[arun1100]

2012 Ford Fiesta Classic

The Ford Fiesta was first launched in India in 2005. After a successful run in the Indian market, the new Global Fiesta was launched in 2011. Ford India then launched the previous gen Fiesta as Fiesta Classic. The Fiesta Classic was marginally successful in the Indian car market. The production of the Fiesta Classic was stopped in September 2015.

Powered by Naturally Aspirated 1600cc 101PS Petrol engine with Hydraulic power steering for the sheer driving pleasure!

This thread is about the long term ownership experience of our Ford Fiesta Classic CLXI.

[arun1100]

Ford Fiesta Classic - Buying Experience!

Back in 2012, my Dad and me were looking forward to buy a sedan for our family outings. We owned a Maruti Alto and Mauti 800 cars at home for our daily use. Being a Classic FIATs owner, the FIAT Linea was a top contender for the next car at home. Along with this, the other options considered were the Ford Fiesta Classic and Nissan Sunny. Since we were keen on purchasing a decently powerful petrol car, Linea's 1.4 seemed under powered and T-Jet was out of budget. On test driving the Nissan Sunny, the car drive quality seemed very ordinary. Since Dad's official car was a Fiesta Diesel, he was keen on the Fiesta, but the petrol.The new Global Fiesta was launched by then, but again, like the T-Jet, it was out of our budget of 8 lacs. The right Ford Sedan that would fit in our Budget was the Ford Fiesta Classic CLXI Petrol, which is the mid variant.

My parents, nieces and me went to the dealer - Metro Ford, close to our home in Bangalore. Considering the positive reviews I had read about the Fiesta petrol in Bhpian vnabhi's Fiesta ownership thread and also in the Steering feel and feedback thread, I was confident that the Fiesta would be the right buy. Also, my Dad's official car was the Fiesta Diesel, hence we were quite familiar to the Ford/ Fiesta. In the showroom, we just checked out the Fiesta Classic, the variants, prices and even without a second thought or a test drive, we went ahead and booked the car.

The variant we decided upon was the mid variant CLXI. This variant is without the Airbags and ABS although I now wish we had bought the top end SXI for safety reasons. The Ford came home a week after the booking and payment was done. Regarding the color, in 2012, there were many Fiesta Cabs on the road in white and silver color and hence we decided to go for a different lighter shade. Since I like sober colors the shade namely - Chill metallic was finalized which is kind off like light pista green. Freebies we got were fog lamps, small hub caps which used to come on the base variant of Figo and set of mats.

Family members checking out the Classic at the Showroom.







The on-road price in Bangalore was 7.71 lakhs as seen in the price list below.





Some brochures we got in the showroom.





Here's a brochure of the Autocar Ford Fiesta Cross Country Drive. For viewing pleasure!

















Here are the first set of pics I clicked when we got the car home.







The Fiesta joined our garage which included 1991 Premier Padmini, 1990 Premier Padmini, 2003 Maruti 800 and 2006 Maruti Alto.

[arun1100]

Fiesta Classic Ownership

Important tech specs of Fiesta 1.6 Petrol:
- 1600cc \ 101PS
- Hydraulic Power steering
- Front two disc brakes, rear are drum
- Turning radius 4.9
- Ground Clearance 168mm

What I liked:
- Responsive petrol engine
- Awesome handling and steering feedback
- Slick Gear shift
- Zero rattles even after 9 years/ 62k kms
- Affordable service and spares cost at authorized service center.

What I didn't:
- Stiff front suspension
- Average ground clearance
- Cost cutting is evident in the interior plastic quality
- Hard clutch from the beginning
- Low FE of 13.5 kmpl on highways even with sedate driving

Duratec Engine:
The punchy Naturally Aspirated 1.6 L petrol engine and the hydraulic power steering makes it a good affordable drivers' car. The engine is smooth, very responsive and revvs freely all the way to its red-line. Ford offered the base variant - Fiesta EXI in 1.4L petrol engine with 68PS power. Glad that Ford provided the full cover for the engine.



Gear and Clutch:
The 5 speed gearbox is very slick with short gear ratios. The clutch travel is medium, however, feels very heavy. My Fiesta is still running on the factory fit Clutch assembly; though I feel, changing the clutch assembly might enhance the overall driving pleasure.

