which they do not have in stock!

the car is having lots of noises when ever it is run on the rough surface , coming beneath and also from inside of it, Service people never bothered to solve it ,

Some how I feel that ford India is having policy of not getting feedback directly from the customers and they fully depend on their Service Engineer , (which are well taken care of them by dealers! )

If you think this is the car for you then Just wait ... one year

you will have lots of choices next year and hopefully ford will be on History Channel

(ps: never ever miss the chance to see the Mr.Ford biography on Discovery/NatGeo ...eye opener on ford quality)

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Hi...I bought a Ford Fiesta Dsl about 3 months back and hv driven arnd 4000km till now. To put my experience with the car in just word....simply "amazing". For the benefit of those who are looking to buy a mid-segment car I'm listing down my experience on various paramenters:

Engine: It just doen't feel like a diesel. Hats off to Ford engineers for making such a refined engine. The pick-up is amazing - probably high RPM at lower torque does the trick here coupled with the Turbo. The turbo takes a moment to activate and u feel a negligible lag in the pick up when u press the pedal. But once it takes off...u simply zoom.

Space & Interiors: Very spacious interiors. Infact, there is a very good space utilisation inside the car with the side pockets on the doors, where u can ealily place 2 1 lite bottles and lot of other stuff - really useful. Seats are comfy. The embedded reading lights in the ZXi version r relly neat. Though, I hope some use of woody finish would have enhanced the interiors. Boot is quite large. The car overall gives a cool luxury feel.

Mileage: Excellent. I'm getting around 15 kmpl in Mumbai city driving...which is really good. On the Mumbai-Pune highway, I clocked around 18-19 Kmpl.

Comfort: Drive is very comfortable. Excellent road grip and balance.

Reliability: Till now I haven't faced any issue on this count.

Looks: I found the looks quite appealing. Its not too radical but at the same time contemporary. The front look is very good. The paint quality, I guess, needs some improvement. Even a slightest of brush with some object results in paint giving way.

Dealer Satisfaction: Bought the car from Shaman Ford, Mumbai. I am extremely satisfied with the service. My Sales Manager - Mr. Vivek, was very good and kept all his promises regarding meeting my urgent delivery requirement. Till now I've got 2 services done - both from Shaman Ford only - and am satisfied with it (though car cleaning needs improvement). They provide free pick-up and drop, which is very useful esp. in Mumbai.

Overall, I think its one of the best city car one can get and is an excellent overall package. Before, buying this car I had shortlisted Honda City, Aveo and Ford Fiesta. I am glad I bought Ford Fiesta Dsl.

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I bought a Fiesta 1.4 EXi 7 months back from Metro Ford, Bangalore. It cost 6.67 lacs (sans accessories) with 3 year extended warranty. I have driven the car for about 2600 km and have not had any problem so far.

There were some nasty black marks on the car caused by other vehicles and when I asked how much it would cost to remove the marks, I was told that it will cost Rs. 3500. The other day a mechanic who had come to my apartment did it for free. Ford certainly would like to make up for lost revenue by charging a lot on service.

The car is a decent performer and I get around 11 kmpl in city. I have not had to spend anything on maintenance so far, but I have heard some horror stories about the poor after sales service.

On paper the car seems underpowered, but you will rarely feel it. The car remains firmly planted to the road even when over-taking at 95 kmph. Driving comfort is decent and gear shift though good, is inferior to that of Swift.

Looks wise, this car is as gentleman-like as it gets. It is in the same league as the old Honda City and Hyundai Accent. I bought the car for its great looks.

The vehicle scores very low on ground clearance and suspension. Bangalore's potholed and bumpy roads do not help matters.

