Ford has just dropped a bomb by launching the 2014 Fiesta at a very good price tag. The new Fiesta carries a nice styling theme, good features and a frugal diesel engine. But,the Fiesta competes with the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento. Hmmm, so now that is some real serious competition. Each one of these sedans offer something different and buyers are surely confused and spoilt for choice. It becomes quite difficult to say which one of these is the best since every car comes with its own positives and negatives.
The 2014 Ford Fiesta is the latest kid on the block. It is powered by a 1.5-litre DuraTorq diesel engine that produces 89 BHP of power and 204 Nm of torque and it is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The Fiesta is available in three variants – Ambiente, Trend and Titanium. The Ambiente gets a driver-side airbag while the Trend and Titanium get dual airbags. ABS and EBD are standard on all three variants.
Moving to the Honda City, we must say that it has been the market leader in its segment for the longest time. The City is powered by a 1.5-litre EarthDreams diesel engine that also powers the Amaze. This engine produces 99 BHP of power and 200 Nm of torque. It is available in the following variants – E, S, SV, V, VX. The City is known to be pretty reliable and Honda has managed to build a good reputation for its after sales in India and hence many buyers prefer to buy this over its Ford and Volkswagen rivals. The Honda badge also commands some snob value.
Now taking the Hyundai Verna, it is an undisputed fact that this is the most feature-loaded car out of all four that we have mentioned in this comparo. The Verna is not known to be a good driver’s car but it comes with funky styling inside-out, nicely kitted variants and again Hyundai’s reliability and brand name which the Korean automaker has built ever since the Santro days. The Verna is the one which overtook the City when the latter didn’t have a diesel engine and it continues to provide tough competition to all sedans in this segment. The Verna comes with two diesel engine options – 1.4-litre producing 90 PS of power and 219 Nm of torque and 1.6-litre engine producing 128 PS of power and 259 Nm of torque.
Finally, we have the Volkswagen Vento. The Vento boasts of German engineering and build quality though we have seen many complaints about Volkswagen’s after-sales service. The Vento is also perceived to be less reliable than its Japanese and Korean rivals and that acts as a major downside along with the fact that servicing and maintenance isn’t as smooth as other cars. The Vento is powered by a 1.6-litre diesel engine producing 105 BHP of power and 250 Nm of torque. It is available in three variants – Trendline, Comfortline and Highline.
* all prices on-road, Mumbai.
Ford has priced the Fiesta very aggressively and here it is the cheapest of the lot. The Fiesta comes at a price which screams value-for-money and it is followed by the Vento, Verna 1.4, City and Verna 1.6. Remember, the Fiesta’s lower variants are quite loaded and this car is the best looker amongst its rivals, while also having the best ride and handling balance. The Fiesta lacks rear seat space compared to rivals but if you like driving and aren’t chauffeur driven, the Ford Fiesta is the car to buy.
