Prospective 1.0 MPI Buyer, Some Questions...

[JoeyEunos]

Hi all, first things first, this is my first 'proper' post so hello to all, be gentle

 

As per the title of the topic I'm interested in potentially buying one of the 1.0 MPI models of Fabia! With 2015 60PS models now creeping into the £6500 price bracket it brings them into my budget (just) and with the cheap tax and advertised 60 MPG average what's not to like?

 

It's worth mentioning that I like the sheer simplicity of the 3 pot 1.0 model, the lack of turbo etc is a bonus IMO and I'm not worried by the lacklustre performance stats (My other cars a 1.7 SDI NA Lupo and that's as slow as a week in jail) so respectfully I'm not looking for suggestions to try the more expensive TSI model!

 

I have a a few questions that hopefully you guys could offer some help/feedback on...

 

1.To existing 1.0 MPI drivers, how accurate is the projected 60 MPG mixed driving average? Are any of you achieving close to this in real life? 

 

2. I know the 1.0 MPI shares an engine with the UP/Citigo/Mii, does anyone know if the gearbox is the same? The reason I ask is owners of the UP/Citigo/Mii have had numerous issues (There's a thread that's 14 pages long on the 'Up' forum on the subject  )

 

3. I've heard that the 1.0 MPI is available in estate format (Yes, I know it will be even slower) and yet I'm unable to find any examples for sale anywhere in the country? The question is simple, do they exist?

 

4. Are there any known issues that I should look out for when buying a used (But nearly new) Fabia III?

 

Thanks in advance for any help/advice/suggestions chaps

Edited 20 October, 2016 by JoeyEunos

[Wet Kipper]

skoda website used car finder has a number of 1.0 MPI estates (well, 9 of them)

cheapest one is this one:

http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/carview.aspx?id=605448651

[JoeyEunos]

^ Thanks chap

 

Clearly I wasn't looking in the right places! £2000 extra seems like a large (But frankly not unexpected) premium to have the estate model TBH. Looks like it's the hatch for me...

[peter3197]

The 60 mpg is a myth. Over about 5k we have averaged 44 mpg. Admittedly a lot of this is short journeys, with a few motorway journeys of 80 ish miles thrown in. The gearbox is a touch balky going into 1st and reverse but not overly so. I have had a great deal worse boxes over the years. As you can imagine it does not have the greatest acceleration in the world but, as with the Citigo I also have, it does not stop you getting along nicely. In some ways it makes you a better driver as you have to think carefully about overtaking options. I'm doing a 500+ drive on motorways this weekend plus some local driving  in South Devon, I'll post the result of that when I get back Wednesday. My wife does most of the driving in the Fabia and I suspect I would do a lot better than her with the mpg, she's not on here so I'm quite safe.

The Fabia seems quicker than my Citigo and is really a very nice drive. If you get an S you get the single bulb headlights which are much easier to change the bulb on. 

Edited 20 October, 2016 by peter3197

[glosrich]

You have to work them quite hard to make good progress, so as Peter says 60mpg is difficult to achieve.

Better to spend your £6500 on something with a bit more power.

The 1.2 are only £30 road tax and they'll do 50mpg easily.

[peter3197]

You have to work them quite hard to make good progress, so as Peter says 60mpg is difficult to achieve.

Better to spend your £6500 on something with a bit more power.

The 1.2 are only £30 road tax and they'll do 50mpg easily.

But they cost a lot more.

[JoeyEunos]

Again, thanks for the responses

 

RE the 1.2, admittedly they don't cost that much more and whereas I appreciate that the MPG figures quoted by Skoda may be ambitious, given the average projected for the 1.2 is 51.4 MPG vs 60 MPG for the 1.0 then you'd imagine the smaller engine must be more frugal on the whole...? Once you've factored in that the 1.2 is only 1 second or so faster to 60mph the MPI seems to make more sense (For me at least)

 

FWIW I regulary achieve the advertised 64.2 MPG in my current Lupo SDI, in fact 78 MPG is my record on a motorway run so VAG have, at least at one point, produced vehicles capable of achieving their projected fuel efficiency.