Suspension, Handling:
The suspension feels stiff while driving in the city and feels good at highways. You will always feel the undulations of roads on to the steering due to the good steering feel and feedback. The car is very stable even at 150 kmph. I have upgraded the stock Goodyear tyres to Yokohama Earth 1. The tyres are softer and gives much better comfort than the Goodyears.

Steering:
The hydraulic Steering setup is very precise with Turning radius of 4.9. It is not feather light in parking speeds and rather quite heavy! On the highway, the steering weighs up sufficiently and is a joy to use. The Fiesta is best enjoyed in those curvy roads!!


AC:
The AC is quite a chiller. In Bangalore, during daytime, I normally keep the blower speed in 2 and blower speed 1, in the night. Only when we visited places like Mangalore, there was a need to keep the blower speed in 3 or sometimes 4.

NVH:
The noise insulation from engine is good. The tyre noise of the Yokohama tyres are lesser compared to the stock tyres but they are not too very silent. In the city, the car is pretty silent from inside. But at highways you will get engine noise inside the cabin though there is absolutely no vibration throughout the rpm range.

Braking:
My Fiesta being the mid version, has no ABS. There are no rear disc brakes too. The braking performance has improved greatly after upgrading the tyres.In short, the brakes are adequate but not extra-ordinary.

Fuel Efficiency:
Driven around 62k kms in 9 years, mostly on the highways, here is the fuel efficiency figures with 100% AC calculated in tank full method. The fuel efficiency vary vastly depending on the driving style. Normally I drive within 90-100 kmph range. In this scenario, the average fuel efficiency I have got is approximately 13 to 14 kmpl. Spirited driving drops the efficiency to around 12 kmpl range. In the City, I usually get around 8 to 9 kmpl.

After Sales Service:
Service experience has been fantastic so far. Almost 6 years since the Classic's manufacturing was stopped, there has absolutely been no issue of spare parts availability. The cost of service, labor and spares is very nominal.



Niggles/ Issues:
- Driver side power windows switch console was changed in 2016 as the driver side power window switch stopped working. Had to change the full unit that costed 2k.
- Music System's volume button is cranky since 2017 and the issue persists till today.
- Known issue of rusting beneath both the ORVMs.
- Coolant tank developed crack recently and hence was replaced in the last service.
- Ignition switch went kaput wherein the cranking wasn't happening. Changed the ignition switch and the door lock for about 2.5k.

Ignition set replaced


- OEM GoodYear Tyres developed some issue in the side walls in 2015 when the car's ODO was 35 kms which made the tyres wobble a lot. On raising a concern, GoodYear representative had a look at the tyres at Madhus Tyre Centre and gave voucher of about 10k on pro-rata basis for tyre replacement. All the tyres were replaced with Yokohama Earth1.

Goodyear's Spot Inspection Report for replacement


Yokohama Earth 1 Tyres


Madhu's Tyre Centre


Fiesta Classic Recall:
1. Rear Twist Beam (RTB)
The issue was a potential crack in the RTB which first manifests itself in the form of an abnormal noise from the rear. This part was changed in the A.S.S without any inspection.

2. Power Assisted Steering hose (PAS)
The issue identified was the potential for an oil leak to develop in the PAS hose which could result in potential fumes being emitted from the area causing the leak. It may also be possible for power steering fluid to come into contact with the vehicle’s exhaust components creating a potential for smoke and, in extreme cases, fire. During the recall, this part wasn't changed in my Fiesta with reason cited that there was no leak. A year after the recall, the PAS hose started to leak. I spoke to the service manager about this issue and was agreed upon for the hose to be changed free of cost.

My Fiesta posing along with other Ford cars at the Ford A.S.S during the last service in 2020.

[arun1100]

Interior

Be it the Classics or the newer cars, I like to keep the car in stock condition. The interior features are basic and the plastics quality is hard yet very durable. The color combination used on the dashboard and door pads - black/blue isn't the best one; I would have preferred them in full black.


Simple and clean center console. The music system has Radio, CD and AUX inputs.


Basic multi information Display compared to the current gen cars.


Quite spacious legroom at the front and back.


Rear seats get arm rest and two head rests


Interior color combination of black and blue across Dashboard and Door pads


Boot!

[arun1100]

Memories from various drives

The fond memories of so many drives over all these years is what makes the Fiesta so special to me. Some of those drives were with family, some with friends, and some solo drives. Let me take a trip down the memory lane and share some of those special moments here.

Bandipur - Wife and me on our drive to Ooty for our Honeymoon!


