Skoda Fabia, any good? That badge...

[sat1983]

Balmoral Green said:

hat'll be a nice little car. On the 1.2, the DSG isn't trying to be something it's not, unlike in the vRS where it's supposed to be a drivers car, but fails.

Thank you. What I've learned from skoda is that it genuinely does seem to be a "what it says on the tin" brand.

No nonsense, functional, good quality products.

Hopefully!

[v8will]

Seemingly so, a friend has just bought one of the basic ones, 2009 model year I think with a tiny little 3 cylinder. Just surprisingly so much better than it's VW Polo relative.

Skoda seems to be the smart VAG choice these days

[sat1983]

v8will said:

Seemingly so, a friend has just bought one of the basic ones, 2009 model year I think with a tiny little 3 cylinder. Just surprisingly so much better than it's VW Polo relative.

Skoda seems to be the smart VAG choice these days

Agreed!

[Tyson1980]

sat1983 said:

I like the looks (for an everyday car), they seem like great value but I've got to be honest- a skoda is not something I've ever considered before.
Have some of you moved on from an Audi or a VW to a skoda and been happy with your choice?

Wife has a Fabia VRS.

Cant fault it. Costs peanuts to run and maintain...

Being a MK1 it has a fairly bog standard interior which rattles sometimes...

I have installed a sony headunit with bluetooth and it makes the driving experience a lot better.

We have decided to drive the car into the ground. We will probably never part with it...

I prefer driving the Fabia to my Z4 and other sports cars (srs)

[sat1983]

Tyson1980 said:

I prefer driving the Fabia to my Z4 and other sports cars (srs)

To that extent?????????

[mph1977]

sat1983 said:

Tyson1980 said:

I prefer driving the Fabia to my Z4 and other sports cars (srs)

To that extent?????????

well maybe in the ' i know i can thrash it to within an inch of it's life and my talent will not run out ' sense

[sat1983]

Made it to France!! All I can say is what a nice car to be in, and the economy is fantastic. I must easily have done over 50mpg.
Just a small brown trouser moment when I got muddled up with which side of the road I was on (....!!) and thinking "clutch down" I pressed the brake pedal as hard as I could. Resulting in a very nice emergency stop.
It's only my 2nd day driving an auto and I must admit I feel I've done well but I am still a tad scared until I proprely get used to driving on the right and an auto. By the time I get back to the UK, I'm sure I'll be very confident!

[Baryonyx]

I've never bee impressed with the styling. Postive comments about reasonable value and decent engines and construction aside, the actual looks of the cars I find quite dire, both interior and exterior.

[HBFS]

I'm picking up my Fabia VRS from the garage on Friday...

7 speed auto dsg with flappy paddles
Bluetooth stereo
parking sensors
Cruise control
Climate control
Audio controls on steering wheel
Optional black roof
Optional alloys

Balance of warranty - 2 years remaining, complete with a high level of roadside assistance.

All of that for £13,000 and It's only one year old! I think that's pretty good value.

So far after the first two test drives I love the DSG. I hope my feelings will stay the sane throughout ownership!

[sat1983]

HBFS said:

I'm picking up my Fabia VRS from the garage on Friday...

7 speed auto dsg with flappy paddles
Bluetooth stereo
parking sensors
Cruise control
Climate control
Audio controls on steering wheel
Optional black roof
Optional alloys

Balance of warranty - 2 years remaining, complete with a high level of roadside assistance.

All of that for £13,000 and It's only one year old! I think that's pretty good value.

So far after the first two test drives I love the DSG. I hope my feelings will stay the sane throughout ownership!

Bargain! Picked my 1.2 TSI 105 DSG for £9700 and it's only one year old too. I mean for that kind of money, you just can't go wrong.

[blank]

va1o said:

In what way exactly is an Octavia better than a E60 BMW 5-Series?

You could ask this question the other way round.

They each have strengths and weaknesses, but for 2 similar cars, it's easy to see how one could say the Skoda is better. Particularly if their focus is more towards value for money than badge cachet or 'sporty' handling.

[ajprice]

First car was a basic Fabia 1.4, complete with wheeltrims and keep fit windows . It was fine and did the job as a first car, cheap to run, easy to work on and kept on running. Have fun with the flappy paddles .

[sat1983]

ajprice said:

First car was a basic Fabia 1.4, complete with wheeltrims and keep fit windows . It was fine and did the job as a first car, cheap to run, easy to work on and kept on running. Have fun with the flappy paddles .

Cheers- You can see the few little things Skoda "saved" money on compared to the equivalent Polo but I'm not the sort of person that worries what colour the dials are.
I've got keep fit windows at the back- doesn't worry me as very few people would sit there. I'll just put stuff on the back seats,mainly.
Dials= 80's green. As said, doesn't worry me.
A few more hard plastics than a Polo. Again, as long as it doesn't rattle, I couldn't care less.
I bet some are these things are done on purpose so people think the Polo is more premium. Which it is- but not by much.

[flatline84]

13 grand fk me. Could have had a Full fat Clio 200 with all toys and delivery milage for that sort of cash..puts it into perspective.

[inVINCEable]

As company cars I had the 1.2 TSI 105 Elegance manual and DSG. I absolutely loved those cars, the engine is a proper peach. It is much, much better than the 1.6 engine which it replaces. I even had a little play with my friends 106 GTI and the Skoda didn't let me down at all.

If you're really pushing on, there is a fair bit of body movement, but very controlable.

What spec did you go for?

MPG wise I was always getting around the 50 mpg mark, great car.

[ajprice]

But then you would have to buy a new Renault?!?

Personally I'd rather have something German with a different badge than something French.

[HBFS]

flatline84 said:

13 grand fk me. Could have had a Full fat Clio 200 with all toys and delivery milage for that sort of cash..puts it into perspective.

I'll be honest, that's the car I really wanted at first. For me it is £4500 to insure instead of £1200 though so didn't look into it any further.

However I think the vRS would be more suited to 20k miles PA and I've always wanted an auto.

I'd be willing to wager a fair sum you cannot get a 200 with all they toys for £13k either but I'm happy to be proven wrong as I've a friend who's after one.
So can you tell me where one can be had for £13k?

[Andehh]

Diesel Octavia vRS owner here, 56 plate just ticking over 92k miles. Remapped it 10k ago, and I do around 18k a year and I love it. Sound insulation is a bit lacking, esp at motorway+ speeds but nothing some music cant drown out. Handles well, pulls well and *touch wood* not missed a beat at all, I love it.

[flatline84]

I`ll be honest 13k is pushing it, however if you stretch those delivery miles to 5.000 - 10.000..?

that insurance quote is taking the piss though, so obviously thats a no-go.

How about a Low-milage VW Golf GTI DSG? Either a Mk5 or a Mk6?

[(steven)]

Andehh said:

Sound insulation is a bit lacking, esp at motorway+ speeds

I find the same with my 110 mk1 diesel octavia. The sound insulation really is a bit poor and can be rather wearing on a long journey.

They are good cars for what they are but they have saved money on the details. In many ways my old mk2 mondeo was a much better car but it didn't have the pd diesel up front.

The handling really is quite dire as well.