New Ford Fiesta & Krabi Ford Dealer

[rayinkrabi]

Hi All, I thought this may be of interest to anyone considering a Fiesta or in a similar situation to me so here goes:

After over 10 years of driving diesel trucks here I've decided to convince my wife to learn to drive so sold the mitsu triton to get a small car with auto box..much easier for my wife I felt but I was really concerned about safety, especially in a 'micro' car so I reckoned the more airbags the better plus other obvious stuff like ABS was a must. This being the main criteria for me it narrowed down to the little Ford but had to be the 'sport ultimate' to get the full compliment of airbags.

Anyone who remembers my ranting on about mitsubishi after I took delivery of the triton just under 2 yrs ago might think I'm about to do the same about Ford..but it's the complete opposite I'm delighted to say, which is another reason I wanted to share this with fellow members.

Having bought new motors in the past from Toyota (BK), Isuzu (Krabi), Honda (P'ket..ex-gf's car), & mitsubish (Krabi), plus helped a mate get his new truck from Nissan (Krabi) and another from Toyota (Krabi) I can honestly say Ford in Krabi surprised me by being the most professional, honest & helpful of them all

Toyota comes 2nd imo with mitsu way down at the bottom (mitsu is the only company that never followed up the sale with a customer satisfaction call/letter)..Chevrolet don't even figure as they couldn't even be bothered to look away from their tv sets to give me a brochure..shame cos I liked the look of the new Chevy truck.

We took delivery of the Fiesta 2 weeks ago, everything was good as promised, we even got a briefing on the service procedure from the workshop manager (never had this quality service before here or in England!) but it was so wierd pulling away in such a small car after driving the trucks but I'll get used to I guess, same as I will have to get used to the very different driving 'feel' of this engine and auto box and having to look out for any high kerbs when parking.

A few gripes tho: the window buttons are perfectly placed..if your arm is only 10 inches long..I love the interior trim but Ford have mixed the nice satin ally finish with some chrome..strange..plus it's a shame they skimped on a few things like the plastic door handles, would have been nice in the satin look. I like the interior lighting but there is none at all for backseat passengers! I can live with all this of course and maybe improve on it in the future by adding stuff but my biggest gripe is the economy...I know it's too early to get a proper and full idea of this but it's already proving to cost nearly double per Km than my truck!!

I was so concerned that I called into Ford the other day and asked them to check it out..they did and then said all is as it should be and it's normal to get between 8 & 11 Km per Ltr with this car around town (thats 22.6 to 31 Mpg (UK)) I was getting over 12 Km/Ltr in the truck soThis, as well as the fuel being 14 baht more per litre than diesel makes a big difference in running costs that I overlooked...ah well, I'll have to live with that I guess.

Plenty of plus points on this car tho which far outweigh the gripes imo. I agree with 'Jims a Thai Fox' comments from last May (a good post I thought) on the good stuff such as great sound system, good leather seats, spacious feel (not for the rear passengers of course) so many safety features plus gadgets that I haven't explored yet (I never want to see the airbags but it's nice to know they're there..specially the side ones which should be in every motor I reckon) and it's so good to drive, very direct and responsive, even better and more fun than I remember from driving a mini cooper over 30 years ago.

Jim concentrated on the mechanics which clearly bothered him so much he offered his Fiesta foe sale (joke or not?) but I'm not as mechanicly minded so figure I can get used to the quirky powershift feel.

Cheers, Ray.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

I had really good luck and dealer service when I purchased my Triton as well as second March. But my first March the dealer sales and service sucked.

Not sure I would call the fiesta a "micro" car like you did but that's not the point here

Diesel is 30 Bt per Ltr, E20 is 32 bt.per liter and 91 about 95 so I am confused about it being 14 baht more

[OMGImInPattaya]

I had really good luck and dealer service when I purchased my Triton as well as second March. But my first March the dealer sales and service sucked.

