Skoda_Family

Well it's time to say goodbye to my Fabia Estate after 4 years and 60K miles as my company car. Unfortunately my fleet don't do Skoda's anymore so I have to get another make (Renault Meagne Sport Tourer) but I thought I'd share some honest thoughts on my 4 years of ownership. Model: Estate 3 TDI 80 - options Heated Seats Likes: Very well built and solid car - threw 4 years of dogs/kids/camping etc at it and it shrugged them off with no problems. Nothing fell off other than the front arm rest breaking due to kids testing how far it would bend! Excellent ride - feels very solid and composed if driven gently (not if pushed) Very practical car - amazing boot for it's size and well shaped - swallowed a large dog and camping gear regularly Value for money - outstanding given the practicality of the car for it's size/price Heated Seats great - well my had them turned on permanently! Okay's: Economy - averaged about 50MPG which is not bad for a small diesel but hoped for 55-60 when I chose it. I think this is due to having to push the revs a lot to keep it moving at a reasonable pace (see below on Performance). We also run a Fabia I 1.9TDi and this consistently gives 55MPG+ as it doesn't need to be revved so much. Dislikes: Handling - rolls far too much if pushed - our Fabia I is miles better in this respect. Performance - it was a little underowered in my opinion which meant you needed to put your foot down especially from 1st to 2nd pulling away from a standing start. This meant fuel economy suffered. Found that you had to get revs up in second otherwise it flat-spotted which could be a pain pulling away from lights. Overall: Sad to see it go really - although it had flaws it was amazing value for money at £15K 4 years ago - to put that into perspective my next company car is coming in at £22K and it's not much bigger. Sort out the flat-spot and less rolling and it would be almost perfect. I would have loved to have an Octavia Estate for my next company car but not an option. Will continue to run our Fabia I as the second car and will definately replace that with an Octavia when it gets tired (altough it's now done 140K and still going strong).

Name: Ian Age: 40's Location: Somerset Car Fabia II 1.4TDi Estate Colour: Brilliant Silver Delivered: Nov 2008 Equipment level: 3 Options: -heated seats (for the wife!) -drawers under front seats -steering wheel controls Mods: -Large labradoodle who insists on taking up the whole (enormous!) boot and generally slobbering all over the back headrests! -Six month old son complete with nice (says the wife!) car seat. Comes with built in sonic boom device (i.e. crying at 110 decibels!) and buggy, toys, carry bags etc etc -Dent in rear bumper despite having rear parking sensors (note to wife - thats why the beeping was so fast!) -Wife who has completely taken over the car and deposited various girly items in every cubbyhole such as scrunchies (eh?), lipstick, nail varnish, make-up and Jilly Cooper books. -Permanently heated seats even in a heatwave (see wife for justification!) -Non-working climate control (well wife says it can't be switched on at less than 24 degrees) I've given up and swapped into the Mk1 1.9TDi hatch which I must say is a much nicer drive with the CD on and air-con going. Now where did I put the valium?

Thanks David, Had a look and it's the same as the official website for OE sunshades. Will be ordering a set as at about £85 all in it's way cheaper than getting the Skoda one's (they're about £60 for each one so £200 + in total). With the amount of sunny days we get it's not worth paying the extra!

I wonder if anyone's ordered a white one with the optional white roof?

Hi David, They look really good. Could you possibly post who the seller is on eBay as I'm looking for some for my Estate as I bought some generic one's and they're rubbish! (11 week old son not impressed!). Thanks Ian

Thanks for the comments guys. Estateman - couldn't agree more that on cost grounds the 1.4TDi makes more sense - mine's a company car and it's way cheaper as a benefit in kind due to the 120g CO rating. Timelord - must admit your analysis is way deeper than mine - I just look at the trip computer MPG and compared them with the same driving style over the same route. Biggest difference is there are a couple of long hills on my daily commute and the extra torque of the 1.9 makes the difference as I don't have to drop a gear or increase the revs. Anyway that's enough from me - I'm happy with my 1.4 Estate (well I would be if the wife let me drive it!). It's still the best small estate on the market IMHO.

I know there are loads of threads about which engine has the better MPG but I thought I'd add my real world experience of both engines. I bought a 1.4TDi Estate in Nov 2008 and drove it for about 4 months putting on about 8K in the process. For the last 2 1/2 months I've been driving the wifes' 1.9TDi hatch due to the arrival of a new sprog and the estate being nabbed by her as it's "nicer" (i.e. it has heated seats!). I've done pretty much the same routes in both (30 mile daily commute, a few 200 mile motorway trips) and my conclusion is that the 1.9TDi is more economical to drive in real world conditions. I can average 60mpg in the 1.9 without really trying whereas the 1.4 needs to be driven much more slowly and carefully to achieve the same mpg. I've achieved 70mpg in the 1.9 with careful driving but couldn't get that in the 1.4. Saying that the 1.9 has done 80K and the 1.4 only 10K so is still running in to a degree. Anyway that's my view but I will say that the MK2 Estate is still a superb car - I got the 1.4tDi on cost grounds (both intial and running costs) and don't reget it at all.

