I know the GL has lowered suspension (-15mm i think) and some have thin tyres on 14inch wheels.

Does the GL handle better around corners than a standard fabia? Does it have less bodyroll?

I expect it will handle a bit better than a non sport suspended Fabia, though the thin high profile tyres will negate the benefit a little. Ride will be a fair bit firmer too.

Was exactly the same with my MK5 Golf Bluemotion, had sports suspension but 195/65 R15 tyres, bit more agile than a standard Golf Match but nowhere near as good as a GT/GT Sport, ride was a little firm too but the fat tyres made it more bareable that it would have been on low pros.

I see alot of people on here are opting for Greenline 2's fair shout but personally dont see the appeal. For the sake of negligable additional cost and slightly less MPG i'd rather have an Elegance 1.6 CR 105ps

Edited 27 February, 201115 yr by pipsyp

I know the GL has lowered suspension (-15mm i think) and some have thin tyres on 14inch wheels.

Does the GL handle better around corners than a standard fabia? Does it have less bodyroll?

Mine has the thinner tyres (165) on 14" wheels. There is some body roll on corners. TBH I think the suspension is the same as any other standard Fabia. Doesnt feel in the least sporty. The tyres are 37.7 psi at the front and 36 ish rear. It is a harder than normal ride but its not bone jarring. I havent ever had an issue with grip, in the wet its better than my previous Fabia....plows through puddles rather than slips over them . In the recent snow it was brilliant......sailed pass all the stuck BMW's.

I cant say the Greenline is better value than a standard car. I got mine as it was almost the last available before the facelift and engine change. Paid less than a standard Fabia which is why I bought it.

I thought the new Greenline had standard wheels ?

I thought the new Greenline had standard wheels ?

It does. 15 inch alloys and Dunlop Sport tyres as used on other Skoda cars.

Same make and model tyres as our Yeti came with, just a different size.

I see alot of people on here are opting for Greenline 2's fair shout but personally dont see the appeal. For the sake of negligable additional cost and slightly less MPG i'd rather have an Elegance 1.6 CR 105ps

List price is £1180 less, plus it gets free congestion charge.

Plus GL2 is a complete car, while even on the Elegance the tight wads seem to want to charge you over £300 for an essential safety feature like ESP.

Edited 27 February, 201115 yr by CT17

List price is £1180 less, plus it gets free congestion charge.

Plus GL2 is a complete car, while even on the Elegance the tight wads seem to want to charge you over £300 for an essential safety feature like ESP.

Maybe but the 1.2 is in real life considerably less pokey than the 1.6 and hampered by too longer gearing. Fuel economy is still brilliant and the car tax is only £35 on the 1.6

Elegance may do without ESP but it gets Curtain Airbags which I believe is an expensive option on the GL, so its not a complete car.

Also if you buy an Elegance with DSG (any Fabia for that matter) like alot of people do it comes with ESP. vRS is the only variant to come with 6 airbags and ESP as standard.

I feel the GL is likely to be a compromise car for those not so bothered about how a car drives, rather the MPG it delivers. Golf Bluemotion (certainly the MK5) was this way. Mine was a company car so it was of benefit to me to chose it over the standard Match. However the eco mods in alot of respects made it less satisfying to drive than the standard car, gearing was too long and the ride was unconfortable for a confort oriented model. Strangely the front bumper on my Bluemotion used to scrape on my driveway (rather steep) every time I went up and down, my MK6 GT doesnt yet its the sportier variant, never really understood this!

Maybe but the 1.2 is in real life considerably less pokey than the 1.6 and hampered by too longer gearing. Fuel economy is still brilliant and the car tax is only £35 on the 1.6

Elegance may do without ESP but it gets Curtain Airbags which I believe is an expensive option on the GL, so its not a complete car.

Also if you buy an Elegance with DSG (any Fabia for that matter) like alot of people do it comes with ESP. vRS is the only variant to come with 6 airbags and ESP as standard.

I feel the GL is likely to be a compromise car for those not so bothered about how a car drives, rather the MPG it delivers. Golf Bluemotion (certainly the MK5) was this way. Mine was a company car so it was of benefit to me to chose it over the standard Match. However the eco mods in alot of respects made it less satisfying to drive than the standard car, gearing was too long and the ride was unconfortable for a confort oriented model. Strangely the front bumper on my Bluemotion used to scrape on my driveway (rather steep) every time I went up and down, my MK6 GT doesnt yet its the sportier variant, never really understood this!

Horses for courses, which could be debated forever. You get what floats your boat.

A lot of people don't bother with hidden safety features like Curtain Airbags when forced to pay extra for them, but I'd rather have ESP. ESP should be standard on all cars now IMO.

Throwing the DSG into the mix as coming with ESP doesn't make any sense as you can't get the car you think is better (1.6 Diesel) with the DSG box anyway. You can only get it on the petrol. So no comparison.

The GL2 is not compromised like the GL1. I have driven both and was surprised by the GL2. It's a different animal and it's hard to see where the compromises are. To me it's just the performance as it's a few seconds slower to 60mph than the top output 1.6. But as they are probably going to bought as commuting or high milage cars is it a problem? not to me. Most of the time I'm crusiing along at a constant speed. I have a VRS for traffic light grand-prix.

