Ford launched the new Fiesta in India last month, and at the same time renamed the car it replaced as Fiesta Classic, which is cheaper than the new car. However, unlike us in ASEAN, the Indian market gets only the sedan version without the sporty five-door hatchback. The Fiesta is the first of eight global models Ford will be bringing to the fast growing market by 2015.
There are two engine options in India, the 1.6-litre Ti-VCT petrol engine with 120 PS or a 1.6-litre TDCI engine, an option we don’t have here in Malaysia. The diesel puts out 90 PS and 203 Nm of torque, which is about 30 horses less, but 51 Nm more than the petrol unit. The latter will certainly be felt more in urban traffic. No Powershift; both engines work with a five-speed manual.
Both powerplants are better than those in the Fiesta Classic, in line with Ford’s positioning. The older car makes do with a 101 PS 1.6 Duratec petrol and a 68 PS/160 Nm 1.4L diesel unit.
Aimed at the Honda City, the Chennai made Fiesta comes well equipped with Voice Control and all the kit our 1.6 Sport has. However, the Indian car adds on cruise control with buttons on the right steering spoke.
The instruments are identical, but they’re lit up in a light blue hue as opposed to white. The rim design is also new.
All very nice, but if there’s anything we envy, it’s the diesel option.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
It is a shame that Malaysia continues to miss out on the diesel option in cars. Wonder when the government will do something about the Euro 2M diesel quality on offer. All the major oil companies are ready for Euro 4 and beyond but it is the government that is dragging its heels.
That’s our problem right now. The so-called Euro 2M diesel is not sufficient to fulfil the requirements of most newer diesel cars which require at least ultra-low sulphur diesel, or in other words, Euro 4 diesel.
There is nothing to do with the diesel quality in Malaysia. Mercedes and BMW can run without problem with diesel in Malaysia and so as other makers. It just the decision of the distributor to not bring in the car. So stop blame our diesel.
Doesn’t make sense at all. Don’t you know that in order for them to function properly, diesel fuel system must perform with high pressure and the fuel injector nozzle holes must be much tinier? That’s why diesel fuels must be very clean. The sulphur in the diesel fuel will clog those tiny injector holes, causing the engine to stall.
If you claim that it was the distributors who refuse to bring in the diesel models, think about it again. Last year back when Najib announced the 2011 Budget, he gave tax exemptions for hybrid vehicles, which made Honda and Toyota happy, but the same incentive is not given to diesel vehicles, causing BMW to feel unhappy with the policy. BMW really wanted to bring in more diesel models but couldn’t due to government’s lace of commitment.
Sorry to correct you, I also agree that all the oil company are ready for Euro 4 diesel, BUT NOT Petronas I think.
AFAIK, petronas selld euro4 diesel to other companies outside malaysia.
Good. At least the car can have best fuel consumption through stick gearbox, especially diesel engine.
If SDA brings the manual gearbox for 1.6L Ti-VCT engine variant in future, that will be good…
why dont you just go get a inspira 1.8 manual? why keeps on giving the excuses of no manual gear? go buy renault megane RS will ya? go buy satria neo CPS manual and go buy mazda 3 MPS will ya?
those cars above are all manual gear.
either you cannot afford them, or you are just giving excuses to yourself, if ferarri 438 has manual gear you’ll buy one.
accept the fact, and choose from the available choices. do you have a girl fren or do you live in your own world? in reality, ppl has to compromise.
why la they never bring the diesel here..
What, Ford sells the Focus tdci diesel here in Malaysia , no problems there.
Not to mention Mercedes, BMW, Volvo etc…
a diesel engined car will sell well in India as fuel price is exorbitant there. many drivers there turn-off their engine on red light just to save fuel (those with diesel powered car also do this as well, and weirdly, government owned vehicle will do the same – turn off the engine on red light- lol).
The TDCI version is a good offering – and I wonder why they didn’t bring it here?
does turning off the engine manually saves fuel?
how bout when the engine is restarted back? doesnt it consume alot of fuel to start.
it’ll be different if the car itself comes with a start/stop tech.
“does turning off the engine manually saves fuel?”
Of course it does. Restarting the engine does not use as much fuel as you think, so engine idling for 30 seconds to 1 minute uses more fuel than start the engine twice.
Whenever I need to wait for more than a few minutes, I turn the engine off, saving fuel/money and reducing unnecessary emissions, manually.
can us AP to import this one from India? love the 5-speed manual..
The TDCi + 5-speed manual most probably won’t make it to our shores.. just because the market prefers automatics.. No love for us enthusiasts.
Diesel with 203Nm torque, Nice!
5 Speed Manual, Nice!!!
If AutoConneXion offers this combo locally in the hatchback form, NIIIIICEEE!!!!!!!!
too bad malaysia diesel still euro2,
many diesel engine cannot import in
as BMW got diesel hybrid already…..
fast la malaysia, fuel keep hike hike hike, quality still stay
wow
Danny,
Any chance of Ford brings in the diesel version to us here in M’sia ? Thanks.
I don’t think so. Would you buy one if they did?
Yup, I will.
I would!!! And I’ve walked the talk with diesel… More people should do the same, then only car companies will start thinking about them.
Hi Paul,
Which diesel model you driving now ? Thanks.