We've got a Mk2 Estate (Nov 2008) and MK1 Hatch (June 2004) and both have excellent build quality - not a rattle from either. Mk1 hatch has done 80K and still feels great. Would have to agree with other comments though - MK2 interior feels much better quality than MK1 and other makes (I test drove loads of cars before buying and this was the best quality). Still feels brand new after 10K.

I think some people's expectations of real-world mpg are unrealistic. I'm finding my 3 Estate 1.4TDi is averaging about 52-55mpg now (done 4,000 miles) and slowly climbing. If I drive carefully I can just about get it to hit 60mpg. Personally I think that's brilliant - the official combined mpg is 61.4 and that's under ideal test conditions so if you can get within 5-10% of that I think your doing pretty well.

Nice looking car Fabman. If they'd had an Estate version back in July I might have ordered one instead of my 3. Hope it's easier to keep clean than my Brialliant Silver colour though as it picks up road dirt really quickly!

Fabman: My 1.4TDI Estate was averaging about the same as yours for the 1st 1,000 miles as the engine was very tight. Now I've done 3,000 miles it's loosened up a lot and I'm now up to about 52mpg and steadily climbing. I'm not the slowest of drivers so I think it's pretty good considering. My engine got a lot quieter after 2,000 miles too.

Just thought I'd post a frivolous thread (try saying that when you're drunk!). Now have 6 Fabias in my family: Me - Fabia II 3 Estate 1.4TDi Wife - Fabia I 1.9TDi Ambiente F-I-L - Fabia II 2 Estate 1.9TDi M-I-L (1) - Fabia I 1.9TDi Classic S-I-L (1) - Fabia I 1.4 Classic S_I-L (2) - Fabia I 1.2 Classic (I think!) and M-I-L (2) is thinking about getting one! Can anyone beat that?

Mine gets really dirty too - especially the back of the car. Must be the Estate shape as it's the first Estate I've had.

At the rate I'm clocking up the miles I'll be there in a year or so!!

Yes it's an amazing car for the price. Also forgot to mention I has dealer-fitted roof bars and used a roof box over Christmas. It didn't phase the Fabia at all and no noticable impact on mpg. Glad you liked the review.

Hi James, Thanks for the comments. I find I only use the radio controls on the steering wheel for changing the volume - I find it easier to use the main unit to change stations etc. I've invested in a PocketDock for my iPod so don't use the CD player much now as the iPod is usually plugged into the Aux Socket.

I've just notched up my first 3,000 miles so I thought I'd post a real world and honest (hopefully!) review of my experiences. Car details: Delivered 19th Nov. It's a 1.4TDi 3 Estate in Silver with options of Heated Seats, Boxes Under Seats and Multi-Function steering wheel. Why Did I Choose it?: Needed a car with a big boot (large dog/kid due March) but at a low cost. It's a company car hence opting for the 1.4 over the 1.9 as it's in a lower tax band. Tried several estates before choosing the Skoda. Other cars tested were Peugeot 207SW, Renault Clio Tourer and Ford Focus Estate (Fabia beat them hands down - see conclusions later). Engine/Performance/Refinement: Although initially a bit gruff the engine has smoothed out nicely and provides plenty of power for everyday use. It has loads of mid-range grunt and I've never noticed a lack of power. Great car for motorway driving - the engine has a nice thrum to it at about 70mph. No problems with engine noise in the cabin now it's run in. Overall a great engine for this size of car. Economy - I've averaged about 52mpg (not measured very scientifically just using the trip computer). This seems to be steadily climbing as the miles pass - the engine was very tight for the first few weeks. Sure I'll get closer to 55-60 eventually. I'm managing to do about 500 - 550 miles on a tank full so pretty pleased with that. Longest single trip so far is about 200 miles in a day and found the standard Cruise Control really useful on the motorway. Ride/Handling: Having come from a bigger (and more expensive!) car I can honestly say this is the most comfortable car I've owned. The ride is both firm and comfortable and makes for a very relaxing drive. It never feels flustered on any roads I've come across yet and my 15 mile commute into work daily is a pleasure (well as much as it can be!). Not a car to push really hard as it does roll a lot if you do but then I didn't choose it for racing. Interior/Practicality: I hate to use the cliche 'tardis-like' but it really is amazing how big the car is inside considering the exterior dimensions, especially the boot which I have tried and failed to fill up over Christmas (it swallowed 2 5ft Christmas trees without having to fold the seats down). The dog loves it and the storage bins in the boot are really useful to stop clutter rolling around. What did tickle me was a friend trying the same thing in his A4 Avant and finding he had less space than my Fabia (not bad considering the Audi cost over £25K!). There are a couple of gripes though - 1) The black 'Onyx' upholstery is a pig to keep clean and clings to dog hairs/dirt so I'm having to brush/vac regularly to stop it building up (never bothered with previous company cars but determined to keep this one clean). 2) - the foldable armrest is right above the handbrake so when it's down it's a pain to use the handbrake. Not a major problem but inconvenient. I had a couple of rattles that I thought were from the glovebox or air vents but these seem to have disappeared now. Heated Seats (optional) are great although they are wired the wrong way round (will get sorted out at 1st service). Conclusion: I'm very pleased I chose the Fabia. Having tried out a few estates it was the only car within my budget that felt like a 'proper car' (207SW / Clio Tourer both felt flimsy, Focus Estate nice car but very expensive compared to Fabia and hardly any bigger). My first 3,000 miles have confirmed what I thought - there is no other car on the market that combines a big car feel and practicality at anywhere near the price of the Fabia. The Focus Estate ticked all the boxes but was £5k more for a decent spec. I'm pretty sold on my (not so little) Skoda - seem to want to look after it a lot more than previous cars. Anyway hope some people found this review useful and will post another one in a few months after kid arrives in March.

