I have been looking at the current offer by Skoda on the above car. It seems At under £9k to be an excellent offer but apparently the engine is only three cylinders. my wife and I only really need a runabout for shopping in our nearby town etc and rarely travel on motorways etc. We occasionally take our two grandchildren out...we are aware a new model is due but we are not bothered about fashion and more concerned about price and value. having recently retired there are just the two of us. Is this engine powerful enough for average around town driving and is it noisy? Any advice would be most welcome.

Edited 8 November, 201312 yr by Dobloed

I would recommend you arrange for a day long test drive. Most garages have plenty of these cars available. Its more than capable as a runabout and this is where this engine shines, however it is noisy once you push it to motorway speeds and the fuel economy isn't great unless you drive gently. For another 1k the limited edition estate comes with the 1.2 tsi 4 cylinder engine which is in another league. Much quieter, much faster, more economical and the estate rides much better than the hatch. Plus the depreciation would, I suspect, be lower. I own both variants and the estate is the nicer car. The hatch though is an 09 model so that is why I say take them both for a test drive.

Edited 8 November, 201312 yr by xman

The wife has this engine in her blueline, it has a engine note, but its not that noisy. The engine can cope with town & motorway driving with reasonable economy. the engine has a cam chain and not a belt, so not big expense every 4 years. 

Ask a dealer for a test drive. The later 4 cylinder TSI is more refined.

Great little engine . I had  fabia (57) plate for 2 years with this engine and never broke down done 1000s of miles on the motorway at 70+ bit slow getting there. Great for around town. From a panda to a fabia you will think you are dead posh

Thanks for all your advice....

I'm very pleased with my 1.2L 12-valve SE-Plus. It's near-silent at idle and the 3-cylinder sound when working hard is, to me, very appealing. Converted to LPG at about 11000 miles old, it's now nearing 40K and has been essentially faultless.
It's not excessively noisy at motorway speeds but fuel consumption does take a disproportionate hit when cruising speed is around the 70 mark. At 60 it's pretty frugal.
Having said all that, next time I would indeed opt for the TSI engine.

I have just chopped in my 1.6 tdi fabia estate for the 1.2 tsi estate also available under this offer and am very pleased. It is very smooth, quiet and feels much nippier than the figures suggest. Well worth the extra money.

Iv got this engine in mine. Im more than happy with it. You may have to rev it a little more to get it going, but its not overly slow.

At 70 its doing 3k revs, which is fine for cruising along all day. 80mph is 3.5k revs, which it can cruise at okay, but the fuel consumption is compromised.

I dont find it noisy at all tbh. This may be because im a biker though. So listening to a vtwin with an end can makes most things seem quiet lol. I do think the noisest point of the car is the tyres. The bridgestones are noisey on anything other than perfectly smooth surfaces.

The ride itself is very smooth though, and the steering is spot on i find. Coming from a 2005 polo with the same engine (but the older version, actually whistles like a 3cyl should) the car is a big step up on every front.

Only thing i would change, is perhaps the 105bhp tsi 1.2 in it, just for the big hills around here and when a quick overtake is necessary

Hope this helps