To sum up, the car gets the following points,

Looks 5.0/5

Boot space 5.0/5

Handling 4.0/5

Fuel Efficiency 3.5/5

Roominess 3.5/5

Performance 3.0/5

Interiors 3.0/5

Service 2.0/5

Suspension 1.5/5

Ground clearance 0.5/5

The car had the best value for money quotient of all the entry level sedans when I made the purchase and I am sure with the introduction of newer models, it will be bested by some other car pretty soon. The resale value is sure to see a sharp decline. But the great looks and decent fuel economy should let me hold onto the car for five years or more. Should fuel prices start pinching, I have the option of installing a gas kit thanks to the generous boot space.

7 months may be a bit too early to judge the car, but there do not seem to be any obvious flaws. Till now it feels to be a car made for the long haul.

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Have you ever wondered why diesel cars are priced higher than petrol? Is it because diesel engine is complex and has high weight? I guess no. As far as my guess goes its purely a pricing strategy. Diesel cars fetch more profits to manufacturers as they have compelling low maintenance logic.

Lets assume following case for petrol and diesel car.

Petrol Car:

Price : 6 lacs

Petrol Price: 55

Mileage: 12 km/ltr

Cost Per KM: 4.6 Rs

Your average daily km: 20

Diesel Car:

Price : 7 lacs

Petrol Price: 35

Mileage: 16 km/ltr

Cost Per KM: 2.2 Rs

Your average daily km: 20

Price difference: 1 lacs

To cover this price difference between diesel and petrol, you need ...

KM Per Day Years

20 5.7

40 2.8

60 1.9

100 1.14

If you lower the diesel price or lower petrol mileage, you may end up breaking even bit early. In a nut shell, go diesel if you average 40km or more. This way you will start reaping benifits of fuel savings earlier.

Now lets take case of ford fiesta vs maruti zen

Zen:

Price : 5 lacs

Petrol Price: 55

Mileage: 12 km/ltr

Cost Per KM: 4.6 Rs

Fiesta:

Price : 8 lacs

Petrol Price: 35

Mileage: 18 km/ltr

Cost Per KM: 1.94 Rs

Price difference: 3 lacs

For fiesta to catch up this price difference, it would need ..

KM Per Day Years

20 15.7

40 7.8

60 5.2

100 3.11

But you cut this time by half assuming that fiesta provides much better luxury and performance!!!

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I wont exaggerate in any of my opinion.

i started with thinking of a second hand car and had lots of test drives.

then one day I bought some auto magazines which had reviews on c segment cars like aveo ,baleno, fiesta and city. (overdrive hindi sept.)

so I went to all four showrooms and had test drive of them all.

true to their article fiesta scored over almost every point .

ride was exceptional and driving pleasure was exceptional. looks are subjective issue and I thing fiesta has got that white collar look which is ok with every body and should age well like esteem.

honda city is now like maruti in c segment in delhi and I did not want to be part of the lot. Also it did not provide driving pleasure as fiestas. though interiors have a rich feeling.

i took test drives both on the driving seat and on the back seat with my family.

fiesta has some distinct comfort with noiseless cabin and marvelous calmness over potholed roads.

second important point was mileage.

not believing the claims of the dealer I decided to check with some owners myself and searched the communites on orkut and yahoo of fiesta. every one was impressed with the mileage with 12+ in city. that is also more than any other c segment car except city.

third is cost.

now at par with aveo and baleno ford gives u latest technology and absolutely silent engine. u wont believe the car is start when engine is at idle. go check urself.

now the main thing which every prospective owner fears is maintenance.

i want to say that maintenance is variable cost to total distance travelled. if u travel less than there should not be any major difference in the bill. and if u travel more than calculate total fuel used and u will definetely find the advantage with fiesta due its higher mileage.

even if it cost a little bit more the car will compensate with superior driving pleasure and yes the respect ford command over marutis , gms and hyundais.

tell someone u have ford and notice the appreciation in his eyes.

ONE OF MY BEST FRIEND CANCELLED HIS BOOKING FOR CITY AND PURCHASEDFIESTA WHEN I TOOK HIM TO THE SHOWROOM FOR HIS ADVICE.

