Well I've had the Fabia a couple of weeks and the Octavia for a week so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

The Fabia is a 2003 03 TDi Comfort, 14000 miles, Cayenne.

The Octavia is 2003 03 TDi Elegance, 13000 miles, Cayenne.

So what do I think.

Performance, economy, refinement.

Although on paper the Octavia is quicker it's the fabia that feels quicker on the road. The Octavia has a very linear power delivery from just above tickover to over 4250rpm where the Fabia's PD engine has a rush of torque around 2000rpm that drops away after 3000rpm. That rush of torque and the Fabia's lighter weight makes for an entertaining drive.

As for refinement neither car is as good as the latest engines from the likes of Ford but the Fabia has the edge both on cold start up and normal running. The Octavia always has a diesel background noise and more clatter on cold start up as well as some tappet noise. There seems to be hardly any difference in economy although the Fabia is slightly better around town

Ride, Handling and Steering

The ride is very similar in both cars soaking up bumps and ridges well withouth being too soft. The Fabia can get a little bouncy over poorer B roads where the Octavia feels more sure footed. This may also be down to the Octy wearing 205/50x16 rubber. The Octavia has more steering feel than the Fabia but it's also far heavier at low speeds.

Build and other comments

Tha Fabia is 100% squeek and rattle free but the Octavia does have a couple of creaks from the rear but other wise both cars seem very well built. The clutch travel on the Octavia is too long meaning you have to sit a little too close to the pedals for my legs to press the clutch fully, the Fabia's pedal travel is better. The Fabia has better brake feel but the Octavia's brakes feel stronger (If that makes sense). Both gearboxes feel the same (Are they?) but the Fabia has a neater short travel lever. Driving position in both cars is excellent but the Octavia just has the edge. The lower spec sound system in the Fabia Comfort sounds far better than the higher spec system in the Octavia Elegance, whithin a few days of having the Octavia I swapped the speakers. As for space, the Octavia's boot is huge but other than that it doesn't have loads of more interior space than the Fabia. The Fabia looses out on boot space as it's boot is not as good as the old Felica and you could easily totaly remove the rear seats in the Felicia.

So it seems I like the Fabia better then?

Well really difficult, a lot of things are better in the Fabia but I think I still slightly prefer driving the Octavia and suspect this is down to the handling only.

I think what shows through is the Fabia is a later design using one of VAG's later platforms and technology.

I'll have to try and have a go in the new Octavia.

Cheers

Lee

An interesting comparison, Lee. Thanks for posting that.

Seats in the fabia will completely come out, well they do on my 2001 and 2002 spec models.....

Seats in the fabia will completely come out, well they do on my 2001 and 2002 spec models.....

Hmmmmm.....

Not tried it yet, I thought the manual suggested you could completely take out the base but not the backs.

Cheers

Lee

Base of rear seats come out, not too sure about the backs, had to remove seat bases to get a kitchen unit in my furby a few weeks back.

As for refinement neither car is as good as the latest engines from the likes of Ford but the Fabia has the edge both on cold start up and normal running. The Octavia always has a diesel background noise and more clatter on cold start up as well as some tappet noise. There seems to be hardly any difference in economy although the Fabia is slightly better around town

Hmmm, you must have experienced a different brand called Ford than I have!!! My mother-in-law has a TDCi Ford Focus and its engine is so loud and dieselly that it is like driving a tractor. My dads Furby TDi is much quieter and more refined. Still I have yet to expereince any diesel car that is as quiet as a decent petrol engine.

Some people seem to think the TDCI uses a new common rail 16v engine, but other people have suggested it is in fact a very old unit, so which is it?

I know nothing about Ford engines, other than my unpleasant experience of occasionally driving my in-laws Focus.

Some people seem to think the TDCI uses a new common rail 16v engine, but other people have suggested it is in fact a very old unit, so which is it?

We have a Focus C-Max at work with the 2.0TDCi engine, very quiet and powerful. Much more refined than my PD100. There was a TDDi which was supposed to be crap so maybe williams outlaws have that engine?

Apart from a brief drive in the C-Max ,I too know nothing of ford diesels. Some one will tell us?

Some people seem to think the TDCI uses a new common rail 16v engine, but other people have suggested it is in fact a very old unit, so which is it?

AFAIK the Focus and Mondeo TDCi are 8V units but use the latest generation common rail technology and variable turbo's but its based on old Ford diesels. The Focus C-Max and New Focus use the engine developed with Peugeot which is supposedly bang up to date athough not sure if it's 8V or 16V.

I get to drive a few hire cars through work and the TDCi Focus is at least on par with the Fabia when running and better from the outside on tickover IMO.

The new engine in the C-Max is even better although I've only tried the rather weak 1.6.

I get a lot of tappett noise when cold on my Octavia, the Fabia is far better when cold.

The Octavia had an oil change before I bought it at a non-Skoda dealer even though it wasn't due one. I'm starting to wonder if the oil they used is too thick.

Cheers

Lee

Right, as of 2pm today I'll be an ex-Ford TDCi freak but as I still own one for a couple of hours I'll explain...

The 1.8 TDCi [8v 100/115BHP] (found in the current Focus) is derived from a fairly well used Ford diesel design, first seen as the TDi a good 8-10 years ago... more recently (and still) seen as the TDDi [90BHP] in the current Focus. The 1.8 TDCi has some new technology, the obvious being the common-rail injectors & different head. It is quieter than the PD on idle but seems the same on the move and as the noise suppression isn't as good inside the Focus cabin as in the Fabia, the PD seems quieter inside...

There is also the 1.4 TDCi [8v 68BHP], found in the new Fiesta & Fusion, which is a similar design, albeit a smaller cc, quite lethargic. A 2.0 TDCi [8v 115/130 BHP] (and now 2.2 [155BHP] also in the Mondeo ST TDCi) found in the current Mondeo is slightly different, adapted from the new Transit.

The NEW 1.6 & 2.0 TDCi [16v 110/137BHP], found in the C-Max and soon to be new Focus, is a new design formed with PSA (Citroen/Peugeot) it's a very good engine, not as refined as the reviews make out though. Also developed from that is the 2.7 twin-turbo which has found it's way into top-end Peugeots and some Jaguars, that's a fantastic engine...

Sorry for the essay, just wanted to explain...

Does that mean you're fianlly getting it tonight?

2pm!

Quality - I shall look out for you mate

Sorry for the essay' date=' just wanted to explain... [/quote']Cheers liam

Turbo, no worries... am I a geek or what?

Andy, I'll look out for you too...