Fabia 1.2 - Motorway cruising?

[fabia55]

I've done quite a lot of motorway driving in my 1.2 over the past few months. Its generally pretty smooth at 70, with revs at bang on 3500. Given the apparent lack of soundproofing, its pretty quiet - although since I like my tunes I rarely get to hear the silence properly! 80 is not much more of a stretch. I've no problems with it on the m-way.

Its a very nice engine which loves to rev and never really feels sluggish - even if the resulting acceleration is not exactly earth shattering.

I can eke about 400 miles from a single fill-up* (got to 390 before I chickened out and refuelled!), which I work out to be 45mpg. This is on a mixture of 1/3 town driving, and 2/3 motorway at 60 mph average, although the actual speed varies considerably due to traffic, anywhere between 0 and 80mph!. This has improved over the last 7k miles by about 10%.

*interstingly this is usually 40 litres, even though the listed fuel capacity is 45. Perhaps there's another gallon of fuel in there I have never used...

You shouldn't run the tank until its near empty! You don't want to suck up the dirt particles at the bottom of the tank.

[skodakid]

You shouldn't run the tank until its near empty! You don't want to suck up the dirt particles at the bottom of the tank.

As the fuel pump pickup is at the bottom of the tank anyway, any dirt particles will be "sucked up" irregardless of how much fuel is in the tank. The fuel filter will stop any potentially damaging particles from reaching the engine.

Unless you're in the habit of using jerrycans, the amount of dirt pumped at a modern fuel station is minute. A lot of petrol engined cars dont even need a fuel filter change for the life of the engine.

[bluebeard]

...and of course I still reckon that there's another gallon sloshing about in there..that's a good 8 pints worth of liquid, or to put it another way 11% of the fuel capacity.

[Skodaboy1983]

I've not driven the 1.2 in the Fabia but have driven the same engine in a Ibiza and car drives very well on the motorway, holds it's own as people suggest, my late grandfather always felt the car was wanting to go as it started to loosen up, we sold the car about 5 months ago.

I always think it sounds like a mini porsche on start up on it's 3 cylinder engine.

[bluebeard]

that's makes me feel a little less ridiculous when I tell people that the 1.2 reminds me of the engine I had in my first decent car, a 1.7 Alfa 145:D It was the last of the Alfa boxer units, which had a characterful, growly sound to it.

Believe it or not, it was the engine that swung it for me for the Fabia - I was also test driving a Grande Punto 1.2, it had all the gizmos but, unbelievably for an Italian car, zero personality behind the wheel. When I went on to drive the Fabia I couldn't believe how much more fun it was.

(although the Fabia also has a much better stereo, which helped enormously!)

[MikeW]

Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I've booked in to have a test drive so i'll post here and let everyone know how it went.

Not expecting the performance of my old Fabia VRs but as long as it's competent, smooth and comfortable i may order one.

[Timelord1.9Tdi]

Hi, i'm thinking of getting a Fabia with the 1.2 engine.

Just wonder how the little engine copes with motorway cruising?

What's the revs like at 70mph?

Is the ride smooth?

Are they reliable?

Hopefully someone can answer my questions. Thanks in advance.

REV's @

3rd = 30mph = 2,498rpm

4th = 30mph = 1,848rpm

4th = 40mph = 2,464rpm

5th = 50mph = 2,441rpm

5th = 60mph = 2,929rpm

5th = 70mph = 3,417rpm

I recommend changing at 3,000rpm and you can easily get 43mpg if using mainly in town with some out of town driving.

I took my paren car for a spin on 50 miles ofoutta town mainly dual carrige way running at 70mph andchange up at 3k revs and got 47.2mpg (Please not car only had 1,700 miles on clock) I hear reportsof 55mpg, I assume this is driving at 50mph every where... yawn!!!

It take a little time to wind it up but whenit is there it can hold it own and if you need to slow down a little or overtake there is plenty of power to assist, it is a supprising little engine I would recommend to anyone who needs a town runabout with some long journeys... however if you aregonna sit on motorways for half the day (Metaphorically Speaking) then you need either the Greenline or the 80bhp 1.4Tdi or if you want a little more power then the 1.9TDi.... the Greenline has good gearing and can easily get 68 mpg on a long run (Heavy right footed that figure comes from)

Hope this rant helps

Timelord

[takksi]

Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I've booked in to have a test drive so i'll post here and let everyone know how it went.

Not expecting the performance of my old Fabia VRs but as long as it's competent, smooth and comfortable i may order one.

If you're used to vrs performance and you're expecting something "decent" forget it - everything will look lame compared to the vrs. For a 1.2 3-cyl motor it feels quite good though. Mine's just about a month old now (or 3 weeks I can't remember lol), and given it's just a 1.2 and 70bhp, it's quite all right. You have to keep in mind it's a 1.2 at all times, but at least you can keep a gear going uphill. I've been driving 99% of the time with a/c on and haven't had any problems, not even with 3 passengers (plus myself) in the car. Don't expect ultra-fast acceleration or a fun-ride experience (engine wise I mean), but it's very decent for what it is. Some people might find what I'm going to say a bit funny, but believe it or not, when compared to my ex-Kia Cee'd (which was a 1.4 petrol, 4-cyl and 109bhp) the engine power feels the same. It keeps more or less the same gears as the Kia going uphill etc, and has an acceleration similar to that of the Kia. The only difference was that the Kia was much larger when compared. However, on the other hand, the Fabia has a smoother and quieter ride, as the suspensions are a bit softer than the Kia's, which were a bit too stiff.

