Fabia Monte Carlo for the wife?

[neil_f]

Thinking of replacing my wife's car (56plate 1.2corsa c) with a fabia monte carlo ( I've currently got an fl Octavia vrs petrol). She only does about 8-10k miles per annum. 20mile round trip to her work which is mostly motorway and country road. Was originally thinking of the 1.2tsi 105 but now also considering the 1.6tdi 105. One thing that really sways me towards the diesel is road tax of only £20 compared to £105 for the tsi ( interestingly the same tsi engine in the ibiza is only £30 road tax). Obviously the slightly better economy of the diesel would be a bonus . Am I correct in saying the boot is about the largest of all the current supermini cars (has to be able to fit a buggy in as we have a 3month old boy - currently we have to take the wheels of it to fit in the corsa)? Would like for it to have maxidot as well as I have that on the octavia. Any advice?

[Prykey]

I have a Monte Carlo Tech Black Edition Hatch which has Maxidot as standard as the Sat Nav (standard in the Tech) directions are also shown in it.

 

Can't answer the question regarding the buggy though as I don't have use for one ;-)

 

Are you looking at new as I'd take the buggy to the dealers and try it in the boot! or if you have a friendly Fabia Mk2 owner near you on the forum they might let you try.

 

I have a 1.2 TSI 105 as I live in London and do lots of short stop/start journeys so with a diesel I'd run the risk of DPF issues, however although short your wife's journeys would probably ensure that the vehicle got hot enough for the DPF to do it's job properly. 

Edited 21 January, 2014 by Prykey

[neil_f]

Sorry should have said looking at buying second hand. Was thinking there shouldn't be any dpf issues as it is still getting upto a decent speed/revs. I've noticed in pics I've seen that with maxi dot you also get a conventional fuel and temperature gauge within the instrument cluster and they light up white. If it doesn't have maxidot is the illumination green?

[lozparry]

my daughter has the diesel tech version and is now only doing smaller journey's due to job location change, not DPF issues yet! boot is definitely bigger that corsa's... but as above it best to test at a dealers.. even if you are only looking at 2nd hand one they dont know!

[jonro2009]

I would think the journeys are too short to benefit from a diesel and dpf may be a real worry. The tsi is a great engine and the tech is a great spec. Would agree with prykey in taking the buggy to a dealer they would have no issues letting you check it out. I've never had an issue with the boot size...no buggy though. I like the wee bit of space under the floor in lieu of the spare wheel.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

[fabiamk2SE]

At ten miles each way, i think thats only just long enough for a diesel dpf to start working.

Id go for the petrol tsi, it pulls really well all around the rev range and right up to the redline (abit further if its a test drive too haha). Its a crackin engine.

I think a test drive will answer your question though.

[fabiamk2SE]

I need to type faster. Youve all posted the same as me before i managed to click 'post'

Silly phone haha.

[Gazbull17]

A diesel Monte will cost more to buy than the TSI due to the higher list price so the saving you make on the road tax would be wiped out.

Diesels only work out cheaper with higher mileages due to the higher cost of diesel fuel and the higher initial cost of the car itself so do all the sums before you take the plunge.

I've moved to the TSI after a few years driving diesels and love it, much more fun to drive and quieter too.

[awfabia]

The 1.2Tsi in my Yeti is fine for performance and a heavier car than Fabia. Agree with above that a diesel would not be the best for your use, initial purchase price would probably not be recouped any time soon AND dpf regeneration may be a pain. Petroleum is practically silent compared to diesel. Love mine.....

[neil_f]

Thanks for the replies. Funnily enough I changed from diesel back to petrol when I bought my vrs as I was doing less miles though ended up doing 24k miles last year in it lol! Definitely more fun though!

[multiskoda]

Have had both Petrol and Diesel Fabias. The petrol was cheaper to buy/run when I was doing less than 15K miles a year. Now I'm doing more, the Diesel is much cheaper (but would have been more expensive before).

 

So I'd say at 10K miles the Petrol is the cheap/practical option. I also find the 1.6TDI to be a bit of a lumbering beast (comparatively) around town where the 1.2TSI is far more light-footed and comfortable zipping around traffic (we tend to use my wife's Rapid 1.2 for about-town driving).

 

If your 'buggy' is of the fancy variety (by which I mean one of the convertible ones that takes a baby seat, has a lie-down option and also converts into a proper sit-up pram) then you'll struggle with a hatch. We couldn't get our bugaboo into the Fabia hatch I had with the parcel shelf down, and obviously even with the bugaboo in place there was no room for anything else. The estate however is fantastic - loads of room.

[capriboy]

As stated the tsi is probably the better choice given all things being equal.  I ended up with the tdi tech over Xmas as I managed to source a pre reg (12miles, 8weeks old registration) for less than a 'new new' tsi.

 

My average mileage in this (2nd car) will only be around 10k, with mostly short (~10mile) trips, so far I've had no dpf issues but I do do 1 or 2 runs a week of 25miles down the A38.