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I wanted to upgrade my car. Since I was driving a diesel Indica earlier , decided to look at only diesel options. Test drove Fiat Petra D, Accent CRDI, Hyundai Elantra, Scorpio and Tata SAFARI. Wanted to wait for Verna but could not resist the Fiesta - went Fida!!

Before getting into Fiesta...

Safari's seating and ride is excellent but felt too big for every day's city drive. I liked Scorpio's pick-up and looks but got scared of its handling, particularly on the highway curves. Petra's built and road behavior was good, however, did not consider this and Hyundai since they are already aged in the market and Verna was too late for me!!

Fiesta...

Initially , I was not impressed by the fiesta looks. Also felt that, the Diesel ZXI car (No EXI initially) is not a value for money (Rs. 8.4 lakhs on road price at Bangalore). Its evident after seeing Hyundai Verna Diesel pricing. Verna costs same as the Fiesta ZXI and offers more space and almost double the power (112 bhp?).

Then came the the ford's answer in the form of Fiesta Diesel EXI @ 6.85 lakhs at B'lore (ex show room price). Went and bought the car from the Cauvery Ford and I was the first customer for this model in Bangalore!. I spent about 16K outside and added rear spoiler with an integrated light, Pioneer system, fog lamps with chrome rings and body coloured mirrors etc and now my car looks better than the high-end Fiesta!

I have crossed 5000 kms. Done with 2 services. The car is amazing. The service is very good. I was thinking twice to buy the car after reading about Ford dealers bad reputation in Service. Unbelievably, Cauvery Ford, Bangalore is very professional. They call well in advance to inform me the service due date, free pick-up and drop of the car for the service and good follow-up calls too. I am really very happy about the service so far. I hope to get the same level of service in future too.

The car's performance is excellent. I have checked my mileage every time I fill the fuel. In City my lowest is 16.25 km/ltr. This is with A/C on almost 75% of the time. I drove once about 300 kms with 5 people with boot full of baggage and A/C on and my mileage was 19.25 km/ltr. I thought no car can be more economical than my old Indica. Now I started admiring my Fiesta. I like the drivability and sharpness of the steering in high speeds. Its very easy car to drive in city too. I can do in 5th gear from 35 kms to 120 kms speed. Its bit wheezy on highways when you go beyond 110 kms/hr. We cant expect more from a 1.4 engine with 68 bhp!!. In total, the car offers very good package - Brand name, best in the industry performance (diesel engine), drivability and refinement - Probably this is the best diesel car today in this segment.

Went and saw the Verna last week. Looks good and heard that performance is not on par with Fiesta. I like the power in Verna...but am very happy with my Fiesta as it offers an excellent overall package and also, I dont see any concerns... and I am going Fida...I think I have made a good choice.

I will Write back more when I find time....

Anand, Bangalore

I am back here to share my experience after driving the Fiesta for 62 thousand KMs. Its great going except in 2 occations...

one day I had a problem with power window switch...driver side window got stuck the switch didnt work...for my bad-luck it was raining. Went to metro ford Bangalore the next day and they replaced the motor. I think I didnt use the switch properly...i used to lift both windows simultaneously...i started using one-window switch at a time...it seems to be perfect now!

Recently, my car got stopped all of a sudden in a busy signal...the problem was RPM was dropping suddenly from 3000 plus to 1200...ford fixed it and they said it was due to some issue with MAP sensor...Metro didn't even charge anything for this since I had done a 60,000KM service couple of weeks before this inceident.

Coming to the good things...I am very happy with the car...its in great condition..maintainance cost is very low. I dont think I have spent more than 20000 rupees for all my services , including repairs so far (driven 63,000 kms). I get about 16KM/ltr in bangalore city traffic with AC on.

I have decided to drive atleast one lakh kms...just added alloys and replaced tyres with yokohama..it looks brand new and sportier.

Will back again when I cross one lakh KMS...

Cheers!

