Ford Fiesta Ambiente versus Honda City Corporate

Ford India has reduced the prices of the Fiesta which is now priced at Rs. 7.23 lakh for the base Ambiente variant. The Fiesta sedan now is directly in the Honda City Coporate Edition’s territory which starts at Rs. 6.99 lakh. Let’s compare the two and see which one offers more value to prospective buyers.

Driving and Handling

The City is powered by a 1.5-litre i-VTEC (variable-valve timing) petrol engine that puts out 116 bhp of power and 146 Nm of torque. On the other hand, the Fiesta is powered by a 1.5-litre petrol motor that puts out 108 bhp of power and 140 Nm of torque. Both the cars have free-revving engines, but the City has an edge as it accelerates quickly and feels less strained even at high speeds. Also see our video comparison of the Honda City and Ford Fiesta!

When it comes to handling, the Fiesta has a great suspension setup that is good in terms of both ride quality and handling. On the other hand, the City’s suspension setup is stiff and even small bumps filter into the cabin. Overall, the City leads in terms of all round drivability while the Fiesta leads in terms of sheer handling.

Space and Comfort

The Fiesta is wider and taller than the City however the City still has more comfortable rear seats. The City is benefited by its longer wheelbase and hence offers more legroom for rear passengers. Even in terms of boot space the City offers a 506 litre boot while the Fiesta offers only a 430 litre boot.

With regard to comfort, both the cars have well sculpted seats in the front row. But when you move to the back seat the Fiesta feels a bit cramped and the transmission tunnel makes life difficult for the middle passenger to sit. The City is quite spacious at the rear and can offer comfort to three passengers easily. Overall, the City has an edge over the Fiesta, in terms of space and comfort.

Looks

The Honda City with its arrow form design and the Ford Fiesta with its kinetic theme depict two extremes of Asian and European car designs. The face lifted City gets a new wide chrome grille, a redesigned front bumper, new fog lamps and tail lamps. There are cosmetic updates such as chrome door handles and turn indicators on the ORVMs.

The Fiesta has fox-eyed headlamps, an inverted trapezoidal lower air dam and chrome surrounds for the fog lamps. The side profile reveals the protruding wheel arches and chrome beltline. The rear looks a bit awkward due to the downsized tail lamps and boot shape.

Though looks are subjective, when compared to the City, the Fiesta looks futuristic and has a premium feel.

Features

Both the cars come with safety features such as the driver side airbag, ABS with EBD. The Fiesta Ambiente variant comes with EPAS with Pull Drift Compensation Technology Steering not offered in the Honda City while the City comes with passenger airbag and brake assist not offered in the Fiesta Ambiente. With regard to comfort, both the cars come with manual AC, rear centre armrest, front & rear power windows but lacks music system.

The City has a very slight advantage for it offers passenger side airbag.

Price, mileage and VFM

The City Corporate variant, priced at Rs. 6.99 lakh is Rs. 24,000 cheaper than the Fiesta Ambiente variant. Though less priced, the City Corporate variant comes with passenger side airbag not offered in the Fiesta Ambiente.

With regard to mileage, the City has ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of 16.7 kmpl while the Fiesta has ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of 17 kmpl. Real world mileage will be almost equal and hence, there is no winner here.

Overall, the City Corporate comes with as many features as the Fiesta Ambiente, but yet is priced cheaper than the Fiesta Ambiente. Hence, the City Corporate is a better ‘value for money’ proposition than the Fiesta Ambiente.

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Verdict

If space, comfort, performance and low price are your top priority, go for the City Corporate variant. If looks, ride quality and handling are your top priority, go for the Fiesta Ambiente variant.