At this rate there will soon be no Estelles left on the road.

I bet you could have got a better discount and the yeti a lot cheaper selling the estelle privately and not using the scrappage at all. The scrappage scheme is a giant carrot, and thats all, Skoda raised there prices by 2K to counter act the scrappage scheme and maintain profits. I bet when the scrappage scheme ends prices will drop again, or you will be able to negotiate even bigger discounts.

Is the 1.2 Engine going to be man enough to power a car which is after all based on the Octavia.

Firstly, who said that I was scrapping my Estelle? I did not state that in my original post and that is simply a huge assumption on your part. Just because I list 3 cars in my signature, doesn't mean that I actually only own 3. I have listed cars that I own in my signature that are relevant to the 'site.

Secondly, the scrappage scheme might seem a "big carrot" to some, but for a car that my wife and I really want (as we are starting a family) where no VAT discount is currently available £2500 is an absolute "no brainer", when the car we are actually getting rid of is a '97 Daihatsu Charade 1.3 GLXi.

Lastly, I don't think the 1.2 will be under-powered at all as 105bhp is going to be plenty for our purposes. Also, because it is a TSi engine, there will be some sort of remapping available in the near future I imagine should I or anyone else buying this model choose to go down that route.

I'm sorry to say that your post was ill-conceived and presumptious. I thought we were meant to encouraging people to buy Skodas.

I'll be interersted to hear how you get on with your car when you get it. I get to change my company car early next year and really fancy a Yeti. I'm currently torn between the 1.2 TSi and the 110 Diesel.

My wife and I were torn between the two engines as well. However, our decision was made on two counts -

1. As it is only a car that will be doing around 8K miles per year, we wouldn't really see the savings with a Diesel.

2. £1300 difference between the two models is a lot of fuel.

My wife and I were torn between the two engines as well. However, our decision was made on two counts -

1. As it is only a car that will be doing around 8K miles per year, we wouldn't really see the savings with a Diesel.

2. £1300 difference between the two models is a lot of fuel.

I think your decision to go with Petrol is a good one. At the moment Petrol and Diesel cost roughly the same but the gap, that used to be, may return. I was recommended to go for Diesel when the salesman heard that I will be doing over 12,000 miles/year. Add that to the requirement for towing, (higher torque) a Diesel will be a better choice for me.

2. £1300 difference between the two models is a lot of fuel.

But you'll recoup much of that come resale time, so on financial terms there isn't too much difference.

I'm not saying the diesel is the better option, merely that when people compare the two options they often only look at the price differential at purchase time, not at resale time.

Unless you'll be towing (like Terfyn) or loading up the vehicle alot, I reckon the petrol is probably the better choice from a driving point of view, particularly if your annual mileage is < 12K.

My wife and I were torn between the two engines as well. However, our decision was made on two counts -

1. As it is only a car that will be doing around 8K miles per year, we wouldn't really see the savings with a Diesel.

2. £1300 difference between the two models is a lot of fuel.

Petrol certainly seems to be better for you. For me it's a company car and the diesel will cost me £15 a month more in rental and tax but save me £32 a month on fuel costs given my current mileage and the prices today.

Of course if diesel goes up it could all change. It's a very tricky decision not helped by the fact I've had diseles for the last 9 years so I'm used to diesels.

The Fabia vRS we are trading in is obviously a diesel and with this being my wife's main car and her being used to having the diesel for the past 3 and half years the decision really was not easy. However, the car will only be used for commuting 1 to 2 days per week plus at weekends for carrying Hill-Walking and Mountain-Biking equipment; so the mileage is going to be low. The Fabia vRS has only just done 26K, which is another reason for us choosing a petrol car, resale value is not really relevant to us in this case.

Once we have bought the car, I am definitely going to invest in one of the internal bike racks for security reasons more than anything else. This is the one I am referring to below -

?koda Accessories

I've always had a horror of putting the wrong fuel into a car of mine!!! So a change to petrol would give me nightmares.

But seriously - I like the high torque of the diesel. It hardly matters if I'm on the flat or up a steep hill (plenty around here) the power is always there and I am not having to change more than one gear down. The locals will know the Rhuallt Hill on the A55, My six year old X-Trail still does that hill in top without a problem. (the compression must still be OK) The petrol powered Qashqai, I was test driving, had a struggle and had to drop two cogs. (Well it was new!)

I also like the lazy way the diesel pushes the car at the legal limit (I would never dream of going above) at 1800 rpm! It actually runs smoother at 2200 rpm! (but that would be too fast - wouldn't it?)