I've recently moved house and now commute around 300 miles per week - often with in work travel doing about 350 - 400. My commute is the M62 and M621 into Leeds and then across town so a mix of driving..... but mostly stop start!! At the same time I worked out my beloved 11 year old Honda Civic is doing around 35 mpg :-/

I've picked up every brochure for every car but when i first went into Skoda to discuss most economic car he advised diesel over petrol (I do minimum of 17,000 miles per year) SE 1.6 TDI. It wasn't until i got home and looked at brochure I saw the Greenline II and i'm now wondering why he didn't mention that.

I've read the Fabia brochure front to back, made lists and been very attracted by no VAT but which car would you recommend - my two faves are the Greenline and the monte Carlo.... greenline for the MPG and Monte Carlo for a 1.6 engine..... and it's looks!!!

MPG is very important and I know I won't get the advertised mpg but is it better to go for greenline with cruise control and stop start and better mpg or the bigger mpg ... and why did the Huddersfield skoda man mention the green line!

Please advise me as to which would be the best - I like the idea of stop start on the green line...... does anyone find this a useful

Thanks in advance from a skoda newbie

Edited 14 May, 201313 yr by bunnydrumming

Stop/start may come in handy in urban runs so greenline may suit you

I had monte 105tdi and it gave good motorway mpg but urbanwise It beat my current vrs by maybe 5 mpg

Mpg wise for urban runs monte was disappointing

Suggest take long test in Green line 'cos I think this engine has given the whole Fabia range a bad reputation for noisy & rough engines. It's a 3 cylinder, I think, 1.6 is a 4. Green line has less soundproofing and no spare wheel ( don't get me started! )to save weight.

1.6 is a good engine, especially for economy. Have used several and 50 mpg ought to be regular on your type of use. Diesel will be best for your type of use, please join us with a Fabia - we have FIVE in our family. There is a post on here in early April with a photo - I really am that keen on Fabias!

Other reasons to go Fabia:- room for 4 adults,reliability,good boot space,good dealers etc. Go on - you'll love it!

I would go for the greenline but get a spare wheel as well (I don't think this can be a factory order on this car but your dealer will be able to get one for you). The Monte Carlo is a nice looking car but is aimed more at the sporty look than the practical one. But either model will serve you well.

At the risk of stating the obvious it depends what you want.

If economy is the most important thing, then the Greenline is going to win.

Yes, the engine is a bit noisy due to it being a 3 pot. But I found it fine when I had one for a year (20k miles) as you get used to it and the stop-start means it's off when stationary anyway.

They also have a decent standard spec so you shouldn't have to add many optional extras.

However, if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of economy for a smoother engine that's more responsive then the 1.6 4 pot diesel is a better performer. (in it's higher 90 and 105 versions, the 75 is slower!)

Basically the Greenline II is a workhorse to get you about while using as little fuel as it can.

If that's what you need it'll do the job well.

You can get the dealer to source you a spare wheel kit. I did.

If you are careful with how you drive the GL2 will return 65-70mpg.

My commute favours eco driving so I averaged 72mpg over the whole year.

I could not get mine under 61mpg, even by giving it stick!

But I have seen some people who do a lot of town driving in the 50's.

From experience the 1.6 does around 5 to 8mpg less than the 1.2 GL2.

Greenline would be my favourite if economy is the primary consideration. I too have driven one on several occassions and found it supreme in the mpg stakes doing well over 70mpg in normal motoring. With care I got over 78mpg. If you stamp on the throttle economy will fall off rapidly though at high motorway speeds. But power output is fine and you won't have any problem keeping up with fast traffic if you want to. The 1.6cr is superb too but has a huge amount of extra power that you probably won't use and it will cost you lots in terms of the mpg's it does. Just not as good as the Greenline mpg.

The stop/start needs several conditions to be met before it operates:

1. Engine up to temperature
   
2. Battery in good condition
   
3. In neutral with foot off clutch
   
4. Handbrake on
   

1 & 2 won't be an issue but my experience of M62 from Ainley Top and the M621 into Leeds is not so much stop/start but crawl/crawl/nearly stop/crawl. Maybe the stop/start won't even get a chance to operate.

