Greenline drivers

[raisbeck]

I am the proud owner of a new Fabia Greenline. I confess that getting to grips with the massively long gearbox hasnt been easy. After much experimenting I sort of realised that you cant burble about in this thing at very low rpm. If you do there is this low frequency vibration which is pretty annoying. Keep the engine over 1800 rpm and its a happy little thing. To this end I sometime find myself driving along in 3rd between 40-45 mph at near 2400 rpm. This would appear a non efficient way to go about things but the computer says 65-70 mpg and its not as good if you go in to fourth.

Fourth gear is the main pulling power of this thing. Change in to fourth below 46 mph and it labours a bit. Otherwise i stay in fourth up to at least 60 mph. Again its really effficient in this gear returning high seventies. Fifth is a waste of time under 60 mph as you get that low down vibrating drone of a slightly labouring engine.

I am getting used to it now and confess that I dont get the full benefit of its economy as I drive motorway speeds all the time. Even then I get 64 mpg. Many folks on here are of the opinion that the engine needs a good few thousand miles to loosen up which apparently makes it quieter and a lot smoother. Has anyone found this is true on the Greenline ?

I would really welcome other Fabia Greenline owners driving experiences. Is there a better way to drive this thing ? Does the engine loosen up and smooth out over time ?

Dont get me wrong, I really like this car, I just wonder if I am driving it right !!

[mrgf]

You basically need to be in a gear lower than you would normally expect! This is more moticable at slower speeds, ie, cornering as you may need 1st, rather then 2nd or slightly dip the clutch to biting point to control cornering speed. (This is expected and accepted in a diesel, for driving tests)

Aside from that, it drives fairly "Normally"!

BTW, did you option esp, at all? it gives you rear discs, for safer stopping. Do you have a light in the rear pasenger compartment, a boot pop on the driver's door and a lighter type socket in the boot, on the left hand side?

These seem to be things that got "Overlooked" on the greenline, which I think was a disgrace, considering its higher price status!

Edited 17 April, 2010 by mrgf

[Guest]

Raisbeck, I don't own the Greenline, mine is the standard Fabia 2 1.4TDI. However, I have driven the same model Greenline Estate car quite extensively on several occassions, it belongs to my dealer, and I agree with mrgf concerning gear usage. The Greenline I drove initially had 17 miles on the clock, it was noisey and rattley. But after a few hundred miles it started to loosen nicely and showed signs of running a bit more quietly. 4 months later I had cause to drive that same vehicle again when it had 6,000 miles on the clock. It was virtually as quiet as my own 1.4TDI at this stage and much more economical too, and no rattles. Power delivery was smooth and much punchier. The engine also becomes much more flexible in the higher gears. In all, they just get better and better. The engines rattle a bit more when new. These rattles are caused by the combustion process and are much worse and louder when the engine is tight...but I'm sure you know that stuff.

Great to know you have a Skoda, keep posting to let us all know how she's goings!

Edited 17 April, 2010 by Estate Man

[raisbeck]

You basically need to be in a gear lower than you would normally expect! This is more moticable at slower speeds, ie, cornering as you may need 1st, rather then 2nd or slightly dip the clutch to biting point to control cornering speed. (This is expected and accepted in a diesel, for driving tests)

Aside from that, it drives fairly "Normally"!

BTW, did you option esp, at all? it gives you rear discs, for safer stopping. Do you have a light in the rear pasenger compartment, a boot pop on the driver's door and a lighter type socket in the boot, on the left hand side?

These seem to be things that got "Overlooked" on the greenline, which I think was a disgrace, considering its higher price status!

Thanks for the reply. I do have to linger in the lower gears more than I would expect. There is a sort of 'no good gear' around 40-50. Its either revving more than i would like in 3rd or labouring in 4th. It can easily take these lower rpms its just not so comforting on the ears !

I didnt request any options as this car was already built and virtually the last available before the facelift cars go in to full production. Fortunately its exactly the colour and trim I wanted. It doesnt have ESP or rear discs. There isnt a light in the passenger compartment or a boot pop. No rear socket either.

