Ok, i already have one Fabia (a mark 1 2006 1.9TDI Elegance) and its lovely, low miles, no issues at all, are really good with fuel. I need another car for work but want one with the best MPG, i dont really want one of the new shape fabia diesels due to the DPF and all the issues surrounding them, my current one does not have this fitted..... and i like it that way.

I don't want or need a new one but wanted to know what is the earliest reg i can get to get the best MPG petrol engined Fabia ?

N.B Now this is posted in the new fabia section but if there is a really fuel efficient and cheap (ish) Mark 1 then that would be ok as well. My current diesel Mark 1 appears to be going for a fortune !!!

Edited 17 November, 201114 yr by Hudson01

What sort of miles do you do? What sort of roads?

My wife's last Fabia was a 1.9TDi, we now have two petrols but which one I'd recommend depends on your usage.

Cheers

Lee

Doing 26 miles a day all in (13 miles there and back), only using it for say half the year, in summer i will be travelling to work on my motorbike. Just thought of the 1.2 HTP 70bhp, but wanted the best MPG i can get..... even considered the Kia Picanto !!!!

Doing 26 miles a day all in (13 miles there and back), only using it for say half the year, in summer i will be travelling to work on my motorbike. Just thought of the 1.2 HTP 70bhp, but wanted the best MPG i can get..... even considered the Kia Picanto !!!!

The 1.2HTP 12V 70 is a ball of fun, not as quick as your 1.9 but full of character and feels so much lighter than the diesel. It warms up much quicker than the PD diesel which will be good as you're using it in bad weather. My wife gets 40mpg around town and 50mpg A/B roads from her 1.2 12V 70.

The only time it falls down on economy is on the motorway as the economy does fall away above 70mph.

I hadn't driven an HTP 70 until recently and I actually put a post on here that it's the first car that's suprised me in a long time. So go and try one is the best bet.

Here's our old 1.9 Mk1 with my old Octy.

And the new HTP and my Passat.

We are good at colour co-ordinating.

Cheers

Lee

Edited 17 November, 201114 yr by logiclee

Diesel all the way 13 miles there and back , I'd go for a green line

Shorter journeys the HTP wins in my book. I had one, loved it. Always gave 50mpg driven sensibly on A roads. As suggested it sucks fuel at motorway speeds but then most small petrols do.

I have a diesel as I do LOADS of miles. If I were doing shorter runs especially in winter I would have another HTP. Its a simple engine, no fancy turbos or superchargers....

Other cars probably give better mpg but the Fabia does have a more 'solid' feel to it.

Edit: Kia Picanto.....7 yr warranty and good economy. Cheaper to buy than a Fabia...its a consideration. Be daft not to at least have a test drive. The new shape actually doesnt look completely like a 'person of a certain age' car. Dirt cheap to run and very reliable.

Edited 17 November, 201114 yr by raisbeck

26 miles a day, used half the year, don't care about performance? HTP 70 is the choice. Nice and simple, cheap, characterful engine noise. It's a good engine and pretty economical.

To beat it you'd need to be looking at the 86bhp TSI, but if it's not gonna get used a lot for half the year, what's the point? Save some cash and buy a cheaper HTP.

i have a 1.2 12v, and can't think of a better small petrol engined car for less money

which other car is cheaper, more reliable, more spacious, bigger boot, better spec, more comfotable on the motorway, has a decent stereo, drives better, better image, sweeter reving more characterful engine, cheaper to service, lower insurance group, more fun to drive, has 5 doors, more head/leg room, feels bigger, lower running costs than a fabia 1.2 htp?

i can't think of a single car that's better in all the above ways and cheaper than a fabia

grande punto 1.4 8v - not as good to drive

yaris - too expensive, a size smaller, small car feel

ibiza - less practical, costs extra for 5 doors

micra - very thin doors, less practical, it's a small car

corsa 1.2 - engine not as sweet, same car as punto underneath really

polo - costs a lot more

audi a1 - a supermini for superb/octavia money, costs extra for 5 doors

korean cars - poor image, poor residuals, not really that cheap these days for a new one

mito - expensive punto, only 3 doors

mazda 2 - smaller in boot and cabin space, not cheap

fiesta 1.25 - expensive for a ford, thirsty, costs extra for 5 doors

swift - tiny boot, expensive for a new one

and the fabia 1.2 htp is available in estate, which has a bigger boot than a ibiza estate and honda accord estate.

