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      The All New Ford Fiesta - First Impressions

      Shiva Shankar

      Shiva Shankar

      Opening

      The All New Ford Fiesta – First Impressions

      Finally, the much awaited New Ford Fiesta was launched on 14thJuly. Part of Ford's aggressive plans for India, the New Ford Fiesta is the first of the upcoming 8 new models to be launched in India.

      With great excitement, we attended the launch of the Fiesta in Mumbai and subsequently took the New Ford Fiesta out for a drive. Check out our first impressions of the New Ford Fiesta below.

      Appearance Exterior

      At the first sight of the New Fiesta, one may feel that the basic design principle has been based on the platform of Figo. The front portion looks a bit wide at the windshield portion and narrowed down to the front bumpers. This has been done by making the headlight sleek and sharp end towards the front.

      A lot attention is grabbed by the big black radiator grill, with the Ford logo which gives a good impression. The Fog lamp has been designed round with chrome rings, and the headlight has been designed well with sharp ends and takes important part in the bonnet design. Wind shield is wide and helps a lot for an aerodynamic shape of the car.

      The OVRMs are in body colour with indicators lights. The car's side view gives the impression of a fluidic and smooth design and it is clearly on par with premium car designs.

      The front doors of the Fiesta are wide compared to that of the rear doors and close with a nice thud. The doors open wide enough to enable easy entry for both Driver and co-driver. This can be seen in the photos provided in doors opened position. The door handles are of body color and give good hand grip to open and close.

      The A pillar runs from the windshield's bottom end to top end. It is raised conveniently so as to give optimum height for entry from front doors and the same ends at the rear quarter panel. Chrome covering has been given to the door trims which adds to the glitter. Fuel lid has been provided in the left side rear quarter panel.

      The use of Tubeless tyres with alloy wheels and disc brake for front and drum brake for rear adds to premium look of car. However, in the style variant, steel rims are provided and while only for other variants alloy wheels are provided.

      The rear bumper is bit wide compared to front design and the flow to the rear side. It gives the impression that compromise has been made in the length of the car. The tail lamp is designed well to take part in giving good impression both in rear view and side view.

      The Fiesta logo has been fitted on right hand side top whereas the variant name is fixed on the left bottom side. Ford logo is placed nicely to give overall good impression for rear side. 

      Appearance Interior

      Getting into the Fiesta is easy convenient for even the bigger persons. Once one sits in the driver seat, one can feel soft yet firm comfort in seating and a good lot of leg room. With suitable adjustment, a person over 6 feet can also sit very comfortably.

      A three spoke steering wheel has been provided with audio controls over the steering wheel in Titanium variant, while the instrument cluster is easily visible through steering wheel. The instrument cluster has been designed well with good lot of importance for both styling and easy of viewing of readings.

      The Fiesta's dashboard is wide and gives the feel of luxury inside. Large blower openings ensure faster air supply and hence better cooling effect inside. The music system is designed well with lot of options like USB port, Bluetooth, and many features to provide best of comfort inside the car. All controls are provided within reach of the driver and can be smoothly operated. Glove box is made with blower inlets to keep things cool, but the space provided seems bit less considering the expectations from a premium car.The Fiesta's manual transmission knob gives a good grip and is smooth to handle.

      Rear seats are provided with good hand rest in middle with glass holder. There is high comfort with good upholstery and best of legroom space for rear seat passenger. It does give the expected level of comfort from a premium car.

      Apart from a spacious boot, the Fiesta comes with plenty of storage capacity features such as glove box, mobile holder, magazine holder, and cup holders at door. 

      Performance Drive

      The New Ford Fiesta has been launched with two fuel engines, a 1.5 litre petrol and a 1.5 litre diesel, with four trims per engine type respectively.

      In a surprising move, the Fiesta petrol version engine's capacity has been reduced to 1.5 liters as against the 1.6 liter engine in the earlier Fiesta Classic, while increasing the power derived from it. Tribute to Ford's engineers to get more power from a smaller engine!

      The New Fiesta petrol comes with a 4 cylinder, 16 Valve, 1499cc engine with a power output of 109PS@6045rpm and Torque of 140NM@4500 RPM.

      The New Fiesta diesel version comes with a 4 cylinder, 8 Valve, 1498cc engine delivering a power output of 90PS@3750RPM and Torque of 204NM between 2000 and 2750rpm.

      Both Ford Fiesta engines are paired with a 5 speed Manual transmission system, while no automatic transmission version has been introduced. The claimed fuel efficiency for the petrol Ford Fiesta is 17KMPL while the mileage for the Fiesta's diesel version is 23.5KMPL.

      Colour options include Chill metallic, Panther Black, Squeeze, Diamond White, Kinetic  Blue, Sea Grey, Moon Dust silver. The Ford Fiesta comes with a warranty coverage of 2 years or 100000km, whichever is earlier.

