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> Ford Fiesta preview in Malaysia, finally a more accessible Ford!

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kadajawi
post Nov 15 2011, 02:07 AM

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QUOTE(Kampung2005 @ Sep 24 2011, 06:55 PM)
However, Fiesta has its origins from Europe.
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Yeah. Ford models in the US are usually totally different from those in Europe, Americans loved big cars, Europeans a bit more economical ones.

Have to say I'm really surprised by the pricing of the Fiesta. Tried to spec one in Germany that is similar to the sedan (no sedan in Germany, but you can't get the Fiesta with only 2 airbags there), and the Malaysian one ended up being CHEAPER than the one in Germany. Where's the tax on imported cars gone? And there is no DSG for the Fiesta in Germany.

The difference is the lack of a very entry level Fiesta (5 airbags, ESP, 3 doors, 60 hp, manual, aircon), RM 51200 in Germany. So maybe a bit less here? I think that could have a chance of competing with the MyVi. A bit more, but also a better car (at least if it is as good as the new Opel Corsa which I drove once... totally different from the MyVi. Good manual gearbox, not like that long stick the MyVi has IIRC). It's a pitty that euro imports are all fully equipped... no wonder they are too expensive. Would be nice to see entry level ones, so everyone can afford.

@bktay: Renault are also very popular for being safe, I think it was the first brand to only have 5 star EuroNCAP ratings or something like that. Especially they make small affordable cars that are very safe. Japanese cars can also be very safe, but for some reason they don't sell those in M'sia... the German MyVi (Daihatsu Sirion) has a minimum of 4 airbags IIRC.

Btw. loved driving the Ford Galaxy on the Autobahn. Nice comfy suspension, even the 1.6 liter Diesel (115 hp?) is reasonably powerful (did about 160 km/h average, 180-190 when I floored it, used about 8 liter per 100 km on the trip)). Interior feels good, looks good, nice satnav/multimedia system, it is huge with insane amounts of legroom, 7 seats that can fold away... they should bring it to M'sia too! Basic spec (registered for a day, driven 5 km, so technically not new) can be had for RM 90000, probably more expensive here though (they must be losing money at that price).

Edit: Yeah, Western Europeans usually don't like small saloons (the Dacia Logan is somewhat popular though, but probably mostly due to the very very low price. Imagine a Proton Saga, but designed by Renault so rather safe). Not sure why, perhaps cause they don't look that good? Not so easy to park? Middle class like Mondeo, Merc C class, 3 series BMW etc. saloons are quite popular, though station wagons might be even more popular (still attractive, but lots of space, very practical).

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Nov 15 2011, 03:28 AM
kadajawi
post Nov 15 2011, 10:52 AM

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QUOTE(kaffra @ Nov 15 2011, 06:25 AM)
holy thread resurrection.
btw unless its a cbu model, the cars are not going to be the same internally. asean unit wont have any use for a ptc heater, but it could do with a bigger evap core.
malaysia market is too small too provide to many options, but probably in the future they will get the india/china spec'd value enabled models.
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lol.

Hm, true. Can't imagine it's CBU when the car costs about as much as in Germany... they have 19% sales tax, but Malaysia has insane taxes on imported cars... and there is more competition in Germany. My CKD Kangoo has a heater... it's pretty pointless.

I think the manual Fiesta at 70k is a first attempt at a lower spec'd value model, but from the amount of kit that is missing (especially that lovely DSG which even I as a manual fan would love to have and all the airbags, ESP etc.) it's not really worth it. The price difference is too small (even the satnav on a B class Merc costs more than the upgrade from the budget Fiesta to the sedan!). If it had all the safety features but cost <70k... the car probably wasn't designed for use without airbags, everything like seatbelts are designed with airbags in mind so it will probably be quite dangerous.
kadajawi
post Nov 15 2011, 10:04 PM

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QUOTE(kaffra @ Nov 15 2011, 04:36 PM)
yes but insurance is a pita here in germany, fuel prices.
The titanium model in germany is already starting 15k €, the very basic model is at 11k €. Malaysias fiesta is quite decently spec'd and the price seems ok considering.

i havent seen a myvi or its jap counterpart in EU, so i cant say about its safety. But fiesta is 5star ncap, the extra airbags at the knees etc offer additional protection, but its not the primary safety measures.
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Oh, a German here? Or a Malay in Germany? Yeah you are right, insurance is pretty bad, especially if you have just received your driving license. After a while (and if you don't crash) it gets ok. Well, if you don't. Last winter I slowly crashed into a Ford Focus (the road was really slippery, I could hardly walk), about RM 6000-8000 the repair was supposed to cost. I could hardly see a scratch on his rear bumper (and wth is a bumper for?! Looking pretty or absorbing bumps?!)! Insurrance was raised quite a bit cause of that sad.gif Road tax can be pretty bad too, my old R19 had about RM 2500 of road tax per year because the catalytic converter was not very good. And lets not start about the fuel prices... last month it was RM 6,62 for petrol.

Quite decently? It has DSG, and the configurator doesn't give you the option to get DSG. I'd say at least the 80k Fiestas are pretty much top of the line ones, if you ignore the ST and RS (is it out yet?).

I have seen one or two MyVi (uh, Sirion) in Germany, I think both times in East Germany. And one of my lecturers from America bought a Sirion (she moved back to the US though). I think she liked it. But they are hardly selling, guess that's why they are rather affordable if you look at mobile.de. I think that's also quite different from M'sia... it is said that the current (so soon outdated) 3 series is sold for about 30% below list price atm, usually cars are like 16% less than list, apart from small ones which are quite expensive. As far as I have observed here that doesn't happen that much in M'sia (seen 2 nearly new 80k Fiestas for 70k on Mudah...).

