[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Ford: put the EcoBoost engine in the Fiesta, and I'll trade my EcoSport for one. A DCT will be the icing on the cake.

If only manufactures heard what we typed here!

Come to think of it, India being a neutral market and not much favoritism towards diesel powered cars, don't know what made Food think that the petrol engine would be of no use/wouldn't sell.

Weeny only did they have to offer the diesel heart for it - beats me! Ford lost 50% of its segment market share the moment only diesel was fit-in. Bad move IMO.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Ford: put the EcoBoost engine in the Fiesta, and I'll trade my EcoSport for one. A DCT will be the icing on the cake.

Even the 1.6 Ti-VCT Petrol would do, if Ecoboost is too expensive a proposition. Add DCT and I'm getting the cake...err....car!

[AJ-got-BHP]

Originally Posted by Deepak K Gupta

Ever since I sold of my 2003 Ikon 1.6 I have been yearning for a Ford 1.6. I needed a driver's car so Fiesta 1.6 but everyone around me was screaming dated, dated.What dated, sleek low sporty looking car not like the raised designs of modern designs. Whatever happened to the low,low car designs. I TD'd the New Fiesta Petrol and was very dissapointed with the performance. So finally when I heard the rumor that Ford was going to discontinue the Fiesta/Classic I realised I would never be able to get my hands on a 1.6 Sigma motor. I made up my mind and got a Fiesta Clxi 1.6 and believe me there is no car on the road like it. I have been driving an Alto Lxi for several years just for the convenience of being able to manoeuvre in a city like Kolkata and never found a car that I could drive effortlessly in the city just like a small car. With the Fiesta I feel that I am still driving the Alto just not so with any other sedan. So if you want comfortable believe me there is no other choice.

Hello Deepak Ji,

It's nice to see you on the Forum. And yes your Ford Ikon 1.6 which I bought from you(thanks to the Classifieds on Team-BHP) for my Father In Law is a Fantastic Car. I have not driven for a year now, but yes it still sounds great !

There is nothing that drives & handles like a Ford. Especially the Ikons.......iconic !!

[ampere]

Its also a tricky situation from the macro view. Boost to manufacturing with all the tax goodies (if there) in place will bring good health to the economy and good profit to the company. Thats what a company wants and thats also what the government wants . So what if the company does not sell its products in the home country? Something similar to: Whats wrong if I dont sell cars; I am still selling engines. Money still rolls in. (All know to whom I refer to). The guys who are really bothered are the ones, who want to capture the market. They are the one who will look at strategies of getting new products, what kind of products, what kind of support etc.

My take: These guys are just focussing on export as default model for what is expected out of their India operations. My only worry is if Nissan and VW also go the same route, we will see much lower active participation in the market. (And I think its already happening).

[rednikhil]

Well, in my opinion it's not the marketing or the sales support or the rear bench or the dealers or the weedy petrol engine or the lack of a petrol engine or anything. They simply aren't producing any! They just don't want to produce it, leave alone selling it. It's quite akin to the Honda Jazz case wherein when Honda did put a price correction in place, they actually throttled the production because they were supposedly losing money on it.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Dear BHPians,

This is with reference to all the conversations held till now in the subject matter, I would like to mention a few things as under :

I bought a Ford Ikon 1.4 TDCi (the one with the Fiesta Engine) in 2009 based on the reviews at Team-BHP. This was the last lot Ford rolled out before fazing out the Ikon completely.

Why I bought it ? - I had an Indica V2 DLG 2004 Model in which I did approx 135000kms and was looking for a Hatch for myself when I found out that I was getting The Ford Ikon 1.4 TDCi for Rs.5,75,000/= (On Road Kolkata). I thought to myself that I am getting a Sedan with features that I required for a cheaper than an Indica; why not just test drive the vehicle.

The Test Drive - I was blown away with the power, the handling, the space and the comfort of the car. Booked it up instantly because it was by far the best buy considering all the cars that I had had or have as on date. Peoplein my family had their apprehensions on the Resale Value of the Car; but at that time I seriously could do anything to possess the only American Muscle (type car with a long bonnet and a robust engine) available in India at that point of time.