That said, if economy is your no1 priority then the Greenline was made for folk just like you.

I've got a Monte Carlo 1.6 CR TDI 105 and my wife has a golf 1.6 CR TDI Bluemotion Tech Match.

Golf (with stop/start) gets 60mpg without trying, mixed driving, her commute (2 days a week) is from Hampshire sticks to Bristol (70 miles each way) including M4 and M32, city in traffic etc. when not on that run, it's local stuff and school run (4 mile round trip).

Monte, in which I take our youngest to nursery 12 miles away, before turning around and coming to work, then repeating at night, is currently getting 50-55mpg. On a long run the other day it was nearer 60mpg.

Last week, we took the Golf somewhere and got stuck in weekend city centre traffic, stop/starting for a good mile or more. It was fine - cuts out, coasts a bit, restarts, etc. Yes, it needs to be up to temp, not flat bty and all that.

My advice - what is most of your driving? If it is motorway with queues, so you ever get to motorway speed, or are you pretty much crawling? If so, GL2. If you get to open up the taps every now and again, the Monte should be more fun and still economical enough to make you love it!

The stop/start needs several conditions to be met before it operates:

1. Engine up to temperature
   
2. Battery in good condition
   
3. In neutral with foot off clutch
   
4. Handbrake on
   

Don't need the handbrake on, so it works as you come to a stop and release the clutch with your foot on the brake.

Mine did anyway.

It also doesn't need the engine at full operating temp, mine would start activating a mile or two from work on the way home.

In fact I found it works quite a lot. More than I was expecting it to.

The only times it didn't work was when in very heavy traffic after many stop-start uses and when in winter with lots of electrics on so a large battery drain.

Thanks for the answers so far - it's really useful to get owner knowledge rather then salesmen patter!

I am more swaying towards the greenline mainly for the mpg - do you think they will let me take a car onto a motorway for a test drive or would it just be a quick pootle around town. I haven't bought a car for 12 years so no idea what is allowed? I will probably go to Huddersfield dealer (given that I went into Wakefield one today and was totally ignored and couldn't find a brochure anywhere!) so the motorway is only about 10 mins drive away.

Sorry - another question! Hopefully once the 4 lanes are open on the M62 the commute won't be quite as much crawling as it is now but when I can I do like to drive and not dawdle - in the greenline will i be able to drive at normal speeds on the motorway (70 - 80) and overtake or will it be slower then the 1.6 or a petrol car (never had a diesel before). I've read about 'long gears' in the forum and I'm presuming that means it takes longer to build up speed to change gear (does it?!?!).

Do you have to go slower in the greenline then in the 1.6 to get good mpg? So many questions!!

Thanks in advance - I can't believe that I'm actually quite excited to get a Skoda - I remember as a child that Skoda's did not have a good name but now I see them everywhere and since I started considering the Skoda i've noticed that a few friends or work colleagues have them Fabia's all love them and would buy another!

The GL2 economy is better around 60mph, once you start to take it over 65mph the economy starts to get worse.

Yes, you do have to wind it up a bit in each gear, you can't use top (5th) until doing 52mph or more unless going downhill.

I`ve found my 1.6TDi is very good at getting decent fuel comsumptions if you are doing long runs. Not so on shorter journeys. However I`d prefer my engine over the Greenline if I was you, simply because the 1.6 is very well refined on the motorway and will give a more relaxed commute. And as others have said, the 1.6 105bhp pulls like the proverbial train. I get around 480-490 miles on 40 litres of diesel.

Edited 15 May, 201313 yr by threadbear

What do you mean by shorter journeys.... if that isn't a silly question. Although it's a 60ish round trip to and from work when at work each week I do have a dozen one or two mile journeys and at weekends most of my journeys are around 5 - 10 miles. Will all these non commuting drives ruin my mpg and make is less worthwhile getting a diesel!

