[AbhishekE]

What a gem of a post!

The new Fiesta is truly a spectacular car and probably one the most underrated cars in the market today.

@deetjohn
Was White colour in your mind? I adore the Blue and Bronze more personally.

[dhanushmenon]

Awesome write up there deet with fantastic snaps as well. The report is quite informative with truck load of information. I am sure your thread will serve as useful as a buying guide for everyone who is contemplating buying the 'Feast' of the Blue Oval. Being a fellow member who owns a smaller brother of Fiesta from the Ford stable, boy I know what you are talking about when it comes to handling. I don't even glance across to the XUV when I need to go for a good involving drive. Its hard to beat a Ford in handling. I am sure all of us agree to that.

Naveen.raju seems to have learnt the quips and tricks of a DSLR pretty quickly. Good show there naveen. Ofcourse, the prowess of vaisakhr is well known, so do I need to amplify further?
Great snaps there guys. How much I wish I could go for a long drive like the one to Munnar (sigh).

I think I am drifting OT here and let me caress it down before I get mulled down. Keep the thread updated and keep up the good work.

[rangarx]

Congratulations on your proud jewel my friend! One of my close friends was car hunting and I suggested this steed for him and as you wrote, he was immediately smitten and just could not think anything other than the car. Now proudly owning one.

IMHO, the bests of Fiesta are,

1. The best driver's car, neck to neck with Linea T Jet
2. Big 3 like NVH, especially road noise isolation. When you shut the doors, that's it. Outside world is just muted.

I wish you many many happy kilometers with this gem of a vehicle. I plan to own one sometime soon!

[dchahal]

One of my close friend gave me a hint that he is planning to change his 67k run Dzire soon. As I got to know his intentions, I took this opportunity to let him drive some of the finest cars available for enthusiasts under 15 lac. He is sort of a guy who think only Maruti and Hyundai know that how to build cars. As for the uninitiated its always better to drive than giving the stats from the world, I gave him the stick. Till now we drove latest Fiesta Titanium 1.5 TDCI and 2015 Fiat Linea Emotion 1.3 Multijet. Linea T-jet will be coming any day next week.

We both liked the Fiesta beyond our expectations and after Fiesta the Linea felt very basic in every aspect. The seats in Fiesta Titanium deserve a special mention and best we experienced till now. The brakes, steering, suspension, cruise control were all just too good. This car feels compact while driving in comparison to Linea. The sales guy who came with the car was a new chap with a couple of years of experience and crammed lines from brochures, he even had no idea about the GC of the car and continued to say it has 165mm whereas I was sure it has 156mm. But to my surprise, we took the car to the places where there were no roads and big potholes but this car didn't scrape even once with 4 onboard. Its very sad to see a very nice product dying a slow death. If I will have any plan in near future to get a sedan, for sure its gonna be a Fiesta.

[fireblade007]

Can you post a pic of your owners manual showing details of periodic maintenance? What are the intervals at which engine oil, oil filter,fuel filter ,coolant, transmission oil, brake fluid, timing belt/chain to be changed? I am driving a sx4 diesel which is having the shortest intervals for parts replacement, I think.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by fireblade007

Can you post a pic of your owners manual showing details of periodic maintenance? What are the intervals at which engine oil, oil filter,fuel filter ,coolant, transmission oil, brake fluid, timing belt/chain to be changed? I am driving a sx4 diesel which is having the shortest intervals for parts replacement, I think.

The 1.5 TDCi equipped Fiesta only requires a oil + oil filter change every 10k kms and as Ford uses semi synthetic oil, the cost of this job is under 2k. Air filter, brake fluid and cabin ac filter require replacement at 20k intervals. Diesel filter requires replacement at 30k intervals whereas the coolant is long life one till 1 lakh kms. The gearbox oil has no replacement interval specified so i think it is a sealed unit.

Maruti has pretty conservative intervals with coolant (20k), fuel filter (20k), brake fluid (20k) and even gear oil ( 40k) having short replacement intervals, do not know about SX4 but for some strange reason, they do even supply Swift's with a cabin ac filter (20k interval) installed from factory.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by joelchandra

Many folks i spoke to always compared buying a Honda City or Ciaz instead of a fiesta. The pure logic is that Honda/Maruti are more reliable.

I had some in my family too ask me why we picked the Fiesta instead of a City Diesel or a Duster. LOL

Originally Posted by AbhishekE

@deetjohn
Was White colour in your mind? I adore the Blue and Bronze more personally.

