Hi all,

I've never ordered a brand new car to my own spec before so am excited about the possibility of doing so!  I've had a few cars, both new and old but always stock cars.  After my 10 year Audi A4 has given me nothing but grief for the past year, I am toying with the idea of buying a top spec Fabia.  I have a company Superb, but ever since the Fabia was released I have loved the design and want something incredibly cheap to run and insure.

 

Here's what I've chosen so far...

 

- SEL spec

- 1.2 TSI 6speed 110PS manual

- Black Magic

- 17" prestige alloys

- beige/black interior

- sport suspension (I believe this lowers it)

- hill assist + sunset glass

- smartgate

- climatronic

 

Any ideas what else I should include?  I think SEL spec includes pretty much everything.  I'm undecided on the panorama roof, it certainly looks cool!

 

I have a few questions, perhaps some owners could help me...

 

what exactly is smart gate?

will mirror link work with the bolero?  Does this mean I can use my Sygic satnav on my iPhone in the Fabia?  If so, why would anyone want the Amundsen navigation system for extra money?

What is the real world fuel consumption of a 1.2 TSI 105PS?

My younger brother has a 2012 Monte Carlo 1.2 TSI and I love it when I drove it a couple of times... is the current engine just as good?  Is it the same?

 

This will be my 5th Skoda and I currently have a company Superb and 2 classic Skodas (1968 1100mb and 1955 1200 Sedan).  Probably the 13th Skoda my family has owned

 

 

 

Does anyone have photos of such a car?

Missing the 1.8 turbo motor out of the Polo Gti

May I ask why the manual option? I've noticed a lot of people having the manual rather than DSG but the DSG is more fuel economic and proven to be an extremely excellent and reliable gearbox.

Hi all,

I've never ordered a brand new car to my own spec before so am excited about the possibility of doing so!  I've had a few cars, both new and old but always stock cars.  After my 10 year Audi A4 has given me nothing but grief for the past year, I am toying with the idea of buying a top spec Fabia.  I have a company Superb, but ever since the Fabia was released I have loved the design and want something incredibly cheap to run and insure.

 

Here's what I've chosen so far...

 

- SEL spec

- 1.2 TSI 6speed 110PS manual

- Black Magic

- 17" prestige alloys

- beige/black interior

- sport suspension (I believe this lowers it)

- hill assist + sunset glass

- smartgate

- climatronic

 

Any ideas what else I should include?  I think SEL spec includes pretty much everything.  I'm undecided on the panorama roof, it certainly looks cool!

 

I have a few questions, perhaps some owners could help me...

 

what exactly is smart gate?

will mirror link work with the bolero?  Does this mean I can use my Sygic satnav on my iPhone in the Fabia?  If so, why would anyone want the Amundsen navigation system for extra money?

What is the real world fuel consumption of a 1.2 TSI 105PS?

My younger brother has a 2012 Monte Carlo 1.2 TSI and I love it when I drove it a couple of times... is the current engine just as good?  Is it the same?

 

This will be my 5th Skoda and I currently have a company Superb and 2 classic Skodas (1968 1100mb and 1955 1200 Sedan).  Probably the 13th Skoda my family has owned

Add

Sports Seats.

Light Assistant

Auto Wipers

Panoramic Roof - love mine.

DSG gearbox - really good and Hill Hold is part of the package. System works very well.

105bhp TSI engine has gone. Now 110bhp or 90bhp. Love my 110. Would think verybseriously about the 17” wheels. They do not improve the ride, or the handling in day to day use, but do give you more chance of damage to more expensive tyres. I have 16" on my SE L and they are very good. You might think about Specifying one of the colour options for the roof etc if you don't go for Panoramic.

May I ask why the manual option? I've noticed a lot of people having the manual rather than DSG but the DSG is more fuel economic and proven to be an extremely excellent and reliable gearbox.

The DSG is a £1000 more than the manual that's why and it's not more economical enough to warrant the extra cash but I do agree it's a good gearbox.

The DSG is a £1000 more than the manual that's why and it's not more economical enough to warrant the extra cash but I do agree it's a good gearbox.

