[MAS]

Statutory Warning: Looong Post. First ownership report on T-BHP. Please forgive any shortcomings.

4th Jan 2012: After months of deliberation, analysis, confusion and sleep-less nights spent on Team-BHP (my wife even started getting suspicious!!!), i finally brought home the New Ford Fiesta, Titanium Plus, Moon Beam Silver. Odo reads 900 kms when i started this thread.

Having owned a Ford Fusion and having driven it extensively (1.31 Lakhs in 52 months), it was difficult to move away from the Blue Oval. I was addicted to the supreme driving pleasure, high speed stability and great mileage of the oil burner. It did not occur to me even once that, one day i will have to let go of this great car. This was until, a fateful day in August 2011...

14 August 2011: The Fusion let me down with a broken radiator fan. Then my right power window failed. The A.S.S did not have the spare parts for a Fusion and they had to be ordered as Fusion was no longer produced. As i was not sure how long the Fusion would hold together, i started looking for a new car. Set myself a target to get a replacement within the next two months. Fusion was such a wonderful car that it was very difficult for me to find a suitable replacement.

My search started immediately and I had with the following requirements;
- A New Model (as the production of Fusion was discontinued within two years of my buying it)
- Budget - Rs. 11-12 Lakhs
- An oil burner for sure (as i would clock about 30K kms a year)
- Excellent highway cruiser (6 gears a major crush)
- Should have atleast as much driveability, car control and comfort as the Fusion, if not more.
- High on safety features (atleast 2 Airbags and ABS)
- A more Powerful engine (atleast more than the Fusion's 1.4 Litre 68 BHP - many times been frustrated at the lack of power)
- Decent Ground Clearance (Fusion had 197 mm, did not want to loose too much of this advantage)

Since i had owned a Ford, the first car i looked at was the Fiesta. I was completed bowled by the car. Superb handling, amazing car control, the super light steering and best in class NVH made me fall in love with the car. The interiors were a turn off and so was the high price. Was forced to consider moving away from Ford and reminded myself about the "not-so-great" A.S.S. I had to convince myself that Ford will not be my next car and had to consider all the other obvious options before i took the plunge.

Options Considered

Disclaimer: Most of my comparison would be from my experience of owning and living with the Ford Fusion, hence, please do not take offence.

Second up was Hyundai Fluidic Verna. Great looks, most powerful engine in its category, 6 gears, good value for money, loaded with accessories, neatly laid out interiors and good after-sales-service (having owned a Santro). As a close childhood friend is a Manager in KUN Hyundai service centre, i also had an option of cutting the long waiting list for the Verna. Took three test drives and after each drive, i was more convinced that this was not the car for me, even though i wanted to buy the car. The car was bouncing all over the place; small bumps were upsetting the car and i had started getting motion sickness even while driving the car. The option of changing the shocks was also considered, but many advised against it. As i did not want to own a car which had to be slowed down at every undulations on the highway and i was getting a headache after the drive, i had to let go of this otherwise apt option.

Next up was Chevy Optra. Old work horse from a segment above, gem of an engine, but with a lot of turbo lag and dated interiors (save for the amazing leather interiors). The nail in the coffin was the frequency of servicing (every 5000 km). With my extensive usage, this meant that i will have to take the car every 45 days to the A.S.S, which was a big no.

VW Vento was a serious contender until i saw the car. The car had great interiors, but was too cramped. It had a nice engine but very noisy on the outside. Accessories.. what is that? The car was also short and i banged my head every time i sat inside and got out. The showroom experience was not that good either. The sales guys were least interested in selling the car.

Fiat Linea 1.3 MJD was "also" considered. Liked the car, but the noisy engine, low Ground Clearance, infamous TATA's A.S.S kept me away from this car even though i was getting a good deal (9.6 Lakhs for a Emotion Pack). The sales adviser did not even allow an option to swap the 16 inch alloys from the T-Jet.

I also checked-out the Suzuki SX4, with the leather option. The car had terrible body roll (even more than the Fusion) and outdated interiors. The only plus of the car was its high GC. After owning a Ford, i was not sure if the Suzuki would be able to take the abuse. Let the SX4 go.