It does have heated electric mirrors, aircon, decent stereo system, electric windows, trip computer mpg etc and a few extra bits. No temp gauge, just a light to say its cold which goes out after about 3 mins of driving. I requested rubber floormats as an option but the dealer wasnt allowed to fit them. Pushes the CO2 up apparently so they put the lighter material ones in....?! They look ok so I am not complaining. Apparently a spare wheel also pushes the CO2 over. I have ordered a spare from my local garage as I just dont like the idea of no spare and just a can of shaving foam for emergencys.

I previously owned a 1.4 mpi then a 1.2 12 valve HTP so I am pretty used to the Fabias. I only have about 700 miles on the Greenline so far. The brakes are ok but not as good as my old HTP. Needs a bit more of a bootful but maybe this will improve with time. So far the mpg on fast motorway trips is 63 mpg.

Hopefully the engine will loosen up and smooth out with time....I do at least 600 miles a week so it should bed in pretty quickly

[raisbeck]

Raisbeck, I don't own the Greenline, mine is the standard Fabia 2 1.4TDI. However, I have driven the same model Greenline Estate car quite extensively on several occassions, it belongs to my dealer, and I agree with mrgf concerning gear usage. The Greenline I drove initially had 17 miles on the clock, it was noisey and rattley. But after a few hundred miles it started to loosen nicely and showed signs of running a bit more quietly. 4 months later I had cause to drive that same vehicle again when it had 6,000 miles on the clock. It was virtually as quiet as my own 1.4TDI at this stage and much more economical too, and no rattles. Power delivery was smooth and much punchier. The engine also becomes much more flexible in the higher gears. In all, they just get better and better. The engines rattle a bit more when new. These rattles are caused by the combustion process and are much worse and louder when the engine is tight...but I'm sure you know that stuff.

Great to know you have a Skoda, keep posting to let us all know how she's goings!

Thanks for the input Estate Man. Its encouraging to know it will get better as I drive it. I like it now so anything extra is a bonus ! I know that 5th gear is 25 percent longer than a standard 1.4 TDI with 3rd and 4th somewhere around 12 percent longer. 75mph (it over reads by 5 mph officer) gives 2250 rpm. Very quiet at this speed. Tyres noise is higher than my old 1.2 HTP I expect due to the 165/70-14 low resistance tyres which to me are basically thinner tyres with more puff in them......2.6 bar in the front.

If my driving was more local based and towns I wouldnt have a Greenline. It does sacrifice driveability for economy in my opinion. This opinion may change when the engine is more run in.

I wont open Pandoras box by starting another 'how to run in your Fabia posting'. There are as many different versions as heinz soup. I fix aeroplanes for a living and except for the turbine planes the trusty old piston engines need a good thrashing. We even put poorer quality oil in them for a while to speed up the bedding in process. With this in mind I dont go nuts, but I do believe in giving the engine some revs and stay out of the lower rpm's when I can.

I have filled up the tank now, even got the extra couple of gallons in by depressing the expansion tank vent while I fill it. I used to do this on my petrol Fabia. Only when starting on a long run so as not to risk venting fuel. Gives an extra 100 miles range.

[FabiaGreenline]

I've been driving my Fabia Greenline since the end of October last year, it now has 12500 miles on the clock. I've several observations with the car, yes it takes quite a bit of getting use to with the taller gearing but I don't find this a disadvantage. My car is happy ticking along at 30mph in 4th, and 40mph in 5th on roads with no gradients, obviously gears are there to be used! The car does need a good booting every so often to clean out the fuel and exhaust system, if you don't do it the warning light will just come on anyway - mine did even whilst on the motorway, so it was drop down a cog and drive for 20 mins at 3000rpm and the car cleaned itself out. Since then, the fuel economy has really gone up too. I decided the other day to see what in real life driving I could get out of it in mpg figures driving from my home in Bournemouth up to my folks in Devizes via Salisbury.

so, take a look :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCYH3eX57o

there are a few things to get your head around with the car. The low rolling resistance of the car means you can take advantage of it (however you see fit, ahem!). Read the road ahead and you'll be getting figures like this. My route was in normal traffic volumes, and I kept up with the traffic too.

