Ford Fiesta Petrol 1.5L – expert car review

Much of Ford India’s initial success for brand building started with the Ford Classic, which is now heavily outdated in terms of the rest of its market segment. However, the Ford brand in India got a huge revival two years ago when the Ford Figo was launched. The small hatch was catapulted to fame and was a hot seller for Ford, which not only got their market share up but also increased customer loyalty and heavily improved Ford India’s image as a competitive quality car manufacturer. This brand building was further hiked up with the revealing of the revolutionary small SUV known as the Ford EcoSport, which is all set to make an entrance into the Indian market later this year. But while the Ford Figo and the Ford EcoSport are hogging up the entire spotlight, there is another product from Ford India that is shying away from the spot light, and that is the all new Ford Fiesta.

The new Ford Fiesta is an entry level sedan that simply oozes out a modern interpretation of a very ‘funky’ looking car. It’s got loads of style, which make it look heavily different from other entry level sedans, or all cars for that matter. WordPress was invited to a round table discussion with Ford India and afterwards we were handed the keys to the 1.5 litre petrol engined Titanium variant for the weekend to get a good feel of the car and its character.

As mentioned before the car has got loads of style, so the first thing you notice about the car is that it looks fresh and new. Its external design can only be comprehended in two ways – either you love it or you hate it. In my case I simply loved it because of the curves and the colour – Kinetic Blue. As you approach the car, open the door and seat yourself in the driver’s seat you are immediately immersed in a very cool and sharp looking interior. The seats are race inspired bucket seats, the dash is full of buttons and screens and knobs, the instrument cluster is full of colour and information, the steering wheel is flashy with its mounted controls – everything works so well together. The only complaint I would say are the finishing touches and the quality of the levers, which could be a little better. The seats are decently comfortable and can be adjusted manually as well as the steering wheel, so you can find that perfect driving position.

Put the key in and start the engine and you can barely hear the 1499cc 4-cylinder petrol engine breathe to life. The engine can produce a very healthy 108bhp and 140Nm of torque, and that’s enough power to get you on your way. The 5-speed manual transmission is an obvious choice for this size engine and the gear lever is placed very comfortably so the driver can make easy and hassle free shifts. The overall drive quality of the car is very good; in fact it is almost fun. The clutch is not too heavy and you can easily accelerate to a high speed, but you can hardly hear the engine rev. The acceleration is quite good and linear; in fact the engine is so well refined that you can push her up to 90kmph while still in second gear and while still being under 6000rpm. In contrast to that, you could be at just over 1000rpm while still in second and accelerate perfectly fine without the car seem like it’s about to die on you. Ford has spent some serious time and effort into perfecting their engines and they have done a phenomenal job.

Now, once you are moving you need to be able to handle the car well and comfortably, and again the Fiesta doesn’t disappoint. The handling is phenomenal, I would go so far as to say that it is a little too responsive – the steering is a little too light for my liking, but the majority of Indian drivers would love it. It simply takes you in which ever direction you want and all you have to do is move the steering by an inch. On the other hand the suspension, while it has been adjusted to suit all Indian road conditions, it is very soft and if you are making sharp turns at high speeds the car gets thrown around. But then again this is not a race spec car, so I guess the suspension setup is actually quite good for the average tamed Indian driver. The ride quality is very decent and there is plenty of space and comfort for all occupants. In its complete essence the Ford Fiesta is quite a fantastic car and not just because of its driving dynamics and its design, but also because it has got loads of features.

Starting with automatic climate control, to an inbuilt audio system with USB and Bluetooth, the Fiesta has got it all. There is cruise control, automatic windows, footwell lamp, electrically foldable outside rearview mirrors, reverse parking sensors and a fuel computer. The coolest feature however is the state of the art audio unit that features USB, Aux-in, Bluetooth and voice control. There is a small screen on the top of the dashboard that allows you to easily control all functions, and they can also be controlled from the steering wheel. Ford has been at the forefront of in-car entertainment and technology for the last couple of years and they are definitely the market leader in that aspect. No other car in this segment comes loaded with as many features, and the only car I can think of that comes close to it is the Hyundai Verna, which is a direct competitor to the Fiesta. Safety features are also stocked into the Fiesta and you get central locking, remote programmable key entry, ABS with EBD and front dual airbags.

The starting price for the new Ford Fiesta is around Rs 7.4 lakh ex-showroom depending where you live. The top of the Line petrol Variant we had costs about Rs 9 lakh ex-showroom. There is also an automatic variant available on the petro models and that starting price ex-showroom is about Rs 9.15 lakh. The prices for the Fiesta are very competitive and you get good value for your money, not to mention that the highly refined engines are also very fuel efficient so your maintenance costs go a little lower. Overall the Fiesta is a good entry level sedan, even if it hides from the spotlight this car is definitely a super star.

Lastly, and btw I was ordered by my sister to write this testimonial, is that the Ford Fiesta is a super star for her personally. My niece had her fingers on the car frame and without realizing it, my sister shut the Fiesta door. Bang! I saw the door shut and my heart skipped a beat. But not a cry from the little one. On further inspection, it was evident that there was tons of padding in the door frame and even though the door was shut with fingers in between the car frame and the door, there was no injury due to the padding. Way to go Ford!