I also looked at the Tata Safari, but the bad quality of interiors and my lack of time to take care of the niggles kept me away from this beast. Also had a look at the XUV 5OO. Liked the car, but i had already made the booking of the Fiesta before its launch. I did not want to put my money on the XUV and become a Guinea pig for the Mahindras.

Having exhausted all options, i had come back a full circle as i went back to Ford. Test drove the New Fiesta once again and a few more times. After every test drive, the car convinced me more and more.

The Booking Process and Delivery

MPL Ford, Nandanam was the dealer. Sales Advisor was Mr. Rajan, a very good friend and a completely genuine person (difficult to find such personnel in sales). During the many meetings, discussions and test drives, not even once did he push me to buy the car.

Sept 13, 2011: Since Ford had not offered any discounts for the Fiesta inspite of their dismal sales, i booked a Fiesta Trend Version, Moon Dust Silver. Paid an advance of Rs. 25,000. I was informed that the waiting period was 2 months and this was perfect for me as i had many foreign trips lined up in October and November. I was also of the opinion that Ford would start rolling discounts in the next few months to move the cars from the shelves.

Dec 19, 2011: Months passed. Discounts were being offered for the diesel car. Cancelled the Trend and booked the Titanium Plus - Moon Beam Silver.

Dec 27, 2011: There were three Titanium Plus cars in stock. I requested Mr. Rajan for choosing the car of my choice after a PDI. The VIN of all the three cars were given. Visited the MPL's stock yard at Nanmangalam. The stock yard was just an open field with a very bad muddy road (read - no road) at the entrance. God knows how so many brand new cars (including Mahindra cars, as MPL has their dealership too) are driven through this mess. One of the three cars had left for MPL's Taramani showroom and there were only two cars to choose from. I was clear that i did not want a car which had been a show piece. After a thorough PDI (i did miss out quite a few things - more on this later), i choose the car which was manufactured in November 2011 had run the least kms (36 kms).

Cars were prepared to be chosen from


36 kms on the odo. Note the other Fiesta in front that i did not pick


Dec 28, 2011: Sold the Fusion to Mahindra First Choice on Dec 28th, 2011 for 2.80 Lakhs. Drove around in my trusted 10 year old Santro for a week.

Dec 31, 2011: Mr. Rajan sent a person from his team to collect the cheque. Car was invoiced as both the prices and registration charges were expected to go up from 1st Jan 2012. None happened, but no regrets what-so-ever.

Jan 3, 2012: Mr. Rajan called and informed that cheque was realized and the car might be registered the next day. Was asked if i would like to take delivery without number plates. My answer was an obvious "Yes".

Jan 4, 2012; 1:30 pm; Was going about my usual work. Received a call from Mr. Rajan and informed that the car has been registered and i could take delivery the same day. I was extremely happy but was not prepared for taking delivery as i had driven the Santro to office in the morning.

03:00 pm; Mr. Rajan picked me up from my office (in Chromepet) and took me to the showroom first to complete the formalities. Then he accompanied me to MPL's Delivery Point. There were 38 cars to be delivered that day. Mine was the only New Fiesta and i was enjoying the glances of the other folks looking at my beauty.

First sight of my Beauty


I was not happy with the cleaning and i had to supervise them to clean the car thoroughly. Throughout the time, Mr. Rajan was with me pushing his delivery people to give a spic and span car.

Car turned around for speeding up delivery process


3M polish + Essential Pack (Mats & Mud Flaps) were free-of-cost. 3M wax coat being applied to the car.


All decked up, cleaned and ready for delivery.


89 kms on the clock. 53 kms for driving from the stock yard to registration and back is fair.


The delivery process begun with the "formality" of the delivery person briefing me about the car. I noticed that the car's carpet hooks were missing. The guys there swore that the car does not come with the carpet hooks. I insisted that i have seen the car with the carpet hooks. Confusion prevailed for the next 5 minutes and then better sense prevailed. They brought two hooks, cut two holes in the carpet and fixed them. Now my carpet mat was secure.

05:00 pm; Cranked the engine (for the second time as i had started the engine for the first time during PDI), and had to run over the 4 lemons kept under each tyre. I had earlier witnessed many new cars being stalled by the owner while doing this. Did not happen to me. The aircon did not switch on for the first 2 minutes and i had anxious moments till cool air started gushing in. Took the car to the mosque, offered prayers and drove the car home.