Opposite our farm house


On the way to Mullayyanagiri - highest peak of Karnataka




Mullayyanagiri - highest peak of Karnataka


A lake close to Mulbagal, 100kms from B'lore


Dharmasthala, KA


Temple guest house




Bom Jesus Church, Goa!


Grasslands, 35 kms from B'lore

[arun1100]

Memories & more.. With Fiesta, Family & Friends!

The Fiesta has served all of us very well and shall be part of the garage for long time to come. Hope Ford India continues to make such good cars in future too.

The next car at home will most probably be the new Tata Safari. Fiesta shall continue to be loved and cared along with the 1960 Ambassador, 1991 Premier Padmini and 2017 WagonR.

Here are some pics of the Fiesta with my close ones!

My wife Nandini, daughter Yashna, Fiesta and me!


Fantastic companions for drives and life!


Yeah, Yashna loves her fav car besides the Padmini!


BHPian funkykar (Karthik Makam) - My companion in Classic Cars and highway drives who is also a great friend and mentor!


Ayudha Puja - 2020 | The year when most of the cars at home were unused!


got bhp? Definitely, yes!


Special thanks to Bhpian vnabhi for the great inspiration and his Fiesta ownership thread as a guide for helping me in maintaining my Fiesta in top shape. Bhpians - funkykar and Parag Sachania have supported me numerous times too in the upkeep of Fiesta/ WagonR/ Classics and assisted in route queries, Fastag queries etc. Thank you!

Lets pray and hope the Covid situation gets better soon and we get to enjoy our life with our beloved cars and family like we did earlier. Stay safe & healthy!

Best Regards,
Arun Srinivasan

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Great ownership review, going to our homepage today . Thanks for sharing! From an enthusiast's point of view, this was one of the best sedans sold in India. Compact size (hence chuckability), affordable, lovely engine, pure hydraulic steering and excellent suspension. I have enjoyed driving this car, and that special 1.6S variant too.

[AKSarkar1]

Thanks for sharing this beauty with us! Ford has had their fair share of hits over the years. As enthusiasts, I think we all can agree upon the fact that there are very few cars that age so well and your near-mint example!

I remember the hype that was around various iterations of the car! While I'm no expert on this particular car, if I recall correctly there was one version with an engine option that people would go bananas over. It was like the GT TSI of it's day and still packs a punch after all these years!

[gpadki]

Thanks for sharing!! I have a special place for Fiesta's as i too own a 2006 1.4 Exi. Wow...what a car it is! Everytime i feel i should replace it, i just sit in the car for sometime and it changes my mind

One question i have is, where do you get your car serviced. I haven't had a good experience with some of the Ford dealers in Bangalore.

Enjoy many more miles with this champion!

[Fiestaboy]

Hi Arun,
That's a fantastic ownership review. Wishing many more miles with the beast.

I was actually checking out few Fiesta Petrol's off-late for my family & just realizing from your post that CLXi doesn't have ABS too. Thankyou for that info. I was aware that it doesn't have air bag but missed this point during my checks. Thankyou for that eye-opener.

[chinmaypillay]

Great ownership review. Figo and Fiesta were some of the cars which actually had a soul. Great chassis, handling and drivability. Still miss my old Figo diesel which was my first car

Looks young, do keep for long time and enjoy. Add to that, you have an enviable garage. 1.6 petrols are quite rare even in the used market, good to hear the spares are not an issue.

[mohitchalla]

My first car was a Fiesta 1.4 diesel. Absolutely loved it! Not of the cars that I have owned since the Fiesta has handled as well. My specific variant did not have ABS and airbags, which is why I decided to let it go. I still miss that car.

[Highh5]

Fantastic review and thread. Thanks for sharing this wonderful ownership review.
If there is any one car from the past which I would like to own then it would be Figo/Classic twins.

I had a really good time on my friends Figo around 2012-2014, one of the best driving dynamics this car has, no doubt about it. That hydraulic steering and that perfect suspension will make you glide over bad roads. Still miss driving that car or say I have not come across any car with such great driving dynamics after driving Figo, your ownership report does take me back in time.

[drive1987]

Oh my my my!!!
This is pure coincidence..
My name is Arun too...
I too live in Bangalore...
And, I drive the exact same car! It's a 2010 Fiesta 1.6 DuraTech motor. 72K done will date.









Arun, I think once this COVID-19 weakens and we all get back to our normal lives, we should definitely catch-up!

Regards,