New Ford Fiesta: India First Drive

The premium compact sedan segment isn’t what it used to be. What originally started out as a two-player game the Mitsubishi Lancer is now long gone from the competitors list, new entrants such as the starring Honda and Mitsubishi in the early 2000s, has now blown up into a full fledged duel amongst some of the top players globally. While Honda has dominated this segment with its City, and Volkswagen Vento and Hyundai Verna have made dream debuts. The stage is set then for the all-new Ford Fiesta to prove its mettle against the best.

The new Fiesta isn’t a new kid on the block however. This is a car that has proved its worth in over six different countries and has gone on to sell over a million units globally. It has evoked a tremendous response in North America, where traditionally such cars weren’t very popular. Even in Europe, the new Fiesta has been perceived as a sporty, fun-to-drive car. The new Fiesta is the first car from Ford stable that totally embodies the ‘One-Ford’ ethic, which basically defines the need to design and manufacture globally viable vehicles.

In layman terms it translates to building a product that can satisfy the needs of a variety of markets. Built to cater to multiple markets, the new Fiesta has been created with a lot of expertise. A closer understanding of the new car reveals a DNA of a vehicle built to survive amidst the toughest of competition. It can be said then that Ford has literally left no stone unturned to ensure that the new Fiesta is a runaway success in India as well.

Great things come in great packages, and a single glance at the all-new Fiesta can get your red blood corpuscles jumping as this is one good looking car. According to Ford, the new Fiesta is the first car to completely adhere to the kinetic design philosophy. All of Ford’s vehicles for the future will be based on the kinetic design language, which literally means the design of motion. The exterior of the car is akin to sculpture flowing from one end to the other. The strong shoulder line, contoured bonnet, trapezoidal grille, large air intakes, pronounced wheel arches, the raked back A-pillar and coupe-like roofline, all gel to make this car look as though it is in constant motion.

Dynamic and dramatic, the new Fiesta can and does turn heads and making allowances for the imagined frowns of the critics, it is certain to bring on the smiles all around. This is a car that appears to be perched on its haunches, all set to spring forth on the prowl, exuding a tangible air of power and sportiness as it does.

The interiors design is in keeping with the exteriors, Ford has cleverly integrated elements that hint at aggression determined by the kinetic design philosophy. The dashboard and centre console draw inspiration from objects of desire such as high end watches and mobile phones. Ford refers to the drawing on such gadgets for inspiration and their intuitive levels of function and integration, the Human Machine Interface (HMI). This basically means that operating the various functions on board should prove to be like as second nature as everything will seem familiar and resemble elements that we connect with on a daily basis in our modern tech savvy lives.

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The cabin is also a rather quiet place to be in. In fact the new Fiesta’s cabin is the quietest in its segment since the NVH levels are restricted to the lowest possible. The use of sound absorbent materials throughout the cabin, the acoustic lamination on the front windshield, the strengthening of the body to do away with rattles and such, and the optimisation of exterior components to reduce wind noise through wind tunnel testing, have all paid dividends. Safety too has been accorded priority in the new Fiesta, with two front airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and brake assist. Moreover, the sturdy construction is designed to keep occupants safe on a top priority basis even under harsh and hostile conditions.

The new Fiesta is packed to the hilt with gizmos and gadgetry, including a CD player, radio, Bluetooth interface, USB and iPod connectivity as well as a climate controlled air-conditioning system. If these sound run-of-the-mill; Ford has taken the game to whole new level by introducing a steering mounted cruise control system and an uber cool voice control system. The voice control system never been seen on a premium compact sedan, as it has featured only in high end cars until now. At the push of a button located on the left hand steering stalk, the driver can actually speak to the car and command a set of functions, which broadly include control of the CD player and radio, where you can select a track or a station by voice, control of your Bluetooth paired mobile phone, dial a number or a name just by saying it, and even activate the climate control and vocally set temperature, fan speed as well as turn on and off the rear defogger. The system takes a bit of getting used to however but once you get the hang of it, it’s a big boon and is sure to be the number one gizmo owners will want to flaunt to their buddies.