Felt completely at comfortable immediately and it was business as usual, making my phone calls, through the Bluetooth. Hit the ton while driving home.


Some more pics after reaching home

Respect for the company has grown


Nice Fiesta Logo, worried if this would be plucked from the car


If viewed head on, the car looks very small (My daugther calls it Mickey Mouse)


The rear looks equally narrow, thanks to the design.


The interiors look like great at night. The central console and the instrument panel lit up.



The Positives
- Amazing car dynamics; Driveability, high speed stability and car control.
- Lowest NVH. Almost shut from the outside world.
- Even though the 1.5 Litre churns out only 90 BHP, the car pulls cleanly and power is adequate.
- Excellent ICE. No need for any sort of upgrades. Recall that Rehaan had rated 9/10 for the ICE in the official test report. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post2399608
- Extremely light EPS. Makes driving in the city and parking such an easy task. The steering is so light that it makes my Santro's ultra light power steering look heavy.
- Cruise control - Makes highway cruising very comfortable. Got to use this very often during my long drive last week. This was the reason i went in for the Titanium Plus (over the Titanium). Did almost 540 kms in the day and did not feel too tired.
- Voice Activated Controls - Not very useful as of now, but is a great tool to show friends/colleagues. I use this for the aircon and telephone (Calling out a number to dial)
- Bluetooth phone connectivity is crystal clear and i need not shout to be audible.
- Driver Information System is spot on, giving information on Trip, Distance to Empty, Real time mileage (in Litres/100 Kilometers while driving and Litres/Hour while at stand still or moving very slowly - may be below 3 kmph), Average Mileage (in Litres/100 Kilometer) and average speed
- Unit of Distance Measurement can be chosen; either in Kilometer or Miles.
- Great highway cruiser, thanks to its tall gearing.
- All the gears of the Fiesta seem to be taller than the Fusion. This also helps in extracting maximum mileage from the 1.5L engine. In 5th gear, at 2000 rpm, the Fiesta was cruising at 95-96 kmph. At this same rpm, the Fusion would travel at 80 kmph. The gearing is atleast 20% taller, eliminating a 6th cog.
- Excellent Mileage. Filled the tank today. The car is new but still managed an average of 20.55 kmpl (full-tank to full-tank measurement). The average consumption in the Driver Information System showed 5.0 Litres/100 kilometers.
- The best average consumption was 4.7 Litres/100 kilometers during my long drive last week. Works out to 21.28 kmpl, which is amazing for such a new car.

- Mirrors fold automatically when car is locked. This can be switched off from the Menu function in the central display.
- OE reverse sensors are pretty accurate.
- Excellent Aircon. Chills to the bone.
- Clean sweep wipers; enabling crystal clear vision during rains. I had experienced heavy rains when i drove back home late night after the long drive. The wipers did a great job.
- Apart from Boron steel, the higher cost of the car could be due to a higher imports (Headlights - Made in Malaysia; Goodyear Tyres - Made in Germany)
- The outer parts of the ORVM is more concave than normal and offer great visibility.

The Negatives
- Below-par interiors (lower half of the dash & back of the car) and tacky rubber beadings. The tacky beadings attract a lot of dust and even prevented my rear right window from rolling up. Had to cut part of the beading to make the window operational.
- Rusted cast iron parts all over the car (More on this in the next post)
- Single reverse light does not give adequate visibility at night.
- No reverse camera provided
- Carpets are made of high quality absorbent material. Might soak up the water during rains and start stinking. Have bought new set of rubber mats.
- Driver Information shows Litres/100 Kilometers, but when the unit of measurement is chosen as Miles, it shows Miles per Gallon. Ford could have given kmpl instead of Litres/100 km.
- The plastic strip in front, below the front bumper is too low and easily scraps parts of a bad road if driven a bit carelessly (this is the time where i miss my Fusion).
- Tall gearing also amplifies Turbo Lag.
- As all the cogs are taller, i have still got to get used to choosing the right gear at the right speed.
- Rear mud guards (inside the wheel arches) are made of very cheap material, something like synthetic board as it absorbs a lot of water and water keeps dripping for a long time after the car has been washed.
- Headlights need to be upgraded to 100/90.
- Black mats make even the tiniest spec visible, making the car look a lot dirtier than it actually is.
- Limited Rear visibility due to the high boot lid.