My average 3.5 mile drive to and from work starting from cold, generally returns in excess of 65mpg.

The Dunlop tyres on the Greenline are also very cheap to replace, compared to the lower profile ones. Genuine Dunlops are about £55 each all in, although it would be interesting to try and get some comparisons on the rolling resistance of this tyre compared to say Michelin Energy ?

[mrgf]

Without searching for info, how do you do that venting jobbie for more fuel? Little bit concerned as if diesel spills, it stays there, unlike petrol which evaporates. Many a motorcyclist has "fell off" due to diesel on the roads!

May be worth doing on the odd trip, though!

as for CO2's......... Scam anyway! Did you know, over a year you will only save as much CO2 as would be used by leaving a 100w bulb on for 2.5 months?

For that, you get to save nearly a ton on road tax, meant to keep the roads good enough to drive on in the first place!!! Still....

Also, any test done (MOT, Etc) will be done stationary so spare wheel and heavy mats wont make an iota of difference, only to fuel consumption on the move!

Edited 17 April, 2010 by mrgf

[raisbeck]

I've been driving my Fabia Greenline since the end of October last year, it now has 12500 miles on the clock. I've several observations with the car, yes it takes quite a bit of getting use to with the taller gearing but I don't find this a disadvantage. My car is happy ticking along at 30mph in 4th, and 40mph in 5th on roads with no gradients, obviously gears are there to be used! The car does need a good booting every so often to clean out the fuel and exhaust system, if you don't do it the warning light will just come on anyway - mine did even whilst on the motorway, so it was drop down a cog and drive for 20 mins at 3000rpm and the car cleaned itself out. Since then, the fuel economy has really gone up too. I decided the other day to see what in real life driving I could get out of it in mpg figures driving from my home in Bournemouth up to my folks in Devizes via Salisbury.

so, take a look :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCYH3eX57o

there are a few things to get your head around with the car. The low rolling resistance of the car means you can take advantage of it (however you see fit, ahem!). Read the road ahead and you'll be getting figures like this. My route was in normal traffic volumes, and I kept up with the traffic too.

My average 3.5 mile drive to and from work starting from cold, generally returns in excess of 65mpg.

The Dunlop tyres on the Greenline are also very cheap to replace, compared to the lower profile ones. Genuine Dunlops are about £55 each all in, although it would be interesting to try and get some comparisons on the rolling resistance of this tyre compared to say Michelin Energy ?

Thats quite an mpg figure !! . Not sure if I have the patience to run at that sort of efficiency all the time. Maybe it just gets a lot better over time as the miles go on it. I am amazed you can chug along at 30 in fourth. I think perhaps mine needs some more running in to do that. I saw you your youtube video, from the speed average most of the trip must have been fairly easy going at low rpm's ?

I find it a bit worrying that the DPF light came on for you on the motorway. If this can occur when I am doing 2000 rpm for the most part then I am not too happy about it. Mind you your text describes short journeys to work of 3.5 miles so I can understand it getting a bit bunged up over time. I do a round trip of 110 miles a day, 3/4 of which is fast A roads and dual carriageway so I dont plan on ever seeing the DPF light (I hope).

I did notice that the car just keeps on going when you let off the power. Those tyres and the aerdynamics must be having an effect. You obviously have more experience with this car than me but I did notice that if I have slightly higher rpm's and unload the engine it appears more efficient than chugging along in a lower gear.

I read somewhere that if you keep it in the highest torque band then thats the most efficient. For the Greenline thats 1800 to 2200......

[FabiaGreenline]

It does take some time tuning yourself to how the Greenline sounds and feels to drive and when its happy or not, but once you've mastered this its not so difficult even with the Dance at considerable volume to work with the car to get those sorts of figures.

I don't know if the new 1.6 diesel with the same 109g/km will in real driving return the claimed mpg, I don't have a problem generally getting the combined 68.9 in the Greenline.

PS Keep a close on those tyre pressures, they can drop which does dent the mpg.