Anand, Bangalore

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Hello Friends,

I recently bought Ford Fiest 1.4 Exi Petrol version.

I have done 1800 km within 15 days (went on a long trip) and so far my overall experience is good.

Let me explain on pros and cons of this vehicle.

On Mileage:-

=====

Recent days, FORD advertises that Fiesta gives record breaking mileage of 22Kmpl on petrol

and 30+ Kmpl on diesel. I feel its not the same on ground reality and it gave me a mileage of 16

Kmpl with A/C on Highway (Bangalore to chennai). But still 16 Kmpl is a good Mileage on these

type of car segment.. I posses normal driving ability and used to drive safely.

I didnt checked its mileage on CITY DRIVING and will post the same once done

.

My final comment is that

"TOO MUCH OF HYPE ON FIESTA's FUEL EFFICIENCY, but still NOT POOR ON MILEAGE'

FORD recommends to put SYSTEM-G (some fuel catalyst) with petrol and ford claims that

this improves mileage and I am using too.l

Accessories:-

======

The base model 1.4 EXI does not come with any add-ons.

I am forced to spend Rs.36000/- for LUXURY PACK which includes Kenwood Stereo / Ford

Speakers / Leather Vinyl Seat / Basic MATS / Mud Flops / Dicky Mats / Front Fog Lamps / Car

Security System (Autocop).

Worst thing here is that, CUSTOMERS does not given choice to buy their own stereo sets.

We are forced to buy what FORD ACCESSORIES LIST has and it does not have variety of choice.

Suppose if we fit Stereos / other accessores in outside shops, FORD ELECTRICAL

WARRANTY becomes VOID. Sometime its good to FIT all accessories at one place (In FORD

Dealer itself) and so I have spent 36k on the same and its hassle free.

Interiors:-

===

Nothing much to talk about interiors. Interiors of Fiesta and all its close competitors are not having

much big difference. Good plastic materials are used for this fiesta front portion.

Enough free space on LEG ROOM at back seats and free space on FRONT Seat (Not driver's) is bit

pretty tight.

FIESTA has BOTTLE CUP FOLDERS to keep 2 water bottle at the middle of front seats. We can put

only small one and we cannot keep a big water bottle.

Large BOOT capacity of 430 Litres and its really huge one and its more than sufficient.

Fuel Tank capacity is 45 litres.

It has BOOT LAMP and FRONT Seat lamps and all usual interiors available.

ALUMINIMUM CUPS on gear rods

Provision for LAPTOP / Cell Chargers

Electrical BOOT release

Seats are really good especially if you put Leather Vinyl Seat cover from FORD dealer itself.

Head lights focus are adjustable based on the LOAD in the vehicle and its good too.

It has 4 recommended position like 1 2 3 4 on focus level on head lights and its

really usefull.

Other Featues:-

=======

1.4 Exi has adjustable steering and Driver Seat Height Adjustable is not in 1.4 Exi and only

available in other variant.

Ground clearance of 168 mm and sometime body under-chasis hits the speed breaker (Even

when i am passing speed breaker very slowly). When the CAR is fully loaded with passengers

.I am facing this problem. I think this problem occurs even in Maruti Baleno too. Especially

on HIGH SPEED BREAKERS which is not properly made.

ENGINE PICKUP is not so quick in 1.4 Exi and any vehicle that focusses more on fuel efficiency

suffers from these kind of issues. Especially in Bangalore traffic I should not talk about this point.

Shock Absortbers are good on BUMPY roads.

Smooth & efficient brake systems and earlier i was driving M800. That's why I am saying

so smooth.

Good A/C systems and all usual features like power windows, power steering etc., available.

Fiesta has TRIP COMPUTER which gives you rough estimation on how many km more we can

travel based on the petrol available.

LOW FUEL WARNING warns when this go below 80km.

