New Fiesta Sport 1.6

[wandrinstar]

Why has it got 2 Clutches , Auto Boxes have been out for ages with no probs.

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi Mr B,

I went out and tried the iPod with the AUX jack and it's perfect! I get control of the iPod via the dashboard + sound. As you said, there are quite a few wires, so we shall see if this remains viable.... also, the little holder next to the connectors isn't wide enough to house an iPod with the cables attached, it has to 'sit upright'. I have an iPod Touch, not the phone, so can't use bluetooth for the music, shame really.

As for the USB, I reformatted to a FAT file system and that now works too, cheers.

I must add that the lighting is really cool too - the footwell lighting is unexpectedly handy as the wife has bags on the floor. The front/rear lights coming on when you click the remote to unlock is also handy as I live in the sticks!

looking forward to a blast down the highway tomorrow. If accurate, the fuel economy result is great. Today, nearly 80kms of city driving averaged 8.1 litres per 100km - I am always looking at the 'live fuel economy' read out change as I accelerate/coast... not very safe!!

Cheers

Jim

[MisterBeetle]

Hi Mr B,

I went out and tried the iPod with the AUX jack and it's perfect! I get control of the iPod via the dashboard + sound. As you said, there are quite a few wires, so we shall see if this remains viable.... also, the little holder next to the connectors isn't wide enough to house an iPod with the cables attached, it has to 'sit upright'. I have an iPod Touch, not the phone, so can't use bluetooth for the music, shame really.

As for the USB, I reformatted to a FAT file system and that now works too, cheers.

I must add that the lighting is really cool too - the footwell lighting is unexpectedly handy as the wife has bags on the floor. The front/rear lights coming on when you click the remote to unlock is also handy as I live in the sticks!

looking forward to a blast down the highway tomorrow. If accurate, the fuel economy result is great. Today, nearly 80kms of city driving averaged 8.1 litres per 100km - I am always looking at the 'live fuel economy' read out change as I accelerate/coast... not very safe!!

Cheers

Jim

Jim,

I managed to fit an iphone holder with suction cup to the plastic fake drawer between the aircon and stereo. It is just high enough to not get in the way of the Gear Shifter.

cost me around 400 baht? I found the "iPod " holder like you said too small= plus the iphone goes flying across the tunnel when hitting corners at speed!

By the way, what color did you decide on?

We got the Aurora Blue.

Actually thought they look good in white, but we have heaps of cows around where we live so don't fancy washing the car every second day!

Edited October 19, 2011 by MisterBeetle

[MisterBeetle]

Why has it got 2 Clutches , Auto Boxes have been out for ages with no probs.

Hi Wandrinstar, dual clutches give better fuel economy plus quicker acceleration due to faster gear shifting than standard auto boxes.

Dual clutches are also supposedly faster shifting than Manuals.

I just wish the Fiesta had a manual shifting override, but hell, how often would you need it?

If you want to know more this link is good for more info about the whole dual clutch concept

[wandrinstar]

I'm just an old Z.F, and Borg Warner chap, but the new idea from what you see in road tests doesn't seem to show much difference, only gives Jim a question to ask so far. I do hope for his sake its not a Good Idea that gets dropped in the next model like Fords 60/40 FWD. Now that actually was good.

[culicine]

Why has it got 2 Clutches , Auto Boxes have been out for ages with no probs.

Hi Wandrinstar, dual clutches give better fuel economy plus quicker acceleration due to faster gear shifting than standard auto boxes.

Dual clutches are also supposedly faster shifting than Manuals.

I just wish the Fiesta had a manual shifting override, but hell, how often would you need it?

If you want to know more this link is good for more info about the whole dual clutch concept

If I recall, the manual was tested against the auto, in Malaysia/Philippines. Nearly every tester recorded faster acceleration times (0-100) with the auto than the manual. Sorry but I lost that link! On youtubbe look up mpgomatic. They also compared the two - the RPM of the manual version drops more between shifts than the auto - they auto is impressively fast in its shifting. The low speed jerkiness is a bit of a worry especially for those living in the city.