[raisbeck]

Without searching for info, how do you do that venting jobbie for more fuel? Little bit concerned as if diesel spills, it stays there, unlike petrol which evaporates. Many a motorcyclist has "fell off" due to diesel on the roads!

May be worth doing on the odd trip, though!

as for CO2's......... Scam anyway! Did you know, over a year you will only save as much CO2 as would be used by leaving a 100w bulb on for 2.5 months?

For that, you get to save nearly a ton on road tax, meant to keep the roads good enough to drive on in the first place!!! Still....

Also, any test done (MOT, Etc) will be done stationary so spare wheel and heavy mats wont make an iota of difference, only to fuel consumption on the move!

Someone posted a modification on here to ensure you always fill the extra 2 gallons by removing the vent completely. This isnt for me as I dont like removing things without fully grasping the consequences. That said I am guilty of using the magical hidden extra 2 gallons of space. I ONLY do this when I am going to drive a long way so as not to allow expansion and spillage. I did try it once on my petrol Fabia leaving it on the drive in the sun but it stil didnt spill anything.

I am a keen motorcyclist myself and have come a cropper on my bike with diesel so please dont assume I fill up with total disregard for bikers. The tank has expansion space which I guess is more for the petrol versions (coefficient of expansion of fuel etc......) If the fuel version fills this due to hot weather and a full tank then surely its designed not to leak it all over the road.

If you choose to do it here is how.......If you open the fuel cap and look inside, just inside the lip at the 3 o clock position is a little plastic tube type thing. If you depress it in to the tank its on a spring . Its just a valve which closes off the air releasing from the extra space in the tank. As you fill hold the filler hose so its depressing this tube. Hey Presto an extra 2 gallons of fuel in.

Up to you if you want to try it. I will sit back now and wait for the flack from others on here who dont approve of such shenanigans.

PS. I didnt find this out except by accident and read on here what the valve is actually for.

[raisbeck]

It does take some time tuning yourself to how the Greenline sounds and feels to drive and when its happy or not, but once you've mastered this its not so difficult even with the Dance at considerable volume to work with the car to get those sorts of figures.

I don't know if the new 1.6 diesel with the same 109g/km will in real driving return the claimed mpg, I don't have a problem generally getting the combined 68.9 in the Greenline.

PS Keep a close on those tyre pressures, they can drop which does dent the mpg.

I will check those pressures...I used to inflate my old 1.2 HTP tyres slightly over the book figures. Definitely gave a couple of mpg extra. I had that HTP for 94000 miles and always got 50mpg. Makes for a noisier harder ride but its no bother. I will take your approach and turn up the dance.....great stereo btw, I have 9 albums on one cd of MP3 . As good as a multichanger.

You mentioned the new 1.6. My local Skoda dealer is concerned about the new diesels. They all have DPF's fitted like the Greenline. A big market for them is taxis especially on the Octavias. They are worried all the town driving will bring about disgruntled taximen with clogged filters.

[FabiaGreenline]

You mentioned the new 1.6. My local Skoda dealer is concerned about the new diesels. They all have DPF's fitted like the Greenline. A big market for them is taxis especially on the Octavias. They are worried all the town driving will bring about disgruntled taximen with clogged filters.

Bournemouth has nearly all Skoda taxi's now, but there is still an early Peugeot 505 diesel wagon with Africa roof rack running around ! If you're town's taxi drivers are anything like ours then they all drive with, lets say enthusiasm so their tail pipes are gusty quite frequently!

[mrgf]

I am a driving instructor, doing quite a bit of very slow driving, among some a litte quicker. I usually have a 10-15 min run on a 40/50mph duel carriageway, to get to where most of my students live... That is usually just enough to keep the dpf clean, with a bit longer thrown in as and where. The light is fairly regular, though! I think they need a bigger filter but having said that, it would be a bigger job to clear again!!!

All in all, if you drive the car properly, it will clear enough as ANY car, petrol, diesel or urine powered, needs a bit of welly every now and then, engines run better when warmedup and then driven a bit.