FORD does not provide you CAR REVERSE HORN and FORD DEALER has no justifiable

answer for not providing CAR REVERSE HORN. If we put reverse horn from outside,

electrical warranty becomes void. With respect to me, this is important especially when

you drive in a city like BANGALORE. FORD DEALER says that reverse horns are failing

frequently in FORD CARS. But its the responsibility of FORD to bring a good reliable

REVERSE HORN for the customers.

Usual SAFETY measures like side door intrusion beams, collapsable steering, central locking,

child lock, fuel cut off switch in case of any fire etc., are available.

I like its style and body design and especially SILVER and PLATINUM colors

are APPEALING and fast moving one.

'FORD SERVICE ' , as of now I cannot comment on this still long way to go for me as I went only

once to dealer for servicing.

But as of now I am satisified with the dealer CAUVERY FORD in bangalore in pre-sales and

post-sales too. Eventhough some small problems are still existing in service, its manageable.

FIESTA comes with only one year warranty and EXTENDED WARRANTY available for another 2

years at a cost Rs.9000/- plus. But worth in covering extended warranty too.

I have gven my feedback only on ENDUSER perspective and high level too and its not too

techie / indepth.

I too got a good corporate discount and do a good bargain to get good discount.

If you find any errors in this review, please feel free to correct the same.

I am satisfed upto a level of 75% l as we can't find a 100% satisfied product in any COSUMER

Market.

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Have been driving a Ford Fiesta 1.4 Exi from March 2006 and have done about 11,000 kms. Undoubtedly its a good car, but I have had a very bad experience with a couple of things of which mileage and braking are the most important ones. As the ford ad claims that a 22.43 kmpl, I personally haven't had the good fortune of getting even 50% of that even after 3 full service (i get about 8 to 9 kmpl). I have complained on all the three occassions, but the service manager laughed and said, if you get 10 kmpl you should be lucky. Then I confronted the salesperson whom I repeatedly asked for the correct mileage figures as experienced by other customers, to which he always claimed 14kmpl. My point really is, if the company so claims that it is such a fuel effecient car, it should at least deliver 80% of what it claims, else it is very misleading. The other problem area is braking. It is nowhere as effecient as a Honda City or other Japanese cars that I have driven. Any speeds above 70 kmph, the brakes are hardly effective especially for sudden braking. So even if you choose to buy a Fiesta, please be aware of this fact, that on braking there is delay in the car stopping. Everytime that I have taken the car for service, I have asked them to rectify it but they don't seem to find anything wrong with that. Offlate I have been having problems with the power steering as well, as they are becoming less effective even after the recall of the original power steering.

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Need your help . I am writing from Delhi and recently bought a Fiesta. I need your help about the problems I am facing in the car and the inability of Ford Service Technicians in Delhi to solve it.

Ford Fiesta is Giving a very unusual problem. I am writing this after reading the article on record mileage of Fiesta 1.4 EXI. I do own one.

The mileage problem is there from day 1 and till today too when it has run about 9000+ km. The car gives a mileage of just 8/9 KPL.

Ford engineers in Delhi Samara and South City ford are not able to resolve it so I am having a hard time. The KPL test was done 10 times and I have my pockets out for it. :(

Secondly One major problem which I want u to highlight to the company is the electronic control system.

The problem which can risk a persons life : The accelerator of the car suddenly stops responding while drive. Press the pedal and nothing happens. No RPM UP or down...everything hung up.

Take it to service center and they take and entire day and no luck what the problem is. Only Loss of power and EAC FAIL displayed is displayed in their PDS diagnostic system.

Everything goes weird after that, I stopped the car somehow and tried restarting and the battery is drained of within no time. The car goes for a toss.

The service center guys put a new battery to no luck. Their electronic testing gadget called PDS which they test through an HP iPAQ shows just few error codes and they dont know what exactly to do.

When I asked to speak to the GM Services, I was given a deaf ear. This is DELHI's South City Ford :(.

