Fabia 1.9TDI

[Zypher]

Hello

I've just ordered a new Fabia 3 1.9tdi in anthracite gray.

I hope the colour suits the car as have only seen the gray on the larger cars, any ideas? i was tempted to go for the yellow but didnt wanna pay £410 for non metallic paint.

Anyone have the 1.9tdi that can tell me what they think of it?

Currently driving a 1.4 petrol renault clio which is nippy tho stuggles for pulling power when it get to hills which is why i've went with the 1.9 for the skoda.

I mostly do town and short duel carrage way drving (Around 5-10miles) with the occasional 250 mile motoway trip thoughout the year.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts? have i made a good choice, will the body roll peeve me?

on a side note, went for a meal last night and the car one car along from mine had a engine fire.... a 59plate skoda octiva! made me worry a bit! luckly my car was undamaged as its already arranged as trade in for my new fabia but the car next to me was not so lucky.

Edited 13 February, 2010 by Zypher

[Guest]

Welcome and good choice, absolutely no doubt about it. The colour for me looks great on the Fabia but remember it's all subjective! I have the Estate 1.4TDI PD in Satin Grey Metallic (strangely a bluey colour!). We went for the 1.4TDI because of it's massive torque, power and fuel efficiency...it performs better than most 2 litre petrol cars. After driving the 1.9TDI PD it was clear that we didn't need that amount of power on the many shorter urban trips we do (4-5 miles)...pure overkill for us and it took longer to warm up than the 1.4. On the bigger trips that we do (75 milers) the 1.9 would have been fine, but we found the test car in 1.4TDI format was just brilliant at that too, very comfy cruising at 75mph fully loaded. So for us it was the 1.4TDI with it's £35 road tax and high fuel efficiency.

In terms of reliability, there doesn't seem to be any difference between the 1.4 & 1.9 engines. I have friends who run both and all have high mileages on them without any problems whatsoever. Just one point to always remember...make sure you use the correct oil and have it serviced on time. Oil is the one thing PD engines are fussy about. Use the wrong oil or neglect changing it and you will get trouble from your camshaft. Use only the recommended VW spec fully synthetic oil for your model. DO NOT ECONOMISE ON THIS ASPECT.

Enjoy your new car when it arrives and do post you impressions of it when it arrives, we're all interested.

PS. I don't think body roll will ever be a problem but you can fit an ARB to the rear if you want one. The Clio is all over the road compared to the Fabia. I drive in a spirited way on country roads and my estate doesn't roll noticeably at all. I'm used to driving rather firm suspension Italian cars too so I'd be peeved if it did.

Edited 13 February, 2010 by Estate Man

[lemonvrs]

Sounds a good choice to me, I drive very spiritidly too and also have owned loads of Italian cars and the body roll isnt an issue Incidently, I fitted a spare wheel today and the car does ride better with one, so something to consider if you havent ordered one yet.

[pete-d]

I've just ordered a new Fabia 3 1.9tdi in anthracite gray.

Anyone have the 1.9tdi that can tell me what they think of it?

I mostly do town and short duel carrage way drving (Around 5-10miles) with the occasional 250 mile motoway trip thoughout the year.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts? have i made a good choice, will the body roll peeve me?

I got a 1.9 TDI Fabia estate brand new in September last year and have covered nearly 9,000 miles in it. My previous cars recently have been Audis and Volvos and the Fabia has really impressed me - I think I made a good choice.

I think I've seen an estate in the colour you have chosen and it looked nice - mine's in dark metallic blue which is OK but shows the dirt quite badly.

As for cornering, mine's fine but I have a spare wheel and usually stuff in the boot. Feedback from people here suggests that the standard supply without a spare wheel doesn't handly so well so I'd suggest adding a spare wheel to your order if you;e not done so yet.

Please let us know when it comes - I'm sure you'll love it.

Pete

[barney_b]

I've recently bought a second hand 08 plate 1.9TDI 3, I've owned several Mk 1 Fabia's including the VRS. Here are my experiences/thoughts:

I do a 100 mile round trip on the M4 each day and average around 60-62MPG @ 65-70MPH and typically get around 450-475 miles out of a tank (fuel light on).

The engine is fairly pokey, mainly due to all the power being delivered in one massive lump. It is noisy at low speeds, fine when cursing though.

The gears are longer than the MK1, so it took a bit of getting used to (I came from a Mazda 3 1.6 petrol), I stick with 3rd until at least 40mph, 4th until 50, etc.

Ride, now probably the only criticism, the 16" wheels make the ride harder than I'd like but not unbearable and they look so much better than the 15's! Again the ride is fine on the motorway but speed bumps in town need to be respected! I've heard that the tires fitted by Skoda are known to be noisy, I'll probably switch brands when I change mine.

Body roll isn't such an issue but it does understeer (the heavy lump at the front doesn't help) but to be fair my VRS understeered, there again the missus has an MX-5 which isn't a fair comparison.

