I've bought a really nice car! I tend to keep my cars for a long time and this 2010 Fabia will hopefully be no exception.

Likes so far are the engine (and that's a big surprise as I thought I would hate it). It's very tractable and fun for a 1.2 normally aspirated engine and I love the sound. Reminds me of half a Triumph GT6 for those old enough to know. I like the Elegance trim level with it's cruise control, climate control and arm rest etc. I like the driving position and the adjustments available to the front seats. It has excellent brakes with, thankyou Skoda, drums at the back.  I like the easy servicing aspect (no stub nut to remove the drums etc and the luxury of a Haynes manual ) and I like the solid look and feel of the car.

So far I'm unsure about it's handling in a crosswind or when overtaking a fast lorry (anyone else?), and that the gear lever can be pushed down 2" in any gear, most unnerving, but I guess I will get used to it.  

And so far I don't like the inaccurate fuel gauge, it said half full yet I managed to get 38 lites into a 45 liter tank... , and the inaccurate speedo, which at least runs 4 mph below the 30 speed limit and not over. 

If the Fabia proves to be as reliable and economical to run as my Kia Rio I shall be very happy indeed. If I scrap the Kia tomorrow and get nothing for it, it will have cost me just £375 per year to own over 117.000 miles and 8 years at a regular 43 mpg. That includes a new clutch last year, but not mot's (although it always passed without issue) or servicing.  Big shoes to follow then Fabia!  

 

Phil

Enjoy.

Given the mention of the handling and the speedo being so far off, what sizeand type of tyres are on?

Has someone maybe fitted a size that could be causing this?

 

At least with the fuel gauge you are aware now and can see how many miles you do until it gets back down to half, 

and then from there you need to fill again.

45 litre tank, but then there is up the tube, you can get 50 litres in without even venting.

Enjoy your car. Great little motors.

Sorry for the late reply on this. The tyres are Avon 205-45-16's and are standard on the elegance. The handling problem was solved by putting the correct pressure in them! It was main dealer serviced and mot'd 5 days before I bought it from dad. I can only assume whoever checked the tyre pressures mistook 2.1 bar for 21psi. The car now handles perfectly..... The speedo is still slow but am learning to live with this. Is the km's per hour lcd readout adjustable to mph, and would this read any different if so?? And the fuel gauge reads 1/1 until the 200 mile mark when it drops rapidly, but as GoneOffSKi says I just need to refuel before the 350 mark to avoid embarrassment. I've just completed a 200 mile round trip on all sorts of road and I am really enjoying it (thanks kevberlin) except for those nasty speed bumps in the middle of road. My last car was wide enough (if I was accurate enough!) to drive over them without trouble but the poor Fabia has no hope. I think however that the Fabia may have converted me back to european cars.

 

Thanks again     

Are you aware of what 'venting' the car is and how you do it? Maybe you're accidentally venting it if the gauge is staying on full for a long time. 

 

Glad you're enjoying it. 

Speedometers should never under read - Sometimes there are settings to accommodate winter tyres

Edited 3 July, 20169 yr by bigjohn

There is no setting you can set to accommodate 'Winter Tyres' other than the 'Winter Tyre Warning' to trigger the Alarm that you have them fitted.

Speedometers should never under read - Sometimes there are settings to accommodate winter tyres

They all over-read against a sat nav. Thats normal.

Edited 4 July, 20169 yr by fabiamk2SE

Mine all over-read compared to the Satnav.

ie

The car says it is going faster than it is.

I set my Cruise Control through average speed cameras by the Sat Nav speed showing.

The Speedo shows 70 mph or 60 mph when the car is doing less than 70 or 60 mph.

So i set the Cruise Control higher than the cars speedo shows.

Mine all over-read compared to the Satnav.

ie

The car says it is going faster than it is.

I set my Cruise Control through average speed cameras by the Sat Nav speed showing.

The Speedo shows 70 mph or 60 mph when the car is doing less than 70 or 60 mph.

So i set the Cruise Control higher than the cars speedo shows.

Whoops. I meant to put over read .

I believe UK law is for a speedo to read between 100% and 110% so manufacturers aim for 105%. At 60-70mph compared to GPS on my phone my car shows 5% over. I have never checked slower speeds.

 

However there have been numerous cases of cars particularly in a 20mph zone reading 20-21mph but actually travelling faster.

