If anyone has this car or the hatchback, can you tell me what you think of it please. How is the fuel economy working out. I know it's not the most economical but it sure is fast!

I've just bought one on a '59' plate. It is frankly a lovely car and it is replacing my '08' PD engined Fabia Estate...very sad that it's going. I've had the diesel for getting on for 5 years. It's been trouble free and hugely economical, powerful and fun to drive. No rattles once I fixed an annoying thrum from the front air intake pipe that appears as a rattle behind the dash on the passenger side, right where the airbag is located.

So, didn't buy a new dsg, didn't want to spend out that amount of money this time round so found the 1.6 Tipronic which is 16 months younger than my trade in, and with just 10,000 miles on the clock. It's a Skoda approved car with 12 months Skoda warrranty as standard and 12 months RAC/AA too.

My impressions on the test ride where very good. It felt very taut (like new) as it should and it had loads of get up and go. Frankly it was fun to drive. The auto box was superb (and a main reason I've bought it). Changes were silky smooth through all 6 forward speeds and even under load they could barely be detected going up or down the box. She (the car) is going through the workshop for a full service and I'll pick her up next weekend. I've asked for some side rubbing strips, and some mudflaps to be fitted as it lacks those. The number of times someone has clobbered mine in car parks and those strips have saved the day is too many time to remember.

I noticed the brakes where incredibly good with discs all round, and the usual esp, msr, asr, abs and too many other things to remember. My wife is amused as she hasn't seen me so excited about a car since we bought our first brand new Skoda. Cars don't normally do it for me these days. To get excited it has to have an engine and two wheels to get me jumping up and down! And I've got plenty of those...

Anyhoo, I abandoned the thought of getting the new Elegance Citigo auto after a test ride. It is nice but decided just not enough room in the back for what we want. It's a lovely car all the same.

Anyone with any thoughts or information, good or bad on this 1.6 Tiptronic is welcome to chime in please. Ta!

Ah Estateman you got rid of the 3 pot :( hopefully you won't be disappoint long term ,all the best with your purchase though

SKODA Fabia Estate Review – The Fabia Estate Greenline is a typically well made Skoda and very practical in terms ...

Petrol buying guide - generally results in higher CO2 emissions than diesel, but lower emissions of NOx and particulates

49 Green Car Rating

0 greenest to 100 most polluting

38mpg Miles per gallon (combined)

Metric: 8 litres / 100km

180g/km CO2 Emissions

Vehicle tailpipe emissions only

I Car tax band (VED)

Varies according to tailpipe co2 emissions

£215£325 Car tax - standard rate 2012/13

First year rate 2012/13

27% Company car tax (BIK) 2012/13

BIK rate 2013/14: 28%

16p/mile Fuel cost per mile

based on fuel price of 133.3p per litre

iv Euro Emissions Standard

CO: 0.098PM: n/a

NOx: 0.032HC: 0.062

£10/day London Congestion Charge

Standard daily charge

SUMMARY

TIP FOR THE TOP?

SKODA FABIA - LONG TERM TEST

(7.8 out of 10)

REVIEW DATE: 22 Aug 2008

Skoda's 1.6-litre Tiptronic Fabia had to convince the doubters on its long term test. Steve Walker reports.

SKODA FABIA - LONG TERM TEST NEW CAR ROAD TEST

Cars have never been available in a wider range of shapes, sizes and specifications or driven by a wider variety of engines and gearboxes. It all adds up to a baffling array of choice across the market. Even within individual model lines, there can be a wealth of options to select from and while some combinations of engine, transmission and trim will fly out of the showroom, others will inevitably prove less popular. When our Skoda Fabia long term test car arrived with a 1.6-litre engine, a Tiptronic automatic gearbox and a white roof atop its blue bodywork, let's just say that we weren't expecting to see many other identical Fabias out on the road.

1.6-litres is a relatively big engine for a supermini. It wouldn't be unusual in a hot hatchback or even a moderately warmed over one but the Fabia 2 is neither. With 105bhp, the engine falls between the realms of the sporty and the economical which is likely to limit its appeal. What the 1.6-litre engine can offer within the context of the Fabia range is an automatic transmission. With a self-shifting gearbox installed, the smooth and punchy 1.6-litre engine starts to make more sense.

The Skoda Fabia probably isn't a natural choice for long distance journeys but over the course of our test it shaped up well on the motorway. The gearbox is unobtrusive and the engine has plenty of guts for maintaining a steady speed up inclines. The Fabia doesn't blot out the sound of its engines as well as some other superminis but it rides smoothly and a long periods spent at the wheel are far from uncomfortable. If motorway munching accounts for the major part of your driving, a larger car than the Fabia would be a good idea but the advantage of the Fabia's compact size is that it can also turn its hand to low speed work quite effectively.

"On the whole, the strong basic appeal of Skoda's Fabia shines through the unorthodox specification of our car."

Around town, the automatic gearbox is even more of a boon. The chore of continuously clutching and de-clutching in stop-start traffic is eliminated at a stroke and the Fabia's pointy steering makes it adept a darting through gaps. When you do need to get smartly off the line, the gearbox may be a little slow to respond but as long as you drive smoothly, it acts in a predictable manner. Our Fabia is capable of a 115mph top speed and can tackle the 0-60mph spring in 11.5s which is no more than respectable for a supermini these days.

