Spied - Ford's Verve-based low-cost car for India, Europe, Brazil

Ford's small car has been discussed here many times in the past (1,2,3). The new small car from the American auto giant (maybe that title isn't appropriate anymore) will be announced by mid-2010.

Ford's new car will come in both petrol/diesel and hatchback/sedan variants. It will be Ford's entry level car in India and will be manufactured at the company's facility in Chennai where vehicles like the hugely successful Fiesta and Ikon are currently manufactured.

Ford's Indian small car as you can refer from the snaps, borrow styling cues from the Verve concept.

Ford India confirmed earlier that their new small car will have high localization content (75% or more) to control costs. A sub 1.2-liter petrol and sub 1.5-liter diesel engine will be the sole power units initially; more powerful engines and automatic transmissions might be added to the lineup after the launch.

Some claim the car spied is the new Fiesta that is selling successfully in Europe and is in the demo mode in the U.S.A

But this is NOT the Ford Fiesta hatchback. Let me show you

Proof 1 - If you look closely at the snap, the mirrors are mounted in place of the quarter glass panels. The Fiesta hatchback's design uses a quarter glass panel and its mirrors are mounted on its doors. The mirrors of the spied car do not have indicators studded in them which the Fiesta does.

Proof 2 - The front bumper is also another indication that this is not the Fiesta. There is a section of plastic that bulges out partitioning the fog lamps and the radiator/condenser grille. The Fiesta hatchback's bumper does not have such a section as its bumper uses a smoother design.

Proof 3 - The Fiesta hatchback has a muscle on the bonnet that runs from the A-Pillar to the headlamps. The car you see in the picture instead has only a plain section of metal. This is also indication of cost cutting, using simple shapes to lower its price tag.

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