FOAK: Skoda Fabia

We spent yesterday car-hunting for SWMBO and she's taken rather a shine
to the Fabia; the 1.4 Ambiente to be specific. Any thoughts, good or
bad, on them?

To put it into context it's basically for the school run[1] and trips to
the shops and we would keep it for three years.


[1]The school bus would cost €5500 per year, FFS, and it's only an 8km
drive.

 

I hear the 1.2 is a "nicer" engine, strangely.

 

We've got the 1.2 Classic and it's great. Not fast (far from it) but
it's a lovely car.

The thing that put me off of the 1.4 is that it's a Skoda engine rather
than a VAG one, but to be fair they seem to be pretty bulletproof.

Fuel consumption is disappointing (the 1.9 SDi and TDi are *much* better
but less common and more expensive as Skoda pushed the 1.4 so hard to
get market share), and depending on what year you go for the road tax
can smart a bit (the early ones being cc-rated, the later CO2-rated).

I can't think of any specific problems, but what problems do come up are
cheap to fix (parts-wise anyway)

 

3-cylinder OHC VAG vs 4-cylinder OHV Skoda

 

Get the kids bikes then. That's only a 20 minute ride and she gets to spend
more time sat on her arse with Richard and Judy / Cooking your tea / putting
on the maids outfit.

 

What engine is it?
There have been a number of 1.4s
The 100bhp 16v 1.4 is pretty decent.
The 75bhp 16v is deathly slow.
Both of those are VW designs.
The older 8v 1.4 is a Skoda design and not too bad but I'd try and find
either a 1.4TDI or the higher powered 12v 1.2 petrol engine as they are both
better choices.
The diesel will be nicer to drive and more economical and the 12v petrol
isn't any slower than the 75bhp 1.4 but more economical

--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

The 8v 1.4 is a Skoda with a cam chain IIRC
The 16v 1.4s are both VW designed with cam belts.



--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

That'll do it.

Don't tell me the 1.4 is a bored out Fav engine?? If it's OHV I guess it
must be...

 

The 8v is a development of the Felicia engine , which was in turn a
development of the Favorit engine!



--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

That'll be why they all suffer with the same stalling problems then.

 

That's my preferred solution but she's adamant that the 6 yr old is too
young. Plus, would you expose your kids to Belgian drivers?

 

I suppose it depends on where you live etc. I would think 6 probably is a
bit young.

 

It's a new buy (shudder) so there is a selection, all within a couple of
hundred Euros.

Cheers. performance is mostly irrelevant as SWMBO is one of the slowest
drivers on the planet. It's only a question of whether I'm willing to
pay for the extra performance for the few times I might drive it.

 

I had a Fabia 1.4TDI up until February this year.

It was reliable and not unpleasant to drive.

Bits of trim showed it up really - the Skoda badges front and back
delaminated and furred up, the gearstick gaiter split, and the trim on
the drivers door started creaking etc.

Oh, and the volume control on the factory headunit became a bit random
- always the way just after a cars manufacturers warranty has expired.

Fine, bar the fact it was only just three years old and had covered
just under 30k, and all of it, bar maybe the creaking trim, was
sortable by buying new stick on tat for it.

They leak water into the cabin through the doors due to a combination
of dodgy sealant used at the factory and a bit of an oversight in
terms of the profile of the door sills when they were first designed -
when looking at one, if it smells a bit musty, this will be why.

If it smells overpoweringly of air fresheners etc (1), this will
almost certainly also be why. ;-)

They also have a reputation for the power steering pump to pack up,
and these aren't cheap in the slightest - I'd have hoped a third party
parts company would have picked up on the demand for these and started
selling reconditioned ones that under cut the overpriced OEM ones by
now.

Oh, and it had obviously been owned by old giffers who didn't do much
motorway work prior to my buying it - in the 4k I had it, it did
plenty of runs back and forth to London, and loads of stone chips
appeared overnight, and again this showed up

They're comfy (2), the boot is big for a 'small' car, and the TDI at
least is very good on fuel.

Personally, I'd buy a vRS and tell SWMBO it was all they had left. ;-)

HTH

(1) <makes note to watch for this himself in future, having learned
the hard way the first time round >
(2) Took it on holiday last October and drove from Kent to Cornwall
with just one break on the way, and didn't get numb legs etc.

 

Ah , ok.
In the UK the names for different trim levels have been replaced by "1" ,
"2" and "3" so I was thinking it was the Mk1 rather than a new Mk2.

In that case the 70bhp 12v 1.2 is the best option.
The diesels are nicer (I've driven a 1.4TDI roomster) but it's an extra £1k
for the slowest oil burner and it's probably not worth the outlay.
--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

Depends. According to http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/ diesel is
significantly cheaper in Belgium than petrol.

 

The lower-powered 1.2 is a bit of a trial. As Alex says, the more
powerful one is OK- it wasn't dreadful after my Mk1 vRS with 130BHP.

 

Two kids to deliver, therefore a requirement for 3 seats, yeah? So what
have you got against a Maclaren F1?

 

D'oh!

In that case , I'd go for that.



--
Alex

"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk

 

Going by recent history I wouldn't expose my children to Belgians full stop.