Nov 22, 2005 05:11 PM
21393 Views
(Updated Nov 24, 2005 01:28 PM)
Ford tried to create the same storm as MUL did for swift. They launched the vehicle in haste and saying that this vehicle will compete Optra, Honda city & Corolla. But, they have to learn so many things on Indian buyer’s perspective. It is a nice car from ford with some exclusive feature from India’s perspective but I expect more for the price we will be paying.
Well, I got the chance to drove 1.6 sxi(petrol) and here is my 2 cents -
what I liked - (don't mind if you find them comment)
Chrome, chrome & chrome inside everywhere. Steering, dial, handbrake (?), ac vent. Interiors are really nice and you feel it a European car. Side body molding they claim to have chrome strip (like indigo gsx, accord, corolla). But, when I touched it & it feels like a rubber/plastic. Anyway, it shine like a chrome :-)
Dual Din with 6 speaker produce good quality sound and it looks great. :-) Also, it has clock & outside temperature display.
AC is very much effective and it will chill out you in minutes. Yes , you will feel the effect in rear seats also.
Drive is very much comfortable. Even better then indigo. Suspension works :-) I saw the manual and they had given Gas filled sock observer in front & rear wheel. Apart from other techy words that I doesn’t know much.
Well, it is 1.6 mill but I didn’t feel any power or surge in City driving. Pickup is not so great or extra ordinary as what we were expecting. But refinement is good and if you rev it hard & it will give the sound like a sport car. Also, it has nice handling & corning ability. Perhaps it could be bcos of 175/65 14” MRF radials & gr8 suspension.
Seats are comfortable but colors are same gray. Yeah! for 1.6 sxi the pattern is bit different but I am not able to understand why they are giving same seats in icon, fusion, fiesta & even in Endeavour. Perhaps they have to finish STOCK. :-) Well, in rear seat they had given adjustable headrest. Design is nice and they are very comfy. If you wont mind the gray color then you will find it in luxury class.
Alloy wheels are nice but 15'' will look great on it (only available on 1.6 sxi).
Breaks are fine though I dint test them hard. Others were scared with my drive so....
City it will give 10-11 7 on highway it will be 14-15 as sales person quote.
Available in 20 days. I went on 19 Nov & if I book it delivery will be on 7 dec.
Keyless entry – Car Key has the buttons - lock, unlock & search. No need to carry extra remote. Cool...AS I knew this kinda comes with elantra, accord & other high end cars. Good move but I find difficulty to start engine as to not press accidentally those button.
Engine is silent (Hard to listen in city traffic). I got confused and it took 3-4 crank to start the engine. Driver gave me comment – sir, which car do u drive :-) . Well, you drive this car or sit in the back seat, NVH level is almost 0. You won’t notice any noise in the back seat. Good work Ford.
Real light is jewel :-) so far it is the best in the new cars.
What I didn't like ----
Boot, They changed the height so you wont lift the bag too high but not practical. Very difficult to put two heavy bags on top of another, you have to enter into boot to adjust it. Can't explain....
Price. It seems Ford is trying to compete Honda, Toyota only with this model. Well good luck to Ford but dont forget MUL, hyundai & TATA. Yes, definitely I will buy this instead of esteem, indigo, Petra & accent but not for City, Corolla or Optra. Ford is known to make money in spare parts & high maintenance cost. They should charge 7 L Instead of 7.8 L for fully loaded version. Well, Entry level variant is in 6 L price band which is good price. Yes you wont find chrome in the base version ;-)
Seat adjuster - Not practical again, I have to press it many time to reach the max height. Even after that visibility was not good. You won’t feel confident with passenger side of the car.
Steering - Not very light like swift in city. Also no feeling like hydraulic one. Perhaps this is EPS.
Funny Thing – Bonnet opening lever is on co-passenger side. Which is really funny and they have light indicator switch on left side (on steering). Obviously wiper controls are on right side. Do they think we do left hand drive? Anyway, it will be typically FORD ;-)
I had given a glance on manual and Fiest is 16 valve DOHC with SEFI fuel system why not MPFI? It’s another puzzle for me. Also it is 101 ps on 6500 rpm & Max torque is 146 on 3400 rpm. Compression ratio is 9.75:1. Is it good from a 1.6 L machine? Experts please comment.
No Discount :-) & 50 K is the booking amount. Anyway Delivery period is not like Swift.
As they had given dual din what is the security to audio system? Can I remove the face plate like a single din player?
Door Handle – Looks like same as swift, Skoda. But no chrome here :-) I think putting finger guard, like Optra will give good look. Finish is not upto mark.
Mobile charger point position is poor. Its too cramp and you cant use Laptop from back seat. Wire will create problem in gear shifting. Not at all practical. HUH!
Headroom/Legroom in the front is less. Rear seats are nice...i find this car very comfy/roomy like my indigo.
The BIGGEST problem is - Driver side leg room is so cramped that you won’t feel comfortable while playing with ABC. Also Paddles and area is too small. I was not able to use both clutch and brake at one time. My foot size is 8 (Indian) and I never find this kinda problem in esteem, indica, 800, alto, indigo. God will save fiesta owners in city where they have to drive most. I don’t remember exactly but I think they had given aluminum paddles but demo car had rubber one.
Glove box is small.
Experts please share your comment and reveal more truth about ford.
