Ford India has launched the facelifted Fiesta sedan. Although unveiled and on sale globally a few years ago, the car was first showcased in India at the Auto Expo earlier this year.
The updated Fiesta sedan is now available only with the 1.5-litre 90bhp diesel motor which comes mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. Other than that, the sedan is mechanically identical to the outgoing one, with the dimensions, tyre size and capacities remaining unchanged.
As for the facelift itself, the styling changes are subtle at first glance but on closer inspection, you’ll appreciate the mature, Aston Martin-esque grille and softer headlamps, sporty new alloy wheels, and a rear end that’s visually wider than before. Contrary to what we’ve seen on the international car, the interior will stick to a grey-and-black, rather than a beige-and-black theme, but the dashboard inserts will be finished differently for each of the three trims. It also gets the Ford EcoSport’s cool blue lighting theme for the instruments and screen, ditching the old car’s red theme.
Three trim levels are on offer – Ambiente, Trend and Titanium. While the base Fiesta gets no music system at all, the ‘Sync’ onboard computer system is only available on the top Titanium trim.
The Fiesta Ambiente, priced at Rs 7.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) leaves out a number of features that the Trend (Rs 8.55 lakh) and Titanium (Rs 9.29 lakh) have, like fog lamps, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto climate control, body-coloured mirrors and door handles (they’re black instead), wheel covers, cruise control and footwell lamps. However, standard across all Fiestas are ‘guide me home’ headlamps, a split-folding rear seat, driver’s seat height adjustment, remote locking, and electrically adjustable mirrors. Oddly, none of the trim levels seem to have leather upholstery, even as an option.
Over the Ambiente, the Fiesta Trend adds a few features (like a six-speaker CD, USB and aux-capable audio system and full wheel covers), but you really have to go to the Titanium for the full experience. This variant adds alloy wheels, automatic headlamps and wipers, puddle lamps, electrically folding mirrors, keyless entry and go, rear parking sensors, ambient cabin lighting and a more advanced digital trip computer with real-time fuel economy and distance-to-empty readings. It also gets the updated version of Sync from the EcoSport, with the ‘Emergency Assist’ safety feature.
On the safety front, Ford hasn’t skimped with the new Fiesta. All trims get ABS with EBD as standard, and while the Ambiente gets only a driver airbag, the Trend and Titanium get a passenger airbag as well. No sign of the EcoSport’s optional six-airbag setup, though.
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Viraaj Bhatnagar
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