In the spirit of Christmas guys lets close this thread and wish all Fabia owners whether they bought a good one or had to get a replacement a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Happy Fabia motoring to all in 2009.

My 3 Estate has done about 1,200 miles now and is beginning to loosen up nicely - it's definately getting less gruff when accelerating from standing. Re performance - My wife has a 1.9TDi Fabia hatch (Mark 1) and yes it is better on initial grunt at low speed but there's hardly any difference once you're up and running. The 1.4 TDi s not a rocket ship and as long as you drive it accordingly it does exactly what it says on the tin. I chose the 1.4TDi on tax / cost grounds as a company car and haven't regretted it at all - still in my opinion the best value Estate on the market. Hope to post a full review before Christmas as will have about 2,000 on it by then but so far it's all good.

My II Estate has heated seats but the connections for the switches appear to be the wrong way round. The one nearest the driver turns the passenger heat on and vice versa. Is this a cunning plan to keep the mind active while driving or have they put connected them up wrong? Sorry for the boring post!!

Thanks for the comments. Rattle - emptied everything out of the car but still rattles. Did find an earlier thread on this forum saying there are known problems with the passenger door air vent so will hopefully get fixed on 1st service. Just a bit disappointed as my wife has a MK 1 TDi 100 Fabia and that's rattle free with 75K on the clock. Engine - sure it will loosen up and pull better from standing eventually - I've already covered 800 miles. Do find it a nice restful (god I'm getting old!) drive once it's up to speed. What your comments I'm probably being too careful and should rev it a bit more to work the engine. Biggest problem is the wife keeps nicking it as I got heated seats as an option! PS - my heated seat switches appear to be backwards - the one's nearest the passenger switch on the drivers seat and vice versa! Another thing to sort out under warranty!

Had my Fabia 3 1.4TDi Estate for 2 weeks now (yippee!!) Too early to post a proper review but a couple of things do spring to mind: 1. I have a rattle coming from the bottom left edge of the glovebox / front passenger doorbin that is really annoying. Will get it looked at at 1st service. 2. The engine is pretty flat and noisy pulling from 1st. I have to give it quite a bit of revs for a decent getaway. Not an unpleasent sound and it pulls great on the open road. Anyone with similar experiences? PS - still think it's a great car and the boot space is unbelievable!

Hi, I find it invaluable as I had one in my previous car and really like having somwehere to rest my elbow. However I don't really like the design - it does get in the way of the handbrake / gear change. Worst thing though is my 8 year old son playing with it while I'm driving!! Must ask Skoda to come up with a design to stop that in the Fabia 3!!! PS - only had my 3 Estate for 2 weeks and think it's a great car so far - only 500 miles on it so will post a full opinion in a few weeks.

I'm finally taking delivery of mine (3 Estate in Brilliant Sliver) Wednesday after ordering on 28th July! Glad to hear from someone who's used it in anger. I thought it was a great car on the test drive and pulled really well. I tried both the hatch and estate and agree the estate handles better. The hatch rolled a bit much for my tastes but the Estate was fine. And it's such fabulous value for money too. Roll on Wednesday!!

Hello and welcome. I've got a 3 Estate in silver on order - due in 5 weeks. Nice to see another one!