      As explained above, the new Fiesta is available in four variants for each of the engine types, viz. Style, Trend, Titanium, and Titanium+.  In short, the differences between these variants are as follows:

      • New Ford Fiesta Style: base version with power steering, ABS, A/C, power windows
      • New Ford Fiesta Trend: adds Auto A/C, Chrome wheels, Fog Lamps and chrome
      • New Ford Fiesta Titanium: Bluetooth, electric OVRM, voice controls, leather steering
      • New Ford Fiesta Titanium+: cruise control, parking sensors

       The best part of the Fiesta is the drive. Thanks to the smooth engine, noise free interiors and comfort features provided, the car provides a good ride. The car comes with a remote programmable key entry, though there is no start/stop button provided - it's an important feature in many new launches.

      The diesel engine is smooth and taking out the vehicle from parking is quite easy given the smallish turning circle radius of 5.2m and electric power assisted power steering. A fast pick-up and best of suspension, allows us to overcome road humps without feeling discomfort inside.

      The Ford Fiesta accelerates swiftly and it is quite pleasant to drive. Both accelerating and braking are swift and smooth, and it is good car to drive.

      Tech Specs

      Technical Specifications
       Make New Ford
       Model Fiesta
      Variant 1.5 TiVCT Petrol 1.5TDCi Diesel
      Engine Capacity (L) 1499/4 1498/4
      Power (PS) 109 90
      Torque (NM) 140 204
      Gears 5/M 5/M
      Groud clearence 165 165
      Length 4291 4291
      Width 1722 1722
      Height 1496 1496
      Wheel Base 2489 2489
      Turning circle radius 5.2 5.2
      Fuel Tank capacity 43 43
      Claimed fuel efficiency 17 23.5

      Features

      Features 1.5D Style 1.5D Trend 1.5D Titanium 1.5D Titanium+
      Power Steering Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Power windows Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Central locking Yes Yes Yes Yes
      A/C Manual Auto AC Auto AC with voice controls Auto AC with voice controls
      Alloy Wheels No Yes Yes Yes
      Foldable rear seats Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Rear Center arm rest with cup holder Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Electric boot release Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Floorwell Lamp No Yes Yes Yes
      Electrically foldable OVRM No No Yes Yes
      Distance to Empty No No Yes Yes
      Cruise control No No No Yes
      Reverse Parking sensor No No No Yes
      Audio Controls on steering wheel Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Audio with CD/MP3/AM/FM, 6 Speakers Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Blue Tooth No No Yes Yes
      Voice Control No No Yes Yes
      ABS with EBD Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Dual airbag Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Engine immobiliser Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Radiator Grill surround Body colour Chrome Chrome Chrome
      Fog Lamps No Yes Yes Yes
      Leather wrapped steering wheel No No Yes Yes
      Gear knob insert finish Moulded black Moulded black Metallic Finish Sterling Metallic Finish Sterling

      Competition All Specs

      Specifications
      New Ford
      Fiesta
      Hyundai
      Verna
      Fiat
      Linea
      Chevrolet
      Optra Magnum
      VolksWagen
      Vento
      Maruti Suzuki
      SX4
      Variant 1.5TiVCT 1.6 SX VTVT Emotion Pack 1.6 LS Highline Petrol Zxi
      Engine Capacity (L) 1499/4 1591 1368 1598 1598 1586
      Power (PS) 109 123 90 104 105 104
      Torque (NM) 140 155 115 148 153 148
      Gears 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M
      Key Features
      Power Steering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Power windows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Central locking Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      A/C Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Alloy Wheels Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Leather Wrapped Steering wheel Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
      Music System Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Sunglass Holder Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Keyless entry Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Fog Lamps Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      ABS With EBD Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Air Bag 2 2 2 1 2 2
      Average fuel efficiency  17 17 14 14 15 16
      Ex Showroom price Bangalore 9.54 8.35 7.74 7.5 8.29 7.36

      Conclusion

      The all New Ford Fiesta has features and styling that are on par with the premium sedans. It  has good design, comfort and performance, and ABS with EBD, Air bags, audio controls on steering  are available in all variants.

      However, the great drawback for the Ford Fiesta is its pricing. For example, though the basic variant Ford Fiesta Style's on-road price in Bangalore is nearly 10 lakh, and the same exceeds 10 lakh in diesel version, it does not feature alloy wheels. These days alloy wheels are quite a common feature and can be seen in cars in range of 5 to 6 Lakh also. With the price range of variants, it would have been a complete venture if Ford had managed to introduce an Automatic transmission version variant in both petrol and diesel models.

      Overall, the all New Ford Fiesta has a good combination of performance, styling, interior comfort and it does grab attention on road. It's a worthy selection for people looking for a premium car under Ford Brand and with a somewhat free budget. 

      Ford | Fiesta | Ford Fiesta