In 5 Years, I clocked 1,00,000kms on the Ikon and sold off the Car in July 2014 for Rs.1,75,000/= directly to a buyer, again Thanks to the Team-BHP Classifieds. (This is for the critics) Is that a Bad Price ?? This is how my Car looked like a week before I sold it off :












Had done 3 Darjeeling Trips in it. Indefinite business tours all over West Bengal. No such issues with the car at all. It was a car which was and will be very close to my heart always. Now I regret why the hell did I do that

The maintenance and spares issue is just a myth !! Believe me, people who have never driven a Ford will never understand the fun of it !! Also, my Car was under 4 years warranty so hardly had to spend anything over the top for it's maintenance apart from periodical service. Make sure you get a 4 year extended warranty to avoid maintenance issues. I had certain issues with my car though and it all was sorted by Ford on FOC basis. Here is enlisting the same for you :

1.) Electrical Power window Controls - Replaced under warranty
2.) AC HVAC issue where the AC blew Hot Air - Replaced and sorted under warranty on 2 occassions whereas at the 2nd instance the entire AC unit was replaced by Ford
3.) Body Rusting in Boot & Front Doors - Replaced and Painted under warranty by Ford in 4th Year

Ford has centralized warehouses now for parts and it is all transported to various service outlets through Express Courier Services. I have not had to wait for spares or parts at any point of time considering that I was owning a short lived discontinued variant of Ford.

Service at Ford is phenomenal. I would say, the best customer service I have ever experienced. This actually may varu from person to person, dealer to dealer, state to state. I used to get my Car done up at Ganges Ford Kolkata with NO Issues what-so-ever. SO be rest assured. If at all there is any issue created by you dealer, shoot an e-mail to Ford and u'll get VIP treatment henceforth.

Now, once I sold the Ikon, I wanted to buy a hatch back for myself and a sedan for my family members. The love for Ford compelled me to buy the Figo for my Self Drive !! However, I still feel the Ikon was a better drive anyday. However, we were contemplating between the Toyota Etios and the Ford Fiesta (the New One which was just launched then with the Aston Martin type Look on the front) which would be driver driven for my family members.

I Test Drove the vehicle and was blown away yet once again. But, my father was keen on the Etios so did not bother and went ahead and bought the Etios for home.

I enquired with the sales team about the Fiesta as to why does Ford not promote it like the Figo or the Ecosport because it is such a wonderful car compared to it's competitors in the segment ?? Now what they had to say shook me up a little.

They said that the production of the Fiesta is very minimal and that every Ford dealer gets around 12-15 Cars a year only only only.......to sell; in which they get only 1 unit of the base variant per year; which is a decently priced variant with decent features. That was indeed astonishing !!!!

May be the Top Management of Ford has some other plans for the future. May be they are just testing the performance of the Fiesta in order to Launch the Ford Ka and the other models in the pipeline so on and so forth........

But, believe me brother, I go by your decision. If your car is going to be a One Man's Car.........GO FOR THE FORD FIESTA and enjoy the spirit of Motoring !!!!

[Nimz]

Let me add my 2 cents on this as I have also thought a lot about the case of the Fiesta.. The Fiesta (Classic) was what I wanted when I was shopping around for a car in 2011 but thanks to the dealers attitude here in Gurgaon I went with the flow and got the Honda City. But the Fiesta has always been what I wanted.

And now am just hoping and hoping with fingers crossed that Ford launches the new Fiesta with Ecoboost Petrol and DCT and I'd be willing to buy it it a heart beat. (Ford India - are you listening?)

[pravinkenator]

Originally Posted by Nimz

And now am just hoping and hoping with fingers crossed that Ford launches the new Fiesta with Ecoboost Petrol and DCT and I'd be willing to buy it it a heart beat. (Ford India - are you listening?)

My 2 cents as well ! I did test drive the new fiesta and really liked the aston martin lookalike grill ! The NVH level was one of the lowest I have experienced (I drive an Amaze and I know what actual 'NVH' mean !) But, the main issue as GTO has already pointed out was discontinuing the petrol variant and of-course virtual zero market push !

I have a question. Is it true that the ground clearance is 155mm ? This is something which slipped my mind. If it is 155, then its belly should be scrapping every crater and hill on the road !

