Well hopefully coming back to a fabia again. This time a mk2 tdi estate. Had my mk1 vrs around 7 years ago. Various cars in between. Last couple of years been doing the shed thing whilst saving for a house. I love my hot hatches but with 2 young children, a missus and big boot space needed we've decided on a fabia mk2 tdi estate

Looking for some reviews from people who own them please

I'm presuming elegance is best spec wise. Power wise not to bothered as it'll be getting a remap anyway.

Has anyone fitted a monte front end on one?

Thanks for any info/honest reviews.

I had a MK2 Scout 1.6 for just over 18 months and loved it, great car.

I have the Estate vRS version the boot is certainly handy

 

I had 4 Alloy wheels with tyres on in it today no seats down

 

Last week 3 large suitcases no problems at all

'Brimma' has a Mk2 Elegance 1.6TDI with a vRS Front and much more, Upgraded Turbo & Remap.

Even a build thread in the Mk2 Project Section.

What is included in the elegance spec?

We were originally looking at a vrs but that engine scares me! Just seems to be a ticking time bomb

Ticking time bomb possibly if buying one from early 2013 and before.

Different kettle of fish really though buying a diesel manual and a twincharger petrol / DSG.

Not that many vRS estates around.

Just reading brimmas thread now. Pretty much step for step what I'll be doing although engine work will be limited to remap and egr delete I think

Maybe you'll get the rear beam upgrade done quicker than Brian

But it's a very nice, sorted Mk2 Fabia estate anyway without the rear beam

Edited 21 June, 201610 yr by tempra007

Think Brimma's a 'y'.

Just got a Mk2  Estate   Fabia 3 top of range  1.6 petrol  auto   08 plate   . All ok Just  seats not very supportive . Cant help a lot more  as  I no longer do Diesels or manual gearboxes .

Bodywise I think the MK2 estate is very practical and good value. The Elegance trim is the top level so gets the multi-dot dash, climate control etc. It does come with 205/45/16 wheels rather than 195/55/15 for the S and SE. The tyres cost significantly more and with less flex in the sidewalls probably a harder ride. The ride on poorer secondary roads is not great and any joints / trenches across roads can give a significant jolt and aside from the engine my main criticism.

 

The 1.6CR TDI as a system is a disappointment. I have the 105PS. It is quiet and smooth compared to the 1.9PD but mpg improvements are mostly swallowed up the emissions control. It is less flexible and has to be kept above ~1600rpm for full turbo boost and hence most efficient running.  Also it is complex and expensive if anything goes wrong e.g. DPF, EGR valve due to poor access etc. although of course this applies to other manufacturers too. The jury is out over the cambelt. This engine was announced with the Continental fit-for-life cambelt, the service book states replace at 210000Km / 131000 miles with no time mentioned but now Skoda recommend replacement after 5 years.

 

On top of this the work required and side effects both initial and long term of the recall due to the emissions cheating are unknown.

 

I bought my car with a 10 year / 80000mile view so the RFL of £20 rather than £90 would balance the higher initial cost of the diesel plus presumed around 25% saving on fuel over petrol based on the quoted figures.  However given all I know now I would have chosen the 1.2 petrol and perhaps the DSG box.

 

Right now before soon paying out for service, 2 tyres and though only just over 37000 on the clock based on guidelines at least cambelt I am going to investigate swapping to a three year old petrol Kia that will still have 4 years warranty to run.

Edited 21 June, 201610 yr by delta925

Thanks exactly what I needed to hear. Incidentally our other car is a kia rio 1.1crdi bought for the 7 year warranty has-been fantastic!

The engine issues I'm aware of. First job will be a remap and egr delete. As soon as dpf starts giving trouble that'll becoming off aswell.

The elegance spec is the only onethat interests me. Im guessing you have done your research on the kias. Im used to my gadgets now.

How much mileage are you planning on doing? Not thought about the 1.2TSI (105BHP) as an alternative? High 30s around town and pushing 50 on a motorway run. Lighter over the front end and therefore a bit more fun to chuck in the corners. We've been very pleased with ours (Elegance spec inc curve headlights, heated seats and I've added BT, twin steering wheel controls and Columbus)

Not plentiful but what are Mk2 Fabia Monte Carlo Estates or Monte Carlo Tech Estates specced like.?

Are there maybe specced up by the person ordering Monte Carlo Estates that would be worth looking out for?

Something around 30 advertised on Autotrader.

http://autotrader.co.uk

Edited 22 June, 201610 yr by GoneOffSKi

The 1.2tsi could be something of interest. Ive not really given them much of a look really. Currently do around 15-20k a year mileage. Performance is not as high on the list of priorities as it used to be although I do want it safe and adequate for the odd motorway overtake.

How easy was the Bluetooth to fit?

