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Originally Posted by Poitive Finally I managed to pen down the Test Drive report. It ended up being a LOT longer than I had imagined, so hope you have patience to read it.
As mentioned before, have put it up on the Driven! thread.
Link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2441565
PS: It starts with the Driven and Felt report I had posted here and then from the next post it comes to the day one actually did the TD. |
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Originally Posted by KPS Thanks Positive for your report.
I guess the deal breaker for the NFF will be its pricing. Frankly considering both Petrol and Diesel cars between the ANHV, Vento, ANHC & NFF, it will boil down to how one individually feels about the car. For the common man the family takes the decision and as a package these cars suit most requirements of a family. However as Indians we have seen that premium pricing will have limited takers especial if the family does not perceive any justification of the paying the higher price.
Cheers
KPS |
You are welcome, KPS. In Petrol the ANHC seems to be the most sensible buy (limited thought applied to the petrol), especially after the price cut. In Diesels, my favourite by a HUGE margin is the Optra Magnum, though it would lack the 'newness' valued by many.
About the deal breaker issue, will put down some thoughts on the NFF below.
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Originally Posted by Fusion2006
Looks
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Sitting inside the car (Titanium Plus), I immediately just felt that it was too small for me. I don't know if is the dark coloured interiors, or the wraparound feeling from the dashboard and seats, or the shape compared to my Fusion, or what?
Tried sitting in the back, and was appalled at how cramped it felt (I'm 5' 11''). I have been in the back of any number of Ford Fiesta (classic) taxis, and never felt this way, is the NFS really bigger than the car it replaces? |
To me (am 6'), the knee room in front felt a LOT better than the Fiesta Classic. After adjusting the seat for acceptable knee room in front, I could not even enter the Classic. Had to move the seat about 2-3 steps just to get in. With the NFF, I had to move it one step to get acceptably get in. So, in my experience the NFF is bigger.
BTW, the NFF seemed much smaller to me in pics, than in real life.
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Though this may be because I have a dual SIM phone?
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Don't know how this is supposed to be. Are ALL phones meant to work with all bluetooth enabled ICE/Cars? I expect there would be some limitations based on Operating systems of phones. The common ones I'd expect to work would be: iphone, blackberry, android, windows mobile; possibly even (standard?)java based ones.
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The TD itself was fine. This is the first time I've ever driven a diesel car, and really couldn't make out much difference except maybe for a bit of engine noise when starting off.
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That is a huge compliment to Ford!
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Sales guy said the GC is only 156 mm - maybe that's why it's not mentioned on the spec sheets!
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Any clarification on the GC of this car? It was meant to be increased from the international model by using higher profile tyres or something. 156mm may be of the international model.
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Looked in the boot and before I could ask, sales guy says the spare is only 14 inches. He says it is smaller, so that customers should only use it as a temporary until the puncture is fixed. Uhhh...if you just gave me a normal 15 inch alloy like the other ones, then it wouldn't matter would it?
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If that were the reason, they could give a normal rim 15" wheel!
Given this is meant to be a drivers car, how would using a smaller rimmed tyre affect one on a highway trip?
I for sure would hate to be using a setup on a hill/highway drive where I know I am running on a compromise on tyres (or brakes for that matter). And why? Because Ford wants to ensure that I put the spare back in the boot? Yikes!
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Asked the salesperson how many bookings they have had for the NFF
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When I had asked, the chappy said that he was absent yesterday and hence had no idea!!!
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Seems like the Ford marketing chaps are expecting to sell cars on word of mouth only?
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For that, they should at least have taken out an all out drivers car!! Then it could have sold through word of mouth within the community.
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All the gadgets, Pull Drift Compensation and other whizbang stuff are cool, but the interior size somehow felt too small for me - and if I have to trade in my Fusion for a new car worth upwards of 11 Lakh, I want it to feel like a step up, not a step down!
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TD the forgotten car - Optra Magnum (Hey, I say that
yet again!!!)
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Perhaps some business management guru will write this up as a MBA case study for how not to launch a new car in India.
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![Uncontrollable Laughter](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/uncontrollable laughter.png)
Good one mate! And that happens after the success of the Figo!!
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As for my own plans on buying a new car, here are the options I now am looking at:
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3. Spend a bit more and go for a Chevrolet Cruze!
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Curze is meant to have an upgrade soon. So if you buy it just before the launch, you could save a hefty packet. The cabin of the current one is a bit of an issue though. With a tyre upgrade, I expect this one to be even better to drive. Is so much fun on the highway - right foot depressed 2" = overtaken the next car!!! LOL
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Originally Posted by Surprise Yeah, Diesel version. But not Fiesta Classic, its Fiesta SXI at the price of Classic with few more freebies.
2k cancellation charges :(...SE told me multiple times there wont be any cancellation charges at the time of booking. Let me see the outcome. |
1. Congrats Surprise. Wishing you many many happy and fun filled miles ahead. Even though I wasn't very regular on the thread, I appreciated the links you brought in and the comments you added; rather even so in the older NFF thread. Appreciate you effort to share with the community.
2. From what was mentioned in the Spacious Diesel Sedans thread, if you push for it rightly, one should not get charged anything for cancellation (not talking finance charges, in case you went in for that). Rather, when one thinks of it, they should be giving us interest!! (IIRC it was a discussion between bansal98 and khoj)
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Some thoughts on the NFF (after that TD etc).
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As I had expressed before, Ford may have priced the NFF keeping in mind that they don't want to be seen as a
Sub-Hyundai brand. More so keeping in mind the launches they have lined up for India.
Where they
probably goofed up was in not getting the 1.6 engine. When I am looking back a few days after the TD, this car has many things going for it for someone who enjoys driving. Where it IS a letdown is, especially considering the price is, that it is not quick enough to make it a truly fun to drive car.
Had the 1.6 motor been there, it would have been a different story. A totally different story. The price premium may have made sense. If one thinks of a family which doesn't have particularly tall people using the car often (that should account for a very large part of Indians), it actually works well.
The rear bench experience is better than the Fluidic in such a case (visually less claustrophobic, better seats).
Also, the car feels a LOT more solidly put together, has comparable gadgetry, a LOT better to drive, even more so on at higher speeds/on the highway/on the hills; it also feels a lot safer to drive.
Now the question in many people's mind is - Fluidic, Linea or NFF and maybe the ANHC (people usually forget the Optra!). With a 1.6 motor, this one could have made a very strong case for itself. It would have outscored the Linea for most people, despite the Linea's steering feedback. Fluidic would mainly score on more legroom and A$$, with most other big points going to the NFF. Vento would have been a tough one, but I suspect, many would have preferred the NFF (partially due to the Vento's cabin/feature list).
With the current 1.5 NFF it seems like an average car on many fronts and really doesn't 'thrill enough' either, and hence as an overall package.makes a VERY poor case for it'self.
After the price shock settling down and the TD taken,
the bigger letdown seems to be the smaller engine than the price really.
As it has been said before (including by, yours truly) If only Fiat had better A$$ and a 1.6 motor on it's Linea, it had a killer of an opportunity.
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Originally Posted by swiftnfurious Team-bhp should start some comparo reviews also. Would be nice to have couple of cars compete with each other. Basically I found this review to be neat and pretty much aligned with team-bhp review. |
Aah yes! That would be useful.
In the meantime, we could do a bit of it ourselves, possibly at the Driven! thread
(linked on the top of this post)