I would like your help to bring this on to the higher mgmt of Ford Motors India as because of few things below:

1. Poorly trained technicians

   
   




2. Lack of service and support

   
   




3. They dont help u escalate the problem.

   
   




4. Poor Electrical control system and fuel efficiency which might be related to it.

   
   




5. The rating on my personal experience with Ford has dropped from 8 when I just bought it to 1. :(

   
   

This car can be hazardous for one's life. I almost could have met an accident and could have been hit due to failure of control systems with the car suddenly !!!! NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED TO PURCHASE unless FORD INDIA improves services and vehicle reliability.

Thanks for your time reading this and hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,

Arunjit Manna

Owner : Ford Fiesta 1.4 EXI petrol. purchased April 2006.( Just 6 months )

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I was highly impressed by the reports about Ford Fiesta, including the reviews in Mouthshut. I made a detail study and compared Tata Indigo, Honda City and Ford Fiesta. Tata dealer of Thiruvananthapuram - Kulathungal Motors - was very good in marketing, demonstrating the vehicle, taking test drive and explaining each aspects. Their inputs were very fair and had given the pros and cons of their vehicle with no exageration. Honda City was the worst in marketing as they have not cared to even respond to three queries. Kairali Ford of Thiruvananthapuram was below average in marketing. From the inputs collected from all possible sources, I decided to go for Ford Fiesta TDCi purely on the quality of the vehicle.

Kairali Ford promised delivery in a week time and hence made the full payment on the intimation from Kairali Ford that the vehicle has been despatched from factory and is on transit. I lost interest for early withdrawal of fixed Deposit from banks. After the promised date Kairali Ford started giving excuses and on investigation it was found that the vehicle is not ready even at the factory proving that Kairali Ford has cheated for having the full payment at their disposal until the vehicle is delivered

I am adding this after a week after giving my above review. After paying the full amount and after14 days after the promised delivery date, the answer I am getting from Kairali Ford and Ford India, Chennai is that tommorow or day after tommorow the vehicle will reach. Many 'tommorows' and 'day after tommorows' have passed and I am cursing the moment I decided to go for Ford. I asked them if this tommorow and day after tommorow have a date. But these giants know very well to cheat people. Let this be a sincere advise to all intending to buy a Ford vehicle.

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I had driven Maruti800-(1997), Santro-(2001), Indica-DLS-(2003) in thelast 10 years. When I decided to buy a mid-size car I short listed the following.

1.Hyundai Accent

2.Maruti Baleno

3.Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCI EXI

4.Aveo

Of these Accent is ageing and Aveo is just born. Also Kun Hyundai of Pondicherrry were reluctant to give test ride. Aveo dealer was not there at pondicherry. So I narrowed down to Baleno and Fiesta. Both MPL Ford and Vasanthi (Maruti) were receptive at their showrooms and spot on in giving the test drive. Our entire family test drove the Baleno and Fiesta 1.4 TDCI EXI. After much deliberations with my wife and children regarding the car interiors, ride quality, legroom, seat comfort etc., we came to the following conclusions.

Both the cars are excellent and differed in no way.

Only the fuel is different (and the price too).

Then we sat out and calculated the KMs we are going to cover in the next 3 years and the fuel cost.

Petrol car is going to cost us more than the Diesel one.

So we decided to go in for the Fiesta 1.4TDCI EXI. I preferred EXI under ZXI to save Rs.40000 in the Ex-Show room price. (No fog lamps, no rear screen defogger, no back seat centre arm rest, no audio system, no side strips, only black  color RVMs, no chromes and other gimmics at some places)

I have bought the vehicle just yesterday. Has covered just 230KMs. The first thing to have impact on me is the verrrrrry smooth gear change. Gear change requires zero-force.

I will write more about mileage etc., in the coming weeks.

03/11/2007 Update.

I have done 17000 KMs(25% city and 25% Sub-urbs and 50% highways, A/C always on) so far on 892 litres of Turbojet diesel.

19 kmpl.

My driving habit is slow inside city, 50kmh in sub-urbs and fast 100kmh in highways.

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