Discounts

The Actual OTR of Ford Fiesta Titanium Plus is Rs. 12.80 Lakhs. I paid Rs. 12.27 Lakhs. 3M wax coat + Essential Pack came in free as the part of the deal.

Accessories added

- Sunfilm - Back and sides - CS20 from 3M (3 years warranty) - From 3M Chennai
- Sunfilm - Front Windshield - CR70 from 3M (5 years warranty) - From 3M Chennai
- Underbody rubberized coating done (5 years warranty) - From 3M Chennai
- Rubber Mats - from Local Accessory shop
- Steering Knob - Not to scuff off the leather on the steering wheel. - From local accessory shop.

Would continue to post my experiences as i drive the wheels of the car.

Cheers!!! Drive Safe!!!

[MAS]

Problems that need attention

Jan 7, 2012: I go about cleaning the car and find many points that needed attention. I did do a thorough PDI, but i guess one starts noticing these things when you start living with the car.

Rusted Steering Shaft


Rusted Silencer Clamp


Rusted Exhaust Manifold


Rubber Beading in the rear right door - Twisted - Preventing it from rolling up


Part of the Rubber Beading which had to be cut to enable the window to roll up.


Sharp plastic parts - hurt my hand while opening the bonnet lever


Rear Mud Guard - Very bad quality of material used; not fitted properly and absorbs water after a water wash.


I did write a mail to Ford and they had responded very well by sending in a team from MPL Ford to inspect the car. Unfortunately, this being a manufacturing defect, the MPL guys were not able to do much but do a postman's job. The Fiesta driven by the MPL guys with 4000 odd kms also had these rusted parts.

I don't understand why is Ford using Cast Iron for these crucial parts? Cost cutting is clearly visible.

Sunfilms at 3M Chennai

Mr. Dushy was very helpful. Witnessed the most professional way of working on cars till date.


Some points that need to be addressed
- Small bubbles in the front sun film are still visible at few places.
- Thin scratches visible in the front sun film and the front window sun films. This seemed to have happened when the guys used the sharp edge of their yellow spatula to remove the bubbles
- Black rubberized coating done to the under chassis has also deposited on the car body and the front right mud guard. This needs to be cleaned.

Small but significant things

Good Year Tyres - Made in Germany


Headlight assembly - Made in Malaysia


Rear Light Cluster - Missing some bulbs. The encircled part of the cluster has no bulbs. Ford should have used this for the Reverse Light and left the bottom part for the Rear Fog lamp. This way the car would have looked more symmetric instead of one Reverse Lamp on the left and one fog lamp on the right.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Forum. Thanks for sharing!

[ghodlur]

@Mas,

Finally the thread ownership.

Congratulations on the new Fiesta. Your ownership thread clearly showed your passion for the your car. I would loved some bold colour for the car, my personal opinion. How's the driving experience, the handling part? Are the Good year tyres confidence inspiring? Hows the DTE performance.

Was this an outright purchase? Ford had a readymade winner on hand but I guess they made a mess out if by bad pricing otherwise Fiesta would have been sold like hot cakes. Good to know that Ford responded to all your queries regarding the rusting.

Happy mile cruching, enjoy your drive and drive safely.

[bhp_maniac]

Congrats on driving home the new Fiesta man She's a real looker. Agree with you on the reverse lamp part. It would've been on both sides. Have you driven the outgoing Fiesta. If yes, how you compare ride and handling between these two? Just planning to suggest Fiesta to a friend of mine who wants to upgrade his Accent. And the FE you got is just awesome.

[avira_tk]

@MAS
Congrats on the purchase, we went through the same route booking a Trend, then we sold our old Fiesta and got the NFS Titanium+ at 2k more than the Titanium, this was from Kairali Ford (Kottayam, Kerala) and it was delivered on 28th Dec, I am not sure if the offer still stands. The offer price on the old one was 2.5L(1.3L km, 2006 Jan model), which was pretty good considering the car was coming apart. Before anyone blames Ford build quality, let me just clarify that the car hadn't been on good roads for the majority of its life, was driven through plantation roads and foot deep water in the monsoons.

