fabia 1.2tdi greenline estate

[micmac37]

Hi all.

Looking for some advice with regards to the Fabia greenline 2 estate. I am looking to purchase one in the next couple of months and need to know if it is worth the effort and if the car is as economical as the figures state. Obviously i am sceptical as to the manufactuers figures so if you fine people could let me know real life figures that would be really appreciated as well as driveability.

I am after the economy but don't want to be not be able to keep up with traffic, etc.

I am down in Cornwall and i commute 26 miles on 'A' roads to and from work each day. My present car is a Vectra on LPG and i am getting 350 miles from £40 worth of fuel which is not to bad. I would want significant improvements in the consumption to validate buying one of these. Failing that i would look again for an economical petrol car for possible lpg conversion.

Many thanks,

Macerena (Andy)

[Bullyboy]

Andy, I think if you use search they are 2 or 3 topics on the Greenline II and MPG etc etc. From memory they are quite lenghtly and should help you a lot.

Cheers

[bluecar1]

had mine for nearly 3 months coming up to 5000 miles

average 60-65 mpg on mixed jorney to work (it is quite hilly) on longer runs i have seen 86mpg

mpg is very counter intuitive as a steady speed on the motorway does not produce best mpg on these, at 56mph i see 80mpg+, at 62mph i see 70ish mpg, 70mph i see 60-65 mpg

but if i go on side roads 40-50mph changing gear etc i get the 80+ again, this seems to point to the fabia having the aero dynamics of a brick

aircon is very detrimental to mpg, knocks 10-15% off easy

my old roomster 1.9tdi used to do 500-540 miles on a £75 tank of fuel, i have a greenline estate and geting 600ish miles from a £50-£55 tank of fuel

[micmac37]

Thanks there bluecar1.

Advice much appreciated. I have messaged you as well with more questions, (sorry). if you want to post the content of it i'm good with that as it may get people talking about possibilities,

Regards,

Andy

[greenstripe]

My fuel economy seems to go up and down -I run mine on supermarket fuel mainly from Asda. I've never managed to fit more than £50 worth in the tank from which I'll usually see about 550 to 600 miles. One thing that does seem to really hamper fuel economy is rain and damp conditions -the last two diesels I've had have over compensated and run richer I'm sure -the performance increases as the car is more eager but the fuel economy suffers.

The Greenline II due to the way it's geared and the throttle response requires a bit more concentration if you want to drive it rapidly in traffic, however that's not what this car is about. It's no rocket ship but once you're used to it and learn to anticipate things it goes just fine. Out on the motorway it's actually very capable for what it is -way more so than an similar sized petrol (normally aspirated) unit would be.

As I understand it is getting more difficult to modify some of the newer engines to LPG particularly those with direct injection -although I may be wrong (I often am).

[bluecar1]

yep agree, one thing i have noticed is almost total lack of engine braking.

drove the wifes MK 1 vrs for first time in a couple of weeks and felt like i was going to headbutt the screen when i took my foot off the gas compared to the greenline

Edited 4 September, 2012 by bluecar1

[bluecar1]

Thanks there bluecar1.

Advice much appreciated. I have messaged you as well with more questions, (sorry). if you want to post the content of it i'm good with that as it may get people talking about possibilities,

Regards,

Andy

for those who wonder about the pm

Hi there,

I tried one today and it was a brand new one at the main dealer. You could feel the tightness in the engine and the power band started quite high up in the revs.

The estate i am looking at has about 14k on the clock and is just under 2 years old so i would have expected it to have loosened up a bit now. do you know of any issues with the cars and if there has been any recalls or software upgrades?.

I have previously owned an Arosa 1.4tdi which was a good drive and economical as well so quite like the 3cylinder sound. My other option was to look at poss getting a Citigo Elegance 75 with the stop/start fuctionality and getting it LPG'd. It's a bit horses for courses at the mo so any advice you can give is always appreciated,

Kind regards,

my editied reply

yep 1st 1000 miles mine was pretty gutless low down, much more drivable now

i have a 2 mile 1 in 12 hill (8% in new money) first 2000 mile was in 4th coming up it, now comes up in 5th at steady 50mpg (which is the speed limt and local plod often have a camera van at top :( ) so you can see the difference

to get the best you have to drive it gently with a bit of wellie only now and again

other thing to remember is the dpf regen, if you are doing 20+ miles / each way for work should not be an issue unless all of that is in slow moving traffic

