Team-BHP - Ford Fiesta Classic Spotted. EDIT : Now launched!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2845128)

Short-term vs Long-Term Gain.

1. Credibility : The next time Ford brags about fuel-efficiency, no one's going to take it at face value.

2. Over-Promising : Customer reads 21 / 32 kpl (petrol / diesel). When he gets only 10 / 15 kpl in the real world, he's going to whine.

Exactly! Short term gains may be more at the moment but it will surely put a dent in Ford's image and the customer might refuse to believe.

After the Fiesta Classic vs. New Fiesta confusion, Ford has brought confusion to the minds of the consumer as to whether this is ARAI mileage.

Customer will also start rating the product as poor or complain constantly saying it doesn't deliver as advertised. ARAI FE + or - 5 to 6 kmpl is what we expect in real life. But a difference of 12 kmpl assuming the Classic gives 20kmpl on highways will only put a negative image in the mind of the ill informed buyer who doesn't know about ARAI. Word of mouth spreads and in the end Ford's image takes a big beating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ganesc (Post 2845906)

his soon? I dont think Ford will think of replacing a competitive sedan space with an expensive hatch. They just don't have anything to compete with cheaper sedans.

I am not entirely sure but a senior official in Ford Credit is who passed this info on to me. Might not be entirely true.

Cheers,
K

Why so much is discussed about the ford ad??
I have noticed that it is clearly mentioned that mileage figures are from autocar.
I remember Chevrolet doing the same when Beat D was released. Remember it published ads stating "India's most fuel efficient diesel hatch". In the truth, it was Indica eV2 which had that crown according to ARAI figures.
But again chevrolet stated at the bottom of the page with font size 1 that "autocar hatchback comparision" or something.

Quote:

Fords Quoting Autocar figures is probably to take on Tata Indigo eCS Autocar Mileage Endurance Run. With the Ford Classic, Ford might be wanting to pull in some of the Indigo eCS customers.

I don't think so because respective diesel models are couple of lakhs apart.

Feel the fiesta is one example of a car where the company has done good by retaining the older model and in fact improving the value proposition over time. They of course did not use their brains while pricing the new fiesta.

That said the fiesta classic is a superb vehicle and the only negative for me was the absence if features in the better priced as well as top end varients. They seem to be taking care of that. Great.

As far as the kmpl bit in the advt is concerned they should not have tried that and it is definately misleading for many. Many -the common man- would not even know the difference in ARAI and ACI abbreviations and would be disappointed with the real world kmpl.

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Originally Posted by Guna (Post 2846383)

In fact this (32.38 kmpl) is not even ACI tested figure! They (ACI and Ford) have achieved this figure in an attempt to extract maximum mileage, which is far from FE in real life conditions.
Here are the quoted figures from ACI:
City driving conditions: 14.1 kmpl
Highway Conditions: 18.3 kmpl
ARAI figure: 20 kmpl

This 32.38 has been achieved with the sole intention to extract maximum FE by driving without AC (not even blower!), not exceeding 60 kmpl, not using the brake much etc etc, and they will be totally misleading the buyers by saying it is a ACI quoted figure.

32.38 kmpl is the average mileage of 20000 km run across india. They got more than 40 kmpl in some route and 27 kmpl in some routes. 32.38 kmpl is average of it. They have done cross country drive for fiesta 2 times and for ikon once. Check out this link for more details..

http://www.india.ford.com/servlet/Bl...lob&blobkey=id

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Originally Posted by SMK (Post 2843727)

If they had to advertise, talk about the driver oriented car, talk about the smooth 1.6 mill which will smoke a lot of the contemprories, talk about driving through the curves at higher speeds, talk about planted feel and handling, talk about the quality of the spares, interiors! Why lie on fuel efficiency!?!? Why Ford Why!!!:Shockked:

Yes, exactly. I too have noticed that Ford has been playing some "hide and seek" about the 1.6 petrol! May be they do not want to claim that the older Fiesta has a greater petrol engine than the new 1.5L one! Even the "1.6" badge at the boot-door has been removed once it is renamed Fiesta Classic. Didn't that work to catch up with Verna, etc earlier and even now? The Verna still shows the badge at the back "1.6" in italicised style! In fact, except Vento, Verna, T-Jet and Rapid, which one has got a 1.6 engine in petrol in the segment and even in the lower one? Look at Linea, SX4 and so on.

Alternatively Ford could have introduced a still better variant in the older generation with auto-climate control, leather upholstery, USB port, driver arm-rest, reverse sensor, and so on. Not sure about its success, but I myself have felt that these are required at least in one variant if you sell the vehicle above for above 9L. The justification for this has been that the top-end SXIs are still being sold in good number for 9.6L in places like Lucknow, and it still looks decent in diamond white and moondust silver, and fantastic in panther black and sea-grey. Morello would have been a very good addition (this existed earlier).