@bhp_maniac
The new Fiesta's ride matches the old one, the steering is a lot better, because at parking speeds its lighter and convenient and weighs up once you pick up speed. I haven't driven it at full blast because the car is still in the running period. I see you are at Cochin, so the offer I mentioned might be relevant to your friend.

[iliketurtles]

Congrats on the Fiesta! I always did like this car, even if it was (perhaps still is) a bit overpriced. But there's a lot of positives there to outweigh the negatives. And that mileage is something to be amazed at! Sensational figures that is bound to improve with time.

Enjoy her, you've picked an absolutely tremendous car for yourself!

[dhanushs]

Congrats on the buy MAS!!.. You must truly be a handling enthusiast, since you have not let go of Ford!.

Inspite of its nitty gitty short comings, which might be difficult to live with for an aam admi, the Ford puts a smile when it really matters for a CAR, while driving it. Heck, with slightly better rubber, you can literally throw yourselves around those sweeping corners!. Recently I drove the petrol version.. How I wished the engine had more grunt!

Originally Posted by MAS

Part of the Rubber Beading which had to be cut to enable the window to roll up.

I would have removed the entire rubber beading and reinstalled it. Cutting is just like removing the symptom, not the problem.

Rear Light Cluster - Missing some bulbs.

Its the same with the ikon. These models go on sale not only in India, and hence have the extra slots to match specs in other countries, I guess.

For example, the extra slot on ikon's HL Assy thats free is originally intended to use as rear fog lamps.

[ghodlur]

In that case I guess the old Fiesta (Fiesta CLassic) had the full utilization of the rear lamp cluster with reverse lamps as well as rear fog lamps.

@Mas - how did you find the rear sitting coz that was one area which was lacking the most as mentioned by many BHPians in the Fiesta thread.

[deepfusion]

Congrats for your new ford. And, very nicely detailed write up.

How old was your fusion?

[samarjitdhar]

Congrats MAS. Wishing you many happy miles. 12.27 OTR is a very sweet deal you got for the Titanium+ diesel. Enjoy your car and look forward to hearing your day to day driving experience with it, specially the long road trips. Don't let the let downs like rusted parts or below par interiors spoil the fun of owning the car. Every model has its own drawbacks and I am sure the superb handling and road manners of the Fiesta will more than make up for these drawbacks. Best of luck.

[mnemonic]

Many a congrats MAS on the New Ford Fiesta. I for one feel that she is the best amongst the crop of compact sedans which prowl our roads today. With the legendary "handling dna" running in her chassis, am sure she will make you grin every time you take her for a spin. Happy Motoring and do keep updating the thread with your experiences.

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations on the new Fiesta. Covered all the parts of the car in great detail with pictures all around. Loved the detailed writeup.

The car looks good all around and the only eye soar is the quality of parts used by Ford. The rusting on cast iron parts is quiet normal. Fuel efficiency of 20 is pure awesome, i guess its almost a norm in all diesel sedan's.

[AutoIndian]

Congratulations MAS once again on your new Fiesta & most importantly getting this thread up & started. This one should have been the most awaited initial ownership experience threads off late.

Though this is your first ownership thread on TBHP, it must be worth reading. Will go through it in details & get back to you in case any queries. Meanwhile enjoy your new ride & keep this thread updated. Wishing you many many happy (s)miles with your new car.

[ajay_satpute]

Congratulations once again. Finally the thread is up and running.

Did you ever mention it to the dealer and/or Ford regarding replacing the car? What was their response?

You say cost cutting is evident, but the car is so damn expensive already, how can they do cost cutting. I can accept the glaringly visible cost cutting in the Etios siblings, but those are priced correctly, so you can't complain. The quality is atrocious in the new Fiesta, totally un-Ford like. Even the 4 lakh Figo has better interiors and non-rusted parts.

All said and done, as long as you are happy driving the Fiesta, nothing else matters.

Wishing you lots of happy miles/gallon with the Fiesta.

Please keep posting more and more pics.

Cheers!