Not so bad!

I've had my 1.2TSI Sport for 13 months now and covered 16500 miles.

It hasn't missed a beat. The only problems have been a strange whistling or beeping noise at a slow cruise (turned out to be a carbon recirculation hose which the dealer sorted quickly - after showing them a thread on the Fabia owners' pages of this site) and a kerbed rear wheel (my own fault).

The Rapid is nippy enough around town, comfy on longer journeys and plenty roomy enough for my family (wife and 2 primary school-age kids). We didn't pack lightly for a week at centre parcs and yet the boot swallowed the lot. My brother-in-law in a 2016 Astra struggled to pack for the same holiday (partner and 1 kid).

Yes, an Octavia might be a better car overall, but I bought the car with cost-cutting in mind. The Rapid has easily been the cheapest car to run that I have owned in some years. It easily gets 50+mpg on my daily commute (10 miles each way) and the front tires still look almost brand new - if there has been any wear it's imperceptible.

I'm also involved in organising an airfield trackday and volunteered as a track marshall - after setting up the track I had to conduct a safety check *ahem* and drive the track - you know what? It was actually quite good to throw around a bit on the track too - it's hardly the last word in track weapons, but it still feels quite good in spirited driving.

My Rapid is proving to be a great family car.