Just make sure any "run" you do, you let the turbo wind down and cool for a few mins at the end, prior to switching off the engine! :p

[raisbeck]

I am a driving instructor, doing quite a bit of very slow driving, among some a litte quicker. I usually have a 10-15 min run on a 40/50mph duel carriageway, to get to where most of my students live... That is usually just enough to keep the dpf clean, with a bit longer thrown in as and where. The light is fairly regular, though! I think they need a bigger filter but having said that, it would be a bigger job to clear again!!!

All in all, if you drive the car properly, it will clear enough as ANY car, petrol, diesel or urine powered, needs a bit of welly every now and then, engines run better when warmedup and then driven a bit.

Just make sure any "run" you do, you let the turbo wind down and cool for a few mins at the end, prior to switching off the engine! :p

I would be interested to know what sort of driving brings your own dpf light on and just how much driving in real life it actually needs to clear it. I have completed nearly 1000 miles in my Greenline now and have never seen the light. It drives better every day and is definitely smoother.

My work trip is 110 miles a day. 70 percent of this is fast dual carriageway. I tend to sit at 70 giving around 2200rpm.

Because I find the low drone below about 1800 rpm annoying I tend to drive lower gears than perhaps I could. Around the 2000 rpm mark is where i try to keep it. I still get 65mpg for my work trips.

My one complaint is my aching right foot. You hold so little pedal on this thing that it keeps my foot in a painful position. My old petrol Fabia was never like this. Maybe I need to do some foot stretching exercises ! :S

Turbo isnt a problem, I have a gentle wind down in 30 zone for last mile at each end.

I force myself to switch the trip computer to temperature. That mpg counter is hypnotic, I dont fancy planting my car in the back of someone. I just do my journey then look at the average.....much safer for me at any rate

[FabiaGreenline]

I would be interested to know what sort of driving brings your own dpf light on and just how much driving in real life it actually needs to clear it. I have completed nearly 1000 miles in my Greenline now and have never seen the light. It drives better every day and is definitely smoother.

I've only had it once in 3000 miles, I do a few miles each way to work and about once a month a motorway run so keeps it clear. Up to the first time it came on I did notice a drop in consumption, the a marked improvement afterwards.

I'm interested to hear two drivers saying the cars 'drone' at lower rpm, mine is happy at about 1200 rpm in 4th and 5th.

I have started noticing one odd thing on my commute every now and again when changing up from 2nd, lift off completely and dip the clutch and the revs rise by themselves in a blip, which in the action of selecting 3rd and bring up the clutch causes a bit of jerk sometimes, weird but not consistent.

[Guest]

My one complaint is my aching right foot. You hold so little pedal on this thing that it keeps my foot in a painful position. My old petrol Fabia was never like this. Maybe I need to do some foot stretching exercises ! :S

This is quite common. Try moving your seat rearwards just a notch...this usually does the trick. If not try moving another notch back. Adjust the seat backrest to allow for proper arm reach and comfort. If non of that helps try raising or lowering the seat a little. It's just a case of finding the sweet spot for you. Foot stretching probably won't help.

[raisbeck]

I've only had it once in 3000 miles, I do a few miles each way to work and about once a month a motorway run so keeps it clear. Up to the first time it came on I did notice a drop in consumption, the a marked improvement afterwards.

I'm interested to hear two drivers saying the cars 'drone' at lower rpm, mine is happy at about 1200 rpm in 4th and 5th.

I have started noticing one odd thing on my commute every now and again when changing up from 2nd, lift off completely and dip the clutch and the revs rise by themselves in a blip, which in the action of selecting 3rd and bring up the clutch causes a bit of jerk sometimes, weird but not consistent.

I tried pootling along at the speeds you describe in those gears. It does indeed drive ok with no 'droning'. I discovered that the droning is a transient thing starts at about 13-1400 and stays up until about 18-1900. Also when low down in those gears it struggles to accelerate so judicious use of gears needed. I am a bit paranoid about clogging the dpf so I tend to keep it spinning up in the higher rev range. Still get 70 mpg on mixed fast A roads and towns. Engine seems to get smoother every day.