14k on a 2 year old is very low milage, have a look at the service book and see if the first year was over 7k, will give you an idea if it has been stood a while waiting to be sold, if it has ask a few more questions as they don't tend to stay on a forecourt long and do a vehicle check to see if it has been in an accident and taken a while to be repaired

no recalls or software upgrades as far as i am aware, techie1 is the guy to ask, he is a skoda techie at a dealers and a good guy

like you love the growl of the 3 cylinder lump, sounds like a quiet v6 when you give it a bit of right foot on the loud pedal and push the revs over 3k

check if it has a proper wheel rather than can of goo

cruise is much smoother than on my old roomster, not as jerky when you engage / disengage it

as to citygo, i was looking at one of them but was put off by lack of boot space and shortness of bonnet (like something to crumple before i do) but they do a fair mpg, not much less than greenline II and on paper the greenline does far better mpg, in real life i really don't think much between them with the citygo possibly edging it

stop start takes a while to get used to but if you are in stop start traffic it really does save fuel

also, have a look at cost of new against 2 year old, as i have bought my last 3 cars new as the higher interest rate on 2-3 year old against low interest from dealers on new meant little difference in cost and with some of the deals (25% off, or VAT free etc) even smaller difference

what sort of milage do you do a year

[greenstripe]

There have been a couple of recalls and software updates. the one you're looking at will be an early one so should have had all of those. You really need to speak to BossFox -hopefully he will pick-up on this thread. my car had a recall to do with the start/stop system to check one of the resistors -apparently if it was wrong it could have damaged the alternator. In my case there was no problem found. There were a couple of complete engine failures on some of the early examples -you'll have to search the forum to find them. I'll post something if I find it

bluecar1 does make some very good points -particularly about why the mileage is so low

I'd agree about the lack of engine braking it does just keep going if you take your foot of the gas.

a Citigo will beat a Fabia Greenline II in town and on short journeys but I think it won't on the motorway. Our Citigo is too new to make a proper judgement. But if you're looking for an estate then that's irrelevant.

[Mansars]

I'll keep my answer short as there are other threads on this topic.

I have had mine since January and have put on 19k so far, mainly (over 75%) has been done on rural A roads, both in the north and south of Ireland. Overall I am averaging 71mpg, which includes a number of thrashings when I have slept in or are late. I have averaged early 80smpg per tank a number of times and regularly average mid 80s driving from Lisburn to coleraine through Belfast.

I use Bp ultimate as it gives me a few extra mpg that out ways the extra cost. I also get the nectar points by the bucket load.

The car has enough oomph to keep you out of trouble but not really enough to keep up with the red light racers.

I'm 6.5 and find it very comfortable to drive, having none of the back pain I got from my old avensis. Passengers still have loads of room behind me too (within reaso).

I also find it cavernous inside.

I have added a few we extras like sunglasses holder, under seat storage & arm rest. They wernt needed but just helped me out and fitted them myself.

There have been a couple of recalls for software to do with the stop start, however my dealer (mullholland) were spot on about it.

The only thing I regret not getting was the warranty upgrade (not sure why i didnt)better stereo (unavailable as an option at the time) and the maxidot panel.

I love mine and happily put up with the slagging over the reputation they have over here of being traditionally driven by members of the traveller community.

[bluecar1]

did you get your new toy ?

if so whats is your first impressions?

[PDIBK]

Andy MicMac Macarena...I think I know who you are...spookily small world (and PM sent).

I have had an LPG Vectra in the past (car sat for friends who emigrated), 2.0 Diesel Octavia, 1,9 Diesel Superb, 1.1 Petrol Pug 106, 2.0 Diesel Rover, now 1.6 CR TDI Monte Carlo and 1.6 CR TDI Golf Bluemotion.

By far the best cars of that little lot, economy wise and driveability, are the Monte and the Golf. I mention the Golf, as the Bluemotion has the features that the Greenline Fabia has - stop-start, blah blah.

I was put off by the smaller diesel engine, but having sdaid that, I was down to get a 1.4 TSI Superb - a big car for a small engine, but when I drove it, it was fine (the order fell through cos of delays).

For your commute, you may want a bit more poke, but the Greenline could be perfect.

[micmac37]

Hi everybody and PDIUK,

Been using the Fabia intermittantly over the last few weeks as wife has been car sharing/commuting to and fro Exeter. She has acheived 58-63 mpg throughout but has driven in a variety of different weather and has not used the cruise control as she feels that she would not be in full control of the car if it was on. Does not listen to me on the usage and safety of it.

Been looking at possible ways to improve the mpg and driveability of it and have looked at Celtic Tuning & Radical Remaps as well who can now remap and remove the DPF safely without the issue of the warning lights and limp home mode. Has anyone had any contact with these companies?

Also looking into poss removing the roofbars and changing the aerial to a sharkfin type or internal to reduce drag a bit and after some underseat storage boxes as well to provide more storage cubby holes.

Has anyone done anything to reduce the MPG apart from driving very carefully.

On a different note i was looking at winter steelies with some Conti wintercontact ts850's (195/65/15) higher gearing. Has anyone tried these as well?

