When I ought my 1.4 last year there wasn't the VAT back offer on the diesels otherwise I'd probably had a deisel last time, even though I do less that 10K a year- I just prefer the grunt of a deisel over the top end rush of a petrol, but now with the VAT back across the Octy range for as long as there's any left at least there's the option to save a good wedge on a new deiel too, which will far outweigh the difference between the petrol and deisel engines and the higher the Octy spec you go for the more you save on te VAT

Simples

YEs that why I got mine , and its got to be the biggest car you can buy with zero road tax, I could live in my boot

wow.....so much good info...I am well impressed by all your excellent responces...many many thanks...although I am more confussed than ever......

.....although I consider myself a "diesel" junky purely due to the fact that it suits my driving style (ie lazy)....but thanks to all your replies I willl ignore the "percieved" benefits of the greenline, and opt for a standard 1.6......I think the small engine / high power engines may well give problems later in their life, (they must be well "stressed" to get that sort of power out of such a small engine),......

... again I really apreciate all the feedback...and at least i hope it has given every body a chance to get things off their chest...

Stu

and at least i hope it has given every body a chance to get things off their chest...

Certainly seems to have done the trick!

I was informed by the dealer it would take around 10000 miles before i would benefit form the high MPG and sure enough, got to around 9000 miles and could achieve up 80mpg when driving on the motorway at 50mph due to speed restrictions.

Now the speed restrictions have been removed back down to 70mpg. Driving in traffic obviously make a difference, but my average is 70mpg some time 75mpg.

Go figure? Heh?

My previous car, Fiat Punto, Road Tax .. £35 .. 12 months .. 80 plus to the gallon whatever speed, condition, time of year I drove it.

Lying bugga Skoda Greenline Diesel Fabia, Road Tax £0 . always just less than 60 to the gallon whatever, however, whenever, I drive this bloody tank

Usual mileage for me about 20K per annum though never near London

I'm bewildered even more by your post now

Good night though.

It seems that you are pretty angry with Skoda, and in your position I probably would be too. However, just because you have had a bad experience with your own car doesn't give you an excuse to dismiss the whole Greenline sub-brand and portray the Skoda company as some devil incarnate! My own experience with an Octavia Greenline II bought new last October is almost 100% positive.

Do I get 74.7 mpg combined? No. Did I expect to? No (there is plenty of evidence to show that real world MPG figures are well below those achieved in the test labs).

Is it comfortable and enjoyable to drive? Yes. IMO it is a much better drive that the Audi A3 Sportback I had previously. It is comfortable on long (400+ mile) journeys, the boot is huge, the parking sensors are great and the Bolero sound system first class. The engine has a surprising amount of torque for overtaking and it will happily pull from 45 mph in top gear. What is there not to like? Oh, and so far I have averaged 61.4 mpg (brim to brim, not computer figures) which I am happy with considering the time of year and location (chilly Highland Scotland) and that the engine is new. I am hopeful that I will be able to achieve something approaching 70 mpg on a run south in the summer once the engine has loosened up.

Back to the OP's question as to whether it is worth it? For me yes, as I run it as a company vehicle so the 13% BIK is a real saving and I plan to keep it for 100,000+ miles, so the increased capital cost (although I was under £15k with metallic paint & parking sensors!) will be offset over enough years to make sense. As for being suitable for towing a caravan I can't say - personally I would ban the lot of them if I had my way!!!

Finally, I had a quick look on Fuelly for any Fabia Greenlne II figures and there are at least 2 UK owners (I couldn't be bothered checking them all) reporting lifetime averages well in excess of 60 mpg, so to categorically state that it is not achievable is silly. Logic dictates that the fact that you can't match this points to either driving style or vehicle discrepancy, and as you seem to have excluded the former I would suggest that you look at the latter more closely.

If you use the car for towing I personally wouldnt downsize to a 1.6 TDi. The efficiency you'd gain would be countered by the extra work it would be doing pulling the van, be noticeably slower than the 2.0. I recommend a 2.0 CR 140.

As far as the OP is concerned because he's only doing 10k a year I would suggest he stayed with a 2.0 c rrather than go for a greenline, unless he could try towing his tin tent with a greenline 1st before he made his mind up. At 10k your not going to achieve massive savings in my opinion probs 10-15 mpg which unless you're on a tight budget shouldn't be the deciding factor. As always the test drive is key. You obviously know what affect the van has when u tow it with your current car, so the differences in pulling power between the cars you test drive compared to yours should give you an idea if the gl will be capable. You may find for everyday use the gl more than meets your expectations and you think due to the miles you'll do pulling the van you'll put up with any shortcomings. Alternatively you may decide you want the extra the 2.0 offers. Your call.

Having an octy green line II and averaging 64mpg over the first 4k miles. I would say buy the 2.0 as the 1.6 in the green line wouldn't, be suitable for towing a van around. As a normal family car though perfect in my opinion.

I have a greenline 11 for a taxi, fuel economy is worse than my last 1.9 tdi PD, i have had this car for 10 months and done 35K in it, last week went to trade it in for 1.9Tdi PD, loosing 3 grand on it but seriously thinking of taking the hit, 2 weeks ago water pump went and had to replace it plus cam belt under warranty and now I have an oil leak and possible fuel leak,,build quality of engine is crap,,long live PD engines