[MisterBeetle]

Why has it got 2 Clutches , Auto Boxes have been out for ages with no probs.

Hi Wandrinstar, dual clutches give better fuel economy plus quicker acceleration due to faster gear shifting than standard auto boxes.

Dual clutches are also supposedly faster shifting than Manuals.

I just wish the Fiesta had a manual shifting override, but hell, how often would you need it?

If you want to know more this link is good for more info about the whole dual clutch concept

If I recall, the manual was tested against the auto, in Malaysia/Philippines. Nearly every tester recorded faster acceleration times (0-100) with the auto than the manual. Sorry but I lost that link! On youtubbe look up mpgomatic. They also compared the two - the RPM of the manual version drops more between shifts than the auto - they auto is impressively fast in its shifting. The low speed jerkiness is a bit of a worry especially for those living in the city.

The first week was a little frustrating especially when driving in carparks and over speed bumps, the gearbox cannot decide what to do.

I have read that this does improve as the DCT "learns"? overall, not really fussed , after 3 weeks driving it everyday, I have gotten used to it, it is just a minor squiggle on the car as the fuel economy/ performance/styling/value, all make it such a great car.

Besides I don't live in the city, if I still did I would probably catch the BTS or MRT anyway Lived there for over 5 years and did without a car for most of it.

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi Mr B,

I went out and tried the iPod with the AUX jack and it's perfect! I get control of the iPod via the dashboard + sound. As you said, there are quite a few wires, so we shall see if this remains viable.... also, the little holder next to the connectors isn't wide enough to house an iPod with the cables attached, it has to 'sit upright'. I have an iPod Touch, not the phone, so can't use bluetooth for the music, shame really.

As for the USB, I reformatted to a FAT file system and that now works too, cheers.

I must add that the lighting is really cool too - the footwell lighting is unexpectedly handy as the wife has bags on the floor. The front/rear lights coming on when you click the remote to unlock is also handy as I live in the sticks!

looking forward to a blast down the highway tomorrow. If accurate, the fuel economy result is great. Today, nearly 80kms of city driving averaged 8.1 litres per 100km - I am always looking at the 'live fuel economy' read out change as I accelerate/coast... not very safe!!

Cheers

Jim

Jim,

I managed to fit an iphone holder with suction cup to the plastic fake drawer between the aircon and stereo. It is just high enough to not get in the way of the Gear Shifter.

cost me around 400 baht? I found the "iPod " holder like you said too small= plus the iphone goes flying across the tunnel when hitting corners at speed!

By the way, what color did you decide on?

We got the Aurora Blue.

Actually thought they look good in white, but we have heaps of cows around where we live so don't fancy washing the car every second day!

Hi,

I went for Silver as they had that and white in stock. I liked the 5dr white. We have 80% tint and it looks pretty nice and keeps the leather cool in the day... but at night, I double check at every junction... time for an invention of daytime tint that fades at night!

Out of interest, where did you get the iPod suction gizmo?

still finding the jerking a bit off putting.... oh, and when trying to show off the voice activated dialing, I came a cropper as I tried to dial the wife, but to no avail - turned out i hadn't put her in the directory... she was most upset that all my friends were in there as well as the local cafe, but i'd forgotten her!

cheers

[MoonRiverOasis]

still finding the jerking a bit off putting....

Complain to Ford customer service (i.e. head office) about it.

It's all software controlled, so presumably fixable.

Edited October 20, 2011 by MoonRiverOasis

[wandrinstar]

They do a good heat deflecting tint now Jim without the heavy tint, but Mafia Staff Car look selles better. A Poster mentioned Cold Tea, ive driven a Mitsu GT. with it fitted,east on the eyes, and i love the Car, the Auto is a Dream. Couldnt resist the dig.