Any help or guidance is appreciated.

Finally a couple of guys at work have the old VRS and are acheiving 60+ mpg with ease??? and can get almost 80mpg on a run apparently. This one has a switchable remap 80/130/180bhp. Runs standard most of the time but on a run up the motorway he runs at 80bhp giving great mpg.

Have i got the wrong car here as real life mpg does not represent the realistically achievable mpg on my GL2 or would i be better convincing her to swap her E46 318i se for a VRS and using it myself....

Thanks for reading all this and sorry about so many questions/queries & idea's. We should really have a GL2 specific sub forum on here to make it easier for us all.

Edited 21 October, 2012 by micmac37

[bluecar1]

depends on the roads (how many hills) and the speed you drive with the greenline II

you have my figures, and i have just sent you updated ones as well

[CRASH67]

Although manufactuer figures are not considered "real world" figures, I have got my 1.2TSI close enough to some of the stated figures with the right driving.

I know its a greenline, but surely if i can a petrol close there must be a fair chance if getting the TDI close enought to be acceptable ?

[b.o.w.]

Had a hundred mile run each way today And almost made 90 mpg (on the clock)average before I came off the motorway total for each way was just above 80 mpg. Car has done just over 1 thousand miles miles now and is feeling less gutless.

[bluecar1]

Had a hundred mile run each way today And almost made 90 mpg (on the clock)average before I came off the motorway total for each way was just above 80 mpg. Car has done just over 1 thousand miles miles now and is feeling less gutless.

what part of the country? how flat were the roads and what speed were you doing?

i have seen low 80's a few times but usually average mid 70's, but down here in kent there are a fair few hills which seem to take a toll on my mpg

also which fuel do you use out of interest?

[PDIBK]

MicMac - it's a scary coincidence, but you're not the guy I thought you were!

As to the Greenline concerns, the mods you're proposing seem a bit extreme to return any noticable effect on MPG.

If your wife won't use cruise, is she driving it "right" in other areas? My wife used to be terrible for remembering to change up a gear, but the Golf and Greenline (and lots of others now) have the shift arrow to prompt it.

It could be she's leaving it in 5th and it's chuigging really badly at low revs and would benefit from a drop to 4th. I've noticed now my Monte has freed up a bit, dropping to 4th when labouring (below 50 in 5th) gives better average economy and gets me back up to cruise quicker.

[b.o.w.]

what part of the country? how flat were the roads and what speed were you doing?

i have seen low 80's a few times but usually average mid 70's, but down here in kent there are a fair few hills which seem to take a toll on my mpg

also which fuel do you use out of interest?

I was travelling from the Cotswolds to croydon in London , was travelling between 6 - 9 am and was very lucky not to get in any jams . I was travelling behind a few trailers which was noticeably easier on the go pedal. And didn't exceed 65 very often . It seemed like gentle downhill on the way and the opposite on my return run. I still suspect the cars mpg reading is over a good percent or three . I was using Tesco standards fuel too.

Edited 26 October, 2012 by b.o.w.

[BossFox]

Completely ignore the mpg the car is telling you.

I ran a 2011 Greenline II estate for a year and covered 20,000 miles.

Every tank was worked out on a real word fill to fill, using miles covered to see what the economy was.

When I got it it would only do a best of 68mpg, despite the display showing me over 90mpg on occasion.

As the engine wore in it got better.

Once at 6,000 miles it was fairly level up to 20,000 miles when I sold it for the Yeti.

After around 5k-6k miles it felt quicker and better to drive too, it was very tight when it was new.

In that time I managed a best of 78mpg driving economically for three tanks in a row.

Hooning it around I got it as low as 61mpg, which was right after the three eco tanks as I was bored sensless. But I wanted to see what it would do.

Letting the engine labour kills the economy. You have to keep it spinning on the turbo when power is needed or it just seems to dump lots of fuel into the engine to make the power as the turbo is not running efficiently.

I averaged 68mpg.

20% town driving, 40% A road driving, 40% motorway.

In that time the car thought it was doing about 80mpg. Good to make the driver happy, but wrong.

We have a Citigo too.

It's smaller, lighter and petrol. It's about 6mpg worse. It also gives an optimistic mpg figure. As does my Yeti.

[frankman]

Friends,

 

my 2012 Fabia Greenline estate has recently clocked 13000 miles.

 

In my experience, my car returns between 54 - 62 mpg during normal daily driving conditions, ie I drive between 50 - 60 mph on local A roads.

 

When I do motorway driving, I attempt to stick to between 70 - 80 mpg, and the car returns approximately 60 mpg.  The only time I see figures of 70+ mpg, is if I'm tootling about town and other 30 mile limit sections.

