I think the platform angst is overdone. The Mk2 chassis is a fine one and very few people would complain about the difference between the two in real life.

I honestly dont feel it's a good platform, the Fabia II manages to be firm riding with larger wheels (an issue that plagues me!), isnt actually that comfortable or responsive. It makes the new Fabia body look arkward, lots of people on the forums have noticed this. The wheel arch gap borders on being silly

If anyones driven a Peugeot 207 you will find that small car handling has come a long way, the 207 is very comfortable and handles in a fun way, just like a small hatch should, the Fabia manages neither of these, ever wondered why so many people on here fit rear ARB's and aftermarket suspension components to their Fabia's?

Dont get me wrong, I have one and chose it for different reasons and I still like it. All im saying is that the platform "angst" is not overdone, it's a collosal mistake that will backfire on Skoda, If anyone has insider knowledge I would seriously love to know why the decision was made to gloss over the old model rather than go with the new platform, there was a company called Rover that kept doing that and it certainly didnt do them any good.

I haven't driven a model on 16 inch wheels but the 1.2 with 15 inch ones seems to have quite a good ride it doesnt feel firm at all only big bumps unsettle it. Its also quite fun to chuck around corners. May be the bigger engines have a different set up.

I think the reason they used the old platform was partly VW who were annoyed at the success of the mk1 over the polo and due to a cost basis. Surely the old platform has paid for most of its developement costs and therefore there is less expense using it. thats why the fabia starts at £8k while polo and ibiza are nearly £10k for base models. By the time you get to top spec the difference is even greater sort of 12-13k for skoda and nearly 17-20K for a polo or ibiza which is madness. Its not just VAG look at fords fiesta etc they all seem over priced.

Maybe when the Fabia does get the new platgform in 4 or 5 years it will be because they can sell it for around 8k while still making some money.

It would have been nice if Skoda could have really gone their own way and used the Roomster platform for the Fabia2. The Roomster is really good to drive, despite being even taller than a Fab and sharding the same front end!

I think the forthcoming Fabia RS should vastly improve things in terms of looks and handling, as Babs said the Fabia looks much much better when the suspension is dropped a little.

I have not read any report where it declares that the new Polo/Ibiza has a demonstrably superior ride/handling to the Fabia. There's a lot of talk from some witless car journos about better ride than the 'old model' but that's a fairly default position - more to show their editor that they're actually awake. The differences between Mk2 & Mk3 platforms are too small to lose sleep over. Really.

Some people never like change, its the same with any car make or model. The owners of the old model resent their cars being bettered and the Fab 2 is far better than the 1... simples:thumbup:

I find the ride fabulously comfy, the handling isnt taught at all, but its surefooted... and the ride height meant I could negotiate a Yorkshire unmade road with no hassle whereas a lesser ride height would not have.

The Fabia RS should be out soon I have heard that it has the 1.4 petrol turbo engine as used in a Seat. With 180 bhp it should go. I was told that a diesel engine would not fit.