Hello Everyone! You may feel it as “Chhota Mooh Badi Baat” after reading my review, but I tried to express my views what I feel about this car. This is my first car in my life. I have just learnt how to drive. I am not a pro driver. But you all “Mouthshut Members” helped me to analyze the car; you all have helped me to know the in and out of car before buying it. I have booked 1.4 ZXi TDCI with ABS and I am expecting the delivery by end of this month.
I am writing about 1.4 ZXi DuraTorq Diesel…
After reading all the reviews of cars in this segment like, Accent, Honda city, Maruti Baleno and Fiesta etc. and taking lot of test drives of all cars, Fiesta made a remarkable impression. Now I will go further step by step….
Design and Looks: I am a commercial artist and I was too choosy about the looks and aero dynamics of the car. I really liked looks of Fiesta. The looks are different, I agree, that not extra ordinary, but definitely not like Honda city (I call it frog design). Fiesta looks stylish and throws an attitude of superiority on the road. It also looks royal, healthy, sturdy and these all factors give a feeling of assurance.
Exteriors: are stunning, especially the lines and curves are very elegant and aero dynamic. The side arch starts at head lamps and goes ascending towards end of the boot. Black B pillar area adds star to the looks and styling. Headlight shape looks more attractive because of bigger grill. Fog lamps and bumper design is balanced to give a robust look.
Interiors: are beautiful and but not too aggressive also. I don’t mind even if leather beige upholstery is not provided. This is not the only thing which proves that car is royal and rich. The trim and material is fairly good. Dashboard is a neat piece of art. Every thing looks neatly placed in dash board.
Enough leg room and head room for front and rear seats. Ingress and egress is very easy. My height is 5’11”, still it didn’t gave me a problem. Utilities like reading lamps, mirrors are placed properly. Overall layout of dashboard and display panel is simple and usable. The usage chrome and Aluminum adds value to the interiors. I liked the DTE (Distance to Empty) an unique feature added in this car.
Driving, Ride & Comfort: Driving this car for long hours won’t be a problem for drivers. It is very comfortable. Steering is almost effortless but steering wheel gives good response to you. The Power Steering is good. I took a test drive at least 3 times, once in a city crowded like Pune, then on Bombay Bangalore bypass and once in area like Karve road, Chandani Chauk. On every speed the ride was comfortable and the steering and maneuvering in each scenario was excellent. Even, the driver from dealer demonstrated the low speed crawling at 3rd gear. He was driving in 3rd gear at speed less than 10 in a crowded road, and I could not believe that particular performance. This is what is needed in the city like Pune.
I found AC well powered. At 2.00 pm, it chilled the car in 30 seconds. Sitting posture, thigh support in front and back seats is perfect. Sound System provided is not that great but can be rated good. But no MP3 support. I didn’t understand that, the diesel version is highest in all variants but ford has not provided a changer and 6 speakers in it. The 6 CD changer and 6 speakers are only available in 1.6 SXi. But this is not a major drawback.
I found literally no noise and vibration in cabin being a diesel car. Even we get in higher segment cars too, but Fiesta is an exception.
Power, Pickup, Breaking & Stability: I was little curious to know the power and pickup of diesel engine. But after riding it, now no more questions in mind. It has ample power to survive in any crowded road as well as good speed on highway. On highway we had a test drive for 20+ kilometers and the speed was amazing.
Only being in 5th gear, car could vary from 35-40 to 120-30+. It was totally effortless for the engine. Thanks to TDCi.
Breaking was perfect, no harsh jerks, no fear for passengers at all. ABS with EBD is doing its job perfectly. Stability and road grip is good on any kind of road. Particularly, I didn’t felt any bumps or shocks on roads of Pune. Initially,
I was doubtful about buying Diesel car but now all doubts are clear, or I can say no scope for doubt when Ford diesel engine is there. I studied a lot on mouthshout about comparing Diesel V/s Petrol engine.
My daily running would be 50 KMs at least, so fuel economy is the major factor behind choosing a car. The company claims 20 on Highway and 15+ in City with AC, this is pretty attractive for me or like a user like me.
Most of the features I have written about fiesta can claim it is a truly fully loaded car. I took test drives in all same segment cars but I didn’t got satisfaction for my money which I got in Fiesta. I feel, I studied a lot for 3-4 months for finalizing on any car, and on the basis of that study, I can definitely say, it is the best car in this segment and it is worth more than 10 lakhs. In Pune, It is 8.15 lakhs on road but I don’t mind paying this much for Ford Fiesta 1.4 ZXi, TDCi.
Special Note: Overall experience is the same with 1.4 EXi and 1.6 SXi, only because of fuel economy I didn’t choose any of those. Fiesta’s all variants are equally good and best in competition with Honda City, Hyundai Accent, Maruti Baleno and Accent viva.
17th April, after driving it for 15 days: I got the delivery of car on 30th March, Now I am driving it daily. Still I am very new to driving and staying in Pune (a badly crowded roads), my car remains mostly on 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear and very low on 4th and 5th. I keep the AC constantly on and I am getting milage of 15+. According to me it is the best milage I am getting. Now after first servicing, it may improve a bit (lot of people told me that after first servicing you get a good fuel effeciency).
Now about other things about car.... It is well powered, good pickup, very comfortable for a complete family. I didnt find ay legroom issues when we all 4 are sitting in the car. It has a great stability and road grip, very easy to control and almost effortless driving experience. Initially for first few days, I faced a problem with indicator knob at left, but it was just a matter of how well you gel with your car. Now it is no more a problme for me. This might be a problem with frequent car swithchovers. Still I remain with the statement of ''Car worth more than 10 lacs....''
