The Pony Car - Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXi 2009 (Pre-Tamed Beast)

[deville_56]

Prelude:

One fine evening, brother said, lets buy a car, shocking me, with fund arranged. All he wanted was a powerful petrol car, used one. And after all wanted only Fiesta 1.6, thanks to @vishnuvichu (Brand ambassador of Fiesta 1.6 of Trivandrum, instrumental in sudden influx of all the 1.6s to city, as far as from North East )Ford Fiesta 1.6S Ownership Review

If we can't find a Fiesta, plan B was a Gypsy project car.

The Search:

He had already searched a lot in used car sites.

Fiesta 1.6S's have already been sold out and remaining ones were asking insanely high prices or flood affected or raped cars.

Next option was normal 1.6 Fiesta. There were 100s of Fiestas for sale, but petrol was less than 1/100. And that too have ran 70-90k km.

Then we came across a doctor-owned single owner car in Trissur. Decently maintained, new tyres. 81k km run. Not even a single aftermarket accessory. Doctor's dad was too adamant and no way he was letting a proper deal. No TD. Have to pay him full and change papers and then only take the car. Sent Vichu's friend to check the car as it's 300 km one way to go and personally check it. Attitude of the owner really pissed him, so did us. So we let it go.

Then, more search. Two cars at Kochi. Both similar age and odo, 75k km. One was top model and the other was mid model. One was with 2nd owner, other was with Hyundai dealer. Decided to go and check and get the better one. Price was better than the doctor's, but body shape was not great.

The eve before our trip, an Ad popped up in OLX, a super lotto. A low km (just 39k), "Black" top model 1.6. That guy was online, got number, called and dealt right away. Car was in Mavelikkara, just a slight detour from our planned route.

D-Day:

Next morning, we started off with @vishnuvichu and @bikerharis another friend. Oh my my, it was a looker at first sight, the black color. Owner was a nice gentleman, an NRI, using the car only a month per year. Working in automotive industry, he was not a noob unlike other owners we talked with. All of us TD'd the car. Final price was reasonable. Got the car right away. Bonus was brand new upsized tyres, new insurance (but only 3rd party) and not so old MF battery.

Pros:

One hell of a driver's car. Pin-precision steering. Shocking mileage in highway of 15ish. Power across all rpm. Can do 20 and 100 in 3rd gear. Maruti-ish maintenance cost. Harder, but yet better suspension than Polo.

Cons:

(Again) Shocking mileage in city, drinking up whatever is filled. Rest to find out.


Home Run




Home Sweet Home

 

[akshay380]

Congrats bro.

-From a black 1.6Sxi owner. :). Mine is 2009 model bought last year.

 

[rakeshkn]

ohooh, its raining Fiestas in TAI, Congrats for the car man, Its looks stunning in black color :)

 

[Vishak]

Congrats on the new car

thanks to @vishnuvichu (Brand ambassador of Fiesta 1.6

True True True

 

[deville_56]

Customery Ownership pics

First Sighting.



Highway run with German bro



I hate mudflaps, first mod.



Sexy as it gets.



Antenna is rusted. Vital for our only entertainment . No stock at dealer. Put in a sleeve for temporary aesthetic fix.



Eyesore chrome SXi badging.



Solved. Piano Black Was thinking of adding a pair of indicators, but instead.




Service Time. @Harry Ford, Trivandrum



Inspection revealed the car to be in pretty good shape. ABS was showing warning, which was common in unused cars.


Took Flexi Service Plan Tier2 - ₹ 4,745.00 (-10%+GST), which covers paid service including consumables for 1 year/20,000 km. With service interval 1 year/10,000 km, its good for high miler diesels. If I do next service before exactly 1 year mark, I get 2 paid services with oil and filters for under 5 grands.

Parts:
Front Brake Pad Kit (YS612K021EA) - ₹ 1,942.41
Hood Stay Grommet (E890270S) - ₹ 83.21 (Hood stay was not staying in place)
ABS Sensor Assembly (2S6Z2C204A) x2 - ₹ 7,850.63 (Both front wheel sensors replaced)

Labor:
Front Brake Pad Replacement - ₹ 900.00 + GST
Front ABS Sensor Replacement - ₹ 850.00 + GST
VCM/IDS Programming - ₹ 490.00 + GST

Got 25% off on all labor for monsoon campaign

Included in Flexi Plan:
40k km Paid Service
Engine Oil 10W30
Oil Filter
Drain Plug Gasket (F5T96734BA)
Wash Fluid Pouch
Wheel Alignment

Total Bill: ₹16,898.00

 

[deville_56]

Control the beast



Crap plates are gone.



New plates and custom LEDs (1.5Wx2)




Low beam conked off en route and we never noticed. Bought Philips X-treme Vision H7. There is notable difference from stock, say some 30-40% improvement, may be more can be attained with beam adjustment, currently pointed too low. But costly deal at ₹ 750.00/piece. Got from a wholesaler at ₹ 663.75/piece (Manikantan Automobiles). Made in Poland.






