FORD FIESTA HATCHBACK

Yestraday in the Business Line(15th FEB) newspaper, first page itself they have printed the photo of new Ford Fiesta Hatchback. They have spotted the car 55kms away from Chennai. Hope near Marimalai Nagar(Ford factory) outskirts of Chennai.

They have printed only the rear side of the car. It resembles like the Honda Jazz. The word FIESTA was written in a stylish way. Its a diesel model(tdci was present). The word TITANIUM was also present. This car is with a rear wiper, spoiler, chrome finish in the rear side. Hope it should be a high end model.

 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/15/stories/20100215.htm

It is definitely not in line of production,sales in India,it costs more than an equivlant of 10 lakh Rs,probably they are testing the 2011 fiesta engine in this body shell 

Bala,

Ford is soon coming with Fiesta hatch. the details are in the below link. Firesta hatch is very successful model in the Europe.

http://autos.maxabout.com/cvid1371/ford-fiesta-hatchback-gxi

Along with the success in Europe, Ford is launching it in the US this summer.

If it gets launched in India I'm not sure if they'll call it a Fiesta.  The current Fiesta in India is apparently a Fiesta-like car Ford developed for the Indian market.  Or at least that's what Wikipedia says.  Looking at the pictures, I find that believable.  Up until the current generation (2008-present), the Euro/etc. Fiesta didn't come as a sedan.  The current Fiesta in India looks similar to the Euro/etc. Fiesta, but definitely not the same.  My gut says it was based on the previous Fiesta (or perhaps Focus) design, and modified for India.  Ford may not want to give up it's "made for India" model and transfer the name to a different car.

That picture of the hatch spotted 55kms from Ford's Chennai plant looks exactly like the pictures I've seen of the upcoming US market model.  If assorted price comparisons between India and other markets are any guide, I'm gussing the international Fiesta models (it's offered elsewhere as both a sedan and a hatch) could start as low as 6 lakhs, but I'm guessing more like 7 if they stick with the 1.6L petrol engine.  If they do launch the hatch, hopefully Ford will have the brains to give it the 1.6L and offer a diesel (1.4 Duratorq?).  If they give it the 1.6, perhaps it will be the "king of all hatches" that Jazz was supposed to be.  That would certainly be a niche product, but that's ok as long as they're building for export and the mechanicals (e.g. most spares) are the same as the sedan.  There will always be a few people with nice sedan money who simply prefer a hatch for ease of parking or their large object swallowing ability.

Now for a few expected specs on the upcoming US market Fiesta:

hatch -- similar in size to Jazz and i20:

Length:  4065mm  Width:  1695mm  Height: 1475mm  Weight:  1153kg

Sedan -- similar in size to Verna, City, and Manza:

Length:  4410mm  Width:  1695mm  Height:  1475mm  Weight:  1171kg

Both:

Engine:  1.6L petrol, 119 hp, 109 ft-lbs (148 N-m) torque

Transmission:  6 speed manual or 6 speed dual clutch automatic.

FE:  AT beats MT!  The US government tests (probably already run using a car built for Europe) came out to:  12.2 city and 16 kmpl highway for MT, and 12.6 city and 16.8 highway for AT.  Of course the AT in question is a dual clutch automated gearbox rather than a conventional AT with a fluid torque converter.

I read an article indicating a 0-97 kmph (0-60mph) time of 9.5s, but it didn't say if it was for the hatch or sedan.  With an 18kg weight difference, times should be close to the same.

I have no idea if these cars will be offered in India.  If they do show up the specifications could easily be different.  Ford offers a wider range of models and engines in Europe, and any of those could be considered for India.  They might also make other changes to adjust to the Indian market, reglulations, or tax laws.

I saw the Ford Fiesta Hatchback test vehicle yesterday (and day before yesterday too).

On Monday, it was around 6:45AM in Chennai and I was on my way to office. I was going in my office car, there I saw a ford car coming in the opposite direction. For a second I thought it's nothing but the All new Fiesta'2011. But when the car crossed, it was a shocking surprise. It's a HATCHBACK  But didn't get a good view of the car, as it was a small street. Then I searched it on net if any hatchback of Fiesta is coming.

Yesterday, around 7AM, on the way to my office, road was almost clear near Guindy (Chennai). I was sitting in the front seat. I saw a Blue hatchback going in front of us (10-12ft distance). I was almost sure that it's the same car that I saw the other day. I asked the driver to go near that car. Atlast, YES it's the same car, Fiesta Hatchback (TEST Vehicle). Car's styling and design are so good. And now I'm waiting for the launch of it. Hoping that they should launch it before november  Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

MODS: I'm sorry for bumping an old thread. But just wanted to share it.

Shankar,

A spy shot would have been gr8. Anyways, good news, but we will have to watch out its price.

In our office, we should not use Camera mobiles. Hence I couldn't take any photos. But it looks exactly the same as the European version (Exteriors alone, not sure of the interiors though)

And yes, even I'm waiting eagerly to know the price!

For my surprise, they didn't even cover a single part of the car.

Fiesta Hatchback is stunner . I have seen it on NDTV . But it will be the costliest hatch on Indian road & price may go beyond 8 lacs !!! .

8 lacs odd for a hatch. Hope ford doesnt go the jazzy way (Honda Jazz) and end up having a disaster in its hand. Honda has already learnt the hard way and it would be better if Ford too understands the dynamics of Indian mindset nefore pricing a hatch so high