Jan 06, 2009 01:19 PM
10960 Views
(Updated Jun 26, 2009 02:20 PM)
Took my Ford Fiesta 1.6S on a 900 kms trip from Delhi to Binsar in Uttaranchal in the third week of June. The car's superb driving characteristics came into their own on this trip. It is supremely planted on the highway and picks up speed at low RPM. T he car revealed its best side on the winding hill roads after Handwani. You dont need to turn the steering too much while negotiating hairpin bends.
I found that a little more than a 90 degree turn was sufficient to tackle the steepest of hairpin bends. The ride quality over bad roads was so good that I arrived in Binsar after a 400 kms drive from Delhi without any aches and pains. On the advise of a friend, I inflated the tyres to 33PSI to minimise tyre damage if it hit bad roads. This helped the car glide over the worst of roads despite the low profile stock tyres.
The car has virtually no body roll as a result, I could come in and out of road curves without any discomfort. The driver and passenger seats (there were two of us in the car) have contours to prevent you from sliding while taking steep turns.
I took a 55 kms side trip to Jageshwar, site of ancient temples and exchanged my car with a friend's Scorpio. This guy was staying in the same rest house as us and we became friends. The contrast between the Scorpio and the Fiesta S is too stark. While the Fiesta obeys every command and executes it better than what you expect of it, the Scorpio does things on its own. Its steering feels vague and keeping it in the direction you want the Scorpio to go is a challenge. The way the car rolls on hairpin bends forces you to slow down, losing momentum. While the Scorpio went over the really bad stretches much better than the Fiesta S, it lost out woefully in handling, making for an uncomfortable drive.
I did the 400 kms each way drive with just one stop in between and enjoyed every bit of the drive, even in scorching 42 degrees heat. The AC inside cooled effectively and the cabin was noiseless. The gearshift, steering, clutch and brake are light to touch (after the Scorpio they felt even more so) and did their job perfectly making for a fatigue-free drive.
Regarding fuel consumption, I put in Rs. 3000 worth of fuel (around 60 litres) to cover 900 kms and still had 200kms (distance to empty) to go on the odo.
I am looking forward to my next long distance drive.