 

Thanks for the hints RE the models with single bulb hedlights, that's just the kind of info that helps with the decision making process, also the info/experiences RE the gearbox, it's good to hear there aren't any know issues (Yet.)

[CRASH67]

Well i do a 40 mile Commute on a Motorway and can useally get to 50MPG even managed 54MPG the other night.

Ive driven a citigo with the 1.0 60PS engine. Its seem plenty for the citigo id imagine in a Fabia is would do a job. Not to my liking but i can imagine it would suit those that arwnt looking for that Turbo preformance.

[JoeyEunos]

^TBH mid 50's would be acceptable.

 

The sad thing is we do 15-20k a year and a slightly older TDI (2013/2014) would fit the bill/budget perfectly but given hardly any of it is motorway and for the most part my driving is town/B road based and involves some stop/start driving I don't think the newer deisels would like it. I plan to pay cash and keep the car for an extended period of time so worries about replacing a turbo or having DPF issues would constantly niggle me and frankly spoil the experience.

 

If it was possible to buy a new 'SDI' variant I would do it like a shot, the older non turbo VAG diesels, whilst slow, have proven themselves to be utterly bulletproof and amazingly reliable for me. The fact is simply that crash safety has improved and given I run my family round in the car that's something I'd like to take advantage of. That, coupled with Mrs Eunos's burning desire for a newer/bigger car really means that time is being called for our little Lupo as the 'main' family motor.

 

I've always had a combination of VAG or Jap cars and I'd like to continue that, looking at their current offerings, despite not being a diesel the 1.0MPI looks to be the closest thing to the SDI range of old in terms of it's simplicity and economy.

[Phil-E]

I think the 1.0 MPI will be fine for you. It's not going to set the world on fire with it's performance but then you're used to a 1.7 SDI!

 

I've done a search on Sprit Monitor for petrol Fabias and the highest scoring 1.0 60ps I can find is this one:

 

https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/detail/748995.html

 

52.6 mpg over 8,421 miles isn't too bad (and that's real world not computer MPG). So it certainly seems capable of achieving somewhere near the quoted figures.

 

And comparing it to your SDI it's gonna feel a bit quicker I bet... and be a bit quieter too! It's lighter too.

 

Lupo 1.7 SDI:

 

59bhp

84 ft-lb

16.3 seconds to 60

1042kg

34 litre fuel tank (478 estimated range)

 

Fabia 1.0 MPI:

59bhp

70 ft-lb

15.2 seconds to 60

980kg

45 litre fuel tank (594 estimated range)

[ffox]

The 1.2 are only £30 road tax

All cars will be subject to a flat rate £140 pa for tax renewal from April 1st next year, so the road tax is not as significant as it used to be.

[Jeffchiz]

the 1.0 estate comes with the more powerful 75ps engine so the weight difference should be offset by the extra power 

[peter3197]

All cars will be subject to a flat rate £140 pa for tax renewal from April 1st next year, so the road tax is not as significant as it used to be.

Not true, only new cars registered from April 1st.

[CRASH67]

All cars will be subject to a flat rate £140 pa for tax renewal from April 1st next year, so the road tax is not as significant as it used to be.

That will for cars Registered as of April 2017!

[CRASH67]

I think the 1.0 MPI will be fine for you. It's not going to set the world on fire with it's performance but then you're used to a 1.7 SDI!

I've done a search on Sprit Monitor for petrol Fabias and the highest scoring 1.0 60ps I can find is this one:

https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/detail/748995.html

52.6 mpg over 8,421 miles isn't too bad (and that's real world not computer MPG). So it certainly seems capable of achieving somewhere near the quoted figures.

And comparing it to your SDI it's gonna feel a bit quicker I bet... and be a bit quieter too! It's lighter too.

Lupo 1.7 SDI:

59bhp

84 ft-lb

16.3 seconds to 60

1042kg

34 litre fuel tank (478 estimated range)

Fabia 1.0 MPI:

59bhp

70 ft-lb

15.2 seconds to 60

980kg

45 litre fuel tank (594 estimated range)

Quite Frankly Small Tirbo engines are the future.

I had my last 1.2 Turbo for years in to year 5 of its life.

Driven in a comination of ways and load sof different roads with no hint of a niggle from the Turbo.

