hadleybuff

I have a 2021 Fabia Monte Carlo DSG; I like the automatic gearbox but have reservations about its longevity and on balance woud prefer a good old fashioned torque converter as on my previous SAAB's. Similarly I have reservations about the longevity of the 1.0 turbo engine but no-one on here has written of their experiences long term or rather highish mileage (say 80 to 100k miles). My local dealer stresses the need to ensure adequate lubrication of the turbo charger unit!

Hello. I have previously had a 1.2 litre Fabia Estate (2012 model 4 cylinder 5 speed manual) and I now have a 1.0 Fabia Estate (90ps 2021 model 3 cylinders but turbo charged with 7 speed automatic gearbox); frankly I see little or no difference in performance or economy between the two; I imagine your 1.9 diesel will be more flexible and therefore require less gearchanging but I would not be surprised if it was in fact slower than either of mine but possibly a little more economical.

I have just come back from 'town' in my Skoda 1.0 turbo DSG; starting from a rolling start in 2nd on a slight upgrade for just over a mile I got into 6th at about 40mph and as I went over the crest it changed into 7th when it was pulling 1250rpm at 40 mph on a slight downgrade and then easing back on the throttle the car went into 'ECO'which is effectively freewheel, a mode I have not seen mentioned on here. I do mainly short runs in quite hilly terrain and average around 44mpg, rising to mid 50's on longer runs; I drive gently and find the DSG very relaxing with barely peceptable changes up and down similar to my previous much bigger car witha 5 speed torque converter transmission; I prefer the economy of the Skoda! Some years ago I had a VW Golf 1.4 DSG as a loan car which did gallons per mile if pushed and when going uphill and I do find the economy of my Skoda falls in cold weather.

Thank you; due to age (79 next month) and the Pandemic I don't do even 10k a year these days; I just had a bit of a battle to get the oil changed after 12 months in my little Skoda. "Ah, Sir, not needed. You are wasting your money. We use 'long life oil'. Good for2 years" I got the oil and filter changed in the end. I believe in long life engines rather than long life oil!

I am grateful for all the comments upon my original post. However, these engineshave been around for a few years now and I was hoping to hear from owners who had driven or owned cars which had covered 100k miles or more along the lines of 'Mine has done x miles and has had no major problems' or 'Mine has done y miles and at z miles I had to replace the t widget twice' etc. Between 1966 and 2005 I always drove more than 35k miles a year with a high of 69k miles in 1990 and I drove over 50k miles a year from 1989 to 1997; in all that time I had only one breakdown when the drive to the oil pump sheared but the engine was saved the the car having an oil pressure gauge which alerted me ; that shows remarkable reliability of cars as diverse as Ford, Volvo, SAAB, Peugeot but the engines in most of those cars were unsophisticated by modern standards hence my concern for the 1.0 turbo Skoda engine.

I stand corrected; removing the exhaust manifold might be a bit challenging! But, having seen the video of the Golf engine at 10k miles, I can't see many private owners undertaking that job and I shudder to think what a garage would charge, assuming they were safe to be let loose on it. Maybe long term a Morris Minor is a better bet.

Removing the exhaust manifold sounds like a load of fun but having done so how do you stop the gunge getting down the cylinder bores and also this does not give access to the valves.

You are, of course , absolutley right about the petrol point and Skoda do not recommend (ie require) the use of 'Super'.........not many manufactureres do. So, I have ignored that point in the article. My concern is the stated need for a 'mechanical clean up process at least every 50k miles......' I take 'mechanical' to mean head off; how else would access to the ports and valves be attained? Surely, it is not suggested that a (fairly) modern engine cannot run for 100k miles or more without MAJOR mehanical work? I would value your views and comments upon this.

'mechanical cleanup process'........does that involve removal of the cylinder head..........every 50k miles? That, if correct, sounds remarkably like the old 'decoke' process necessary for side valve engines. Progress?

Thank you very much indeed; I found that most interesting.

Does anyone have any experience of the durability of the 3 cyl 999cc turbocharged engine over an extended period or high mileage (say, over 100,000 miles)?

I had a 1.2 4 cylinder petrol Fabia manual for 4 years and it never missed a beat as well as being quite economical. I now have a 1.0 3 cylinder turbo petrol Fabia DSG and in everyday use its economy seems to be on a par with the 1.2 petrol I previously had. Yesterday, I went to York and back on mainly dual carriageways and motorway; because of commuter time congestion I was rarely able to exceed 60mph; the distance travelled was 242 miles and I brimmed the tank as nearly as possible before leaving and just before getting home; the amount consumed was 19 litres which I thought quite good as some of the journey was stop/start and there are some quite steep hills. The acceleration of the turbo engined car is quite adequate for my purposes but I am not a speed merchant.......I got that out of my system quite some years ago.......on the race track.

Thank you for that. Skoda Dealer says that they are quite relaible which is good enough for me!

I have had a DSG Fabia Monte Carlo for 12 months and I love it....both the car and the DSG. That said, a few years ago a VW dealer said keeping a DSG out of warranty was not to be recommended! I gather that regular servicing of the DSG is important and I read that the 95bhp engine is best because of its low torque. Happily mine is the 95bhp engne. Anyway, I intend to keep my present car for many years. I hope that helps.