Ford launched the new Fiesta in India in 2011 and the sedan failed to get a good response from buyers. Main reason – poor pricing! While the older Fiesta (now Classic) sold really well in both petrol and diesel forms, the new Fiesta couldn’t climb up the sales charts like its rivals the Volkswagen Vento, Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Now, Ford is all set to give the Fiesta a second lease of life by launching a facelifted version by mid-June. The Fiesta will now feature redesigned exteriors along with interiors that will get minor updates. The most significant difference will be that the Fiesta will now be available only with a diesel engine, but only initially.
The Ford Fiesta facelift that will be launched in June will feature the same 1.5-litre TDCI diesel powerplant that is being used currently. The petrol engine variants have been axed for now, something we revealed at the time of the Auto Expo by posting brochure scans of the car, which carried only diesel engine specs in it. The oil-burner produces 90 BHP of power and is matched to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
The updated Fiesta will be similar to the current Fiesta in other mechanical terms. The design is getting an update and Ford has already displayed the redesigned Fiesta at the 2014 Auto Expo. The new Fiesta features an Aston Martin-inspired grille, new alloys, redesigned front bumper and a slightly updated rear. Even though these are minor changes, the overall front design looks quite different now. Earlier, the Fiesta looked funky but now it carries a premium feel.
Ford will offer the Fiesta with three variants – Ambiente, Trend and Titanium. The base variant Ambiente will get only the bare-basic features and it will miss out on fog lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto climate control, body-coloured mirrors and door handles, wheel caps, cruise control system and footwell lamps.
The Trend variant will get a few features like an audio system with USB, CD and AUX functionality with six speakers, full wheel caps on steel rims while the Titanium variant will get the above-mentioned features along with alloys, auto headlamps, puddle lights, keyless entry, rear parking sensors, electrically folding mirrors, ambient cabin lighting and an MID that displays distance-to-empty and real-time fuel efficiency. The Titanium variant also gets SYNC as well as the Emergency Assist system seen on the EcoSport.
All three variants of the Ford Fiesta will get ‘take me home’ headlights, split-folding rear seat, driver’s seat height adjustment, remote locking and electrically adjustable mirrors. None of the variants will get leather interiors even as an option. While ABS and EBD are standard on all three variants, the Ambiente gets only a driver-side airbag while Trend and Titanium come loaded with dual-airbags.
Ford is aiming to price the updated Fiesta competitively and hence it has stripped off the base variant from many features. While no petrol engine will be available at the time of launch, we have confirmed news that Ford will plonk in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine in the Fiesta later on, this motor produces 123 PS of power and 170 Nm of torque and is offered in the EcoSport. All in all, it seems Ford has learnt from its blunder that it created while pricing the Fiesta in 2011 and now the company is trying all means possible to gain some sales against rivals.