[MisterBeetle]

Hi Mr B,

I went out and tried the iPod with the AUX jack and it's perfect! I get control of the iPod via the dashboard + sound. As you said, there are quite a few wires, so we shall see if this remains viable.... also, the little holder next to the connectors isn't wide enough to house an iPod with the cables attached, it has to 'sit upright'. I have an iPod Touch, not the phone, so can't use bluetooth for the music, shame really.

As for the USB, I reformatted to a FAT file system and that now works too, cheers.

I must add that the lighting is really cool too - the footwell lighting is unexpectedly handy as the wife has bags on the floor. The front/rear lights coming on when you click the remote to unlock is also handy as I live in the sticks!

looking forward to a blast down the highway tomorrow. If accurate, the fuel economy result is great. Today, nearly 80kms of city driving averaged 8.1 litres per 100km - I am always looking at the 'live fuel economy' read out change as I accelerate/coast... not very safe!!

Cheers

Jim

Jim,

I managed to fit an iphone holder with suction cup to the plastic fake drawer between the aircon and stereo. It is just high enough to not get in the way of the Gear Shifter.

cost me around 400 baht? I found the "iPod " holder like you said too small= plus the iphone goes flying across the tunnel when hitting corners at speed!

By the way, what color did you decide on?

We got the Aurora Blue.

Actually thought they look good in white, but we have heaps of cows around where we live so don't fancy washing the car every second day!

Hi,

I went for Silver as they had that and white in stock. I liked the 5dr white. We have 80% tint and it looks pretty nice and keeps the leather cool in the day... but at night, I double check at every junction... time for an invention of daytime tint that fades at night!

Out of interest, where did you get the iPod suction gizmo?

still finding the jerking a bit off putting.... oh, and when trying to show off the voice activated dialing, I came a cropper as I tried to dial the wife, but to no avail - turned out i hadn't put her in the directory... she was most upset that all my friends were in there as well as the local cafe, but i'd forgotten her!

cheers

Hey Jim,

I bought the ipod holder at The Mall Bangkapi about a year ago, used to be up on the windscreen in our old volvo, but I like having it closer to hand. Not such a great spot for using GPS, but I never use it now Im out of Bangkok anyway.

Yeah the bluetooth dialing is fun, I got it sussed now, we connected both her blueberry and my ifone and works wonders, great for call conferencing with bubba in the back adding in.

Hatchback looks great in silver and white- both colors on my list. Actually most of the line up pretty good, only the purple one not my fancy.

We decided to go a bit different+ easy to spot our car in the car park!

We went for 60/40 tint (60 on the sides and 40 on the front and back.)

I drove a work Captiva that hard around 80 % and it made the car downright impossible to drive at night without the flood lights on as well.

Re: the update from Ford, I knew about the issues with DCT with drivers in U.S and Aus having similar issues. Apparently the software is updatable through the servicing, my dealer said if any issues bring the car back. I asked if they would give us a loaner car if it needed to stay in and he just laughed? Typical.

Edited October 21, 2011 by MisterBeetle

[culicine]

Hi Mr B,

I went out and tried the iPod with the AUX jack and it's perfect! I get control of the iPod via the dashboard + sound. As you said, there are quite a few wires, so we shall see if this remains viable.... also, the little holder next to the connectors isn't wide enough to house an iPod with the cables attached, it has to 'sit upright'. I have an iPod Touch, not the phone, so can't use bluetooth for the music, shame really.

As for the USB, I reformatted to a FAT file system and that now works too, cheers.

I must add that the lighting is really cool too - the footwell lighting is unexpectedly handy as the wife has bags on the floor. The front/rear lights coming on when you click the remote to unlock is also handy as I live in the sticks!

looking forward to a blast down the highway tomorrow. If accurate, the fuel economy result is great. Today, nearly 80kms of city driving averaged 8.1 litres per 100km - I am always looking at the 'live fuel economy' read out change as I accelerate/coast... not very safe!!