The blue is not available for sale sadly. Only some cars given to the media for review was in that brilliant shade, T-BHP included.

I had a tough time selecting the colour. I took a decision after I saw all the colours in person. Think I have uploaded all the photos in the 'Facelift: A Close Look' thread. Loved black the most, but decided against it due to upkeep. You just can't drive a dirty car in KL, even the taxis will be squeaking clean and black makes dust on the car very evident. I would rather devote that time to keep the interiors clean. White and Silver masks dust very well. But Fiesta looks gorgeous in black.

The red was little too loud, the bronze (brown) looks amazing in sunlight, but looks a bit dull otherwise. Silver was okay, a safe colour for keepers but I really don't like it that much. It was a tough decision between the Smoke Grey and White and finally decided to go with the White.

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

the 'Feast' of the Blue Oval.....

Great snaps there guys.

Nice! Great line there.

And yeah, both boys were more than happy to photograph the Ford. And big thanks to them.

Originally Posted by dchahal

We both liked the Fiesta beyond our expectations and after Fiesta the Linea felt very basic in every aspect...... he even had no idea about the GC of the car and continued to say it has 165mm whereas I was sure it has 156mm. But to my surprise, we took the car to the places where there were no roads and big potholes but this car didn't scrape even once with 4 onboard.

The main problem with Linea is that driving position. I am quite short and I have to assume a not so graceful posture to drive the Fiat. LOL! It just spoils the fun.

And yeah, the suspension amazes me even now. Did an airport run 2 days back with a lot of luggage for an international trip and 4 people. Had to cross a few speed-breakers and a sharp slope but the Ford managed it all very well.

Originally Posted by fireblade007

Can you post a pic of your owners manual showing details of periodic maintenance?

I think coolboy007 had answered all your questions. Will put up a photograph of the manual soon.

[rsm97]

Very well written deetjohn. The effort shows (and impresses).

Just wanted to check if the oil change during first service made any noticeable effect? And how the mileage has moved post 2000km?

Cheers and enjoy the ride.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by rsm97

Just wanted to check if the oil change during first service made any noticeable effect? And how the mileage has moved post 2000km?

No perceivable difference after the oil change. I don't monitor FE tank for each tank fill. Its been mostly steady. Fills the tank when DTE shows 100 KM and the Ford takes in approx. 32 - 34 liters. The trip meter will be around 550 KM. That's about 17 and it was more or less the same average for the Swift too.


And, now some mixed bit of updates.

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

I think ford has got this one all wrong and it's downright stupidity on their part. It's a goof-up by people there and one of the reasons I got when I wanted to extend 3 years to 4 years is that they don;t have a product code only for extending 3 years to 4 years. And this is response from ford after I wrote to them and they took several days to get back to me.

Still, do write a stinker to them on this.

I did write a mail to Ford on the 4th year warranty extension and after a few followups, they have found a way out. But, its very expensive.

Ford says the following -
Cost of extended third and fourth year warranty package: INR 39,348
Cost of extended third year warranty package: INR 14,798 (This, we have paid for already)
So, need to pay INR 24,550 for the 48 M/ 100K KM warranty now. Gulp!

And I am thinking very hard about it. I didn't expect the 4th year coverage to be so expensive, but considering the very low number of cars on road, the kit on the car and the make of most of them, think it makes sense to go for it.



And last week, a Eicher truck tried to take out the right ORVM from the car. Due to Metro construction, the small roads have become narrow now and the cars are a little close to each other in the City. We were standing at the signal and the Eicher came a little too close to the Ford when the light turned green and the cabin hit the right ORVM hard, the mirror got bent forwards and it was going 'BAM', 'BAM', 'BAM' as I watched in horror and stood on the horn. Luckily, the half blind stopped the truck before the ORVM was taken out completely.

I feared the worse but the mirror took the impact well. Nothing was broke and everything was working fine. But the mirror had come off the door a bit. The frame inside the door holding the mirror was bent and had to be fixed. As usual, Rakesh and his team did a fine job and all is well.


The door pad doesn't have to be removed to access the mirror, and thank God for that.

It was a bit uneasy to use the mirror as the outer tip was a little raised from the usual position.

[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The door pad doesn't have to be removed to access the mirror, and thank God for that.

Can't help to prevent these kind of damages, but this can at times become really scary . It happened to my i10. Though we replaced the mirror, the door shell somwhere was bent inside. Even after beating the metal frame to level, in areas which was visibly affected, the door window had a slight creek sound when it rolls up and down - The mirror placement is adjacent to that window channel. I think the channel itself suffered a damage. At least in this vehicle, it looks like the mirror is placed nowhere close to that mechanism. I thought this design of mirror on a separate stick (Linea/Punto too) was more prone to damage, now I get to see the benefit.