 

While I get this, you're buying a car that you can customise and make to your own free will. Is it not worth the extra expenditure for the comfort and resale value in many years to come? Also as what alltorque said, the 17" alloys don't add anything other than style and from what I've seen of my friends around here with them, they do indeed remove treaddepth from tyres very very quickly

While I get this, you're buying a car that you can customise and make to your own free will. Is it not worth the extra expenditure for the comfort and resale value in many years to come? Also as what alltorque said, the 17" alloys don't add anything other than style and from what I've seen of my friends around here with them, they do indeed remove treaddepth from tyres very very quickly

Haven't done the numbers but I think the £1000 for a DSG could actually be a better financial investment.....in the medium to long term...vs the initial cost of 17" wheels and replacement costs of 40-series tyres on a regular basis. Add to this the question of likely desirability on the second-hand market and DSG might actually be the sensible choice. Oh, and it really is a nice device with three modes; D, S and Play...i.e. Tiptronic-style DIY changes.

Just a thought.

May I ask why the manual option? I've noticed a lot of people having the manual rather than DSG but the DSG is more fuel economic and proven to be an extremely excellent and reliable gearbox.

I don't like autoboxes and feel it takes away a lot from the driving experience.  I don't disagree that the DSG box is good and may be more fuel efficient, but I find autos incredibly boring.  I've driven my Dad's Q7 and E-class autos and they are both excellent boxes, but not exciting.

 

As for resale value, I haven't thought about it from that perspective and don't really want to shape my choices based on what a hypothetical future buyer may want.  Very true points though and thank you for them (and no doubt many of you will think otherwise).

 

I am thinking about sport seats, but not sure how they will look with a beige/black interior.  Panorama glass looks very good, I'm thinking of using it as a bargaining tool at the dealer .  I'm not sure how much such a car will work out in the UK, hence I have decided to import from abroad and looks like I may save quite a few pennies.

If you have a look at the final values Skoda give to the Fabia on their Finance Calculator, comparing same spec & engine with/without the DSG box, in SUK's view there's not a huge amount of difference. The DSG-equipped cars certainly don't come out any stronger in terms of retained value and are possibly weaker (though I haven't tapped it out on a calculator to see for certain). It's an expensive option and the small savings made by way of improved fuel consumption would take a lot of miles to recoup the initial investment.

 

At the end of the day, it's more about personal preference and your mood on the day. Don't try to justify it on financial grounds - it's a guilty pleasure, so revel in it. The six speed box is a delight to use and I certainly wouldn't feel like I was missing out by not having the DSG, but there are days when you say to self "I really can't be ar**d with this gear changing malarkey!"

The sports seats are really nice and gives a fair lumbar support.

For the fuel consumption Im at 6.0 l/100kms on either motorway or (mostly) city stop- and-go traffic, there no such thing as rural roads for me.

6 speed manual on mine.

Edited 25 September, 201510 yr by pfaff

I don't like autoboxes and feel it takes away a lot from the driving experience.  I don't disagree that the DSG box is good and may be more fuel efficient, but I find autos incredibly boring.  I've driven my Dad's Q7 and E-class autos and they are both excellent boxes, but not exciting.

 

As for resale value, I haven't thought about it from that perspective and don't really want to shape my choices based on what a hypothetical future buyer may want.  Very true points though and thank you for them (and no doubt many of you will think otherwise).

 

I am thinking about sport seats, but not sure how they will look with a beige/black interior.  Panorama glass looks very good, I'm thinking of using it as a bargaining tool at the dealer .  I'm not sure how much such a car will work out in the UK, hence I have decided to import from abroad and looks like I may save quite a few pennies.

 

Bare in mind that the options for the same car in other countries varies hugely. I got the middle spec Fabia with DSG for 16,300 euros but the features I have compared to the SE UK one is very much lacking. I cant't even get the option for a satnav or the bigger display radio. It's worth looking around at skoda.pl skoda.ee skoda.de and skoda-auto.cz (skoda cz is the cheapest for obvious reasons) and noting they can actually make you a RHD model if you're exporting it