Turbos arent something to be afraid off.

[Phil-E]

Oh yes. I agree that turbo charging is the way to go in general (my car is a twin turbo so has two of them!).

 

But they're not for everyone and the simplicity and extra longevity of an N/A engine is appealing for a lot of people.

 

And as above the estate is more powerful. Also I think the SE and above gets the 75ps?

[peter3197]

The 75ps engine is only any good for extra power at the top end of the rev. range so in normal motor in it makes little or no difference.

[JoeyEunos]

I think the 1.0 MPI will be fine for you. It's not going to set the world on fire with it's performance but then you're used to a 1.7 SDI!

 

I've done a search on Sprit Monitor for petrol Fabias and the highest scoring 1.0 60ps I can find is this one:

 

https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/detail/748995.html

 

52.6 mpg over 8,421 miles isn't too bad (and that's real world not computer MPG). So it certainly seems capable of achieving somewhere near the quoted figures.

 

And comparing it to your SDI it's gonna feel a bit quicker I bet... and be a bit quieter too! It's lighter too.

 

Lupo 1.7 SDI:

 

59bhp

84 ft-lb

16.3 seconds to 60

1042kg

34 litre fuel tank (478 estimated range)

 

Fabia 1.0 MPI:

59bhp

70 ft-lb

15.2 seconds to 60

980kg

45 litre fuel tank (594 estimated range)

 

Yep, it's got to be pretty rare to find circumstances in which a 1.0 MPI Fabia represents a performance upgrade, but for me it's actually a faster car than the one I drive at the minute

 

 

All cars will be subject to a flat rate £140 pa for tax renewal from April 1st next year, so the road tax is not as significant as it used to be.

 

Immaterial really given I plan to buy a 2015, or 2016 model if I'm really lucky. If anything it's a further incentive to by one before 2017 on the basis of the cheaper tax as the changes won't be getting rolled back retrospectively to earlier cars as far as I'm aware.

 

 

the 1.0 estate comes with the more powerful 75ps engine so the weight difference should be offset by the extra power 

 

That's usefull to know, although the £2k premium for the estate rear end puts those models just that bit too far out of reach I'm afraid.

 

 

Quite Frankly Small Tirbo engines are the future.

I had my last 1.2 Turbo for years in to year 5 of its life.

Driven in a comination of ways and load sof different roads with no hint of a niggle from the Turbo.

Turbos arent something to be afraid off.

 

I appreciate they are becoming far more prevalent, and perhaps they are the future. Thankfully as it stands there are other options available and I'm inclined to take them! I hate to keep banging on about my Lupo but it's worth mentioning that it doesn't have central locking/a turbo/electric windows/a DPF/ a dual mass flywheel, it's 16 years old and has covered 130,000 miles and guess what, I've never had to replace or repair central locking/a turbo/electric windows/a DPF/ a dual mass flywheel on the basis it doesn't have them Do you see hwere I'm going with this...?

 

Also,with respect 5 years is a relatively short period of time, there's nothing to say your turbo won't last 10 or 15 years, the only thing that's 100% certain is that one day it will need to be fixed or replaced. As I mentioned the simplicity is what makes the MPI so apealing to me, I'm looking for a simple/no frills utility vehicle that's as cheap as possible to buy and run.

 

 

Oh yes. I agree that turbo charging is the way to go in general (my car is a twin turbo so has two of them!).

 

But they're not for everyone and the simplicity and extra longevity of an N/A engine is appealing for a lot of people.

 

^ Pretty much sums up my stance on the subject. I have nothing against them per se (I'm currently wrestling with the idea of supercharging a 1989 MX5 at present :sun: ) , but for this application it's an added complication that I really don't really need/want.

Edited 21 October, 2016 by JoeyEunos

[Jeffchiz]

Have you been watching mighty car mods on youtube? They are currently comparing supercharged and turbo'd mx5's and they have an in depth series on how to turbo an mk5 and how to supercharge a classic mini. Toms turbo garage shows you how to put a LS3 V8 in one!