One feature I would love to have as a steering mounted control is definitely a panic switch, which will fold in mirrors . I find this regular mirror folding switch unreachable immediately, when we sense danger. Now I am trying to make it a habit to fold it in when I am at a signal. I would then open it back, only when that impatient clutter around us right after the signal turns green is cleared.

[arun_josie]

Superb review and some awesome pics there!
But sad to see the sale numbers, especially for May, it has gone behind Linea. But, you'll feel exclusive on the roads as there will be few Fiestas plying.

The price for extended warranty is really on the higher side. I think, for Linea I paid around 7K for 4th and 5th year.

And I am really surprised that you found it difficult to sell your Swift.

[shk 8896]

Congrats deetjohn on the Fiesta!
Comprehensive review and superb pics. A big applause for the fellow photographers (y). I am always a fan of new Fiesta but sadly, it bombed in the market. Last time when I was in Cochin, I admired a brown Fiesta in my RVM for a long time. Ford has really made a stunning looking car.
Wishing you many #MilesAndSmiles
Sreehari

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by roby.thomas

One feature I would love to have as a steering mounted control is definitely a panic switch, which will fold in mirrors.

I for one do not like auto fold at all. Firstly, the fold beats the purpose as you need mirrors all the time and others keep a fair distance to the car when its parked with the mirror out. And secondly, that electric motor makes the OVRM too expensive to replace. I think in the 3 year ownership of the Swift, I must have folded the mirror only twice. But, in the Fiesta I have to keep them closed and its expensive to replace.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

The price for extended warranty is really on the higher side. I think, for Linea I paid around 7K for 4th and 5th year.

And I am really surprised that you found it difficult to sell your Swift.

Yep, Linea is the VFM king of the segment. Good time for someone who wants to bring a Fiat home.

And maybe I was not clear earlier. I was inundated with calls when we put the advt. for the Swift up. So much so that, I had to switch off my mobile for 2 days. Just that, people didn't find value in ZDi when compared to a VDi and this made deals difficult.

Originally Posted by shk 8896

Last time when I was in Cochin, I admired a brown Fiesta in my RVM for a long time. Ford has really made a stunning looking car.

Yep, have done 3 convoy trips with friends so far and I have heard that before.

Did a small circuit run on Sat with friends.

Ernakulam> Athirapally> Valparai> Aliyar> Kollengode> Thrissur> Ernakulam. The roads were in superb nick all through out and we had a lot of Fun. The bad part was that it didn't rain at all. I have done the same route twice before, and rain makes it magical. The monsoon looks very weak this year.

Amateur photoshoot near Athirapally.


Inside the forest.


One of the best roads in the country. 40 hairpins in total and it was great with the Ford.

[govindremesh]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Yes, either a soft touch on the brake or clutch will disengage cruise control in the Fiesta. Imagine, you are going at 90 KMPH in 5th and if you engage the clutch, say shift to 4th, the rpm will shoot up if cruise control is still on right? I am not sure about how it's on the City.

I didn't try this scenario, but during up shift, the cruise control system waits till I release the clutch. Post which there is a slight delay before the throttle kicks in to accelerate the car.
Maybe it cuts the throttle when you downshift? Will have to try that sometime

[devansn]

Congrats on your purchase, John! It really takes a lot of guts to buy a car that sells so less in numbers. When I bought the Punto, I lost count of the people who asked how foolish I was to buy this car when I could have bought a DZire for the same money. Well, people have different criteria...

Surprisingly I have never felt any discomfort on long drives in my Punto (did Mumbai-Kerala-Mumbai, Mumbai-Covai, Mumbai-Indore-Mumbai, etc). May be because I am only 5'6". I never noticed my car's seats until I drove the Ecosport - wow, those seats are just perfect! I think Ecosport also has lumbar adjustment. Does Fiesta have it?

Once we were in Ford Thrissur (Puzhakkal) for checking out Ecosport and the Fiesta for my friend. He has back ache issue and my understanding is that its mostly because of the frequent gear shifts required in Kerala. Everytime he has to press the clutch pedal, he may be stretching his left leg a little and that, along with insufficient under-thigh support in his DZire may be causing the back ache, I believe. I thought the seats and the seating position in Fiesta may reduce his issues. Funny enough, Ford Thrissur does not have a Fiesta for test drive. They say they don't even sell it!