Standard tyres, not skinny high pressure ones.

Slightly lowered suspension that's harder ride is compensated for by the 15 inch tyres having a decent amount of sidewall and regular pressures

I'm not even sure the gear rations are higher like in the GL1. I can drop into 5th at 45mph and it pulls fine.

As I said, hourses for courses.

I get a warm feeling knowing it's a good car, I get free road tax and can drive into London without paying a congestion charge every day.

Most of the time I'm crusiing along at a constant speed. I have a VRS for traffic light grand-prix.

Well said CT17.

The last time I was on the motorway my GL2 was more than capable of keeping up with the traffic, it was me that decided to travel at the speed I did and over 70 is 6 points and 100+ is a ban.

For those that are really interested in the GL2 take a look at this PDF from Skoda, The Greenline Range.

Looking at the PDF I cannot see any mention of a non standard gearbox, it does say lighter smaller alloy wheels and higher tyre pressures and lowered suspension plus more.

I have only driven the standard Fabia over 3 days as a courtesy car and I would say my GL2 corners slightly better and the ride was the same.

I'm not even sure the gear rations are higher like in the GL1. I can drop into 5th at 45mph and it pulls fine.

Have to concede on that point. If you put my GL1 in to 5th at 45 it pretty much stalls. I dont even use 5th unless I am going to be going faster than 60. It can go in to 5th at about 50 if you want to but the car doesnt like it. Sort of sounds like its labouring and the pickup just isnt there.

Thing is, 4th gear in a GL 1 is near as makes no difference the same as 5th in a standard Fabia. I change gear even less than I did in my old 1.2 HTP petrol. You just have to relearn how to drive, took me a while but now I love the longer ranges. I can see why people wouldnt like the GL 1 gearbox. They just dont know how to use it properly.

Lugging the engine low down gives poorer economy and a vibraty engine. I see 80 mpg on the trip display when in 4th at about 60 mph.

You either love or hate the PD engine. I like the rattles and love the huge torque from such a tiny engine.

I am not sure thay having a GL 1 means sacrificing anything really.....Its really just a Fabia 2 that can go a few more miles for the same amount of fuel. As I do 24000 miles a year I thought it was worth it when I bought it.

If you want to compare gear ranges. At 60 mph mine is at 2200 rpm.

70 mph is 2000 rpm in 5th. I had thought these ranges were the same as the 1.6 CR standard Fabia. The extra piston and CR engine makes more of the range useable imo.

I really should drive a CR Fabia. That way I can tell if I am talking b****** or not

Horses for courses, which could be debated forever. You get what floats your boat.

A lot of people don't bother with hidden safety features like Curtain Airbags when forced to pay extra for them, but I'd rather have ESP. ESP should be standard on all cars now IMO.

Throwing the DSG into the mix as coming with ESP doesn't make any sense as you can't get the car you think is better (1.6 Diesel) with the DSG box anyway. You can only get it on the petrol. So no comparison.

The GL2 is not compromised like the GL1. I have driven both and was surprised by the GL2. It's a different animal and it's hard to see where the compromises are. To me it's just the performance as it's a few seconds slower to 60mph than the top output 1.6. But as they are probably going to bought as commuting or high milage cars is it a problem? not to me. Most of the time I'm crusiing along at a constant speed. I have a VRS for traffic light grand-prix.

Standard tyres, not skinny high pressure ones.

Slightly lowered suspension that's harder ride is compensated for by the 15 inch tyres having a decent amount of sidewall and regular pressures

I'm not even sure the gear rations are higher like in the GL1. I can drop into 5th at 45mph and it pulls fine.

As I said, hourses for courses.

I get a warm feeling knowing it's a good car, I get free road tax and can drive into London without paying a congestion charge every day.

Agree completely, certain things for certain people and all that. Certainly not saying that its not a good car and am sure the GL2 is alot less compromised than the GL1 having more clever tech on it like energy recuperation and stop start. Certainly if you're travelling into the congestion zone alot I guess it makes sense too.

However as a long distance mile muncher for me the 1.6 CR makes the best sense. It's still very cheap to run and you do get considerably more performance for not a great deal more money. I've never been a lover of the VAG 3 cylinder diesels, though I've only ever driven a PD one so cant pass comment on the new 1.2 CR.

I did wonder if the DSG was available on the diesel when I was writing my previous post but didnt bother checking, you've got me there. ESP....I agree this should really be standard on all cars rather than being a cost option but Skoda have always been a little lean on standard safety kit. It's optional on most Octavia's too, as are Curtain airbags. It would appear that alot of the savings made against the equivalent VW are also countered for by offering less standard safety kit. A VW Golf for example comes with ESP and 7 airbags as standard no matter what variant you buy, sure it may not have so many toys but at least its safer.

We've bought a vRS and that comes with 6 airbags and ESP Plus as standard so we're happy but I think Skoda have got some ground to make up in the safety area.

If you want to compare gear ranges. At 60 mph mine is at 2200 rpm.

70 mph is 2000 rpm in 5th.

In the GL2 it's 2200rpm at 70mph in 5th gear.

So that would suggest lower gear ratios in line with the standard diesel Fabia. Can anyone with a 1.6 diesel confirm?