Wiper Blades were Chinese ones, pretty new, but passenger side was not wiping properly. Got Bosch Clear Advantage 16" from Manikantan Automobiles for ₹ 278.40 (MRP ₹ 290.00)




Headlight + drive lamp combo one of the best I have ever driven. Perfect beam. Very much miss drive lamp in Polo. When I first installed one in Estilo, many guys made fun saying just show off.

 

[deville_56]

Wipers. Passenger side does not overlap with driver side like in other cars. Needs some adjustment. Annoying at times.



Single horn, but loud enough. Might upgrade sooner or later. There is symmetric mounting hole on cross member.



OE accessory spoiler (AFAIK not standard fitment). Also had OE add on door cladding and reverse sensor.



Came with upsized, Chinese tyre (common term for el cheapo tyre here). Was skeptical about its performance. Forceum Hena 205/60R14.






But just a reckless TD by a friend in heavy torrential rain and nil visibility changed the perception. It held pretty well at 80-100 kmph heavy rain cornering and some near misses and panic braking (and he wont be driving it again ). No road noise too, indeed Good Year Eagle was more noisy.

It was made in Indonesia, not China.



(Forceum MT/AT tyres are of pretty demand here among Thar owners with good reviews. Price also almost half of Maxxis Bighorn)

 

[deville_56]

ORVM indicators + electric mirrors, needs extra care. Costly deal



Tweeters are mounted inside sail panel. Most conveniently placed mirror adjuster. I hate it when placed with power window switches or headlight level adjuster.



Door panel with leather inserts. Door speakers are oval, 5x7" Door pockets are big enough to hold bottles + a couple of books and is partitioned.



Original Ford mats. The locking notches are ruined by the flooring guy, I believe.



Captain's seat. Back support is pretty good. Height adjustable. Leather seats. Got it cleaned at Travancore Auto Spa for mere ₹ 600.00.



The "Fan Regulator" switch. I always liked the steering stalks. Headlight does not feel sturdy like the VW ones. Front and rear fog lamps can be turned on with park light unlike VW, which needs headlight to be on for that. AC vents can be fully closed. Boot release is electronic and needs just push of the button. Key remote also has boot release button.



Distance-to-empty gives peace of mind, at least can start looking for gas stations.



ICE. Belongs to an era when USB was not mainstream in OEM market. CD/Radio/Aux in. Sound quality is pretty good. No jarring at high volumes. 2 pairs ovals+a pair of tweeters. Even produces decent bass. No plans to upgrade audio. HU is theft proof and needs 4 digit unlock code to resume every time HU or battery is disconnected. Demister switch sits above. Also had digital clock in earlier models, but discontinued. Aux and 12 V port sits below.



Well weighted steering wheel. Leather wrapped and well contoured. Feels so good to hold on. Houses airbags. Steering stalks are ultapulta from LHD market, cost cutting. Wind screen washer is push at the tip instead of pull closer. Got 6 speed intermittent timer.



Passenger side airbags and small pocket.



Another sore part. Cost cutting. Bonnet release inconveniently placed in passenger foot well.



Rear leg room is generous for a max 5'3" family. Hump in the rear seat is pretty uncomfortable though.



And there is arm rest with cup holder.



Rear parcel tray houses the second pair of ovals. Comes with rear demister, which works pretty well.



Stands among crowd.



Warning for tail-gaters.



Hate the odd looking reverse sensor. Don't want to change bumpers to get rid of it.

 

[deville_56]

Deep boot. Comes illuminated.



Added benefit, foldable seats in a sedan. Got metal back for extra load .




Push release for seat folding. And it works from either side and no need to push both sides.



As good as a single bed.



OE Ford mat.



Original used-only-as-spare stepney.



Brand new 3 ton bottle jack. Previous owner's last buy. Even the packing was not opened. Effortless to use.



No padding. May be cost cutting, but there are enough holes to mount one.



The mended antenna.

 

[deville_56]

Dimmable mirror.



Visor mirror on both sides.




Lights lights everywhere. Reading lamp one each for all 4 occupants in addition to the standard dome light. Glove box also gets one. Down side is reading lights won't go off with locking.







Fuse box behind glove box. Though they did not change location with RHD conversion, it is very conveniently accessible, no need to kneel down.



Fuel cut off bypass switch.



Piano black claddings on B pillars. Even the black car gets them

 

[akshay380]

Well captured. I didn't even know the rear seat could be tumbled! Which year car is this? Also how much you paid :)

 

[deville_56]

Pull-type door handles



Steering adjuster. Only height, no reach adjustment. See the smaller storage compartment in dash.



Convenient hood opener, no need to finger between the hood.



Double barrel. Surprisingly no rusting or flooding or fading of fog lamps.



Engine compartment.



Attention to detail, honeycomb.



Amaron MF battery, 2 years old.



Engine cover houses the air filter. Bit pain to change filter.



Replaced parts. ABS sensors and brake pads.

 

[deville_56]

First milestone - 40k



Some random clicks.

 

[deville_56]

Well captured. I didn't even know the rear seat could be tumbled! Which year car is this? Also how much you paid :)

2009 model. Paid just a little over 200 grands.

 

[rakeshkn]

Hi Devil,

Which paint you using for the black coats and which primer, list them in detail for others benefit, Well detailed report :) even my Aspire doesn't have these much features which is Titanium trim. A bit jealous about that too!