I had the opportunity to drive a new Fabia Scout with the 85BHP TSI engine yesterday which made an interesting comparison to my normal drive which is a pre-facelift Roomster Scout 1.6 16v.

The Fabia certainly didn't give you a kick in the back like you would get in an RS but I would say the performance was comparable to my Roomster which is good considering the Roomster is supposed to have 105BHP.

The main difference though was the refinement which was light years ahead on the TSI. I was really impressed how smooth and quiet that engine is. I also took my Roomster on the same route afterwards and the economy was around 7MPG better on the Fabia.

I know there is often much whinging about cost cutting measures at Skoda, but to be fair I noticed a few areas where things have improved over the older models too. For example the glovebox lid material is now much nicer than on my Roomster, you get a dual tone horn instead of the pathetic honk-honk on my car and the interior lights now fade up and down when unlocking/locking. Refinement in general seemed better on the Fabia.

I would certainly consider getting a facelift Scout to replace mine, probably with the 105BHP TSI although it would be a Roomster again rather than the Fabia as I think they look better, handle better, and are more versatile.

The Fabia Scout is a bit of a bargain though IMO with the VAT free offer as the basic spec is quite generous now.

Oh, and the headlights were much better on the facelift. On dipped beam there was no difference but on full beam they seemed to be an improvement.

The 1.6 16v in your roomster is pretty ancient tech now and is based on a pretty old engine.

The TSI's are a huge leap on from that. You would probably find the 105 TSI faster than your 1.6 105 bhp due to the lighter engine and turbo to boost torque while still doing the same if not better MPG.

Phil

The 1.6 16v in your roomster is pretty ancient tech now and is based on a pretty old engine.

The TSI's are a huge leap on from that. You would probably find the 105 TSI faster than your 1.6 105 bhp due to the lighter engine and turbo to boost torque while still doing the same if not better MPG.

Phil

Yeah, I would expect that.

I really like the Roomster but the old engine is definitely the weak point so a facelift may be on the cards...

I don't think you can get the 1.2tsi 105bhp in the fabia scout

I don't think you can get the 1.2tsi 105bhp in the fabia scout

You can in the Roomster.