Cheers

Jim

Jim,

I managed to fit an iphone holder with suction cup to the plastic fake drawer between the aircon and stereo. It is just high enough to not get in the way of the Gear Shifter.

cost me around 400 baht? I found the "iPod " holder like you said too small= plus the iphone goes flying across the tunnel when hitting corners at speed!

By the way, what color did you decide on?

We got the Aurora Blue.

Actually thought they look good in white, but we have heaps of cows around where we live so don't fancy washing the car every second day!

Hi,

I went for Silver as they had that and white in stock. I liked the 5dr white. We have 80% tint and it looks pretty nice and keeps the leather cool in the day... but at night, I double check at every junction... time for an invention of daytime tint that fades at night!

Out of interest, where did you get the iPod suction gizmo?

still finding the jerking a bit off putting.... oh, and when trying to show off the voice activated dialing, I came a cropper as I tried to dial the wife, but to no avail - turned out i hadn't put her in the directory... she was most upset that all my friends were in there as well as the local cafe, but i'd forgotten her!

cheers

Hey Jim,

I think I bought it in The Mall Bangkapi about a year ago, used to be up on the windscreen in our old volvo, but I like having it closer to hand. Not such a great spot for using GPS, but I never use it now Im out of Bangkok anyway.

Hatchback looks great in silver and white- both colors on my list.

In our garage we have 2 silver cars already so we decided to go a bit different+ easy to spot our car in the car park!

We went for 60/40 tint (60 on the sides and 40 on the front and back.)

I drove a work Captiva that hard around 80 % and it made the car downright impossible to drive at night without the flood lights on as well.

80 is very dark - I also have 60 sides / 40 front abd back; even that took some time getting used to. Couldn't imagine 80% though!!

[rockderk]

I got the 4 door so I could have all the bells and whistles. Not that I use he voice recog - it's far too slow once you get used to the ergonomics

My Neighbour has one 4 door saloon sport with powershift, tells me he is vey happy with it and excellent fuel economy.

I test drove the hatchback sport and was very impressed with the 6 speed powershifts seamless changes,

Dealer in Jomtien (Pattaya) not interested in discounts, apart from tints on windows. I noted that the 4 door saloon has leather and climate standard , both extras in 5 door hatch, great little car in my opinion

I bought a Fiesta Sport Powershift 1.6 from Ford Chonburi in August. Very happy with the car. Goes like the clappers. First, here's the deal I got: Finance over 4 years @ 2.3% interest. Free 1st class Ins. 10,000 discount

[ because my company is a regular buyer at this particular dealership ] 500 baht of free petrol. My choice of 3 free add-ons from the catalogue. Stuff like boot liner, window visors etc...

Had the windows tinted 60% also included.

It has a USB port so you can shove in 300 albums instead of fooling with CDs. 6 speakers [ better than the sound system in my last car - Nissan Sunny ] Hands free phone [symbian OS only] via bluetooth. Voice recognition for phone, music, climate control.. etc [car does not speak Thai - that's why the Thais all buy the hatchback] Leather seats, but plastic surrounds [ not too tacky] Nice dash, Lots of nice lighting touches. Climate control includes heater! Dash readout covers a lot more info than usual on a cheap car. The 6 speed - in my opinion - comes into it own above 120 kph. I drove it Buriram and tested it for grunt. The thing is happy cruising at 150 on a long straight road. That extra gear gives you overtaking space at very high speed, which might not matter to most, but I find it handy. It does feel a bit small inside, but seats are comfortable and very adjustable. Remember, it's a sports car. Airbags everywhere. Power steering is very nice and light. Turning circle tiny. Warning beeper sensor for reversing very handy too.