Edited 18 November, 201114 yr by fabia55

Diesel all the way 13 miles there and back , I'd go for a green line

He's doing less than 4000miles a year and cheap to buy is his main concern.

He'd never make his money back going for a diesel especially a greenline.

Cheers

Lee

Hello Hudson, yes like the guys say the 70ps Fabia 1.2 is a lovely motor. Can't really beat it in my opinion with any other car in it's class. That is if you are totally sure you won't go diesel! On 26 miles per day your DPF won't have any issues ever. You will pay 25% less for your fuel at the very least and maybe 30+% less with a diesel. Lower tax too. You can pick up a bargain diesel new or used at the moment (totally brilliant time to buy). The smaller engined diesels warm up much quicker than your 1.9PD too. But I don't know what you budget is and if you are totally set on petrol then go for the 1.2htp. You simply can't go wrong either way.

Only thing I would add is try a dealer who has a 1.4 diesel and 1.2 HTP 12V in their used car stock and drive them back to back. Doesn't matter if you are not going to buy from the dealer, they don't know that.

We did the same at Rainworth Skoda, they let my wife have try both (well 3 actually as we also tried the 1.6tdi), "As long as you want, here's the keys" after signing the relevant form.

You may find you like one or the other much better even if overall ownership costs are slightly different.

Cheers

Lee

Cheers guys, some nice ideas. The diesel idea has been put aside simply because of my miles, as said half the year will be done on a Honda Fireblade ! The other half will be in the car, my bike is my real passion, i know i will pay extra for a diesel engined car and of course the fuel is about 5p per litre more, i had always understood that unless your doing in excess of about 15-20k a year a diesel was not really cost effective. Even my Mark 1 is something we do not make best use of, it's only done 36k and it's an 06 !!

Hudson...just a quick point. I've checked our mpg records for the last 12 months (against miles recorded and fuel used) and our 1422cc PD TDI has achieved 62mpg. That's a mix of urban and town work (more town) with the odd trips to Birmingham, Leeds etc. On long individual trips it's usual to see 69-70mpg (I'm not kidding) if not in a hurry (@60mph) but if cruising at 80mph it drops to around 58mpg. They are that good in summer! Personal best is 76mpg on cross country 'A' & 'B' roads, summer diesel, on a warm day keeping between 45-50mph with the traffic and not using 5th gear. That means I get around 85% more mpg's than my wife's Puntu petrol 1250cc engined car that she used to have, plus just £30 pa road tax. It's also around 105% more mpg's than my 1000cc or 1400cc motorcycles.

PS. I only do between 6-8k per year in the car too, and the same on my bikes. I think it comes down to just want you fancy most really. From the economic side there isn't anything to stop you from enjoying diesel economy, at any annual mileage. If buying secondhand you won't really be playing with much more money for the diesel anyway. With these modern diesels, at the moment the old arguments of economics don't really apply in the same way that they did even just a few years ago when the premium for buying a diesel was much larger. Good luck with whatever you buy!

Edited 18 November, 201114 yr by Estate Man

Yes, I agree - a diesel is not cost effective unless you're doing 15-20,000 miles per annum.

My Fabia 2 1600cc does 42 mpg but I have a 25 miles each way A roads commute. My eldest son has a '56 reg Fabia 1 HTP 1.2 estate and gets more than I do ( on a run). It's done over 100,000 miles now and still runs beautifully, no serious problems and supremely reliable.

Other son has 1.4 Fabia 1, with around 40,000 miles on it and gets around 45 mpg but has only had it since September.

Obviously diesels do better mileage but the 1.4s have given Fabia a reputation for being noisy, 1.9 PD is less noisy and pulls like a train! Mileage is similar but think 1.9 costs more to insure. Have driven new 1.6 diesel which is quieter and fairly powerful but for Hudson the smaller petrol engined Fabia would be right.

I know I shouldn't mention it on this site but we get around 50 mpg with our 1.0 '54 reg Yaris petrol along with Toyota/ Skoda levels of reliability.

Hudson needs to drive both, didn't want to be as blunt in previous posts as I don't like putting down other peoples cars but personally wouldn't buy a 1.4PD no matter how much money it saved.