I’ll give a yes also if they bring in the tdci model.
I would also. As it is very economy to operate. If can have another option, with Auto Transmission, it will be perfect!
Even with Automatic transmission couples with this diesel engine, I believe the Fc will still be very good.
it’ll be a great addition if the TDCi version was launched here…..
but looking at the focus TDCi sales, it didnt really take off either sad to say….
the option was given and no takers…..maybe it’ll be different on a cheaper model.
i envy the 5-speed manual box tho…
Danny,
In India, what grade of diesel are they using? Similiar to Malaysia….. Stil Diesel grade 2? Engine TDCi can withstand such low quality of diesel?
India is on Bharat Stage IV now, their equivalent to Euro 4
GREAT, SYBAS, at least ther is buyer choice and option. Manual is best ! Original .And
there are more advantages and driver`s skill.
No envy is needed as the Fiesta car is a global car for Ford, and considering the hike up of our local 95 fuel, there remain a possibility that diesel will become more welcome in Msia and hence more diesel engine option
I think everyone here welcomes diesel cars, as they sip less fuel than petrol cars. But still, the biggest obstacle is our diesel quality which is insufficient to fulfil the requirements of those cars.
Even India enjoys the latest automotive technology niceties, unlike us with the gov’s crappy automotive policy.
Ford TDCi is the same as Peugeot HDi if I am not mistake ??
Diesel Hybrid will be a great combo………
know what? the bl;oody gov afraid we’ll buy diesel from subsidised diesel given to nelayan or whatever lah..afraid with thier own shadow la,white man said.
That time we dont carelah how much shulphur inside subsidised diesel have, as long the car can move,nice edy.rm1 per littre what..
Actually, it’s nothing to do with our diesel quality.
My conspiracy theory is that the reason why the gomen is dragging its feet is mainly to protect 4 car companies that do NOT have diesel engines; which own more than 90% of our market cumulatively…
Imagine if Ford has a cheap diesel car or any other diesel that is around RM60-80K…
Just my thoughts…
Protection is possibly one big aspect of this, that’s why hybrids get reduced tax because surprise surprise proton is also working on hybrids.
On the other hand i must point out that switching to Euro 4 is not a simple thing.
Problem with euro 4 fuel is that the sulphur along with other components are removed from the fuel, and old engine rely on these components for sealing and also lubrication. When this fuel was first introduced there were cases of old engines running badly and leaking.
Solution was to add all these components back except the sulphur of course into the fuel for backwards compatibility but this drove up the cost of the fuel. But eventually in europe the law forced all old engine out of service and new engines already did not need the extra components hence no more issue.
For malaysia the number of these old engines is i think 100% of all diesel engines, so the gov has to consider these guys before they can introduce euro 4. If they force their way prices of goods will increase x1000 because they need new engines and also more expensive fuel and ultimately you and me will die!
So that’s why it’s not easy to just introduce euro 4 overnight.
If they can have 2 types of petrol at every station… Why not 2 types of diesel?? Euro 2 for the oldies n euro 4 for the newbies?
Cost, having 2 diesel pumps but not enough diesel users uses up lots of prime estate for petrol stations.
Also if they pump the wrong euro standard can damage the diesel particulate filter or the engine even and the same if old engines pump the wrong diesel
If they can have 2 types of petrol at every station…. Why not two types of diesel? I am sure the bigger stations can accommodate this change.
India can do it so Malaysia boleh ah ?
If your conspiracy theory is true, then it should be the main reason of the poor quality diesel in Malaysia. Malaysian carmakers are still unable to build their own diesel engines that are capable to meet the most stringent fuel economy and emission standards – in fact, they don’t have any diesel models at all, after the one-and-only diesel model which is the Wira 2.0D had stopped production almost a decade ago. Therefore, to protect the local carmakers who do not have diesel models at all, the government have brought in high-sulphur diesel fuels which is cheaper but cannot be used in most newer diesel cars.
I’m not sure what’s the actual reason for the Govt to delay the introduction of Euro 4 diesel in Msia. One thing I do remember from geography during my schooling days was the fact our country’s petroleum are of high quality with low sulphur content. Our Govt exports our high quality low sulphur oil to overseas. In return, we import low quality oil with high sulphur content for local consumption. This makes a lot of sense economically because we can maximize profits although it’s bad for the environment.
now that is not so , the Fiesta Hatchback will come to India that was reported and it’s testing in India it will come to later this year
the overall fuel quality here is bad…its a little know fact that even our petrols are rated at euro 2m and though the effect is not felt on the engines..we are still laggin behind in terms of overall quality as a higher quality fuel would help and engine run much smoother ,longer and possibly consume lesser fuel…. bmw and merc ‘dumb’ down thier diesels just bring it in my removing certain things ur running it at a lower tune….im truly suprised somebody here thinks our diesel fuels are ok….baffling world we live in i say….lol….
No matter what european car they bring, malaysian always choice only P,P2, T and H. Reason Market Value and easy spare part. Wake UP Malaysia Buyer :) LOL
We also wish the Malaysian Ford Fiesta sedan to get USA facelift.
Just for info…the Fiesta Diesel 1.6 TDCI econetic version is more frugal than a Prius….and thats a fact