Coming to the heart of the matter, the engines, Ford has ushered in two all-new engines for the Indian market. Both engines displace 1 .5 litres, boast of a rather lightweight construction and are mated to 5-speed gearboxes. However one is a petrol and the other a diesel. The petrol Duratec Ti VCT features a twin independent variable camshaft timing technology which allows for very precise valve control and therefore an overall increase in power and engine efficiencies. Tuned to churn out 110PS at 6045rpm and make 140Nm of torque at 4500rpm, the petrol engine does fit the bill for bringing about the element of sportiness that is extremely necessary to complete the new Fiesta package. The 1.5 TDCi Duratorq diesel generates 91PS of power at 3750rpm and a rather stellar 204Nm of torque between 2000 and 2750rpm.

Having had the opportunity to drive both the petrol and diesel engine cars, the first thing that crossed my mind was that both engines deliver in terms of being peppy and are well suited for our roads. Neither engine felt lacking in power or in terms of the delivery between low and high speeds. But the question is, since most of the competition features larger 1.6-litre engines, and the Fiesta is incidentally offered with a 1.6-litre engine in markets such as Thailand, why not bring that in here as well? But a drive in the new Fiesta is all it takes to banish such thoughts, as the 1.5-litre engines perform effortlessly.  I doubt owners will find these engines lacking in any sense, be it low end driveability, high end cruising ability or the overall ‘josh’. Basically it would be futile to compare numbers and I recommend that you actually drive the new Fiesta before passing judgments or assuming it requires a bigger heart.

The trump card that both engines have up their sleeve however has got to be the mileage figures. The petrol engine comes with an ARAI tested mileage of 17 kilometres to the litre and the diesel delivers an ARAI tested 23.5 kilometres to the litre! Now those are figures conducted under standard test conditions and real world figures are almost always lower. However the inherent frugal nature of the engines doesn’t change and you can expect decent mileage even under daily driving conditions.

Other elements that come to the fore are the ride quality and precise handling that the new Fiesta delivers. Considering the fact that the older Fiesta (now known as the Fiesta Classic) left behind a legacy of being a machine that took handling to new levels for Indian customers, the new Fiesta had a lot to live up to. Ford has obviously paid attention to this aspect and there is really no doubting the ability of the new car in terms of offering an engaging drive experience and an almost intuitive response to driver input. Despite the responsive handling, ride quality hasn’t suffered and it’s comparable to the best in this particular segment. For India, the Fiesta has received a slightly jacked up suspension package, which is perfect for carrying greater loads on the rear seat as well as improving the ride quality. Surprisingly, the jacked up suspension isn’t at the cost of handling. It is not often that a car has such a good balance between ride and handling, as the Fiesta does.

With Ford India on a strong market upswing thanks to the runaway success of the Figo, the company is literally leaving no stone unturned in terms of ensuring success for the new Fiesta. It isn’t going to be an easy task nevertheless and Ford does have its work cut out in taking on the competition. The Honda City has been the undisputed king of this segment; but it too has been facing the heat with the introduction of the Volkswagen Vento and the new Hyundai Verna. Now with Ford joining the league, the fight is just going to get a lot tougher.

But the Fiesta is a car that packs quite a wallop and has a lot to offer including a number of segment firsts. Moreover, the company has also ensured that costs of parts are low, and the overall cost of ownership is also lower than that of other cars in this segment. Ford is keen to make more than an impact on the segment and it’s showing painstaking levels of determination to convince the Indian consumer that the Ford brand is here to stay. It is a brand that is global in its outlook yet cost effective in its approach and as a company it is bullish on its future prospects. With the segment hotting up to new levels with the new Fiesta, it is going to be an exciting time as the rivals bang bonnets in their bid to rule the segment... Fiesta time, no less..

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