So the car's great. Now the bad news. The Ford dealership in Chonburi took it upon itself to deliver my new car with FAKE PLATES. I was pulled over and fined for this. I took it up with Ford customer service and received the expected lack of action. They offered to pay my fine. No action was taken re. fake plates although this is -on paper- an offense that can get you 5 years in the slammer. After repeated requests to get the dam_n fake plates off my car at once and put white ones on it [ this was well over the time the switch should normally should have been done] they took no action.

I contacted an attorney. I was told it would cost 150000 to win the case. But the payout would probably be half that. Don't do it, they advised. I didn't. I contacted a friend who sent his wife into Ford with instructions to take no prisoners. She apparently had them up against the wall, because my white plates were delivered to my home the next day with the fine money.

BEWARE - fake red plates are not embossed [lower right corner about the size of a 10 baht coin] and they're made of tin. Real plates are aluminium.

Hi Rockderk,

I agree with you, they go great at highway speeds, feels alot like a bigger engine than a 1.6.

I drove back from Bangkok to Hua Hin late night the day before and was happily chugging along at 120, revs around 2800-3000 rpmand fuel economy seems better because of the gearing.

After I bought our 5 door Sport, I was surprised it didn't have the climate control fitted, after some investigation I discovered the climate is not standard fit, only on the 4 door.

Not sure why the cheaper car has the higher tech system? and leather seats standard?

So no voice activated Climate control, we got the leather seats and very happy.

Just wondering if you have the 4 door or if you have the 5 door you had it fitted as an option?

Im not that fussed as I find the voice control a little annoying after the 1st week of driving. It reminds me of the annoying telephone answering services some companies use!!

Don't get me wrong, for bluetooth phone use it is great, but for everything else its fiddly and you have to remember certain "key words" to shortcut the menu, or you waste time trying to get what you want!

Stereo is really very good, sound is as good as the system in our 10 year old Volvo XC70 if not better!! Im not kidding.

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Well, it's a been 10 days in and the 'jumpiness' at town speeds is still pretty irritating. Thanks for the info about the servicing of it, I will pop in and have a word with them.

80% tint requires concentration and focus at night and hoping that nothing is coming your way without lights...hum.

[wandrinstar]

Well, it's a been 10 days in and the 'jumpiness' at town speeds is still pretty irritating. Thanks for the info about the servicing of it, I will pop in and have a word with them.

80% tint requires concentration and focus at night and hoping that nothing is coming your way without lights...hum.

Makes you wonder sometimes Jim, my first old range rover was better value than the new one. All you need now is some Ford Dork is to tell you they are all the same. But your old one was O.K. hence you bought a new one.

[MisterBeetle]

Hi Jim,

My car just hit 2,000kms and I have noticed that the powershift has settled in, much smother gear shifts and less stumbling around thinking about what gears to pick.

I really noticed it before in parking lots, slowing to speed bumps and in bumper to bumper traffic.

Yesterday I thought I would do a bit of a test, under similar driving conditions and I am happy to say the powershift is working really well.

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in. Seems my car is learning well now, I hope this is the same with other drivers?

Here is a youtube vid that explains about Powershift (Albeit in American accent)

Now I only have one drama to fix- the split folding seats were mis-aligned when they refitted them after the leather seats were done!! Just waiting for the floods to settle(?) before I do a trip to the dealer!

Luck y I didnt buy from our local dealer in Klong 2, as they would be up to the roof in water at the moment.

Edited November 1, 2011 by MisterBeetle

[MoonRiverOasis]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

[MisterBeetle]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

haha! That I would love to see.

Im afraid even with a decent exhaust and some custom airfilter work, the 1.6 Fiesta would be a bit of a joke at the drags!!

[MoonRiverOasis]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

haha! That I would love to see.

Im afraid even with a decent exhaust and some custom airfilter work, the 1.6 Fiesta would be a bit of a joke at the drags!!

True, but you could still pull a win in bracket racing - all that takes is consistency

Note that an air intake, exhaust and chip combo is able to get the Fiesta 1.6L 5MT into the mid 7s 0-100 range, which would probably equate to high 14's to mid-15's on the 1/4 mile - not too bad... Not sure if anyone's making a chip for the powershift models yet though..

