After 3 years without any problems and great dealer service I am about to exchange my 05 plate Fabia 1.9TDI eleganace estate for a 58plate Fabia 3 1.9TDI estate. I have come to appreciate the finer things in life's motoring journey,ie cruise control,reversing sensors and heated seats. I can't do without them now! But blow me the new Fabia 3 does not come with heated seats as standard.. and me in chilly scotland too! Also I am unsure if the car has all these safety goodies such as,I quote "ESP,MSR and ASR" now I'm not that thick but the brochure does not seem to be too clear on the subject. Can any clever people out there enlighten me please? many thanks

ESP is only standard on the 1.6 auto.

Fabia is low on standard safety items - ESP, curtain airbags etc are standard on many competitors. (there is an EU directive in the pipeline to mandate ESP as with ABS)

Heated seats are fantastic - they should be made standard in all diesels as the heaters are particularly poor for the 1st 10 miles or so

After living with the Fabia II estate since it was new (like OP I have a 58 105PS 3) I would in hindsight stick with the MK1 fabia and get a late production run say on a 07/57.

The II dosn't have the same feel of quality, very much built to a price(look at the door pulls!) and unlike the earlier model it really shows!.

One thing in its favour is the dash, better thought out and not just a slab of plastic thrown in.

In all, I wouldn't buy a II again and wait for the new model in a few years time.

Sorry to the OP probably not what you want to hear and its just my opinion!

The level 3 estate does come with curtain airbags, but not ESP as standard, I had it fitted as an option on mine and I must say that the all-round disc brakes are rather good. If your 58-reg car has ESP, there will be an ESP off button on the dash. If that is blanked off, the car hasn't got ESP. The climate control is really good and there's a really neat spectacle holder in the roof to hold your sun glasses/driving glasses.

I've had my estate for almost fifteen months now and love it. I had Vauxhalls before and the Skoda more than lives up to expectation. The thing to remember is that many modern cars now use similar plastics to the MkII Fabia. Where you won't surpass the Fabia is on space and practicality. It's a lot better to drive than it's given credit for and if properly driven can outpace much flashier cars.

I don't think you'll be too disappointed - it is a good car.

Just a note on ordering here.

I have a new Fabia on order. It has a few extras (like heated seats) so is a factory order. I placed the order round about 12th June, it's got a build slot of week 32 (i.e. next week) and is expected for delivery another 5 or 6 weeks later. All in all about 12 weeks.

Having test driven and done my research it was the only car I could find that met my criteria for performance up hills, economy, space and build quality. I used to have a Seat Cordoba Vario which was a roughly similar package but based on the previous generation Polo which did a great job. I'm really looking forward to it.

Pete

Here's a 5th gear review/test drive when it first came out: fabia II estate vs pug 207 station wagon, guess who wins

Edited 1 January, 201016 yr by fabia55

I had heated seats in a Volvo I bought about 30 years ago.I got that sick of them I ripped them out. Why anyone wants or needs heated seats is above me.

I had heated seats in a Volvo I bought about 30 years ago.I got that sick of them I ripped them out. Why anyone wants or needs heated seats is above me.

See I'm a convert to heated seats because of previous Volvos.

Living where I do (750 ft above sea level in the Pennines) it's often extremely cold when I get in the car in the morning. I find it noce to sit on a warm seat for 5 minutes after I have de-iced the car. I turn the seat heaters off once the engine is warm car's heater offers warm air.

Pete

Mr Mebuyaskoda, I have to agree with Little Jo, you won't be disappointed with your Fabia Mk2. Just remember it does give considerable extra value over the VW range. In the first instance I was considering the Golf (amongst other makes) but had to spend a considerable sum extra to get what my Fabia Mk2 level 2 trim Estate gave me as standard. And don't forget the build quality, durability and reliability of the Fabia is a cut above most others including VW so many magazines have identified. My contacts in the trade tell me other fanchises are jealous of the Skoda brand due to these factors...and they cannot get enough of them second hand to sell either. The trade loves them as they don't give problems and hold their resale values.

We have two Fabia3 1.6 models.

One with and one without heated seats. The one without heated seats this winter has largely stayed in the garage. Like Pete-d we're up in the Pennines (1000ft) and heated seats are a necessity!! Well, we think so. :-) In fact we're trading in the two-year-old Fabia3 (only done 110000) for a new one . . . . just to get heated seats. :-) Oh yes, and ESP and all-round discs which are better.

I've looked around at many other cars but, as has been noted, to get the same features as on the Fabia I'd have to pay a lot more. Doesn't seem worth it unless you want to pay more just for a sportier trendier image maybe? Which would be nice but is it worth the extra . . . . .? Depends I guess.