We had the 1.9Tdi Mk1 and the 1.2TSi Mk2 but we wanted to replace the Mk1 1.9TDi. The 1.6Tdi was ideal replacement and top of budget, another 1.9Tdi, a 1.2 HTP or 1.4PD.

So we tried the 1.6TDi, more refined than the 1.9TDi, didn't feel as much torque but that's a usuall PD V's CR comparison but found the car fine. Next we tried the 1.2HTP 70, what a suprise, fun to drive, light, quick turn in, responsive, sounds like a mini scooby, revs smooth and sweet and easily able to keep up with day to day traffic. Next we tried the 1.4PD, wow big downer, my wife drove first then myself, found you have to keep it in a very specific rev band for decent progress, the three cylinder diesel vibrates through the cabin and the diesel lump feels heavier than the 1.6TDi, must be due to the springs and dampers. We were so dissapointed we asked to try another one thinking we had a bad example so we went out in the receptionists 1.4PD Elegance. But no exactly the same, too much vibration, too much noise, numb handling and an engine that is hard work and requires plenty of driver input to keep it on the boil.

So done it now and said it, driven nearly every fabia 1.2HTP, 1.2TSi, 1.4 16V, 1.4PD, 1.6 16V Auto, 1.6Tdi, 1.9Tdi vRS. There are models I wouldn't have due to economy or ride etc but the 1.4PD is the only one that I've thought I couldn't get on with one of these.

Cheers

Lee

Hudson needs to drive both, didn't want to be as blunt in previous posts as I don't like putting down other peoples cars but personally wouldn't buy a 1.4PD no matter how much money it saved.

Lee

I went from 1.2 HTP to Greenline 1.4PD. Mine has different engine mapping to a standard 1.4 and it pulls hard from about 1600...

I confess it took a lot of getting used to. Had to relearn how to drive. Its not just get in and go like petrol cars and most diesels. You have to think about what your doing. Second nature to me now.

Yes its a negative point if anyone test drove one......your going to be put off. Personally I love mine and prefer it to any petrol car I have ever driven. On the motorway where it spends most of its time its smooth and quiet. Lugging it low down revs its a vibraty nightmare.

Gone off topic really but I agree for someone doing short or town driving a PD isnt the best. I have a soft spot for things that sound like tractors

My othe half is after another Fabia soon. Her 1.4 MPI has completed 107,000 almost fault free miles. I will recommend the HTP 1.2 but its her choice.....

1.4 tdi is a brill engine and great v12 burble

I confess it took a lot of getting used to. Had to relearn how to drive. Its not just get in and go like petrol cars and most diesels. You have to think about what your doing. Second nature to me now.

Yes its a negative point if anyone test drove one......your going to be put off. Personally I love mine and prefer it to any petrol car I have ever driven. On the motorway where it spends most of its time its smooth and quiet. Lugging it low down revs its a vibraty nightmare.

+1 on that Raisbeck.

Lee, you are not putting anyones car down. It's how you found it for you and your wife. But I would just say, and I agree with Raisbeck again here, most people that initially drive one of the 3 pot TDI's for the first time don't know how to drive them and consequently don't find them as nice as a four cylinder. They do require a learning curve to be entered into. Some treat them like a four pot and expect lots of low down grunt like a four pot. Instead they get noise and vibration with not much go. But driven like it was designed to be driven with just a few more revs and there is so much torque (80ps, 195nm), vib free power that it's like a different car. Not only that you need plenty of miles on these 1422cc engines to get them loosened up, quiet and smooth. A good example was that when we got ours, it wouldn't run at 30mph in 4th gear. It was so tight, it vibrated and was very unhappy, we needed 3rd gear quite a bit. Now with plenty of miles on the clock it is completely different. It glides along at 30mph in 4th no problem and pulls cleanly away with no fuss. Mine is quiet and smooth throughout the rev range now with plenty of power everywhere with much more torque and driveablility than the 2ltr petrol Golf that I owned briefly.

Prolly gone off topic a bit. Sorry Hudson!

+1 on that Raisbeck.

Lee, you are not putting anyones car down. It's how you found it for you and your wife. But I would just say, and I agree with Raisbeck again here, most people that initially drive one of the 3 pot TDI's for the first time don't know how to drive them and consequently don't find them as nice as a four cylinder. They do require a learning curve to be entered into. Some treat them like a four pot and expect lots of low down grunt like a four pot. Instead they get noise and vibration with not much go. But driven like it was designed to be driven with just a few more revs and there is so much torque (80ps, 195nm), vib free power that it's like a different car.

