The new Ford Fiesta versus the competition

The Fiesta will face stiff competition from the segment leader Hyundai’s fluidic Verna which sold an impressive 4,102 units sold in June alone. It will be interesting to see whether Ford will price the Fiesta as aggressively as Hyundai did with the Verna.

We expect Ford to price the Fiesta in the Rs. 7 to Rs 11 lakh price range, but details will be made public only once the car is officially launched on July 14.

The 2011 global Ford Fiesta handles better than the Verna, as the steering response is far more precise and it feels well-weighted. The Fiesta’s suspension too is firmer than the Verna’s making for a better ride quality, as the Verna tends to pitch when one comes across a rough patch at high speed.

The Hyundai Verna beats the Ford Fiesta in a straight-line as it has more power. The 1.6 petrol Verna puts out 122 bhp compared to 109 bhp for the Fiesta petrol. Even among the diesels, the 1.6 CRDi Verna puts out 126 bhp of power while the Fiesta diesel has 90 bhp. It also doesn’t have as much useful equipment compared to the Verna.

While it lacks the brute power of Verna, it handles better than any other car in the segment except for Honda City.

The car the Fiesta is most comparable to is the Vento, where it makes slightly better power and handles better. It also has a lot more equipment compared to the Vento. The Vento, which sold a little less than 2,500 units in June, could come under serious threat after the Fiesta launch.

When it comes to the SX4, the Fiesta is a better car in terms of equipment and power specifications. The only area the Fiesta falls behind the SX4 is on service network, where it’s hard to beat the backing and service standards of Maruti.

Whether Fiesta will dent the sales of the market leader (Verna) or other competitors (City, SX4, Vento) would depend a lot on the pricing strategy Fiesta adopts. What do you think?