My New Ford Classic 1.4 TDCi Titanium


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Hello all,

Joined this forum today and decided to write my initial ownership review of my new car - Ford Classic 1.4 TDCI

I know a lot of people on this forum would disapprove of buying this car, even my friends suggested to look elsewhere as this is a aged car and going to be discontinued soon, but I listened to my heart and went ahead and bought this car

Usually my heart rules my head always, so went ahead booked the car with 10K at cauvery ford and then started to look at other cars

I test drove all C segment sedans(proper sedans not sub 4 meter cross breeds) on sale except Fiat Linea(as I don't like FIAT cars) and here is my opinion

1. ETIOS - Good car but driving experience is nothing to write home about, the test drive vehicle had done around 20K and I literally experienced what it is like being a taxi driver....the driving exp. and the feedback from the car dynamics was too bad. The interior had space but not much quality and really Toyota could have done a lot more

2. Hyundai Verna Fluidic - Build Quality is like always excellent, and having owned Accent CRDi in the past I knew there would be no quality issues. The only worry was the handling department and it has gotten from bad to worse on the Verna fluidic. Its feels very detached from the road grip, like riding in a air balloon at high speeds and its very scary. Individually I am a very spirited driver and this character of the car made me stay away from Hyundai again. Rest all is good with the car and also the service bills are expensive

3. Honda City diesel - The car build quality is a step down from the out going model. Nevertheless this times it comes with fully loaded features, Space inside is class leading and the touch AC looks cool. But the car is very expensive for what it offers, the same features on other cars can be had for nearly two lakhs less. The test drive was short one but noticed that engine clatter was way too much inside and there were absolutely no offers on the car. Since I had already liked Ford classic....this car with similar features On the S variant made it look very expensive (8.6 lakhs vs 12.5 lakhs....45% more expensive) even if I considered the new new model, more space and more top end performance....4 lakhs extra wont make economical sense

4. Skoda Rapid - The dealer tried to sell me a 2013 model, too shocked I left the showroom, but later found a friend with this car and test drove it...all feels nice but when he mentioned he was charged 16k for his fourth service, it turned me off

5. Volkswagen Vento - Good car, german engineering and powerful engine and performance, but too plain with not much features and looks plain, somehow I did not like the car as my neighbour who owns advised me against it

6. TATA Manza - Never wanted to buy a TATA, even then went ahead with a open mind....liked the space inside....its royal....it not too lengthy like Nissan Sunny....its a perfect chauffeur driven car but for a proper performance driver like me it would be suicide

7. Nissan Sunny/Renault scala - Nissan Sunny as everybody knows has plenty of space but the seats lack proper thigh support and is unusually long for a city car. And the car was not exciting enough, I thought hard over the scala(as it is better looking) but later got to know update is on its way with much better improvement overall - I did not wanted to wait so I moved on

8. Chevrolet Sail - Did not like it from the word go.Even refused to take a test drive. No comments

So finally coming to the Ford Classic, I found it to be reasonable and worth buying the car even if its old and main point was that supposedly there is a law in India that car manufacturer should provide service, spares and support up to 10 years from the time they discontinue a particular model, I was not sure of this so called the customer care of the Ford and they confirmed it, so most of my worries were put to rest. Also a friend working at ford factory in chennai told me they would discontinue this model only next year in June

Why I finalised on the FORD CLASSIC

1. Value for money and was getting good discount too
2. Its a proper sedan for the price of a hatch with a boot
3. Fantastic Driving Dynamics
4. Feature loaded - for 8.6 lakhs on road i get ABS with EBD and two airbags-it just wins my heart and mind too
5. The maintenance costs have actually come down with ford, and most of all ford has introduced happy pocket service for 2199 net and the service centre is closer to home

I booked the car on 30th May and on 5th june the showroom called that car has arrived and I can come and see the car, I went quickly and the car was being unloaded from the truck, I checked the VIN and I was surprised that the car was manufactured in may 2014 itself, even checked the tyres they were made between april 3rd and 4th week, did the PDI and it was too my satisfaction. The dealer had asked for 20 days to deliver the car so I had not got my cash ready, it took me a while as I was going for full cash, Finally took the delivery on 24th June, a good 20 days later, nevertheless the car was maintained well till my delivery. The showroom was cauvery ford in magadi road, bangalore. The SA was helpful and good but the manager was shrewd, they declined me the free accessories worth 10k if I buy the insurance outside, as I wanted the side body moulding to be done from showroom only(as there will be no colour difference) which costs 6k I budged for it. Went for the bumper to bumper insurance from reliance. And I used the F and F (friends and family) price listing for buying the car which got me 40k discount(no showroom discount of 20k, so effective discount on selling price was only 20K)

Went with family to take delivery, very normal process nothing to write about.