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/daihatsu_sirion_2005/236.aspx This is the test of the MyVi, pretty decent, however that 2005 Euro spec model had 4 airbags, which IIRC you just can't get here. They must have helped in getting the decent rating. Btw. the Waja got 3 stars, but it also had 4 airbags (so Proton developed the airbags for the car, but chose not to even offer them to their own people to cut cost!).

And this is the Fiesta, but tested to the newer EuroNCAP standards IIRC, which are harsher. http://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_fiesta_2008/333.aspx Really good rating, you can see the difference, and it's even a great car to drive into pedestrians with. biggrin.gif
kadajawi
post Nov 16 2011, 01:47 AM

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lol. biggrin.gif

I'm really curious of how it will do... they are advertising it (not nearly aggressive enough... I'd stress the fact that the salon has 7 airbags and the competition, well, 0 to 2, that it has the very latest 6 gear auto gearbox vs an ancient 4 gear box with high FC and poor performance and bad comfort, ...), the car is very agressively priced (Vios!), it is good looking and modern, handling should be great, ... and if it sells well 2nd hand value could be pretty good and more service stations that can handle it appear, besides a decent stock of spare parts.

Reading a rather detailed German review of the hatchback... they say it's well protected against rust, generally well made. There is nothing to protect the doors against other people bumping into them with their doors while parking -> scratches etc. No spare wheel, just a repair kit. Hard to see in front of the car (while parking), rear visibility rather mediocre (they haven't driven my Xsara... feels like driving a Lambo). Windscreen wipers should cover a larger area. Getting in and out of the car might be a bit difficult... (well, obviously it's not a Kangoo where you can walk into the car), so you might knock your head (I guess Asians will usually have less problems with this though). The hatchbacks boot could be bigger, it's smaller than the predecessor. When you fold the rear seats away the floor is uneven, and the carpet in the boot is hard to clean (lol).
The buttons and switches are well placed, easy to learn. Well adjustable steering wheel, great position of the dashboard, and it'll show you how economic you are driving. Extra button to start the engine, which is troublesome (though not if you have keyless go, but then it's making it easy for thieves). Too many buttons in the center console. Spacious in front (comfortable up to 1,90m). Enough space for up to 1,85m ppl behind, but probably not in combination with someone tall in front of him (not enough space for the knees).
Quite comfy ride, takes bumps rather well (yay!). Comfortable seats that should fit everyone.
Loud engine, but until 130 km/h still reasonably quite. High revs make quite a noise. Smooth engine though (the 1.6). Good manual gearbox with short distances between the gears (take that MyVi). Good handling, traction control helps when accelerating on wet roads etc. The feedback from the steering wheel could be better, and it's too light at high speeds. That's good in towns though. Very good brakes.
No beeping sounds when the passengers don't use their seat belts (very bad IMHO). Only the driver window stops if something gets in between (pretty bad, but the Vios is the same). You may not mount a child seat backwards (uuh... how to translate?) on the front passenger seat as the airbag may not be deactivated (will surely hurt or kill the kid)... even our 2002 Xsara has that option.
Very clean exhaust gases, so good to the environment/less pollution. FC is ok, average.
That's just a short summary of the short summary of the full test (300 things they check... wtf?). Have to keep in mind though that they compare it to continental small hatchbacks and their Japanese etc. competition (no Vios etc. in Germany.
kadajawi
post Nov 17 2011, 02:13 PM

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QUOTE(Gaia34 @ Nov 16 2011, 06:25 PM)
Between Ford Fiesta & mazda 2, which worth the money more in terms of fuel efficiency, features Etc.... hmm.gif
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Fiesta hands down. The Mazda has an ancient auto gearbox (Elvis had one of those, lol). High FC (my Kangoo uses about 10-12 liter/100 km, the same car as manual should consume 7-8), very poor performance (my Xsara has the same size engine, same hp, same weight, but manual. Uses 6-7 liter and feels much much faster, much more fun to drive). The Fiesta auto gearbox is the very latest thing on the market, changes gears very fast, low fuel consumption, and more gears so better performance too. You can also manually tell the car which gear to use.

The Mazda 2 has 2 airbags, the Fiesta 7. Fiesta has electronic stability control (great feature when you corner to fast or the road is slippery, you have to quickly dodge some other object on the road etc. Traction control too, so when you accelerate hard the tires won't slip (and you won't move forward at all). Mazda has none of these things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsz1mB3c4ZU The passenger area doesn't crumble at all, can still easily open the door, windscreen is intact, ... and the Mazda 2 will not protect your knees (no airbag) or your head when someone bumps into the side of your car (my mum had such a crash before), and it's going to hurt like hell if your head crashes into the door, unprotected.

Basically with the Fiesta Sedan you'll get a Euro spec car, with all the gadgets and gizmos and safety features a European will get. Mazda is Malay spec, very empty. Very overpriced IMHO. No competition at all, I don't think any Japanese car sold in Malaysia can compete with the Fiesta in terms of spec and safety, except for the big and expensive ones (Mazda 6 for example) or Prius or something like that. (Funny that in Europe the Mazda 2 has at least 6 airbags. Those Japanese are trying to kill Malaysians! (just kidding, they just want to make more money)).

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