Not sure I would call the fiesta a "micro" car like you did but that's not the point here

Diesel is 30 Bt per Ltr, E20 is 32 bt.per liter and 91 about 95 so I am confused about it being 14 baht more

If you can still find it, 91/95 benzine (pure gasoline) is the most expensive as it's not blended (diluted) with ethanol. The 91 and 95 gasohols are cut with 10% ethanol (E10) and so cheaper than the 91/95 gasolines. The E20 is cheaper still as it's cut with 20% ethanol.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Wow...going from a pickup to a Fiesta is quite a change...I could barely shoehorn myself into one at the dealership. Even the Focus is a tight squeeze for me...but both are great cars, especially the top spec models. Driving SUVs myself for years, I don't think I cold ever go back to the compromised viewing position of a low lying passenger car.

[ignis]

Talking of MPG, yours Fiesta sounds to be using a lot ?

Maybe should have waited a few months and bought the All 'new' eco engine model ? in UK is the same MPG as the Diesel 86 MPG.......

The 1.6 sport Fiesta in UK states 38 - 46 MPG....... so a big difference to what your getting........

Are you sure you got it right ? I have a Audi A6 and 8-9 Km per Ltr is what I get with a much bigger car and engine......... The Mazda BT50 also get 14 Km per Ltr...........

[IMHO]

Driving SUVs myself for years, I don't think I cold ever go back to the compromised viewing position of a low lying passenger car.

Same... but I still want to buy a nice one just to look at

[Ungabunga]

Good information Ray, thanks.

My wife is keen on trading in her Vios and getting either a Fiesta or a Mazda 2 so we are just in the process of weighing up which one to go for. Did you look at the Mazda before deciding on the Ford?

(Luckily my missus has 10" arms, so the window buttons will work well!)

[nok_dan2000]

My daughter have a fiesta 1.6 sedan over 2 years old and go 15 - 16 km liter on E20 much of the drive is on highway and in city 11 12 km on liter, ford in Sakon nakhon has been very god, the car have now on the clock km 59,000

[OMGImInPattaya]

Driving SUVs myself for years, I don't think I cold ever go back to the compromised viewing position of a low lying passenger car.

Same... but I still want to buy a nice one just to look at

Evoque...X3...maybe

[VocalNeal]

Evoque...maybe

He says he wants a nice one to look at..

[IMHO]

Evoque...maybe

He says he wants a nice one to look at..

I won't tell my wife you said that LOL

Anyways, what I meant to say is "a nice looking sedan or coupe to look at" - We're pretty well stocked with SUV's ATM

[rayinkrabi]

Good responses, thx all. Yep Ungabunga, I spent ages checking out the competition including the Mazda 2 which also looks a v nice car, probably better on resale value than the Ford. I have to say tho that I struggled with the Mazda website whereas I found the Ford website clear and much more user friendly, even lets you compare features on it's cars. At the end of the day it's all down to personal choice.

I agree that I could save a lot by using gasahol or E20 but I'm still a bit wary of it as I read mixed reports on it's effect on the engine seals etc. plus I understand the mpg (kpl) is less especially with e20.

On top of this, the Ford salesgirl advised only 91...yes, I know she is prob not qualified to judge or give tech advice so I really would like to hear the advice from the many experts on here..any thoughts IMHO etc?

We took the festa for it's first long run to Phuket and back yesterday, about 350 km total, good smooth drive, fully loaded with 4 adults and our 1 yr old daughter, surprisingly comfy. Good result as I bought a nice child seat in black leather to match the interior.

Haven't worked out the kpl yet but I was keeping a close eye on the fuel computer and the readout was most often in very low numbers (5 ltr per 100 km or less especially on cruise ctrl) which is encouraging. Cheers, Ray.

[stevenl]

The Mazda BT50 also get 14 Km per Ltr...........

Around town, as the OP mentions? I maybe get 14km/liter long distance with my BT50, but around town, no way.