Too many questions in my mind! Typical woman not good at making a decision :-/

wel I can throw a curve ball

kent to Birmingham and back today

to Birmingham I got 79.7mpg and back home 89.3mpg less than 5mpg off top official mpg :rock:

100 mile into return journey near high Wycombe I saw 91.4mpg then had the big hill up to jctn 5 on m40 :(

driving at 56-60mph, only added about 20-25 minutes on a 190 mile each way compared to avg 75mph

we make regular 60 mile trips to the in-laws, mostly country roads (55mph) and town traffic (30mph), and average around 54mpg. On a motorway run I can get upto 60mpg depending how fast I wish to drive, on one journey keeping at a steady 60mph the maxidot showd 63mpg, and the journey maybe took 10 extra minutes.

Travelling to work each night is 4 miles and the maxidot shows around 45mph by the time I park up, somewhere closer to 40mpg on the way home in the morning traffic.

I got about 58 mpg in mine on my way home from Durham to Hartlepool, although Durham city was a nightmare to get out of tonight.

The other big benefit of the Greenline for your conditions could be the regenerative engine braking, which re-charges the battery. For fast-slow motorway driving this will make a bigger difference than the Start-Stop function.

Also, the Start-Stop does work when the outside temperature is cold (<-5C, I think).

And the fuel consumption is VERY STRONGLY effected by outside temperature. It is MUCH more efficient in summer (and lab conditions) than normal Yorkshire conditions for many reasons, not just winter tyres, winter diesel, no stop-start, but I think most important is the longer engine warm-up times. Keeping it in a garage or, better, underground car park will improve warm-up times in winter.

Take a look at my stats on Fuelly: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/timhewison/fabia/fuelchart

Edited 16 May, 201313 yr by Igloo Vindaloo

Ordered my greenline today - decided MPG was more important then a little more engine power and after a test drive (of a greenline Roomster) I was happy with the engine.

Now just waiting to see if they can find me a red one or if I have to wait for one to be built - I could have had a metallic yellow (!) or a metallic dark grey/silver but didn't fancy either especially when I would have to pay over £450 for the metallic and they are not sure there are any non metallic ones available :-/

If I have to have it built I may add on a couple of extras (heated seats, maxi cot computer and fancier Air Con)

Can't wait - just hope my Honda doesn't die before then

Thanks for your comments everyone

surprisingly plenty of get up and go for a little 1.2 diesel

only thing I notice is the CO2 of the roomster is 109g/mile compared to 89g/mile of the fabia? surely that can't be down to the different aerodynamics?

so what else is different?

only thing I notice is the CO2 of the roomster is 109g/mile compared to 89g/mile of the fabia? surely that can't be down to the different aerodynamics?

so what else is different?

The weight! The Roomster is quite a big car

its only 100kg heavier, only other thing I can think is I am not sure if like the fabia it has all the extra's like the low rolling resistance tyres etc

My Greenline came with Dunlop Sport SP01 185/60 R15 tyres, which were part of the selling feature and stamped as 'Low Rolling Resistance'.

Turns out they are now given an Efficiency Rating E (http://www.reifen.com/shop/dunlop-72.do)

- or even F (http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=34120008.110.9616&Cookie=froogle&typ=R-115273&ranzahl=4&Breite=185&Quer=60&Felge=15&Speed=H&dsco=110&sowigan=So&station_search=1&Monart=#mpSearch).

You'd be hard pushed to find a tyre with a poorer rating. Is that a case for Trade Descriptions?

too late now to make a difference but.....

travelled from Walsall to Coventry 32miles, driving down the M6, roadworks limited me to 50mph until the restrictions were lifted then a steady 75, parked up with the maxidot showing 58mpg

which engine you got in the monte?

Yeah - they found me a red GL II which has a slot on a boat in the next couple of days! Can't wait now - my honda is sounding more and more gravelly every day and now judders going round corners..... not sure that is supposed to happen!

Hopefully will be with me by mid June - reading all the posts I can find about the GL and diesel as it's my first!

Yeah!!