Ford fiesta review |
The ford fiesta is one car on which Ford motor India rests its hopes, much is dependant on the hopes of this car striking it big in the Indian car market. The car is fresh, although the ford sells other cars of the same name elsewhere worldwide, this has been fresh; although not designed from scratch. The car has been tailor made for the Indian car market so to speak. It has a diesel option, unlike its competition; the Aveo and the City ZX. This car is attempting to conquer a segment that demands everything, style, engine ride, comfort among other things that make for a good car. Ford can't afford to get anything wrong and they know it, they have spent a lot of time and money on developing this car I understand. We visited Metro Ford, Bangalore to test this car and had a bitter experience. I wish not to spill my frustration on a car that is much better than its dealer.
Design and interiors
The Ford fiesta is what I would call the best of both worlds, to the effect that it looks like a blend of both the Ikon and the Mondeo. It has nice smooth flowing lines, and unlike say the Indigo, fiestathis car was always designed to be a 3 boxer. The front has a slightly mundane look, save for the 'cut into the hood' headlamps and the aggressive fog lamps. I particularly like the headlamps which look like they are from a far more expensive car. The design effort has been much focused and as I have come to read from many a magazine, ford had a big book titled 'Our mistakes' or something to that effect which listed the mistakes that were committed in designing the Ikon. This goes to show the commitment that Ford has made to its Indian operations. The boot is now not as high as the Ikon, fabrics and plastics have been well thought out, there are small little cubby holes here there everywhere, there are 2 reversing lights, there are anti-roll bars, the music system is improved and overall, the car seems quite deserving of the effort that has gone into it. This car has been thoroughly engineered, from tip to toe; as ford would tell you; god lies in the details.
Step inside to find fresh, very fresh interiors; with loads and loads of chrome thrown in liberally. The air conditioner vents are different and resemble the ones on the Chevrolet Aveo; which close completely shut, which we have already tested; which came first is not really the issue here. Ford has incorporated many clever features to the dash, such as the cigarette lighter jack is tucked away from immediate field of vision, the cup holders integrated into the rear arm rest, the single cup holder that becomes two on demand and so on. . . The driver side seat is adjustable for height, but the mechanism is bit peculiar. It almost feels like you are using a roadside hand pump; but yes it is quite effortless when compared to some which have rotating knobs. Further, the front seats have a lot of play which allows for people who are very tall or very short to be able to find a comfortable position, the other advantage of the high amount of seat play is that when the front seats are moved all the way forward, huge amounts of rear leg room is liberated. The rear seats fold all the way forward, but are not split. One rather irritating feature I though was the rear headrests which need to be extended upwards whenever an average adult needs to sit; Ford could have opted for some other design perhaps, but its not a major flaw.
Few things that do bother me include the boot open lid that is on the other side and the fabric on the ZXi model which really could do better, also the single CD on such a high priced car, perhaps also bigger alloys to suit those large wheel wells. Scope for improvement perhaps, but the dealers seem to be making most of this by providing various packages to spruce up the car in these areas
Our review of the Engine and Transmission and the Ride, Handling and Verdict... |
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