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by pravinkenator

Is it true that the ground clearance is 155mm ? This is something which slipped my mind. If it is 155, then its belly should be scrapping every crater and hill on the road !

The short version: Ownership reports have indicated that Fiestas don't bottom out easily, they need to be loaded heavily and driven over uncomfortably large speed breakers.

The long version: Don't judge any car just by the numeric ground clearance. The placement of the lowest point of a car is more important than just how low it is. Suspension behaviour also makes a difference.

Imagine the lowest point being furthest from the tire/axle (e.g. midway between the front and rear axle) - it is most likely to hit. On the other hand, something can be low, but it can be in between two wheels on the same axle, or very close to a wheel, which makes it less likely to hit.

Soft suspensions also result in a lower dynamic clearance (as opposed to static/unladen clearance). This is why Citys and Civics often scrape their underbelly.

[Mik]

A punjabi relative of mine was looking to buy a car as he was bored with his Ertiga. I pitched the Fiesta to him and some awesome shots of the car on Whatsapp later, he was hooked and ready to put the money down.

Now here is when perception and Ford conspired together.

1. The Mohali Dealer didn't even have the car and couldn't be bothered about it.
2. The Chandigarh Dealer had a silver one and couldn't be bothered about the white/paprika red/brown car. There was some talk about one car being in Himachal Pradesh if he wanted to check.
3. His elder bro, a hearty stereotypical punjabi simply said " Oh Ford Fiesta, woh toh f***u car hai" ("The Ford Fiesta, its a useless car")

Later on I came to know that the elder bro's perception was based on a beaten down Ikon!
That was it! A Hyundai Verna is now getting ready to do the duty in that household.

[Khushrav]

If ride, handling and good looks were gurantees to success, the Maruti Suzuki cars would have been languishing at the bottom of the sales charts.

Sadly, in India low upfront cost and space are big contributors to the car buying decision. The Fiesta loses on both counts.

The other problem is that Eco Sport would have cannibalized a lot of sales due to it's styling (not to my taste) and price

[Amarkarthi]

This reminds me of the days when I had to finalise my choice on the Figo diesel exactly 15 months back. There is no doubt that Ford has some of the meanest machines in the sub-continent but their poor market understanding coupled with the worst selection of players in Sales and Service network is killing them in the country. It's really high time that Ford has to unlearn things and revisit their strategy on becoming a competitive player in the Indian scenario rather than spoiling the value of greatly engineered products.

[noopster]

Nice thread.

There is a joke in the Support team that any car I review doesn't sell .

On a serious note though, I think some focused promotion and advertising of the facelift Fiesta is long overdue. There's no point in not chasing the mass market in the C segment. Enthusiasts will continue to love the ride and handling of a Ford vehicle but the company is missing out on a golden opportunity here. And launching the petrol (preferably the EcoBoost) and a DCT variant is absolutely critical. The stories of indifference from Ford dealers regarding the Fiesta are also alarming to hear, and are not going to help Ford's cause any.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by noopster

launching the petrol (preferably the EcoBoost) and a DCT variant is absolutely critical. The stories of indifference from Ford dealers regarding the Fiesta are also alarming to hear, and are not going to help Ford's cause any.

When VW is able to sell the Vento TSI DSG at close to 13lakhs, Honda is able to sell the City CVT Petrol at 14 lakhs and VW is now selling a TDI DSG at 14.4Lakhs what is Ford thinking???

They have a wonderful 1.0L ECoboost engine with 125PS power and a 6 speed DCT sweet shifting box. Plonk this combo in the Fiesta chasis and you have a practical fun to drive automatic. Get the MT as well.

Infact Malaysia already has this combination already!! Come on Ford.

When you already have a potent fuel efficient engine then why dilly dally.

The Fiesta Diesel is around 12 lakhs on road. Ecoboost will probably be 40-50K lower at 11.5 on road. Add the 1.2 lakh premium for DCT and you get onroad 12.7L bangalore for top end Fiesta.

The Ford Figo, everytime I have some time on my hand I ask my friend at the Ford dealership to give me a test drive. it's such a wonderful car. on the other hand the fiesta has design pedigree but is the price worth it? especially once you have driven the Vento on the road down the Konkan coast (thank you Dad :-))