Fiesta is here

I finally took delivery of my new Ford Fiesta 1.6SXI last Saturday. It has been a long journey that started way back in 2004 when having come back from Australia, Vidya and I were decided on a car. In those days, we were staying in Mangalore and our options were a little limited due to the limited number of dealerships. Having owned the original Santro, I was set on buying a C segment car and had almost finalized on the Baleno which had just been relaunched. Somehow, I allowed myself to be talked out of it by one of my “friends” who convinced me that the cost of ownership and service would be too high. We finally ended up buying a Santro Xing. I have no complaints with the Santro, but whenever we go on a highway trip, I think wistfully about how much better it would have been in a Baleno.

Anyway, cut forward a few years. In that time, a lot has changed. With Mukund's arrival, we feel the need for a larger car, especially for outstation trips. I wasn’t too particular about it being a sedan or large hatch. So, I set about looking for various options in the 6-8l bracket. The cars I shortlisted were

1.Hyundai i20

2.Fiat Grande Punto

3.Honda City

4.Maruti SX4

The first one to be eliminated was the City. It was way outside my budget. I didn’t even want to take a test drive, because I know that none of the other cars would match up in terms of performance or refinement and I would always be thinking of what I was missing by not buying the City. Maybe at some other time, but right now the big H was out of reach.

I test drove the i20 twice. I loved its looks and the general interior quality. But the power and performance of the 1.2 l engine was disappointing. With 3 of us on board, it struggled with the acceleration. This was addressed to some extent with the diesel, but I wanted a petrol engine, as the premium for a diesel engine is not funny. They do have a 1.4l petrol version, but it only comes with the automatic transmission. So, the i20 was out as well.

Next up was the Grande Punto. I had a lot of expectations from this car. When I saw it in person, it was a disappointment. The interior space was limited and I felt that the quality of the interiors was not up to the mark. I test drove it right after launch, so the time in it was limited, but even in a brief drive, it made a very good impression. But, the quality and lack of space was a definite deal-killer. While at the Fiat-Tata showroom, I briefly looked at the Linea, but having read enough reports on how the 1.4 petrol was underpowered, I decided to hold on for the 1.6 launch.

The final car that I test drove was the SX4. I was extremely happy with the car, it looked good, handled well, had adequate power, good ground clearance etc. Then I learnt that a facelift was imminent and decided to wait it out.

I’d left out a few cars from my list for a number of reasons

Indica Vista: space inside was massive, but boot was too small, plus there was no version with airbags. I wasn't very happy with the interior quality as well

Swift Zxi: never liked the looks of the car

Aveo: one of my favourite cars lookswise, but again airbags were not available.

Fiesta: felt that it was a little too small, not much of an upgrade space wise from Santro.

So, there I was in September, without a car and in waiting mode. Waiting for the new SX4 to be launched. Then I met a friend of my wife, who’d come over with his family. I knew that he had bought a petrol Fiesta a couple of months back and was curious to find out the thinking behind his decision. I went down to have a dekko at his car. The cabin did look small, but seemed big enough for my needs. I then took the car for a small drive and was bowled over by its power (though I couldn’t really test it out as it was in the running in period) as well as its poise on the road (or what remains of it in HSR Layout). Then came the clincher, he said that as employees of a Ford supplier, he and my wife were eligible for special supplier pricing, which was almost 70K less than the regular price.

That piqued my interest and I decided to explore more. I started out naturally at my favourite timewaster automobile site team-bhp and found a world of really passionate enthusiasts who were totally in love with the Fiesta. Satisfied, I called Lathangi Motors for a test drive. I took a 15 km drive through the ORR and some of the service roads and came back totally impressed. This was followed by another round of test drive, this time with Vidya and Nisha. Ultimately, everyone was onboard that it was a good buy.

But there was still the decision on whether to go with this or wait for the SX4 to be launched and then decide. I thought about it a little bit and felt that it was just a case of putting off the decision. They were not comparable pricewise (SX4 is 8.6L OTR, I was getting Fiesta SXI for 7.5L OTR), plus SX4 would likely be even more expensive when it is relaunched. So, the Fiesta it was, a decision made not just with the heart but with the head as well.

What I liked about the car

- Looks (some may say that Fiesta looks dated, but it has a classic feel to it, especially side on, it looks very proportionate unlike other cars in its segment

- Engine power

- Ride, felt really composed over the bumpy HSR roads

- Handling

- Interiors on the SXI, those leather seats are awesome

- Loaded with airbags, ABS, chrome everything

Things that could be better

- ICE, having got used to USB/Bluetooth on my current setup, it is like going 2 years into the past. Still the sound quality is good

- Glove box space felt a little small, but I’ll know only after sustained use

- No dead pedal

Totally dissatisfied with

- Indicators, why they are on the left in a made-for-India car is beyond me

- Chrome side view mirrors (ugh)

I booked the car on Oct 12, expecting to get delivery in 2 weeks time. It was a tough choice on the colour, the white (taxi), silver (already had a silver Santro), platinum (the most common colour), morello (purplish tinge)today, red (too bright) and black (tough to maintain) were eliminated and I went for the sea grey having never seen a car in the colour. The delivery took a little longer than expected and when it finally arrived, I wasn't all that thrilled with the colour, somehow it seemed a little lighter than I expected. But I wasn't prepared to wait for another month and gave the go-ahead to register it.