Edited November 1, 2011 by MoonRiverOasis

[funcat]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

haha! That I would love to see.

Im afraid even with a decent exhaust and some custom airfilter work, the 1.6 Fiesta would be a bit of a joke at the drags!!

True, but you could still pull a win in bracket racing - all that takes is consistency

Note that an air intake, exhaust and chip combo is able to get the Fiesta 1.6L 5MT into the mid 7s 0-100 range, which would probably equate to high 14's to mid-15's on the 1/4 mile - not too bad... Not sure if anyone's making a chip for the powershift models yet though..

If you instal those modifications,does it affect the fuel consumption(in general )?

[MoonRiverOasis]

If you instal those modifications,does it affect the fuel consumption(in general )?

Depends how you drive it - you can't make more HP without using more fuel, that's just physics

These types of mods usually sacrifice a little bottom-end power in order to make more top-end, so city driving and low-speed highway cruising suffers a little on fuel effeciency, nothing too dramatic though, as power is only increasing by ~20HP.

[katabeachbum]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

dsg often needs 3-10 km to adapt, not 1600km

[culicine]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

dsg often needs 3-10 km to adapt, not 1600km

Does this explain some of the low speed jerkiness than some posters have reported for their new fiestas? Will that smooth out with more kms? oops, looks like that was answered above. Hope the learning period sorts it out. Saw a nice white one today with the blue stripes. Very nice:) Fords got some nice products coming out now..

Edited November 1, 2011 by culicine

[wandrinstar]

Nice.?.Not if they are jerky, id be a bit bothered if id bought one,when there are non jerky available from Mazda Honda etc. You would think Ford could make it right first time.Some folks cant just dump it and get another, they have planned and looked forward to Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.Aint Funny at all.

[MisterBeetle]

Nice.?.Not if they are jerky, id be a bit bothered if id bought one,when there are non jerky available from Mazda Honda etc. You would think Ford could make it right first time.Some folks cant just dump it and get another, they have planned and looked forward to Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.Aint Funny at all.

Wadrinstar. Well, I'm one month in after purchase of my 'new' Fiesta and happy as larry. When they say jerky, it was not "kangaroo hoping down the road" like a 15 year old Learner driver might do in a manual. More like a low speed grabbing of gears. Very minimal movement or noise.

Like the vid says, it is purely the clutches bedding in, like many things on a new car, cams, springs, chains what ever, they all have a bedding in period, some just take more than others.

IMO what Ford did was quite innovative and not dissimilar to other European automotive companies- by putting a dual clutch into their small cars as well.

The Honda and Mazda both use your usual automatic gearboxes.

Old tech, yes it works, but so does my toaster.

[kartman]

Maybe some people still use a toasting fork.

[wandrinstar]

Nice.?.Not if they are jerky, id be a bit bothered if id bought one,when there are non jerky available from Mazda Honda etc. You would think Ford could make it right first time.Some folks cant just dump it and get another, they have planned and looked forward to Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.Aint Funny at all.

Wadrinstar. Well, I'm one month in after purchase of my 'new' Fiesta and happy as larry. When they say jerky, it was not "kangaroo hoping down the road" like a 15 year old Learner driver might do in a manual. More like a low speed grabbing of gears. Very minimal movement or noise.

Like the vid says, it is purely the clutches bedding in, like many things on a new car, cams, springs, chains what ever, they all have a bedding in period, some just take more than others.

IMO what Ford did was quite innovative and not dissimilar to other European automotive companies- by putting a dual clutch into their small cars as well.

The Honda and Mazda both use your usual automatic gearboxes.

Old tech, yes it works, but so does my toaster.

Clear answer Mr Beetle, perhaps you could explain to the But Holes at Ford to instruct their Dumb Tart Sales Girls, to inform the Customers, and save them worried days.Product Knowledge here sucks.

