2008 Skoda Fabia Estate 1.9 turbo diesel from Israel

Summary:

A winning combination

Faults:

None so far.

General Comments:

I've only had the car for two weeks, but am very happy with the performance.

Seating position is good, high up with reasonable support.

Very nippy around town with light and accurate steering.

On the motorway, plenty of available torque, good visibility.

Only gripe is with soundproofing of the engine. I think Skoda should have improved it a bit more as engine noise is a little unrefined and occasionally obtrusive. One gets used to it.

Air con dials though are cheap looking, and a bit difficult to read from a driver's angle.

Fuel consumption so far for urban/motorway is 18.5 Km/Ltr.

All in all, a pleasure to drive, great handling, very practical and spacious and very economical on fuel.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd November, 2008

30th Nov 2008, 03:19

UPDATE AFTER 5000 KM - My major gripe with this car is the overly hard suspension. You really feel every bump even on the smoothest of roads. I understand that Skoda may have wanted to improve handling, body-roll, cornering, excess loads, but certainly at the expense of driver comfort. The ride is certainly jarring, doesn't forgive even the slightest bump. A shame they marred such a great all-rounder.

2008 Skoda Fabia Greenline 1.4 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

An ECO model car with no drawbacks!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

After a reality check on how bad Vauxhall customer service is, I decided to part ex my car and purchase a brand new Skoda Fabia. I have only owned it for 3 weeks and I wish I'd purchased it sooner.

The cabin is amazingly spacious, and the engine is VERY economical as I am getting 43MPG in town driving, compared to the Corsa getting 35MPG on average, and goes very quickly.

You may think that a 1.4TDI wont be able to cut it, but I would recommend taking a test drive because it is a very good engine.

The car may be an eco model, but it is really good to drive and very light on fuel. Also, the dealer was fantastic, very friendly and gave me what I wanted. The salesman did not try to persuade me to buy a different trim level. He gave me exactly what I wanted, and I had the car in less than 3 weeks from placing the order (the car was already built and on its way, so I didn't have a choice on interior trim or car colour, but I like them both).

The only thing is that it rattles like a tractor when it's cold, but when it's warmed up, it quietens down.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th October, 2008

26th Oct 2008, 03:46

Before I purchased the vehicle, my friend was trying to convince me to buy the 1.9tdi engine. I said I didn't need the extra power. He has been in the car a few times now and has not once joked about the lack of power. It takes a while to get used to driving around town in third and I only use 5th when I'm going 70 or more. I found out that the Fabia I own chucks out FAR more torque than his Astra does. I haven't had any trim rattles yet, but I have not even breached the 1000 mile mark yet.

Also, I would highly recommend using Turtle Wax Synthetic Ice after washing the car. It'll look like it came out of the showroom, and it can be used on glass and plastic trim as well as the bodywork. I did it last week and it has been raining heavily and I don't get watermarks on the bodywork. The water just beads off.

It's great to hear from another Fabia driver who is happy with the car.

2nd Dec 2008, 14:04

I am surprised you say you only get 43mpg around town - thought you would get more.

5th Dec 2008, 08:17

I get 43MPG because I do short journeys. I only need to travel 4 miles to get to work.

My previous car only just managed 35MPG.

16th May 2009, 15:16

I've had two cars with this little 3 cyl motor (2001 Seat Arosa and 2003 Fabia) between them I did more than 180,000 miles with no problems. The revvy nature of the engine is a real joy. They don't half make a racket when cold though :-) I have the 1.9 TDI Fabia now and there is much more pull at higher speeds with the bigger engine. The 3cyl is a fine little engine though.

JON.