We picked it up on Saturday evening, did a small pooja at the Anjaneyar kovil near our house and brought it back. Unfortunately, it was raining throughout and the car got a little messy, so I couldn't take the photos that I had planned on Sunday. That will have to wait for the cleanup this week.

The race ...

for the first to complete 20000 km was on between my car and bike. For a while, it did  seem that I would reach 20K on my Pulsar first, but the trip to Chennai in July meant that my Santro reached it earlier. Yesterday, my Pulsar also completed the milestone. The date:16-aug-2007. Location: Sarjapur Outer Ring Road

 

Buying a car

In the 3 years since I bought my Santro, I’ve been quite happy with it, but there are times (especially on the highway), when I wish I had a car that feels more at home on the highway. I’ve been thinking about upgrading for the past few months, but it has been an exercise in frustration.

I want a car that is a size bigger than the Santro, not particular about a sedan or a hatchback. But, I definitely want it to have a powerful engine that will go from 0-100 in less than 12 seconds and a top speed of around 180 kmph. Not that I would ever do 180 on Indian highways (maybe when the NICE road is completed:-), just that a car capable of reaching those speeds will be extremely comfortable at the speeds I drive at (100-120 kmph). It should have space for 5 adults, safety features like airbags, ABS, disc brakes all round. I absolutely want a car with alloy wheels, an Ipod compatible music system so that I can plug in and control my ipod from the HU. Good mileage is a must, atleast 12 kmpl in the city and 16-18 kmpl on the highway. I don’t care about petrol or diesel. And I want all this at an affordable price (max 7 lakhs on the road). But, I find it frustrating that a Hyundai Accent costs 14000 dollars in the US, while we pay almost 800,000 rupees or 20000 dollars. Manufacturers price their lowest end model with no frills at an attractive price and gouge for everything from diesel engines to interior trims to safety features that should be mandatory to begin with.

I've gone through 2-3 cycles. It always starts with me thinking that I should just stop bothering about the robbery and go ahead and buy the damn car. But then when I start thinking about options and digging deeper into road tests and user opinions, I find compromises in every single choice.

Indica: love the space, but engine is too rough, image is an issue

Chevy-UVA: love the looks, but can’t get it with a powerful engine beyond the 1.2L

Palio: really want the Palio Stile 1.6, pricing is attractive, but am still not comfortable with Fiat

Swift:interior too small, don’t like the styling

Getz: lprobably the closest I've come to liking a car, it's just wonderfully packaged and the one car I've driven a bit, but it’s too expensive, the 1.3L option

Fusion: great car at a good price, but why did they take out the frills like alloy wheels? Where’s the new Fusion+?

Ikon/Esteem: good cars, but are 10 year designs. Only an idiot would buy one of them at this time

Coming to the C-segment

Aveo/Fiesta/Verna Petrol: their loaded version costs 8 lakhs!!! And no safety features like airbags, ABS.

City: the only one I want is the VTEC and it costs 9.5lakhs, out of my budget

Fiesta Diesel: only 68 bhp. Indica DICOR is going to have more

Verna Diesel: base model at 8.5 lakhs lacks even basic equipment. The SX version has more but its almost 9.5 lakhs

I also briefly considered a couple of C+ segment cars

Elantra: seems a good value at 8.5 lakhs, but then you realize that it’s the lower end model that lacks many essentials. It does not have a reputation for good mileage. The diesel is better but its over 10 lakhs

Optra : the magnum diesel is new and initial impressions are good. But the loaded version is way over my range at 11.5 lakhs

One car I haven’t mentioned till now is the SX4. I really like this car, it has everything going for it, fully loaded, good safety features, Maruti’s service and it comes at a price of 8 lakhs. It has really exposed the way in which the other manufacturers are ripping off the Indian public, which is why it has a 3+ month waiting list. I am leaning towards it, but then you can’t get one right now unless you’re Sonia Gandhi. Another car I’m looking forward to is the Getz with a CRDi diesel (hopefully the Verna’s diesel at a decent price).

At this time, it does look pretty bleak, maybe I will just wait a a few months until the landscape changes and make a decision. Until then, it’s up to Santro KA-19-P-1615 to keep me entertained…