Coming to the car I bought it in MoonDust Silver, Which I am loving it. The car feels nice and good to drive. Power in the first and second gear is low, thats the only thing I hate write now and I have to down shift to 1st gear even for a small slope and in bumper to bumper traffic I have to keep juggling between the two gears which is a concern right now, will anything change after first service? I need inputs who have owned fiesta. Rest all are to my liking. The music system is just too awesome, great sound quality and also bluetooth functions very well with phone book features and redial, dialled, received and missed calls. Also bluetooth music streaming is very good with no loss in quality, even 320kbps and 480kbps songs stream well with zero lag. The USB takes a lot of time to read if its fully loaded with songs and its bad that it does every time the music system is restarted but it picks up from the place and song it left last time even after switching off and restarting the car.

Rear lamps are very well lit and with the front map lights the car is totally lit if you want it to. The glove box and the boot are illuminated as well. Boot space for me is good at 430lts. Coming to the engine bay the showroom guys have sprayed some paint kind of thing all over the engine and other parts to avoid rats. Headlights are good and too my satisfaction and fog lamps are way more powerful than expected. Lots of storage options in the dash and other places. Coming to the suspension its kind of weird and I am still not able to make a opinion on it. It feels bumpy on some patches on the road and sometimes its too good absorbing all irregularities on the road, and with big road potholes it makes a thud noise from the front....please anyone tell me about this suspension

The windscreen has the dashboard reflection if you are riding in direct sun light, not distracting but intrusive of course. AC is a gem, I am very happy with the performance, hope it stays the same always. Haven't tested the wipers yet. Sound Insulation is decent and with AC on it gets reduced. with windows down its noticeable only if u want to hear it otherwise its nothing to bother.

Have to yet get the under chassis treatment and paint protection treatment from 3M and any suggestions on affordable transparent sun films? CR70 and CR90 from 3M are way out of my budget

I think it was a long read. Thanks for staying till here, Looking forward to connect with you all

BEST,
Safe Driving
 
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Welcome to TAI!

First post as long review means you are about to get TAI addicted!

Anyways, Nice writeup buddy!

Do share some pics to make it more spicy and complete!

-PaddleShifter
 
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Congratulations.

So finally coming to the Ford Classic, I found it to be reasonable and worth buying the car even if its old and main point was that supposedly there is a law in India that car manufacturer should provide service, spares and support up to 10 years from the time they discontinue a particular model, I was not sure of this so called the customer care of the Ford and they confirmed it, so most of my worries were put to rest.
Does such a law really exist in our country? I doubt.
 
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Congrats on the purchase. Ford classic is a no-nonsense car and called as "poor man's benz". It was in my radar when I went in search of C-segment sedan, but finally got Sunny for some other reasons.
Wish you happy motoring.

Does such a law really exist in our country? I doubt.
It does.

IIRC Ford have their own sad story with Escorts spares (to be specific, the water pump) and finally spent a considerable amount of time and money in satisfying customer(s)
 
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Congrats in your ride.

I was in a same mindset like yours when I was planning to buy Ford Classic. I almost booked it and when the S.A told me that Ford is giving a discount of 1.75 Laks on the Fiesta, I immediately chosed Fiesta over Classic.

Welcome to Ford Family. Have a safe ride and drive with a smile [:D]
 

350Z

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Joined this forum today and decided to write my initial ownership review of my new car - Ford Classic 1.4 TDCI
Heartiest congrats from one Fiesta owner to another (I drive a Classic 1.6 SXi). Seems you were already convinced with Fiesta before checking other cars.

I know a lot of people on this forum would disapprove of buying this car, even my friends suggested to look elsewhere as this is a aged car and going to be discontinued soon, but I listened to my heart and went ahead and bought this car
Only those who're ignorant about the capabilities of this sedan. Purely from enthusiasts' viewpoint, this car is an absolute steal for the price it's now being offered.

The SA was helpful and good but the manager was shrewd, they declined me the free accessories worth 10k if I buy the insurance outside
That's ridiculous. There's no such rule which requires insurance to be compulsorily bought from the dealership. You should have contacted Ford Helpline.

Nonetheless, congrats again and do upload some images.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #15
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Hi,
Congratulations on your New Fiesta Classic.
Why you were so rude on FIAT cars. any bad experience?
Yes my close friend had a Fiat Punto, it had way too many problems and there were quality issues with the engine components, he spent a lot on repairs and finally sold the car.

And also the dealership network and service is something of a worry so I stayed out of FIAT
 

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