 

Love the engine, it was very very tight initially but seems to loosen up almost weekly, like any turbo diesel it's got a lot of useful overtaking grunt even if it isn't that nippy off the lights.

[neil_f]

Have had both Petrol and Diesel Fabias. The petrol was cheaper to buy/run when I was doing less than 15K miles a year. Now I'm doing more, the Diesel is much cheaper (but would have been more expensive before).

So I'd say at 10K miles the Petrol is the cheap/practical option. I also find the 1.6TDI to be a bit of a lumbering beast (comparatively) around town where the 1.2TSI is far more light-footed and comfortable zipping around traffic (we tend to use my wife's Rapid 1.2 for about-town driving).

If your 'buggy' is of the fancy variety (by which I mean one of the convertible ones that takes a baby seat, has a lie-down option and also converts into a proper sit-up pram) then you'll struggle with a hatch. We couldn't get our bugaboo into the Fabia hatch I had with the parcel shelf down, and obviously even with the bugaboo in place there was no room for anything else. The estate however is fantastic - loads of room.

Sounds like it's the same buggy, as we have a bugaboo camaleon 3. Interestingly the corsa boot is 260l where as the fabia is quoted at 315litre. It will fit flat in the corsa as long as we remove the large wheels. Was hoping the fabia would be slighlty better. Think I'll just need to try it. Can't convince her to buy an estate.

[Sparkly]

Saw the title and thought this was a Swap Thread

[Brian69]

Saw the title and thought this was a Swap Thread

I thought the same !

[neil_f]

I thought the same !

Haha. Brilliant! Would at least want a brand new tech model if that was the case lol

[Sparkly]

Haha. Brilliant! Would at least want a brand new tech model if that was the case lol

 

Sounds good, do you mind posting some pics so we can see general condition

[amstrange1]

We're still waiting for our 1.2TSI SE Estate to arrive, but had similar criteria to you. The estate boot is a very decent size, fits in a pram much much better than a Yeti (which we were intending to go and look at...) and it's only about 50 litres less than my XF Sportbrake. The Fabia's narrow body also won us over, meaning it's easier to lug a child seat out the car when it's in a tiny supermarket parking space.

For what it's worth, my wife hates estate cars too, but was sold on the Fabia estate as soon as we tried throwing the pram in the back of one in the showroom. Practicality won her over.

I wanted the Monte Carlo for the looks, but make sure you have a ride in the back of one before taking the plunge. The ride quality in the front was okay, but was awful in the back compared to an SE spec car without the sports suspension - though it was a Monte hatch that we tested, not sure if the estate is the same.

[jonro2009]

Have to say that the boot space in the estate is very deceptive, bit like a tardis!

The estate drives well and doesn't feel too big.

They are extremely safe too, unfortunately my parents where involved in a 60mph head on collision in there elegance estate and they are both here to tell the tale, sadly not everyone was that lucky.

Safety wise you can't go wrong with a Fabia and space wise the estate is spot on. The tsi 105 is also very good in the estate, especially when linked to the DSG box.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

[fabiamk2SE]

Agree on the ride

Apparently the estates do drive nicer, but i dont know as iv never driven one myself

[jonro2009]

It as a decent ride front and back in the elegance. And the drive is good, decent handling under normal conditions iirc

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

[ClarkE_123]

I have a diesel Monte, that my wife uses.

For the mileage you're looking at i would be tempted to go for the 1.2 tsi, and i may be tempted myself to change in the next year.

But drive both and make your own decision, i wouldn't let the £80/yr tax difference sway me though

As far as diesel purchase price being more, when you come to sell it will be worth more than it's petrol counterpart...

[Ootohere]

Plenty Cheapish used 1.2 TSI around in Scotland, and once the Diesel Buyers that maybe buy to run them a bit longer trade in there will be plenty of those cheap as well.

 

Never going to be that great a Trade in Price when there is no shortage of them about,

and Models like the real bargain Tech are being offered to get sales for Skoda due to the full price Monte models having become slow sellers.

Seems sensible to buy a good used one and keep it a good few years.

 

george

[amstrange1]

To be fair we found there were plenty of used 86PS TSI models, but the 105PS is rarer so the dealers didn't really want to haggle much on them. We had a deal sorted on an ex-demo 105PS that was 12 months old, but then found for a grand more we could get a brand new one from another dealer through an online broker.

[Sparkly]

To be fair we found there were plenty of used 86PS TSI models, but the 105PS is rarer so the dealers didn't really want to haggle much on them. We had a deal sorted on an ex-demo 105PS that was 12 months old, but then found for a grand more we could get a brand new one from another dealer through an online broker.

 

Allegedly these are the self same engine simply with a lower power map on the 86.  I for one would therefore be out scouting for the best 86ps model I could find then driving it to Shark Performance or A.N.Other reputable remapper to slap on a tasty little 130bhp map