We'd been borderline convinced by the Fabia's unusual engine and gearbox combination but when it came to the looks of the car, the jury had gone AWOL. What it boils down to is that, as a general rule, a MINI Cooper can get away with a white roof but a Skoda Fabia can't. The Fabia is a nice enough car to look at and its blacked out pillars even serve to differentiate it from other superminis but it doesn't really have the youthful exuberance to carry off a roof in a contrasting colour - that's in our opinion anyway. Besides, that white roof is a £350 option - we'd sooner just have the whole car in blue.

Although it's small in the grand scheme of things, the Fabia is quite a size by supermini standards. Skoda claim more rear knee and headroom than any rival, helped by the fact that the latest Fabia is 22mm longer and 47mm taller than the model it replaced. Boot capacity stands at an impressive 300 litres with the seats in place or a massive 1,163 litres when they're folded.

The Fabia definitely has space on its side but the interior itself is less impressive. We're not talking from a build quality standpoint here as the fascia and the whole of the interior generally seems impeccably screwed together. The problem is the materials themselves with the Fabia employing a plethora of uninviting hard plastics that do little for the ambience. They're certain to wear extremely well but a little more quality in the materials could have brought the best out of what is an attractive and functional design.

In Fabia 2 trim with the 1.6-litre engine and automatic gearbox, our Fabia costs under £12,000. Add the white roof, 16" alloy wheels, cornering headlights, Climatronic air conditioning and trip computer and our model comes in at around £13,000. That's not cheap for a supermini but the equipment list is generous and that auto 'box will be deemed worth the extra outlay by many buyers. Economy and emissions are mediocre as you might expect with 37.7mpg and 180g/km emissions being roughly what you can expect.

On the whole, the strong basic appeal of Skoda's Fabia shines through the unorthodox specification of our car. This is a spacious, practical and well-built supermini that acquits itself well across a range of driving conditions. If you must have an automatic gearbox, the Fabia's unit is a good one and the 1.6-litre engine suits it well but together, the two installations don't deliver the performance or the economy that we'd like to see in this type of vehicle. The joy of the huge range of choice contained within new car model ranges these days is that everyone can specify their vehicle to their own personal taste and there will doubtless be some buyers out there for whom a 1.6-litre Tiptronic Fabia 2 is absolutely ideal. Good luck to them, it's a capable car, but the white roof might still be a tick too far on the options list.

Edited 10 March, 201313 yr by seboni121

We bought a hatchback version new in 2008, it replaced a Fabia Mk I auto 1.4 which was seriously underpowered.

The car has been fine, the only warrantee return was for the peeling rubber at the bottom of the 'A' pillar black strips.

Fuel economy is not bad, it can do 40+ mpg on a run, it has reasonable performance for what it is.

Congratulation on your purchase, Estate Man!

Sounds like a nice car. I am sure you will like the 'proper' auto box (very smooth) and I like the fact that you can change down manually in these modern autos (hills, fast cornering). You may find that it changes down its-self like my dsg when you are going downhill.

How did you find the drive in the Citigo (I am still thinking about it) - was it a manual?

Andy.

Fabandy, yes the Citigo was a lovely car. It was unfortunately the manual version, but nice enough for us to get a feel for the car. It was also the 60ps version. Yet, it was powerful and very lively through the gears. Teh car felt like a bigger car and was lovely to drive. The only downside for us was the actual lack of space in the rear of the car concerning legroom for passengers. We hadn't quite realised how restricting it would be with tall people in it over a bit of a medium distance. That's not a critiscm of the car, more of us for perhaps not being realistic, but you have to try these things to rule them in or out if you see what I mean. The boot space we could live with ok but not the lack of legroom. Upon reflection we then decided to stick with the Fabi Estate with it's cavernous (for a small car) rear. We decided not to spend out on a new dsg as the cost was a little more than we wanted to spend at this time. We have a new project on the go and may need lots of money for that instead so decided to go for the previously owned version. Picking it up next weekend and really pleased to be going automatic. They seem fun to drive and my wife has always wanted a car you don't have to steer!! "These automatics" she say, "what will they think of next!". I'll let you know how the drive home goes when we pick it up, that's if we survive the journey home. Wife is driving!!

We have one of them (1.6 petrol Fabia 2)... i dont like the full on slush-box autos as they never do what i want, but my other half loves it. Then again she hates mine with the DSG as she says it drives too much like a manual. My hate of autos is not just of skodas but all autos outside anything decent like a merc amg etc with power to compensate the slugish feel of an auto.

Its fine to drive, no problems. very smooth changing gear and steering is super light if you like that kinda thing. Brakes as you say are quite sharp, i think the assitance should be turned down a little bit but you get used to it and its fine. In tip mode its fine, changes smoothly and its easy to blip up and down.

Fuel i guess is hard to tell as she rarely gets above 40 on her shortish trip to work. think she gets around 300 out of a tank on a stop-start trip to work.

All round its a great car and essentially the reason i chopped in my old car and got a fabia vrs.

Thanks for your comments on the Citigo Estate Man.

I am sure you can't beat the Fabia for space/comfort at the price.

Autos are very relaxing to drive, especially in town.

I am sure you will both enjoy it.