Back in 2009, I had to buy my own car after 38 (yes, thirty-eight) years of company cars whilst working in the car,van & truck rental business. So I bought the second of our family's seven Škodas which was a mark two Fabia

hatch 1600 petrol. Bought used and delighted. Extra boot room in estate is excellent for such a compact car.

Thanks exactly what I needed to hear. Incidentally our other car is a kia rio 1.1crdi bought for the 7 year warranty has-been fantastic!

The engine issues I'm aware of. First job will be a remap and egr delete. As soon as dpf starts giving trouble that'll becoming off aswell.

The elegance spec is the only onethat interests me. Im guessing you have done your research on the kias. Im used to my gadgets now.

 

I need to research Kia more, see a few and have a drive. A quick scan showed a 3 year old Cee'd 2 1.4 (98bhp) just under 30K miles has a dealer window price of £8000. The 1.6GDi (133bhp) is more but Road Tax is £35 pa less and mpg over 10% higher so could be the better option. I'm thinking September could be the right time to change so a couple of months to ponder.

 

This idea started 3 weeks ago when I had the glow plug light come on, see my posts here and here. Now the drivers window has started playing up. I have just been trying the standard fixes but no joy ...

 

My previous car was an Audi A4 1.9PD TDi 115bhp bought at almost 6 years old and 73000 miles then sold 5 1/2 years later at almost 120000 miles. The only non-scheduled work required was two CV gaiters and a MAF sensor replacement. The latter was done very reasonably by a local independent specialist. They are still operating but I'm sure new owners / operators as prices have jumped based on my service and brake fluid change last year.

 

Based on the A4 I expected the Fabia 1.6CR TDI to give at least 10% better mpg and running to 80000 miles I would be very unlucky to incur any major expense beyond routine servicing, coolant & brake fluid changes and tyres. Right now I feel this is much less likely.

 

 

Regarding remaps for EGR and DPF delete I understood if detected these were now a MOT failure. Even if you had a friendly tester this could be a nasty surprise for the next owner.

 

Certainly if you do 15-20000 miles a year you will save on fuel with the 1.6CR compared to the 1.2TSI but how much depends on your journey pattern. If you really stick to 70mph a long motorway run e.g. Gloucester-Exeter will give 60mpg when in the right mood i.e. part of regen cycle. As the miles mount I don't think small diesels are now more reliable, longer lasting or cheaper to service and repair than petrol.

As said above have a look at Monte Carlos, the seats are a lot more supportive and you get the trim on the outside. I moved from a normal hatch to a monte hatch and it just feels so much better. The 1.2 TSI 105 engine is great to.

I've just stumbled across a metallic blue monte estate. Looks very nice. So I guess more research into 1.2tsi/1.6tdi is needed.

Kia are a good car..... Well has been for us. We've had our rio from 6months/400 miles to nearly 4 years old and 50k miles. I've just replaced the discs,pads and all 4 tyres now. Regularly returns over 600 miles to a tank of diesel. On a 250 mile journey down south from Manchester, it did it on less than a 1/4 of diesel. Free to tax, cheap insurance and even though we got bottom spec still came with Bluetooth,air con, I've added cruise control for £50 using genuine parts.

Just purchased my skoda fabia estate 1.6tdi Monte Carlo in blue 63 plate absolutely love it even if it isn't quick I love the look of it.

daughter swapped a 1.2 tsi rapid to a fabia 3 monte 1.6 TDi on a 20 mile each way commute she sees about 5mpg better with the TDi, and an easier drive, but it does regen a lot

 

make sure you are doing enough high speed to keep the DPF clear and hopefully the EGR will be ok as well

daughter swapped a 1.2 tsi rapid to a fabia 3 monte 1.6 TDi on a 20 mile each way commute she sees about 5mpg better with the TDi, and an easier drive, but it does regen a lot

 

make sure you are doing enough high speed to keep the DPF clear and hopefully the EGR will be ok as well

 

Interesting that over 2 x 20miles a day the TDi returns just 5mpg more than the 1.2TSi. Is she following the gear change indications as they are totally wrong? The TDi needs to be kept above 1600rpm both for best efficiency and to minimise soot and hence risk of DPF and EGR issues.

 

As to regens the time to worry is if are not happening, I get one every 250 - 300 miles on my 2 x 11miles commute of 50-50 70mph dual carriageway and local 30/40mph roads - traffic permitting!

Just purchased my skoda fabia estate 1.6tdi Monte Carlo in blue 63 plate absolutely love it even if it isn't quick I love the look of it. image.jpeg

Think that was the ones were looking at in Warrington? Justcouldnt get the finances in place before our holiday. Still on the hunt. Im holding out till I'm 110% sure I'm buying right one instead of doing my usual trick of buying first one I see.

If it's sluggish get a remap thrown on it. Soon liven it up

Yeah I got this from lightcliffe skoda in Warrington my dad owns it. And yeah my old collage tutor knows someone that works at Apr so am going to get it remapped there.