My dad got his greenline last Thursday, and today I have driven it 220 miles on different roads including country, dual carriageway and local roads.

The little 1.4TDi 80BHP engine is actually not that bad, it would be better if only the gear ratios were a little shorter. Around town you can only use 1,2,3 as in 4th the revs are just to low. 5th gear really comes into its own on the motorway and at 80mph the engine is doing just over 2k rpm. The long gearing does mean though you need to rething how you have been driving for years, as gears you would normally use are now totally useless in most circumstances.

On the 220 mile drive the car averaged an indicated 66.2 MPG, this should improve as the car has less than 4k on the clock.

The seats although comfortable, lack side support which can lead to you moving around as you go round corners.

The really annoying thing, although I guess you get used to it has to be the speedo. The marks are in 20mph increments, meaning that apart from 40mph all the UK speed limits are between these and marked by slightly longer indication which is difficult to see.

So, to summarise.

Things I like,

Driving Position,

Seat Comfort,

Stereo,

Ride Quality

Boot space

Thinks I dont really like,

Front Seats lack lateral support,

The speedo which does not have 30,50,70mph on it,

The very long gearing of the gearbox

I always think it is funny when people make a comment about lack of 30,50&70mph on the speedo. I just traded in an Auris after having it for 31 months, and I said to my wife a month before, after reading an article, I wonder what the Auris has, low and behold no 30,50 or 70 and to be honest I had never noticed.

As for the high gear ratios if you did not want them you should not have bought the Greenline, as this is not a problem with the Fabia 1.4TDi. and the M.P.G. is not all that different. Enjoy your Greenline as I love my Fabia Scout.

How noisy is the 1.4TDi - worse on motorways? Better than the 1.9 PD TDI?

Acceleration?

I've got a Greenline estate on test at the moment. I hadn't noticed the lack of markings on the speedo but I had noticed the high gearing. It does need adapting to, but it's not an issue. I find the acceleration pretty good for 80hp and the engine sounds like an angry kitten under acceleration. At speed it's no noiser than other diesels I've driven. Can't compare it to other Fabias as this is the only one I've driven. The CO2 emissions do it for me as it minimises my car tax benefit liability. I think I'll be buying one.

Willum, they are very quiet. The Greenline I drove was brand spanking new with just 10miles on the clock but at 70 it was no different to a petrol car in terms of noise produced, and probably a bit quieter than the 1.9TDI diesel PD engine. Bearing in mind it was not bedded in, it should be amazingly quiet and become very smooth like my standard 1.4TDI PD once it has a few thousand miles on the clock. I found the gearing not to my taste however...just a bit too long.

Edited 8 November, 200916 yr by Estate Man
Can

Willum, they are very quiet. The Greenline I drove was brand spanking new with just 10miles on the clock but at 70 it was no different to a petrol car in terms of noise produced, and probably a bit quieter than the 1.9TDI diesel PD engine. Bearing in mind it was not bedded in, it should be amazingly quiet and become very smooth, like my standard 1.4TDI PD once it has a few thousand miles on the clock. I found the gearing not to my taste however...just a bit too long.

Sorry, it somehow posted twice and I can't delete this one!

Edited 7 February, 201016 yr by Estate Man

Willum, they are not quiet. The 1.4 TDi engine will rattle your fillings out, especially when cold and new. But they get do get a lot better after about 10k. Quieter, smoother, faster. I agree with Estate Man 95% of the time, but not here.

I must say, I did wonder how coarse it might sound considering that the 1.4 TDI is only a 3 cylinder engine.

It's actually a very smooth unit but not when cold/new.

I am looking at purchasing one of these. Defo going for the estate.

I had a price from a dealer of £10500, this includes scrappage of my existing car.

Is this a good deal? Can I get it anywhere cheaper?

Thanks

With the current no VAT offer, you sill save even more by not scrapping your current car and selling privately then getting the VAT off the price. You cannot get the VAT off offer combined with scrappage, so if you go with scrappage you must pay the VAT which will be included in the 10.5K.

The greenline estate has an OTR price of £12950 inc. VAT, so you would save £1942 without the scrapage scheme, possibly more if you can negotiate a discount., bringing the price down to somewhere between 10.5K to 11K, Then just sell your current car privately to save even more. So as long as your current car is worth more than £500 you would be quids in. It may also be possible to get the car on 0% finance, something not possible with scrappage.

Edited 8 November, 200916 yr by mannyo

With the current no VAT offer, you sill save even more by not scrapping your current car and selling privately then getting the VAT off the price. You cannot get the VAT off offer combined with scrappage, so if you go with scrappage you must pay the VAT which will be included in the 10.5K.

The greenline estate has an OTR price of £12950 inc. VAT, so you would save £1942 without the scrapage scheme, possibly more if you can negotiate a discount., bringing the price down to somewhere between 10.5K to 11K, Then just sell your current car privately to save even more. So as long as your current car is worth more than £500 you would be quids in. It may also be possible to get the car on 0% finance, something not possible with scrappage.

Yeah the price without scrappage was £11K. The thing is I would be lucky to get a couple of hundred quid for my car!

