Just to add Motorpoint have 6 brand new Skoda fabia vrs cars 56 plate

Talk about depreciation:eek:

Thought the superb was sorted now?

It is and I've just been out in it, what a top car !!!

Vauxhall Astra:

Cost New (value from Parker Guide) -

It seems to me at times people are afraid to recommend the Fabia on this site.... but anyway, I'd go for the Fabia as well. I'm not even considering mods here either. To be fair though, I've not driven the Astra, but for the almost 50% extra money, it wants to be a LOT better.

It seems to me at times people are afraid to recommend the Fabia on this site.... but anyway, I'd go for the Fabia as well. I'm not even considering mods here either. To be fair though, I've not driven the Astra, but for the almost 50% extra money, it wants to be a LOT better.

How about if they could be had for the same price (as per the earlier post )? Surely the Astra is the sensible bet as you're getting a LOT more car for the money

Chris

I HAVE driven the astra... in several different specs/engines...

the 1.7 cdti (red TI - high power) is ok... engine seemed weezy tho..

the 1.9 is MUCH better...

handling is good, but imho the 18" alloys and optional "ids" ruin the ride and handling... and its also pointless the diesels having the "sport" button as it doesnt really alter anything.

the interior is ok.. but out of the 6 different ones ive driven.. (all vaux business demos) had big problems...

ALL of them had problems with the fuel guage... they even said so when they dropped the car off not to let the guage fall below the half way mark!!!

4 of them... the heater temp swich didnt work right... put it right up to red and it blew cold air... cold blew hot air, and mid-way was cold!

one of them the accellerator pedal fell off!!!

and the last one would stall and not re-start for 30 seconds..

oh, and i think the sporthatch is a pointless car.. its not very practical (for a 3 door) and the rear visability is appalling!

all in all: its a good package on paper.. let down by the build quality.

Edit:

Compared to my fabia... (eibach suspension, revo remap) the furby runs rings around it with performance and handling...

Hi

I drove a 1.7L 100bhp astra sport hatch when I was looking around.

Pros for the Astra: IMO a better ride / handling compromise than the Fabia, was better styled inside and out, with much more of a modern cabin ambience.

Pros for the Fabia: The engine noise is less prominent (than the 1.7 Astra CTDI), the fuel bills should be lower, as should insurance. Skoda build quality vs Vauxhall (Although I have long been a fan of the big Vauxhalls and have never had a troublesome one). Residual values, Skoda would seem to be ahead here. Fabia gearbox and change quality are ahead as well.

Performance wise there is not a lot in it. I have had a " test acceleration run" against a 1.9tcdi Astra and it was much the same as the Fabia, ie real world quick.

I think it is going to come down to personal preference here. Could I honestly say one is better than the other? Well the Astra is probably that bit better by virtue of its suspension and its modernitey. However, it is a pot load more money. If you were comparing equal money, you would be comparing the Fabia with a Corsa SXi 1.3tcdi. Here of course, there is just no comparison, the Fabia is hands down the better car. Alternatively, if you want to project your independent thinking, you may just have to go with a Skoda for the the badge. A good Octavia can be had for the sort of budget you have. Alternately, if you are after nearly new, what about a Superb 2.5 v6 Tdi Elegance? V6s are much smoother than 4 pot lumps.

Check out Autotrader for these.

Lastly there is the dealers. The Vauxhall dealers I have done business with are very much large and impersonal. I have had a much more personal level of service from the Skoda dealer (Hayes Garage at Little Clacton) than I have ever had from either Ford or Vauxhall main dealers. For me, this counts for a lot.

Chris

Before going for the OctyII I looked at lots of motors. the 1.9 Astra was nippy and quick but fell behind the Golf and OctyII 2.0 TDi in the 3rd/4th gear overtaking territory. Maybe the figures on paper won't back that up but it's just my opinion based on gut feeling during the test drives.

I couldn't live with the Astra cabin with all those silly little buttons and uncomfortable seats. The Golf felt a bit sparse over the Octavia and you don't get a lot for your money spec wise without paying a fortune for extras.

I suppose it depends what you want. It sounds like you are looking to go for a hot diesel hatch over the comfort you had previously in the Superb so in performance terms the Astra is the way to go. IMO though for value for money the Fabia is hard to beat. Trim quality from what i've seen is also excellent so I don't really think it loses anything to the Astra in that department.

Another problem with the Astra is, if it has an alarm fitted it sometimes seems to go off randomly for no aparent reason and I have heard Vauxhall cannot get to the bottom of the problem and therefore disabling the built in alarm and fitting a second alarm on the car.

Of course, I cannot comment on the Fabia yet, but have not yet read any major problems with the car.

I hate it when people go on about the octavia being focus/astra class. It blatently is not, yes it's in the same price bracket but it's absolutely massive compared to either of those. To me, yes the Astra has a bigger boot than the Fabia, but not that much, whereas the octavia is in a totally different league.

I could mention a few car forums where it's absolutely verboten to recommend a car of any make other than to which the forum belongs, and I'm glad Briskoda isn't one of them. However for me of the two the fabia is the clear choice, it's just so much better value. Of course for the same money as the Astra you could get, say an octavia diesel, which again would be significantly better value than the Astra pound for car.

Also, I must say I've not been in sports models but the interior of new Astra's I've been in isn't anything to write home about compared to Skoda's?

I hate it when people go on about the octavia being focus/astra class. It blatently is not

It is. It's about platform, not overall size.

What's about platform :confused: ? So if they built the Lambo Mercialago on the A2 platform they would therefore be in the same class of car?!

I'm surprised you're considering going from the Superb to something as small as the Fabia.

Also don't let people tempt you with "for the extra 4 grand ..." comments. You said you have a budget, stick to it, or you'll be comparing apples with oranges.

As far as size goes, I'd put the fabia in the same size class as Fiesta etc. The Octavia falls somewhere between the midi hatch (Astra, Focus, Golf, Leon etc) and the large family size (Mondeo, Vectra) because although being based on the Golf platform, has much more load capacity because of the extended hatch.

The last Astra I liked was the old square SR version that ran alongside the GTE.The shape prior to them producing the more rounded version with the digital readout (talking 15/20 years ago!)

Can't get passionate about Vauxhall now save the Monaro and the VXR.The rest area bit dull (how can I talk driving an octavia taxi:D )

I like the shape of the new Astra and the SRi looks quite nice. It's just the past horror stories (and seeing a few mates vectras rust badly) that put me off Vauxhall.

Whatever deal you can get on the Fabia, you can get a deal on the Astra too. Only thing I can't figure out is why the discounts are so lousy on SEATs.

Looking on www.broadspeed.co.uk. Astra 1.9CDti is around

Regardless of opinion it has to come down to value for money

You wouldn't pay an extra