As for 1.4 vs 1.9, it's personal preference, I don't like the 1.4 I've driven a fair few and each time felt it was hard work driving them (keep changing gear to get in the power band). Others absolutely love them! My dad has the 1.9 engine in a Golf and it feels underpowered, so I'd say the 1.9 is right for a Fabia size car. Compared to your 1.4 petrol Clio the power difference is probably about + 10BHP to the Fabia but the torque will make a lot of difference eliminating the need to down shift for hills.

Overall I think for the money it's a good car, good quality, strong engine and I'm pleased with it.

[Zypher]

Does anyone know if its possible to add factory fitted extras once order has been placed and if so how long after order placed can this be done?

Just relised that the fabia 3 doesnt have radio controls by the steering wheel and if the spare wheel is a full size i would like to add that too.

[lemonvrs]

The spare is full sized, but still has a max. 50mph sticker on it! I got a used Skoda alloy, toolkit from a Polo and a fitted tyre for just over £50... so I have a proper spare which will look fine too

[helix]

Does anyone know if its possible to add factory fitted extras once order has been placed and if so how long after order placed can this be done?

Just relised that the fabia 3 doesnt have radio controls by the steering wheel and if the spare wheel is a full size i would like to add that too.

I think they don't really like changing orders but if you're quick you may well be ok. The full size spare wheel isn't usually a problem as I think the dealer can just swap one from another car if you ask nicely!

[MarginWalker]

Welcome Zypher,

I have a 1.9 TDi 3 Estate and love it - undoubtedly the most complete car I've owned. The 1.9 TDi pulls the estate effortlessly even when fully loaded and the torquey willing nature provides great driving flexibility. The power kicks in at about 2000 rpm but you soon get used to the small lag when accelerating through the gears. Long journeys in previous cars would sometimes leave me feeling quite tired at the end but that's a thing of the past since owning this car - the power, ride, handling and comfort are all excellent. One minor negative is the engine noise - pretty intrusive at idle and low gears (especially when cold) but moves to a quiet background when you're in 4th or 5th on the open road. I get 58 mpg average according to my Maxidot - can't be bad. You won't be disappointed with it as long as you don't expect the same refinement as a modern common rail diesel such as the 2.0 TDi that almost whispers in brother-in-law's Audi A3.

p.s, mine is satin grey metallic which I am fond of and think is one of the more attractive colours for the Mk 2 Fabia. They also look good in silver or white, or anthracite grey.

Edited 16 February, 2010 by MarginWalker

[Sheffmax]

I've had a new Fabia 2 1.9TDi since early December and think it's great. Mine's in black which is about the only input into the car my OH had.

I've done a little over 4,000 miles, I'm not light on the pedal and the mpg is averaging out at 50mpg. That's with a thrice weekly round trip of 66 miles through country roads and 2 longish trips on motorways. I get 60 - 65 on non-involved trips but it's the windy roads and Huddersfield traffic that's the killer.

Don't bother if you can't get the remote radio controls as they're only positioned about 6 inches from the radio so it's not a big stretch.

[Zypher]

Well recieved a call from the dealer yesterday (missed it but he left message asking me to call however hes not back till monday)

last time i spoke to him he said he would call when my car was in the country.

Does anyone know when he would register the car?

I'll be so gutted if hes gone and registered it as a 59 plate when by time i even speak to him it will be a 10plate :p

[Dmac1969]

It depends when they get the car to the dealer. If it only came into the country yesterday , I very much doubt they would have time to get it to the dealer and pdi and register it today , so unless he called you to say it is ready for collection (and not that it had landed at the docks) , it will be a 10 plate. I would have made it clear to the dealer that if the delivery was close to March 1st then they should do it as a 10 plate.

[pete-d]

Well recieved a call from the dealer yesterday (missed it but he left message asking me to call however hes not back till monday)

last time i spoke to him he said he would call when my car was in the country.

Does anyone know when he would register the car?

I'll be so gutted if hes gone and registered it as a 59 plate when by time i even speak to him it will be a 10plate :p

If I remember rightly it took a couple of weeks for my Fabia to be ready for delivery/registration after it had arrived in the UK - it's 6 months ago now and I;ve slept enough times in that period to forget the details!

Pete

[Zypher]

Recieved a call today, not yet registed, will be done monday, should be rdy for collection by end of the week at least thats what my dealer has said.

[Zypher]

Woohoo Dealer called today. My car is ready for collection on friday, a 10 plate!

Will post a short first impresions review in a week or so

[Dmac1969]

Looking forward to your thoughts , and get some pix up as well!!

[BigfootW]

you will love it, i own a 1.9tdi lvl 3 fabia in black

got that from owning a 1.5dci clio, and its no comparrison. I LOVE IT

only hing is im having to trade up again due to a baby on the way, so getting a new octavia.

woulnt change it only i need bigger, i LOVE IT