[katabeachbum]

On Fiestafaction forums in US, other drivers have mentioned a "learning period" where the system needs to be run in.

According to the video you posted, it takes around 1000 miles (1600KM) for the clutches to bed in - interesting.

Perhaps a couple of trips to the drag strip would speed up the process

dsg often needs 3-10 km to adapt, not 1600km

Does this explain some of the low speed jerkiness than some posters have reported for their new fiestas? Will that smooth out with more kms? oops, looks like that was answered above. Hope the learning period sorts it out. Saw a nice white one today with the blue stripes. Very nice:) Fords got some nice products coming out now..

the first dsg a decade ago where jurky. Efficient, faster than manual, but jurky. Advanced markets like most of Europe still does not have access to this dsg in Fiesta. They obviously need some time to make it perfect

[PatrickKamala]

A bit of topic, but speaking about Product knowledge....! Nearly impossible to find some 'knowledgeable' sales staff. (exception: The Benz dealer here in Phuket, the guy i spoke to absolutely knew his stuff....)

Went into Central and they had a motor expo and i went to inquire at the Volvo stand. Only one sales girl at that time, so my quick summary of the conversation and I spoke only in Thai (here the translation):

Me: Hi, how about this car. (It was a S80 sport - new special model, but it had a license plate sticker which said S80 D5). Is it a benzine or a diesel.

She: A benzine!

Me: so why is the board showing D5? which to my knowledge is a diesel?

She: this is the D5 benzine!

Me: R u sure, coz usually D stands for diesel in Volvos.

She: hmmm, maybe the board is wrong!

Me: so it is in fact the sport special version, but still in benzine form right?

She: (not very convincing) ...Right!??

Me: ok, so what is special in the sport version?

She: it has some extra added spoilers....

Me: ok, how about the engine and suspension?

She: all same normal, just the spoilers.

Me: R u sure, coz i read it has extra power from a chip tuning and sport suspension?

She: No.

.....i gave up....just kept going coz she was reasonably pretty! Which i suppose is anyway the main criteria to get the job in the first place here....

So, do yourself a favor, get info thru research on the web, certainly more trustworthy than the sales girls and boys out here...

[culicine]

A bit of topic, but speaking about Product knowledge....! Nearly impossible to find some 'knowledgeable' sales staff. (exception: The Benz dealer here in Phuket, the guy i spoke to absolutely knew his stuff....)

Went into Central and they had a motor expo and i went to inquire at the Volvo stand. Only one sales girl at that time, so my quick summary of the conversation and I spoke only in Thai (here the translation):

Me: Hi, how about this car. (It was a S80 sport - new special model, but it had a license plate sticker which said S80 D5). Is it a benzine or a diesel.

She: A benzine!

Me: so why is the board showing D5? which to my knowledge is a diesel?

She: this is the D5 benzine!

Me: R u sure, coz usually D stands for diesel in Volvos.

She: hmmm, maybe the board is wrong!

Me: so it is in fact the sport special version, but still in benzine form right?

She: (not very convincing) ...Right!??

Me: ok, so what is special in the sport version?

She: it has some extra added spoilers....

Me: ok, how about the engine and suspension?

She: all same normal, just the spoilers.

Me: R u sure, coz i read it has extra power from a chip tuning and sport suspension?

She: No.

.....i gave up....just kept going coz she was reasonably pretty! Which i suppose is anyway the main criteria to get the job in the first place here....

So, do yourself a favor, get info thru research on the web, certainly more trustworthy than the sales girls and boys out here...

Sales girls often don't know a lot. Asked about the FC for the brio - 20 km/l lol Well yes that's what the brochure says, but what about real life? No answer...Best to research it yourself, even in India they published figures of 14 km/l city, 18 km /l highway, which sound realistic. I hope you at least got her phone number hehe consider that a win:)