After agonizing whether to change cars early in the year as my Panda was staring to show her age I eventually decided to take the plunge. Now a month into ownership of my late 2011 Fabia DSG Elegance I thought it was time to share my thoughts about the car and the buying experience.

The car has lost its showroom shine and is starting to show all its faults. I don't mind that too much after all I didn't buy it new and everything in its past must have peed off the previous owner who had spent well over 15K buying the car with all its extra kit. That first stone chip to the bonnet the first time the kids manage to scrape the bike handle on the corner and the nasty bush that scratches the front bumper. All those thing happen and I am glad that I didn't have to cope with that this time. You can be too precious and at least I don't need to be with my FAB Fabia. I would like to know what the dealer used on the car to give it that showroom shine that hides all those minor scrapes.

On the whole I like the car it seems well put together and drives very well and SWMBO is particularly pleased with the cabin noise and likes the peace inside that we never got in the Panda. She has actually said It's like a Roller compared to the Panda. Swmbo has even said its better then the Merc. I guess not having the engine noise of the diesel helps in that respect. One thing I don't like is the trim squeal from different places at different times. Sometimes the Instrument cluster housing other times from somewhere down near the passenger foot well. Then somewhere else, who knows where. This doesn't always happen but when it does it drives me crackers.

The seats have a good amount of comfort and support its a shame though that they lack a tilt facility to get that position just right. Having an adjustable steering column is a real plus point and helps get over that lack in the seating position. The seats are firm but have better comfort to the Panda and having an arm rest for longer journeys is superb. Rear seat passengers have a good amount of leg room even if the rear door entry is a little limited my old Mum can still gain entry to the rear with less effort than the panda. The rear seats seem lower than those in the Panda and Mum has complained she can't see out as well as in the Panda.

The boot size is okay for a car that is only eight inches longer than my old Panda. I would say its half as big again as the panda and has a good square footprint. It accommodates the wheelchair with ease and having a place to store the parcel shelf is so thoughtful. I love not having to fight with it while placing the Chair in the back. The bag hooks too that fold out are "Simply Clever" I have removed the plastic bin as I have found I don't use it. I like the two small side pockets in here too and find them very useful. The space under the floor was useful too before I added the spare wheel to the list of extras on the car. But even this has a bonus of being a full size wheel and not one of those nasty space savers like the one in the Panda.

The Driving is pure pleasure the DSG drives well although you notice the gear changes when on up hill sections and it clear this is no CVT like that in the Merc. However its programed well and has the ability to return 50 MPG if treated well I did a Brim to Brim test and calculated on a run that I got 49.8 MPG Ave. That was a warm day last week and only a very limited town section then it was mostly level A roads without too much traffic and never topped 55 MPH doing mainly 40-50 MPH. I like the grip too the car has some good AA rated tires on it and they are quite wide for a car in this class. I was worried that the ride would be too firm but I find it comfortable enough and better over speed bumps that I ever imagined it would be.

I would give the car an overall score of 8 out of 10. It only losses points on the dash rattles and seat comfort.

Cleaning the car is simple too with not too many lumps and bumps or grooves to cope with you can give it a clean in less than half an hour. Even the parking sensors finish flush and you wouldn't even notice they are there. The front bumper is a joy too no hiding places for dirt. Simple cleaning.

The buying process was easy too and the dealer did his best to find me a car that suited me. Even though he didn't have one in stock that was to my liking he didn't try selling me something else and he found me one a couple of weeks later that was just right. Telephoning me and sending me emails of details of cars he thought might suit.

So on the whole going back to petrol hasn't been the too bad after all and I am very pleased with my New Old car. A car that gives you big car satisfaction on a small car footprint. I would like to Thank the previous owner for choosing this Fabia and adding all the options and then passing it on to me...........

Hi Guys, Just a few things I forgot to mention that I feel should be added to my OP.

While I like the Climatronic AC unit and find it delivers Ice cold air on its low setting I find the lack of temperature control below 18 a tad annoying. I like my car around the 16 mark and even though that 2 degree difference doesn't seem a lot, on colder mornings it means the car gives you heat when you don't require it. Just a little bug but its enough to take the edge off a good system. Another thing I was told when making my choice was that it was duel zone like the unit in my old Octavia, its not. Skoda dealers just don't know there cars I guess.

I really like the mirrors in this car they are bigger than those in my Panda and Merc. They offer a better field of vision than both and they make parking a doddle. Its a shame they are not electrically fold-able, again something the Skoda dealer told me they would be. I have got use to flinging them back manually so it not an issue any more.

Having added wind deflectors to the car we can crack the windows in wet weather and not get wet arms. Both myself and SWMBO like to have fresh air in and were both soaked by rain when having the windows cracked the roof line is built without a good groove to stop excess rain just running over the side when turning. Its a minor point but worth think about.

Good review and I am glad you are enjoying your new wheels.

No plans for modifications yet ?