[Surprise]

Fantastic

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Other Points

• The Fiesta is available in eight colours: Diamond White, Moondust Silver, Sea Grey, Chill, Morello, Panther Black, Squeeze and Kinetic Blue.

Chill

Morello

Squeeze

No Red color?

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The one circling highway on-ramp that I flung her into had the passenger in my car making more noise than the tyres. That’s a fairly positive indicator for road holding.

With a tyre upgrade that would be a big plus

Originally Posted by GTO

Driving enthusiasts though will be headed the sweet Linea T-Jet / torque-monster Vento diesel way.

In terms of high speed stability & handling, where will be FiestaD placed when compared between LienaD & VentoD not taking into the account of engine specs

[dkaile]

Excellent excellent review.

But don't you thing the font style on the a/c display and the center screen look just hideous?

[MandarMax]

Thanks for the detailed review Rehaan! I think the wait was worth it.

One question I have is, how does the 1.5L petrol compare to the 1.4L petrol engine from the old Fiesta EXI? All the comparisons are related to the 1.6 motor, which I have not driven, so not able to understand exactly how good or bad the new engine is in comparison to the 1.4L engine.

I find the 1.4 motor of my fiesta quite peppy and I feel it is adequate for the city traffic, though for highway I need to down shift frequently if I have to overtake quickly. Not sure how much step up the new engine is.

[pawan_pullarwar]

For me, it look like another very basic, different looking car with slightly better handling from Ford. It does not have any exciting offer unlike its competitors, e.g. Fluid offering 6 speed manual gear box and automatic in diesel variant. Vento has a better powerful diesel engine, rear AC vent etc.

Ford has to priced it well lower than Fluid or Vento, than only it will make sense to go for Fiesta.

[vasanthn21]

If I am to use the car in city, more so with a petrol version, the "classic" is a better option because of:
1. Softer suspension -> more comfortable ride in city
2. 1.6 L engine -> easier to drive in the stop and go city traffic

So, the Kinetic Fiesta is attractive only if I buy Diesel... am I right?

Have to say: Fantastic review.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

PS: A noob question, How does cruise control work without automatic gears? Would it be possible to set cruise control at 40kmph in 4th gear and then change to 5th, would cruise control still work.

It holds your speed until you hit the clutch or the brake.
If you do hit the clutch / break (this includes gear changes) - it turns off, but you can resume at the earlier set speed by pressing the RESume button.

Originally Posted by Jammy28

Given the traffic condition in India, is it really usable in our roads?

I've used cruise control on several occasions on India (eg. a relaxed drive back to bombay on the mumbai-pune expressway, after a long day of reviewing a car). Assuming that there isn't too much traffic, and that its flowing uniformly, it works well. Especially useful for people who travel inter-city regularly.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

What happens in a collision, when the driver and front passenger are unconscious, and the rear passengers want to get out?

Just to be clear - passengers cannot LOCK the rear doors themselves, but rear passengers certainly CAN unlock and open the door, even when they are locked (unless if child-lock is on).

Originally Posted by Jammy28

3. Is the 15" tyre adequate? Would you recommend a tyre upgrade?

A 195 section on 15" rims is a very good stock size, Ford has not skimped on this at all. I'd expect the non-alloy version/s to be running 185s though.

Originally Posted by 2cents

2. Do you have a picture with the rear door windows down as far as they go. I think this is the only car in the segment with this -ve.

This is not an actual picture, but its a pretty accurate representation. (I remember clearly that the point/corner of the glass that meets the top right of the frame in the pic, rolls down to be in-line with the window sill)

Originally Posted by libranof1987

wouldn't the indicator not be so easily visible to the following vehicles; they are positions almost on the side panels.

The wide angle might be fish-eye-ing that shot a little. They are very visible (we did a lot of convoy driving and indicating - it was never an issue).

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Another benefit to the Indian consumer due to 1.5litre engine is in reduced Insurance premium (3rd party), since the current rates are skewed against 1.6litre engines - see below :

Awesome. Thanks again.

More replies later...

cya
R

[rlakhanpal]

@Rehaan : Great review, thanks!