Yep it drives OK if you keep it in the 2000-3000rpm band but as a car that would spend most of it's time through the gears in town I think she would get tired of it very quickly, you just can't afford for the car to drop off it's sweet spot and you can still feel the vibration through the steering wheel, clutch pedal and gear lever at tickover, just really put us off. In comparison there's no vibration from the 3 pot petrol, tickover is virtually silent, it'll pull cleanly from 1000rpm and rev sweet pass 5000rpm with a sportier sound and the package itself feels far more responsive. I probably do more the type of mileage the 1.4PD is designed for, higher speed longer runs 18k miles a year but even so I think I'd go for a 4 cylinder diesel if I was doing it in a Fabia, the 3 pot deisel is just too much of a compromise for me.

For Hudson trying both is pretty easy to arrange and if he's doing 26 miles a day, 5 days a week for 6 months of the year then that's 3380 miles a year. For longer joint trips he already has a 1.9tdi.

For me the choice is simple.

Cheers

Lee

Every 1.4PD I've driven sounds like a biscuit tin filled with ball bearings rattling loudly, unless its being revved to ferk.

OP specifically didnt want diesel.

If he want quiet and smooth and relaxing then go 1.2tsi. If he wants cheap and cheerful then 1.2 HTP. THe Mk1 AZQ engine was pretty good all round, the later Mk 2 are great round town but somewhat tiresome,flat and hard work on long journeys.

1.2tsi is significantly better real world mpg than the 1.2HTP but purchase/insurance/maintenance costs may offset that.

Edited 20 November, 201114 yr by xman

If he want quiet and smooth and relaxing then go 1.2tsi. If he wants cheap and cheerful then 1.2 HTP. THe Mk1 AZQ engine was pretty good all round, the later Mk 2 are great round town but somewhat tiresome,flat and hard work on long journeys.

1.2tsi is significantly better real world mpg than the 1.2HTP but purchase/insurance/maintenance costs may offset that.

When did the Mk2 engine come out? Are these the later higher mpg versions that came out on the facelift?

Edited to add...

Wiki says the AZQ is the lower powered 64PS version 12V. I've found the 6V single cam version a bit flat but not the twin cam 12V unit, and certainly not the most powerfull 70PS versions.

The 1.2TSi and 1.2 12V we have are doing roughly the same around town and short runs low 40's mpg (similar to my Passat). On a run to our caravan 60miles each way on single A and B roads then they can both easily break 50mpg. Not really much in it. (Passat does high 50's same journey).

At 70mph towards 80mph the TSI (Ours is 7 speed DSG) is far more comfortable and can still maintain mid 40's where the economy on the HTP will start to really drop away. (Passat will still maintain 50mpg at 70-80mpg)

Cheers

Lee

Edited 20 November, 201114 yr by logiclee

The 1.2TSi and 1.2 12V we have are doing roughly the same around town and short runs low 40's mpg (similar to my Passat). On a run to our caravan 60miles each way on single A and B roads then they can both easily break 50mpg...(Passat does high 50's same journey).

At 70mph towards 80mph the TSI (Ours is 7 speed DSG) is far more comfortable and can still maintain mid 40's where the economy on the HTP will start to really drop away. (Passat will still maintain 50mpg at 70-80mpg)

Very interesting real-world numbers there. A bit of an aisde, but diesel around here is a full 11p per litre more than petrol at the moment, which of course undermines the economics of derv let alone anything else about them.

FWIW I agree with what's already been said otherwise - HTP or TSi if you prefer.

but diesel around here is a full 11p per litre more than petrol at the moment,

Not seen that large a difference but filling the Passat is now breaking the £90 barrier. The proposed 5p and 3p increases would put me on £100 fill ups.

Cheers

Lee

Am I right in thinking that there are 2 versions of the 1,2 TSI engine? We have the 105bhp with DSG box and really struggle to get above the low 40's. Anything over 70 on the motorway just kills the economy. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I regard Skoda's figures as pure fantasy.

I regard Skoda's figures as pure fantasy.

They're standard tests so the manufacturer has very little to do with it. Other than optimising the cars for those tests, obviously.