Faults:

Wheel bearings, exhaust, brakes.

Bonnet release snapped.

Oil leak.

Clutch judder.

Rust on rear hatch.

General Comments:

A pretty boring little car, but reliable enough as per Skoda.

Not much to look at, and the interior is not very spacious. Dull and grey inside, and my car is a weird light metallic green on the outside.

1.2 is slow but economical. Drives OK for the age and miles.

Servicing and running costs are very reasonable. Fabia is nothing special, but if you want a reliable hatchback, they are worth a look even at this age. Mine is still going strong at 14 years old with nearly 100K on it.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong. Long term reliability remains to be seen, I have only had the car a year.

General Comments:

A smart fast little car, this Fabia vRS is fun to drive.

DSG auto box shifts very well, and does not affect performance. I'm thinking a manual would be more fun, but this DSG box is so good it does not matter in this car.

1.4 TSi will do around 40 mpg, good for petrol and very good considering the performance. 7 seconds to 60 mph and 140 mph top speed.

If I have any complaints it's not the most comfortable or practical car, but it is a small hot hatch, so you cannot expect this from it. You buy this car as a fun to drive run about, nothing more.

Faults:

Nothing as yet.

General Comments:

This is a very fast Fabia. Very powerful, but let down a little by the automatic DSG gearbox, which makes the driving experience not quite as precise and instant as I would like. Hesitates when pulling away from junctions / roundabouts, which means more care needs to be taken in those situations. There is no manual option.

The 1.4 TSI 180 bhp engine is powerful, being supercharged, and then turbocharged at higher revs. So lots of fun if you have the space to indulge.

Other niggles which spoil a potentially great car. No front fogs: these are now daylight running lights. No interior rear light. (Cheap or what?) Darkened rear windows: OK, I know these seem to be favoured by some (why?), but they're just pretentious.

Good points? Heated seats. Heated mirrors. Ipod/iPhone/ compatible bluetooth sound system with voice control. Reversing sensors. Comfortable seats. Electronics, which help when cornering quickly, braking the inside wheels. Holds the road well enough. Not too firm.