Vipin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnjojo08 (Post 2847823)

32.38 kmpl is the average mileage of 20000 km run across india. They got more than 40 kmpl in some route and 27 kmpl in some routes. 32.38 kmpl is average of it.

It is clearly mentioned in the report about driving for economy.

Quote:

Going flat-out on open stretches of highway was hard to resist, but we all held our nerves and maintained a constant speed. This meant that we had to carefully plan our overtaking maneouvres in advance before actually doing so.

...

Gravity did its part for fuel economy too.

But, however way one drives, we cannot ignore the fact that the average of 32 kmpl was obtained from a 20000 km drive. Which would surely have had high and low times with respect to economy, unlike a 200-500 km highway drive where the fuel economy can be maximized.

Going by our FE thread, we have reports of the TDCI returning 18-21 over the highways. Is there anything else that we have to read between the lines of the ACI report?

I don't see why others too can't do such a test and come up with decent numbers. The major grouse I have with the ad is that they should have mentioned Autocar India instead of just ACI, which could be mistook for another certifying agency by the aam admi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 2850111)

Going by our FE thread, we have reports of the TDCI returning 18-21 over the highways. Is there anything else that we have to read between the lines of the ACI report?

The major grouse I have with the ad is that they should have mentioned Autocar India instead of just ACI, which could be mistook for another certifying agency by the aam admi.

In July 2011, Ford had published a booklet with glossy colour pictures of two Fiestas taken on a cross country ride. I have kept this book-let inside my vehicle, since it gives interesting information regarding the vehicle as well as the roads and dhabas. It was basically a collection of those pages published in the Autocar magazine about this cross-country ride. It is in that book-let that they claimed this FE. I think they did not use AC throughout, either in the petrol or in the diesel version that they took for the drive. However, I will check and let you know.

Vipin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar (Post 2851201)

I think they did not use AC throughout, either in the petrol or in the diesel version that they took for the drive.

I guess it is the same given in the link in a post above? Of course, the drivers in the report have mentioned that they were instructed on driving for economy. So putting on A/C should definitely be out of the question.

What I wanted to know if the report itself was adulterated or any other manipulations were done on the vehicle, including fuel additives. But then, it is a matter that the drivers themselves has to confess.

Guys, I am guessing we are taking this ad to too long a distance than required.
These ads have always been part of vehicle marketing gimmicks for the cars. Now dont tell me it isnt. Unfortunately its gone so wild that we have pulled GTO also into the debate. :)

I would agree if they had not quoted ACI anywhere, but since they have mentioned ACI. I guess the buyer's beware clause takes over.

If at all, the figures were not true aka unreliable I am guessing the person to be blamed is ACI for having published some fraudulent information. Ford is just making good marketing out of information publishing in ACI so dont blame them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2845128)

Ford India announces “One Tank. 1500 Kms. One Classic Story” Campaign

Here’s to the much awaited long weekend that has become even more exciting. Ford India is all set to take off on a stimulating journey of 1500 kms in its brand new Classic Titanium on just a tank full! Come 10th August and the campaign will provide a platform for 11 individuals to embark on an amazing drive to live their dreams.
During the course of the drive, each team will be given the recently launched Ford Classic Titanium series with one tank full of fuel —Ford’s highly popular sedan with nine new segment leading features and known for its class leading fuel-efficiency.
These individuals, who have been chosen from various walks of life, will be paired with a cinematographer on their drive to capture all the action. The eight cars with 11 participants will be flagged off from Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai.
A brand that personifies individuals who have a passion and conviction to realize their dreams, the campaign will provide self-driven individuals an opportunity to follow their dreams no matter what the distance. Participating in the drive are magician Sandeep Bali, photographer Priyanka Sachar, Techie Abhishek Baxi, Musicians Gaurav Vaz & Raghu Dixit, food enthusiast/chef Madhu Menon, cricket buffs Rahul Banker & Akash Jain, music/movie buffs Errol Marks & Jaey Gajera and artist Vinod Chandra.
This will be a drive that carries a treasure of creativity and will be captured by budding film makers/cinematographers who will accompany the participants on their pan-India journey to help capture and narrate the participant’s Classic story. The campaign will culminate with a contest offering the opportunity for the cinematographer of the most engaging and popular Classic Story to win a cash prize of Rs 100,000/-
So get to vroom on a single tank for a power pact journey. For more information and latest updates, visit india.ford.com or Facebook/FordIndia

Ford India announces

Although there have been many ownership threads on the Fiesta Classic, there isnt any test drive review from the mods, hence posting in this thread. Mods - a humble request to please move/merge to appropriate thread if required.

Came across this detailed test drive report done by DNA of the new Fiesta Classic Titanium diesel. The report claims a mileage of 20 kmpl in city drive which is truly fantastic.

DNA drive: Ford Classic Titanium, a classic case? - Money - DNA