While looking through What Car mag., although I tend to treat many magazine opinions with a pinch of salt, I was somewhat surprised by the variance regarding their buy suggestions.

The 1.4 16v Fabia Hatch level 2, the 1.4 TDI 80 Fabia Estate level 2 and the 1.6 16v Roomster level 2 being their recommended choices.

At least level 2 is consistent which is more than can be said for their powerplant choice.

For what it is worth the level 2 seems to be the most represented marque in autotrader, whereas some months ago it was the 3. Might this also be a reflection of the credit problem?

While looking through What Car mag., although I tend to treat many magazine opinions with a pinch of salt, I was somewhat surprised by the variance regarding their buy suggestions.

The 1.4 16v Fabia Hatch level 2, the 1.4 TDI 80 Fabia Estate level 2 and the 1.6 16v Roomster level 2 being their recommended choices.

At least level 2 is consistent which is more than can be said for their powerplant choice.

The Whatcar website review is critical of all the Fabia engines on the whole apart from the 1.4, mostly on the grounds of refinement, though it doesn't seem to rate their perfomance much either (2 out of 5 stars for this, which seems unfair as engine for engine, performance compares well to most rivals). I suspect they're disappointed with the 1.6 and want a sportier, more eco/modern engine such as the 1.4T. I reckon the 1.4TDI gets the vote for the estate because it's a diesel and because it's cheaper than the1.9, which they also think is worst for refinement. Why the 1.6 for the Roomster I'm not quite sure: could be seen as best compromise between power and refinement for the larger car.

What Car seems more critical of Skoda products than it used to be. It may be the fact that the Fabia 2 is not the leap forward both for Skoda and the supermini class as a whole the Fabia Mk 1 was (it couldn't be though!)

I think the car mag testers are too harsh when assessing cars. They want to drive everything like a GTi and the standard Fabia/Fabia estate isn't that sort of car. If they are testing a very new example where the engine hasn't been run in, how can they really make a good assessment. My 1.4 16v has changed a lot in the last 1500 miles or so in terms of loosening up and giving a livelier performance. When new and tight, it did feel very sluggish. Some of you 1.4 tdi owners report a similar improvement as the miles build up and everything beds in.

Lets face it, if you have a modest pot of cash, want a new car rather than a used example and want something that's practical and reliable - you can't go wrong with a Fabia. True, there may be the odd failure (I had an injector fail at 5200 miles), but overall, satisfaction with Skodas is very high.

This forum was about the most useful source of information I found when car hunting and thinking about buying a Skoda. Those in the trade (sales and service) are a very useful source of reliable information.

My 1,9 tdi has done 11,000 now is much quieter and smoother excellent on motorways and a pleasure to drive

Don't really rate Whatcar anymore.

Their opinions seem a little random and they often seem to make factual errors in their articles too.

Looking at their choices regarding the Octavia, they plump for the 1.6 FSI in both the hatch and the estate.

The only engine throughout the Skoda range that does not appear in their recommended buys is the 1.9 TDI ????

Looking at their choices regarding the Octavia, they plump for the 1.6 FSI in both the hatch and the estate.

The only engine throughout the Skoda range that does not appear in their recommended buys is the 1.9 TDI ????

Oh, and the 1.2 12v.

Obviously it's useful to read a variety of reviews when thinking of buying a new car, but keeping your own priorities in mind, not the journalists'!

WC seems to be aimed more at a yuppie/execmarket nowadays; if I recall correctly, a review of the new mk6 Golf 2.0TDI was described as expensive, but worth every penny (in this case around £20,000, for a small family hatch). It probably sees Skoda as still primarily a budget brand.

Many journalists probably see the majority of superminis as second cars destined mostly for town use and carrying children (so space in the back doesn't matter so much), or owned by young people who value sporty handling and performance on a budget. They'll evaluate them on those assumptions.

Many Fabia owners on the other hand see their Fabia as a small family car and value its space, equipment, build quality and value for money.