The problem I have with the 0% finance is you need a 50% deposit :(

So my thinking is either the greenline or maybe even Fabia 2 1.4 estate with a few extras.

I''m even considering the Octavia 1.6 Estate as tehy will give me £3500 off with scrappage. TBH its driving me a bit mad as I keep trying to work out the figures, read reviews etc. For one reason or another I keep coming back to the Fabia Greenline estate...

got a greenline ordered. upgrade to climate controlled aircon, met paint, (black), esp, and dual controls (Driving instructor) for under 11.500! Thats still under list price. Finance for 3 years at 1.5 percent. So bargain! The long gear ratios will suit learners, too! They always try to stay in 3rd around town as they can go slowish and quickish, without changing at all.

Edited 15 December, 200916 yr by mrgf

got a greenline ordered. upgrade to climate controlled aircon, met paint, (black), esp, and dual controls (Drining instructor) for under 11.500! Thats still under list price. Finance for 3 years at 1.5 percent. So bargain! The long gear ratios will suit learners, too! They always try to stay in 3rd around town as they can go slowish and quickish, without changing at all.

Sweet! Sounds like a good deal. Where did you get it from?

I think I'll steer clear of the dual control though as the wife would be constantly tapping the brake!

I've been using one as a courtesy car while our Mk1 Octavia is at the garage.

My thoughts were that it's very rough and noisy compared to our PD130 car, and the gearing is a lot higher. For instance, I wouldn't bother with 3rd gear until close to 40 mph, and I'd change up to 4th at about 50-55 mph, leaving 5th for cruising on motorways.

In spite of the high gearing, consumption seems particularly low - last night returning home it averaged 70 mpg for a 12 mile partly motorway journey, compared with typically between 46 and 55 mpg in the PD130 Octavia (depends on traffic conditions).

The seats seemed comfortable, and acceleration was fine for such an economical car. I would characterise it as being suitable for anyone who doesn't enjoy driving but just want comfortable, albeit noisy, economical transport.

got it from Prestons Skoda in Forest Gate, East London. Also got 20% off servicing and parts. They are quite flexible at the mo but watch out for the new front bumper model next year! I dont like it as much! Also. Vat is due to goback on AND back to 17.5% soon!!!

got it from Prestons Skoda in Forest Gate, East London. Also got 20% off servicing and parts. They are quite flexible at the mo but watch out for the new front bumper model next year! I dont like it as much! Also. Vat is due to goback on AND back to 17.5% soon!!!

Hmmm.. Will the new bumper version be more expensive??

got a greenline ordered. upgrade to climate controlled aircon, met paint, (black), esp, and dual controls (Drining instructor) for under 11.500! Thats still under list price. Finance for 3 years at 1.5 percent. So bargain! The long gear ratios will suit learners, too! They always try to stay in 3rd around town as they can go slowish and quickish, without changing at all.

Finally ordered mine Greenline estate with climate control and met paint as well. Got a bit of a wait though as delivery due end of Jan early Feb

Mr Fixer, Congrates...you will love it. They just get better and better as the miles go on. Keep us all posted as to how you get on once it arrives.All the best.

Mr Fixer, Congrates...you will love it. They just get better and better as the miles go on. Keep us all posted as to how you get on once it arrives.All the best.

Thanks

Does anyone know if the greenline estate comes with a cigarette lighter socket? I need one to charge my sat nav...

Does anyone know if the greenline estate comes with a cigarette lighter socket? I need one to charge my sat nav...

I beleive they have an auxillary socket these days, no lighter, just the electrical outlet for stuff like sat navs, etc.

Edited 15 December, 200916 yr by mrgf

I beleive they have an auxillary socket these days, no lighter, just the electrical outlet for stuff like sat navs, etc.

Got the new Greenline saturday... Nice!

wasn't sure if it got rear disc brakes with ESP or not due to strange wording on brouchure but it HAS! The book says discs, with 1.6 model? Has a socket for sat-nav or lighter, as I suspected. It's by the handbrake, along with a port for plugging in an ipod to play through the car stereo. No spare wheel though so I may have to find one somewhere.. Anyone modded thiers with flasher alloys? a potential sale of 4 wheels to us who need one each!!!

no armrest, so thinking of getting one.. Anyone know how easy they re to fit?

Edited 15 December, 200916 yr by mrgf

Got the new Greenline saturday... Nice!

wasn't sure if it got rear disc brakes with ESP or not due to strange wording on brouchure but it HAS! The book says discs, with 1.6 model? Has a socket for sat-nav or lighter, as I suspected. It's by the handbrake, along with a port for plugging in an ipod to play through the car stereo. No spare wheel though so I may have to find one somewhere.. Anyone modded thiers with flasher alloys? a potential sale of 4 wheels to us who need one each!!!

no armrest, so thinking of getting one.. Anyone know how easy they re to fit?

Oh nice one. How do you find the noise as I hear they aren't too quiet. I will also be looking at the option of fitting an armrest when my greenline is delivered in January...

I have been driving ours these last few days in the snow and ice, and it drives really well in these conditions and was able to get up roads where others were stuck. The handling was very predictable as well which is really suprising.