USED Skoda Fabia Hatchback (07 - )

My car

This is my second Fabia 2. Previous model was the 1.9td 3. Excellent fuel economy , performance & equipment but the ride was spoilt by the 16" tyres. The old pump duse engine was vocal at start up but smoothed out when on the road. Changed to the 1.6CRSE (90bhp) for the lower car tax bracket (B). The rides has improved leaps & bounds on the smaller 15" tyres. The engine is substantially quieter & can be barely detected as a diesel at times. The performance has not dropped markedly despite having 15 horses less than the model it replaced but has lost the last models easily provoked torque steer if you were too heavy on the accelerator. Fuel economy on my 76 mile round trip to work over A roads is a little over 60mpg. Cannot recommend this engine for users on short urban commutes. It has a diesel particulate filter which fouls up on short start/stop journeys & needs a good twenty minute motorway run to burn off the residues when the warning light comes on. Failure to do this will lead to hefty repair costs.On the whole the car is way better than What Car's three star rating. As an ownership prospect it's hard to fault being the roomiest car in its class & excellent value for money. The handling is safe rather than involving (the tall stance & soft ride to blame).

My car

I've had my skoda for 6 months and it has been great. The black trim, roof, and wheels really make the car look loads better than the standard Fabia, which looks a bit bland. After having a Citroen C2, the Skoda feels like it has been built by people who care, and know what they are doing. It feels properly screwed together, and have had no problems whatsoever with it so far. It drives beautifully, and the power from the 1.2 engine is a miracle of technology. Don't expect to get near the fuel economy figures though. Driving like a saint still won't get you to the average. I must admit that I did consider the Diesel version, but the jump in price seemed excessive to me. This spec takes all the great parts of the Skoda Fabia, but adds the icing on the cake. Go and take that test drive, and see what I'm on about. It also looks better than the VRS.

My car

I have had this for four years. Its great, but the aircon has never worked. Its a company car, and when skoda get hold of it they seem just to regas it and return it, - not working, - they can't tell whether its working because its seldom hot enough to notice Am I the only one?

It shifts like anything and is tight and rides like a much bigger car. mileage has never been better than 45mpg Pity its like a sauna on a summer's day I notice they have stopped making it, - I wonder why? -I guess because the VRS is out.

My car

This is my first Skoda, my son having pipped me with a 'mark 1' estate which has been 100% reliable for 4 years. My Fabia is very quiet as it is the 105ps petrol. I think it's unfair that often the car is criticised for being noisy - the diesels are but the petrols are not! Mine does over 40 mpg on a regular basis even on a 25 mile daily commute from the outskirts of London into Herfordshire. One reason I chose it ( apart from the reliability reports ) was its ability to seat upto 4 adults in comfort. Indeed I have regularly travelled in the back for upto 2 hours comfortably. Inside it has good storage spaces and is easy to drive, would have liked to afford the '3' spec with cruse control etc but this is one fine car. I've been in the Motor Trade over 40 years and during my time in Car & Van hire got to drive a huge variety of cars so feel qualified to give an opinion. Many friends still ask - 'you? a Skoda?' but when they look further realise that there are excellent reasons why there are now waiting lists for most models. The motoring public at large are discovering one of the finest quality turnarounds in motoring history.