Ford has officially launched the Fiesta facelift in India. It will be available only with a 1.5-litre TDCi diesel engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. Ford is offering the Fiesta facelift in three variants at a starting price of Rs 7.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base Ambiente trim and Rs 9.29 lakh for the top Titianium trim. Unlike the last time, Ford has ensured that the Fiesta facelift sports an attractive price tag. But how do the Fiesta facelift model’s prices compare against its popular competitors in the mid-size sedan segment? Here’s a breakdown.
Starting price
With a price tag of Rs 7.69 lakh for the base Ambiente trim, the Ford Fiesta facelift is currently India’s most affordable mid-size diesel sedan. The competitor which comes closest to it is the Fiat Linea diesel, which starts from Rs 8.16 lakh for the base Active trim. The diesel Honda City E variant, which retails for Rs 8.43 lakh, occupies third spot. The base Linea diesel costs Rs 47,000 more than the base Fiesta facelift while the base City diesel is pricier by Rs 74,000.
The Volkswagen Vento diesel range starts from Rs 8.64 lakh for the Trendline trim, which is Rs 95,000 more the price of the Fiesta facelift Ambiente trim.
The base EX variant of the Hyundai Verna 1.6 diesel costs Rs 9.42 lakh, making it the most expensive mid-size sedan in this bunch. Compared to the base Fiesta facelift Ambiente, the Hyundai Verna 1.6 EX is expensive by a whopping Rs 1.73 lakh.
(All prices, ex-showroom Delhi)
In the middle
The mid Fiesta facelift Trend variant is priced at Rs 8.55 lakh, while the mid VW Vento Comfortline trim costs Rs 9.26 lakh and the Fiat Linea Dynamic retails for Rs 9.29 lakh. This makes the Ford Fiesta Trend cheaper than the Vento Comfortline by Rs 71,000 and Rs 74,000 less than the Linea Dynamic.
The diesel Honda City SV is priced at Rs 9.55 lakh, which is a lakh more than the mid variant of the Fiesta facelift.
Hyundai has priced its mid Verna SX trim at Rs 9.76 lakh, Rs 1.21 lakh more than the Fiesta facelift Trend.
The range toppers
The top Fiesta Titanium variant is priced at Rs 9.29 lakh, which makes it the least expensive top diesel mid-size sedan trim on sale in India currently. Again, the top-end Fiat Linea Emotion diesel trim is the rival that gets closest to it price-wise, at Rs 9.74 lakh, the price difference being Rs 45,000.
The top Vento Highline trim retails for Rs 9.99 lakh, which is Rs 70,000 more than the top Fiesta facelift diesel trim. While this price difference between the top variants of the Fiesta facelift and the VW Vento is substantial, the difference between the top Fiesta trim and the Verna and City variants is jaw-dropping amount.
The diesel Hyundai Verna SX (O) sports a price tag of Rs 10.80 lakh, which makes it expensive by Rs 1.51 lakh over the Fiesta facelift Titanium trim.
In comparison, the top Honda City VX i-DTEC is priced at Rs 11.05 lakh, a massive Rs 1.76 lakh more than the top Fiesta facelift trim. The top diesel variant of the City is the most expensive diesel mid-size car in this bunch.
(All prices, ex-showroom Delhi)
How does it fare in the price war?
Ford seems to have done its homework well with the Fiesta facelift. It has learnt its lesson from the 2011 debacle, when the Fiesta was launched in India and received a lackluster response from buyers. Ford has priced the Fiesta facelift mid-size sedan competitively and it is cheaper than its rivals across the base, middle and top trims. The base Ambiente variant will entice buyers while the top Titanium seems to be a good value-for-money deal, considering it comes loaded with a good amount of kit. Ford has hit the nail on its head with respect to the pricing of the Fiesta facelift.
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