 

I don't normally fill up my tank every time, so I haven't been able to check my true fuel consumption properly.  However, if I visit my son who lives in Cardiff, and he drives the Fabia like a lunatic, eg 90 - 100 mph, the car display goes down to 43 mpg!!!

 

My boy racer days are long gone, and I try to drive my Fabia as efficiently as I can. Perhaps things may improve after it has had the second service? I get my cars serviced every 12 months, as that's how I like it.

 

 

 

Frank.

[Noggythenog]

Hey Frankman, im also Haverfordwest & i recently got rid of my Greenline 2 for the tsi Monte Estate.

Unless my car had some serious issues on a daily basis (it did long term, failed injector,knackered the dpf etc) then the roads we drive should be similar.

I was getting about 480 miles to a tank, sometimes as low as 450 miles, i could get high 40's to 50mpg around town, driving as easy as possible to milford i could get indicated late 60's by the time i got there.

A trip to cardiff, doing 70 to 80 on the motorway would see indicated circa 63mpg.

A trip to scotland in 1 go at a speed that would get me there before next xmas would see my gauge saying 10 miles left in the tank until empty which was 500 miles exactly.

With 30k on the clock it made no difference to mpg.

I had the exhaust temp sensor replaced in year 1, then the exhaust pressure sensor replaced in year 2

In the end my failed injector was the last straw, it destroyed the dpf, all through warranty but no way am i prepared to fork out 1k for another dof if anything similar happened outwith warranty...maybe i just got unlucky.

I am allot happier with the little tsi, yes less mpg, my trip to milford equals 45mpg but the engine only has 2k on it & seems to be loosening up with every tank of fuel.so much nicer, quieter & smoother without nasty regens.dont let my experience put you off though, plenty folk seem to get galactic mpg but i kid you not i tried everything possible- tyre pressures, speed, gear changes, coasting, pulsing, empying my boot, ignoring the gear indicator, not labouring, not flooring it you name it & could never get 80mpg.to do so with my particular greenline would have been dangerous.

Loved the car....didnt love the engine.

[frankman]

Hello Noggythenog,

 

ok, I hear you mate. It's a shame about your failed injector, sounds expensive.

 

This is my second Skoda, my first one was the Octavia Estate MPI - enough said!  Salesman told me I would get 40-50mpg, it turned out I only ever got 36mpg!!!  Apart from that, the Octavia was a dream. Really comfortable with massive boot space.  I changed it for my current Skoda Fabia Estate greenline, in order to become more green, in order to save money. It does of course give a better fuel economy than the MPI, plus I had a great part-ex deal.

 

It took a while to get used to the idea of a small 1.2 diesel engine, but now 18 months later, it doesn't bother me, I thoroughly enjoy the car. It has less space than the Octavia indeed, but the sound system is very good, better than the one my 9 year old Doblo has - which is still going strong!

 

 

 

Frank.

[micmac37]

Hi all,

I am getting 350miles to 25l of fuel according to the trip computer which is good as far as i am aware. not quite the official figs though.

I will see what i get over the winter with some Michelin Alpin A4 tyres currently fitted.

Bought the car with 13k on it & the car has just passed the 38k mark in the 16 months i have had it.

I always get the magic 350 miles per 25l apart from the one time i bought some Asda diesel in Bristol on the way back home and only managed 289miles before it needed re-filling. Also it would regen every day after that tankful so have not bought Asda fuel since. Best was 394miles to 25l which was with Shell Ultimate during the summer.

Servicing costs with the dealer are quite high though, just had the big service a few thousand miles ago and came out £286 lighter, not chuffed and i didn't need the brake fluid doing then either.

Final note people may be able to help me with is the timing chain/belt. Four different dealers have given me different advice from 40k, 60k, 80k for belt change and the other one said that it had a timing chain and was good for the life of the engine???

None the wiser myself so if someone on here is in the know i would be grateful,

Cheers,

Micmac37

[GeneralPurpose]

micmac, I'm sure it has cambelt, and if so that needs changing at 4 years or 50k miles. Whichever is first. 

 

The way to tell if a Skoda has a cambelt, or camchain is to open the bonnet and look at the left side of the engine block. You need to be focused on the large rounded housing to the left of the cylinder head/valve cover. It goes all the way down the side of the engine. If that housing is made of plastic, it's a cambelt. If it's metal, it's a camchain. That's how it works.

[fabiamk2SE]

Id only touch a diesel if your doing a decent amount of miles. All the problems with dpf's ect because the engine does t get a proper run. I dont think diesels are any good unless you do decent miles. In which case, id fork out for the 1.6 tdi 105, and if its only short journeys, get a petrol. Theyre much more suited.

I dont mean to sound like a tool, but i cant see a reason why i would ever buy a greenline. Unless you drive many miles and arent at all bothered about getting a shift on, that is