If we throw Fiesta Classic (they are still selling it, have driven a reliable and well-performing unit, people say the spares are getting cheaper too) in the price war, where do you see the new Fiesta (do we have a short code for this too - NFF)?

If a prospective buyer wants to spend beyond the Classic, what (besides the urge to please Uncle Sam) pulls them towards the NFF (away from NHV, Vento)? What do you see happening -

1. New model getting over-shadowed by the outgoing one in a price conscious market, resulting in the Classic being pulled off the market.
2. Classic prices slashed further to make some gap with the NFF
3. Nothing happens - NHV and Vento rule and we see NFF ver. 1.1 within this year, with the current lot carrying "Special Edition" badges?

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

4. Traction Control

Traction Control!?

Dont remember reading anywhere about TC in the New Fiesta globally! Correct me if I am wrong!

[rajeshsundaram]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The least flattering angle by far. High tail-lamps leave a lot of dead space below

Here is my attempt in Photoshop. Pushed the rear-light assembly down, added a round-stop-lamp for sportiness and a black-scoop in the rear-bumper to reduce the bulkiness/tall-ness.

[MaserQ]

Ford please spruce up the door panels before launch. Even the Ikon had fabric inserts on door panels when launched all those years ago. And no rear cabin light? Come on!

Full marks for offering ABS and airbags on all variants. This should become the norm across the segment. VW please note.

[desideep]

saw the car last night at the harpreet ford gurgaon

[Aragorn]

First up, excellent review and 5-star worthy! Thanks Rehaan!

Despite all the bickering about a powerful engine here on the forum, I am sure Ford has done their homework before arriving at this decision. Since small Ford engines are inherently not as efficient as the ones byJapanese , they have de-tuned it and offered taller gearing to match / beat the segment benchmark (read AHNC).

And as for the argument about trying to provide everything for everyone, I find it hard to agree. Clearly, Ford have stayed true to their strong points (driving finesse) while they have had to improvise on their not-so-strong areas (fuel efficiency). Business logic always rules and this is indeed a smart move by Ford.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

To be honest, i did not get a chance to press the TA button, but i would guess it stands for something other than "Time Alignment".

Perhaps someone else could answer this for us....
cya
R

And as for the TA symbol, as Mustang pointed out, it means Traffic Announcement. FM channels in Europe use this seperate channel to announce traffic alerts (and sometimes ads as well). When the user switches on TA, the tuner jumps from the playing station to the traffic announcement channel (frequency jump) and then jumps back to the station once the announcement ends. This is popular in Europe and a normal feature on most radios.

[PearlYamaha]

Very nice write up Rehaan and detailed pictures too.

Looks like Ford had completed its transition to mass market with the new Fiesta, which it started with Figo. I am sure 1.6S will become the most sought after car in the used car market, as the new Fiesta P is no match to that.

With the PSI powerbox my 4 year old Fiesta D churns out around 80+bhp. I think it will take one more generation (of Fiesta) to break the ton mark.

[souravc]

Fantastis review Rehaan , awesome attention to details - thank you ! Rated 5 stars .. seems like other moderators like GTO have stiff competition to deal with Good for us , just like for those are buying sedans today

I am a bit confused by the positioning of the car though - if it's going to be positioned as a driver's car (enthusiast's car) IMO the heart of the car should have been a more powerful one and the gearing could not have been tall . The comments in a few other reviews that "the chassis begs for a more powerful engine" was a bit of a giveaway . Its rear seat characteristics makes it obvious that Ford does not want to pamper the person who is being driven around. I guess that ANHV does a much better job of appealing to all .

I have also noted the expectation of "killer" pricing on the forum - with the features ( safety, add-ons, etc) thats on offer + expectation of making profits I think Ford is walking a very tight rope. The competition ( Vento , re priced ANHC, ANHV) are all priced in a tight range , given today's input costs I don't expect Ford to price it much cheaper, if at all . I do not think Ford would relish the prospect of wading in "Maruti" waters

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Traction Control!?

Dont remember reading anywhere about TC in the New Fiesta globally! Correct me if I am wrong!

It is present in the fiesta in the UK and also in the US in selected variants. It goes by the name of ESP.