[Timelord1.9Tdi]

Very interesting thanks.

I'm thinking about part exchanging my Mazda 2 1.3 Tamura, it's quicker than the Fabia 1.2, more economical too, but it has a jerky ride - is the Fabia 2 1.2 smooth in that department?

All Mazda's are 'Jerky' it is all down to the accelerator, youeith have nought response or 3,000 revs no good for pulling off, therefore 'Jerky' also through the gears :(

I have a fleet of Mazda 3, 5 and 6's ranging from 1.6 to 2.0 engines they are all crap IMO.

[fabia55]

I think the relatively low revs at 3000rpm for maximum torque helps. With most other non-turbo petrol engines you need rev higher for maximum torque.

[MikeW]

Well, i had the test drive yesterday, went for a 70 mile round trip over a mixture of roads for a couple of hours and was very impressed - the little engine seemed punchy and quieter than i expected.

I signed a part exchange deal with the dealer for my Mazda 2 so it has cost me £400 which i think is a bit of a bargain on the whole!

Hopefully wont have to wait too long to get the car.

Thanks to everyone on here.

Just couple of questions :

Anyone had any problems with theirs?

What pressure to other owners have their tyres at?

[fabia55]

Anyone had any problems with theirs?

No major problems (I don't expect any for such a new car) but quality of some of the trim is not as solid as the Fabia mark 1.

[MikeW]

No major problems (I don't expect any for such a new car) but quality of some of the trim is not as solid as the Fabia mark 1.

Yes, i noticed the plastic inside door handles were a bit fragile.

[T. Spark]

It makes for interesting reading, as I have a 1.2 HTP or whatever they call the Fabia II now, and I think its bloody awesome

I had the same engine (with less power at 64bhp *RR'd as 54bhp!*) 6 years ago in my Ibiza 1.2 and the Ibiza actually felt quicker (maybe lighter?) but my god, drank fuel (no trip computer, nor did I know about mpg back then + was young) Im pretty sure I ragged the Ibiza everywhere to get it to go, but now im old, I dont feel the need (plus no need to show off with the other car waiting for me!) so take it steady, im amazed at how good on fuel this car is, I drive at normalish speeds and see 50mpg+ everywhere I go! Minus the odd blast and the roundabout after roundabout route ive done once or twice, it ALWAYS see over 50mpg (on the trip) remember driving down to Notts once (100ish miles) and due to the speed camers on the M1, sat at 50mph most of the way, then out of those, at 60mph maybe tops, got to J26 and I was sat ay 60mpg dead on!

Top Marks from me, but im sad and drive like a grandad!

[MikeW]

It makes for interesting reading, as I have a 1.2 HTP or whatever they call the Fabia II now, and I think its bloody awesome

I had the same engine (with less power at 64bhp *RR'd as 54bhp!*) 6 years ago in my Ibiza 1.2 and the Ibiza actually felt quicker (maybe lighter?) but my god, drank fuel (no trip computer, nor did I know about mpg back then + was young) Im pretty sure I ragged the Ibiza everywhere to get it to go, but now im old, I dont feel the need (plus no need to show off with the other car waiting for me!) so take it steady, im amazed at how good on fuel this car is, I drive at normalish speeds and see 50mpg+ everywhere I go! Minus the odd blast and the roundabout after roundabout route ive done once or twice, it ALWAYS see over 50mpg (on the trip) remember driving down to Notts once (100ish miles) and due to the speed camers on the M1, sat at 50mph most of the way, then out of those, at 60mph maybe tops, got to J26 and I was sat ay 60mpg dead on!

Top Marks from me, but im sad and drive like a grandad!

Sounds like a vote of confidence in the car - very reassuring!

[T. Spark]

Its a company car, and I got it with less than 1000 miles on the clock, its maybe done 3,000 now with no rattles at all either. The radio is good, sound quality is great (I remember the Ibiza being the same for a standard radio) so cant complain there.

Id only say there are two issues with the car myself

1. The interior is plastic, all of it! Now I know the Ibiza (MK5?) isnt much better on the basic models, but its worst the Fabia IMHO.

2. The glovebox is useless, they have two and neither can fit anything of use in it!

However, I like it for the fuel usage (or lack there of!) and its comfy too! Any road, pretty much any speed it seems to be comfy so cant complain.

Mine doesnt look the part, but ive seen others with white roofs and sporty looking, so guess thats pretty good too!

Tomorrow im driving up the lake district which has some of the best roads around, and as I will have the 'better' half with me, will be taking the slow fabia rather than the fast ibiza, and guess what, im looking forward to the drive still!

[MikeW]

Its a company car, and I got it with less than 1000 miles on the clock, its maybe done 3,000 now with no rattles at all either. The radio is good, sound quality is great (I remember the Ibiza being the same for a standard radio) so cant complain there.

Id only say there are two issues with the car myself

1. The interior is plastic, all of it! Now I know the Ibiza (MK5?) isnt much better on the basic models, but its worst the Fabia IMHO.

2. The glovebox is useless, they have two and neither can fit anything of use in it!

However, I like it for the fuel usage (or lack there of!) and its comfy too! Any road, pretty much any speed it seems to be comfy so cant complain.

Mine doesnt look the part, but ive seen others with white roofs and sporty looking, so guess thats pretty good too!

Tomorrow im driving up the lake district which has some of the best roads around, and as I will have the 'better' half with me, will be taking the slow fabia rather than the fast ibiza, and guess what, im looking forward to the drive still!

Well, i can live with glove box and the plastic dash, i think!

As long as it's reliable and smooth riding.

Hope you a have a nice drive!