Cabin and features
The Fiesta, as we have always known, isn’t the most spacious of the cars in its segment. To have a black themed interior, thus, wasn’t a very fruitful thing to have on the previous gen car. Ford India have taken note of the matter, though, and for the 2014 version, the Fiesta features black and bright beige color combo for the interior. While the upper part of the dashboard carries on with its black attire, the lower portion, along with the upholstery has been draped in beige colored plastic and fabric, with the seats featuring great-as-ever bolstering for lateral support and a special pattern on backrest spine and seat squab for good grip.
The mobile phone-inspired dashboard remains unchanged design-wise. Steering wheel is leather wrapped with mounted audio controls. The new version of the Fiesta also boasts smart features including keyless entry, push button start, rain sensing wipers and automatic headlights.
Another important change to the interior is the introduction of piano black, hi-gloss finish to the center console surrounds and A/C control unit. This finish is extended to the door panels, where the door handles are given a similar glossy black treatment.
Satin chrome inserts in places provide nice contrast and lift the quality feel a notch. Quality of materials in nice, and finish doesn’t leave anything to complain either. We do feel, though, that the number of buttons on that center console are a tad too many. The layout could have been more intuitive too. Overall, the cabin feel is extremely sturdy and on the move the overall assembly gives you a perception that it’s built to last a lifetime.
SYNC and Ford AppLink
An important inclusion on the new Ford Fiesta is SYNC, seen previously on the Ecosport. The big news, however, is the Ford AppLink which has made its debut on an Indian car with the new Fiesta.
Of the two, SYNC is Ford’s tech to translate some of your phone’s features on the central ice blue back lit screen. The functionality offered by SYNC includes caller ID, call waiting, conference calling, a caller log, contact list, signal strength icon and a phone battery charge icon. Additionally, SYNC can also read your SMS messages. You can also reply to a message, choosing a response from one of the 15 pre-set messages using voice commands.
In its 2014 version, SYNC has evolved, and can recognize up to 150 unique voice commands. It’s also capable of figuring out deviations in accents and figure out the meaning of alternative words. For India, SYNC is available in UK English.
A brand new introduction to any Ford model in India, as discussed before is the Ford AppLink. Using AppLink, the driver can use certain cellphone applications with voice commands after pairing his phone with the system using Bluetooth or USB. This can come handy to feed in addresses and landmarks while navigating, or for finding services like fuel stations and restaurants while driving, without having to use your hands. For now, the Ford AppLink has only three smartphone applications – Explore by MapMyIndia, ESPN Cricinfo and Glympse. Of these the first two apps are India specific, while the third one is a globally available service.
With more than 10 million cars with SYNC plying on roads and the number growing fast, Ford is keen on increasing the number of apps available on the platform. For this, the American carmaker is creating an environment to let more and more developers create apps to help drivers carry out tasks without having to use their hands.
Ford SYNC with AppLInk is a useful feature, and works well. However, it isn’t going to work from the word go. Using the system and the associated applications effectively requires some practice and getting used to, after which making the system work for you is a breeze. Owners of the car, having enough time to master the system should find the convenience offered by SYNC and AppLink very useful.
The last feature associated with the SYNC is the Emergency Assistance system, which debuted with the Ford Ecosport in India. Activated in case of a pre-defined event (deployment of airbags, fuel line shut), the system calls the emergency number (108) by itself, delivering the GPS coordinates of the car over the air, and allowing the driver to talk with the emergency service operator if possible. Emergency Assistance feature is free for life of the vehicle.
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