With the current market cap of just 12%, the Fiesta has a lot of catching up to do in order to pull alongside its competitors.
Design
The new Fiesta's cosmetic change hasn't been drastic to the tune that one would fail to associate the car with the outgoing model. Although mildly handsome with sporty overtones, the Fiesta won't by any chance cause havoc in the oomph meter. Fiesta fascia gets a makeover with a tweaked radiator grille, a gaping air dam, a set of striking double-barrel headlamps and round fog lights. The "new" headlamps are essentially a light adaptation of the original headlamp design, but they still manage to look quite arresting. The fog lights perched high on the bumper have chrome surrounds which lends a touch of class to the front. The rear of the Fiesta remains unchanged from that of its predecessor, except in the case of the 1.6 S, which gets an added spoiler. The 1.6 S is in fact the most attractive Fiesta with its flashy side skirts, gleaming 15" alloy wheels and a chrome tipped exhaust.

The Fiesta's interior remains more or less similar to the previous model. It continues to be roomy, practical and comfortable. While all the models have a two-tone Ebony & Camel colour coordinated interior, the sport-oriented 1.6 S sports a two-tone Ebony & Jasper Blue colour combination. The dashboard has been modified to accommodate a passenger airbag, an in-dash 2-Din MP3 CD player and the top SXI and S variants also get a soft-touch instrument panel hood. Apart from the good looking silver surrounds for the circular air-vents, the dashboard's centre console now comes with different finishes for all the different variants. A self-coloured insert for the basic EXI model, dark nickel metallic finish for ZXI, a glossy mahogany wood finish for SXI and silver aluminium finish for the Fiesta S variant. All the buttons and knobs are neatly laid out to give an uncluttered dashboard and the three-spoke steering wheel, gearshift lever and door handles all get smart silver inserts and along with fabric and vinyl door inserts make the Fiesta's interior look attractive and classy. In addition the Fiesta S also gets some fancy drilled alloy foot pedals which add to the aesthetics of the interior.

Besides good looks Fiesta's interior scores high on comfort, thanks to supportive seats, which apart from being big and wide also provide good lumbar and under-thigh support. Most Fiesta variants feature fabric seat upholstery and door inserts but the range-topping SXI variant flaunts high quality beige vinyl covered seats and door mouldings. Fiesta's seat position remains high, which aids in providing a good view of the road ahead as well as in delivering good amounts of legroom space.

Intelligently designed door pockets and well placed cup holders and other storage spaces make storing newspapers, magazines, drinks and other knick-knacks very easy. However Fiesta's boot with a capacity of 430 litres, can at times feel insufficient.
Comfort
The Ford Fiesta's front suspension system features independent McPherson struts with offset coil spring and stabilizer bars, while the rear suspension uses a semi-independent heavy duty twist beam with coil springs and gas-filled shock absorbers setup. Ride comfort needless to say, is quite good. For the comfort and convenience of driver and passengers, the Fiesta comes kitted with an air-con-cum-heater, interior courtesy lamps, rear seat arm-rest, an integrated 2-DIN MP3 CD player with aux-in apart from the more rudimentary features like power steering and power windows. Yet the inclusion of climate control would have really put the Fiesta at par with the Maruti Swift Dzire and the Hyundai Verna in terms of features and equipments.
Engine, Transmission and Performance
Ford Fiesta has lost an engine but added a variant. The new Ford Fiesta range now consists of seven variants instead of the earlier six. The old 1.4-litre Duratec petrol engine has been discontinued while the all-aluminium 1.6-litre Duratec petrol and 1.4-litre Duratorq diesel continue to be on offer.

If performance is what you are looking for, then look no further than the 1,596cc petrol, which displaces 101PS of power and 146Nm of torque. But if fuel efficiency is of higher priority, then blindly pick the Fiesta diesel, which also finds a mention in the Limca Book of Records!

Ford is however serious about making fuel efficient cars. It claims the new 1.6-litre unit to be as fuel-efficient as the discontinued 1.4-litre engine. They seem to have accomplished this feat by installing a new Power Control Module (PCM) which apart from enhancing engine refinement and reducing emissions has also lowered the fuel consumption. The petrol Fiesta delivers a decent 10.5kmpl in the city and 15.3kmpl on the highway.

The petrol Fiesta range also consists of a 'sportier' 1.6 S and in keeping with the sporty theme, the 1.6 S comes shod with fatter 195/55 low profile R15 tyres, with alloy wheels and a full compliment of body skirting and a rear spoiler. Carrying the same engine found in the regular petrol models the 1.6 S also delivers the same mileage as the regular models. However it does get a tweaked suspension for a better driver-car interaction and does 0 to 100kmph in 11.43 seconds.

The 68PS turbo diesel Fiesta though not as performance oriented as its petrol sibling, is definitely is more economical, delivering 14.9kmpl in the city and 17.8kmpl on the highway!

Ford Fiesta stays true to its roots by remaining as a driver-focused car. Acceleration across both the petrol and diesel versions is seamless and linear. Even at high rpms power delivery is very satisfactory and speeds in excess of 150kmph can easily be achieved. The car handles well with minimum body roll and its rack & pinion power steering gives it a turning radius of 4.9m while returning acceptable levels of feedback. This makes the Fiesta an extremely manoeuvrable car, which is always helpful for city driving.
Safety
The Ford Fiesta is a safe car that has been put through over 400 virtual cash simulations and tested over 700,000kms in 9 different countries as claimed by Ford. It has also undergone low-speed frontal impact tests and comes equipped with a special "dog Bar" to protect itself from damage during such collisions. Airbags, ABS with EBD finally make an appearance on the Ford Fiesta. The other notable safety features that the new Ford Fiesta is equipped with are a collapsible steering column, child safety locks on rear doors, special pedals which come off during severe impact to prevent foot injury, day-night inside rear-view mirror, fuel cut-off inertia switch (petrol models only), side intrusion beams and remote central locking.

The Ford Fiesta is a very competitively priced car. Petrol models start at Rs. 6,20,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) while the diesel models are priced from Rs. 7,10,000 (ex-showroom Delhi); this along with excellent fuel-economy that the Fiesta offers should find favour with us Indians but it seems Fiesta is still finding it hard to shake off its previous image. However there are reports that indicate that sale of the new Fiesta is starting to pick up as it should. I guess now its just a question of time…