[Guest]

joey, I've driven the 75ps Fabia Hatchback (yes it does come with a 75ps engine as well) and it was a delight to drive. I only did around 9 miles in it but it was fine across town and out on to the dual carriageway. Hit 70mph really easily. The one I drove only had 600 miles on the clock and will no doubt be even quicker as the miles go on. But yes, go for the 75ps engine if you can. On scanning through the maxi-dot it had recorded 54mpg after the drive! But that included someone else before me doing another 10 mile journey into work. But not bad considering the tight engine and varied driving I put it through. 

[JoeyEunos]

Have you been watching mighty car mods on youtube? They are currently comparing supercharged and turbo'd mx5's and they have an in depth series on how to turbo an mk5 and how to supercharge a classic mini. Toms turbo garage shows you how to put a LS3 V8 in one!

 

Yes, I''ve been watching those with great interest

 

TBH MX5/Eunos are my real passion and have been for many years now, I've had a few. They're such great cars and forced induction is the natural route most enthusiasts take in the end. The fact that they share the same engine as the 323 turbo and are over-engineered to handle that power makes them a prime candidate for it.

 

 

joey, I've driven the 75ps Fabia Hatchback (yes it does come with a 75ps engine as well) and it was a delight to drive. I only did around 9 miles in it but it was fine across town and out on to the dual carriageway. Hit 70mph really easily. The one I drove only had 600 miles on the clock and will no doubt be even quicker as the miles go on. But yes, go for the 75ps engine if you can. On scanning through the maxi-dot it had recorded 54mpg after the drive! But that included someone else before me doing another 10 mile journey into work. But not bad considering the tight engine and varied driving I put it through. 

 

Really usefull info and quite encouraging. Thanks.

[Phil-E]

Although the 75ps does have a little more power as above it only comes in up the rev range (4000rpm and above).

 

The 60 and 75 both have the exact same 70ft-lb of torque.

 

They are mechanically identical and the extra power is down to engine mapping.

[Jeffchiz]

Yes, I''ve been watching those with great interest

 

TBH MX5/Eunos are my real passion and have been for many years now, I've had a few. They're such great cars and forced induction is the natural route most enthusiasts take in the end. The fact that they share the same engine as the 323 turbo and are over-engineered to handle that power makes them a prime candidate for it.

 

I'm a saxo man myself, ive always gone down the n/a itb's route, with my new engine im very tempted to supercharge it.

 

If i didn't have such an irrational sentimental connection with my saxo i would definitely be looking at mx5's to play with

Edited 21 October, 2016 by Jeffchiz

[glosrich]

Yes, I''ve been watching those with great interest

TBH MX5/Eunos are my real passion and have been for many years now, I've had a few. They're such great cars and forced induction is the natural route most enthusiasts take in the end. The fact that they share the same engine as the 323 turbo and are over-engineered to handle that power makes them a prime candidate for it.

Really usefull info and quite encouraging. Thanks.

If you want something reliable and simple to repair without a turbo, I'd be looking at a Honda Jazz or Civic.

Maybe 1.2 or 1.4, legendary Honda reliability, but with a bit if poke if you need it.

Not dog slow like a 1.0 Lupo or Fabia.

I had a 1994 Golf SDi as a company car once, boy it was hard work, lorries used to bother it, it was so slow!

[JoeyEunos]

If you want something reliable and simple to repair without a turbo, I'd be looking at a Honda Jazz or Civic.

Maybe 1.2 or 1.4,

 

They're about £1.5-2k more expensive for a car of the equivalent age and millage, the listed MPG's aren't as good and Hondas rust like f*ck, other than that, perfect

 

 

Not dog slow like a 1.0 Lupo or Fabia.

 

 

Who said anyhing about 1.0 Lupo?

 

 

I had a 1994 Golf SDi as a company car once, boy it was hard work, lorries used to bother it, it was so slow!

 

 I'm very much used to the performace characteristics of VAG SDI equiped vehicles (Or lack thereof) given I drive one on a daily basis. To be prefectly honest I find it completely adequate and it does exactly what I need it to day in and day out.

 

Without meaning to sound snarky, did you actually read any of my previous  posts?

 

Anyway, onwards and upwards. This thread has pretty much answered the questions I had, the search for a keenly priced 1.0 MPI begins! Thanks to all who contributed, it's been a massive help

Edited 23 October, 2016 by JoeyEunos