Havent had that blip you describe yet. I know there is a sensor switch on the clutch to tell the engine management that you have pressed it. Maybe yours is sticky ? I did notice that when going downhill with little throtte it sometimes jerks a bit as it cuts off fuel when the speed increases. Hard to describe but you may have encountered it. Not a problem, just a quirk..

Have to negotiate my way across Europe tomorrow in a minibus so cars not going anywhere for a week or so. Stupid volcano......4 hour trip is now 2.5 days !!

[FabiaGreenline]

Havent had that blip you describe yet. I know there is a sensor switch on the clutch to tell the engine management that you have pressed it. Maybe yours is sticky ? I did notice that when going downhill with little throtte it sometimes jerks a bit as it cuts off fuel when the speed increases. Hard to describe but you may have encountered it. Not a problem, just a quirk..

I will keep my eye on the "blip" and if that keeps on then I will get the dealer to look at it, although they still have not got back to me on the headlamp beam bending for Europe. My first contact since buying the car is somewhat poor. I will have to chase again tomorrow.

The downhill runs in high gears really holds the car back, and its then the chance to when safe use the low rolling resistance abilities of the Dunlops. Now I'm not saying knock it out of gear as freewheeling wouldn't put you in control of the car............... :-)

[Matt Bodycombe]

Not driven the Fabia but driven a SEAT Leon Ecomotive and found it very over geared: fine if all you want is an economical cruiser but awful ratios off the motorway, particularly if you needed some acceleration where you had to drop down a gear and rev the engine very hard. I would go for the standard oil burners myself.

Edited 25 April, 2010 by Matt Bodycombe

[rallynige]

I am a proud owner of a Greenline and i have had my mpg read out at 77.1 mpg. i thought it would only go to about 67 to 68mpg.

An fantastic car with low costs all round.

[mannyo]

My dads had his greenline since November last year, his now his just under 10K miles on the clock and once you adapt to the longer gearing it feels just like driving any other diesel.

I drive his car every weekend, and recently drove all the way from Stevenage to Bantry in Eire via Pembroke to Rosslare ferry on between 1/2 and 3/4 of a tank of diesel, the average economy including a substantial motorway run from Stevenage to Camarthen in Wales at 70MPH, and 166 miles of single carriageway roads in Eire came in at 68.1 MPG.

At 10K miles the engine is much better and can pootle along quiet happily at low RPM. The 1.4 is only a 3 Cylinder engine, so when you think the engine is labouring, its still happy and just sounds like it is due to the missing 4th Cylinder.

His daily commute is 10 miles each way, Country lanes on the way to avoid the traffic, and return on the motorway as he works part time. So far no DPF light at all, and does not smoke or struggle when revved.

[FabiaGreenline]

Had my second DPF light warning on Sunday, drove it quite hard around town in 2nd but didn't clear it. It took up the dual carriage way at 'handbook' rpm in 4th and it took at good 8 miles to clear. There was not difference in performance with the light on. Came back giving it a good italian decoke not even getting in to 5th but still easily keeping up Golf GTi in front if you get my drift.

God this car can be fun too :-)

[Adrianh1]

And then you burned up all that fuel you're trying to save. For anyone who does a mix of city and motorway driving, the bog-standard TDI is the better car, no question. It's also safer because it's quicker and less frustrating to drive. Yes, the Greenline is a good car, but it's not a good all-rounder. All hail the 'normal' TDI!

[FabiaGreenline]

And then you burned up all that fuel you're trying to save. For anyone who does a mix of city and motorway driving, the bog-standard TDI is the better car, no question. It's also safer because it's quicker and less frustrating to drive. Yes, the Greenline is a good car, but it's not a good all-rounder. All hail the 'normal' TDI!

Perhaps, but when it came to trading in the old car there were more than enough Greenline to get put on the road before the 1.6TDi came along so squeezed a mighty deal out of that fact. I don't regret Greenline at all :-)

[diyfixer]

I am a proud owner of a Greenline and i have had my mpg read out at 77.1 mpg. i thought it would only go to about 67 to 68mpg.

An fantastic car with low costs all round.

Mine has done 5000 miles now and I recently got 71 mpg on a long journey