 

As to fuel gauges when showing half full mine certainly isn't as when reading just under I can easily put in 30 litres.  For years I have always reset the trip when I fill up and use that to judge when to fill up.

 

As to fuel gauges when showing half full mine certainly isn't as when reading just under I can easily put in 30 litres.  For years I have always reset the trip when I fill up and use that to judge when to fill up.

 

The fuel gauge on my Superb I was not very linear. Basically 400 miles until half full but you needed to fill up 600-650 miles

 

The fuel gauge on my Superb II is a lot more linear. Half full about 280 miles and you need to fill up 500-550 miles (much smaller tank and slightly less economical) 

My car over reads indicated 70 is about 66 on the Satnav. Over reading seems to the be case for most cars I've owned. However at an indicated 30, it is only 29 on the Satnav.

My car over reads indicated 70 is about 66 on the Satnav. Over reading seems to the be case for most cars I've owned. However at an indicated 30, it is only 29 on the Satnav.

Yeah thats right. The faster you go the More the difference is between the nav and the car.

Thanks for the input everyone. The fuel gauge is an odd one but as most folk are saying I'm going on the trip to be safe. I know it's an impossible question but what do others with a 1.2 70bhp get from a tankful in miles and mpg? I've yet to work mine out as I'm still learning to drive it efficiently (that 3 cylinder engine sounds so nice at 5,000 rpm). Fabiamk2se I know about fuel tank vents but what is 'venting and how to do it'? It sounds like it should have it's own cult following so tell me more!

The speedo is another thing I'm going to have to get used to I think. I've checked it against my own Garmin (bloody useless thing) and dads Tomtom that came with the car. Both indicate the speedo is reading about 12% slow, which I've verified by the local parish councils smiley faced speed check device.  *I know I know but it's all I've got.  ..*.   I can't believe that all sat navs read slow otherwise cruise missiles would miss their targets by miles! The question about changing km's to miles is in relation to the MFD which can display my speed in km's. Can this be altered to miles, and would it make any difference if it mirrors the speedo?  And one last question please, tow bars. I need to fit a tow bar to pull a 6 ft trailer for the odd dump trip etc. Will a swan neck work with the reversing sensors or do I need a removable type? 

 

Many many thanks

Phil

The Tom Tom i use agrees totally with those smiley face speed check devices.

Thanks for the input everyone. The fuel gauge is an odd one but as most folk are saying I'm going on the trip to be safe. I know it's an impossible question but what do others with a 1.2 70bhp get from a tankful in miles and mpg? I've yet to work mine out as I'm still learning to drive it efficiently (that 3 cylinder engine sounds so nice at 5,000 rpm). Fabiamk2se I know about fuel tank vents but what is 'venting and how to do it'? It sounds like it should have it's own cult following so tell me more!

The speedo is another thing I'm going to have to get used to I think. I've checked it against my own Garmin (bloody useless thing) and dads Tomtom that came with the car. Both indicate the speedo is reading about 12% slow, which I've verified by the local parish councils smiley faced speed check device. *I know I know but it's all I've got. ..*. I can't believe that all sat navs read slow otherwise cruise missiles would miss their targets by miles! The question about changing km's to miles is in relation to the MFD which can display my speed in km's. Can this be altered to miles, and would it make any difference if it mirrors the speedo? And one last question please, tow bars. I need to fit a tow bar to pull a 6 ft trailer for the odd dump trip etc. Will a swan neck work with the reversing sensors or do I need a removable type?

Many many thanks

Phil

Ive got a 1.2htp too, 70bhp, 2013. I dont tend to vent the tank unless im on a long journey (ill get onto that in a mo ) but on the occassion that i have done, ive seen 500 miles to the fuel light. It usually averaged 47-50mpg and i live in the Peak District, so its hilly. Not bad for a 1.2, you've just got to drive it right. Peak torque is at 3000rpm so it doesnt 'need' to be revved too much. I dont hang about when driving, but dont thrash its tits off either. Just let the revs go to 5k or so when overtaking.

If you take your fuel cap off and look at the right hand side, theres a little black lever. Once the tanks full, if you push that, it will let air out of the expansion chamber and allow you to get a few more litres in. Do so at your own risk though. You should only do this before a long journey and shouldnt leave it parked up for too long whilst its that full, as you're filling the expansion space and it can bugger the charcoal filter in there if you push your luck.