Dear all

I intend to purchase a Fabia for the wife as our second car, what I am after knowing is whether the 1.2 (6v) is good enough or should we look at getting the 1.2 (12v) ??

The car will be used for the school run 20 miles round trip which is mainly A roads.

Also is there anything that we should be aware of before purchasing the 1.2(any possible horror stories lurking out there) ?

We have a test drive booked for Wednesday, hope you can help.

Regards

Mark Harrison

the 1.2 12v is the better of the two cars however have you thought about a second hand 1.416v far better performance especially on A roads and you might be able to get an elegance spec with all the toys for similar money?

oh and welcome to Briskoda we are one big happy family here

I imagine either 1.2 will be fairly "thrashy" on A-roads, guess it comes down to why you're choosing that engine size...

Lancashire, eh? Which dealer are you going to, if you don't mind me asking?

Rob.

I would strongly avoid the 1.2 6v for A road use as it's only 54bhp, and is really only designed to go from 0-30, and not much more.

I would, as Alex above says, look into a 1.4 16v. It will be much more rewarding on a daily commute of that distance, and will not need the throttle to be constantly kept on the floor to keep it going at pace.

However, see how you feel after the test. That's the only surefire way you're going to know what it's like. If you suddenly realise it's totally gutless, look into their newish second hand Fabia stock (assuming you're intending to buy a new 1.2?)

I reckon you could pick up a smart 1.4 16v for less than a new 1.2, perhaps 6 months old or one year at worse with a few thousand on the clock.

I'd try and recommend a diesel, but unless serious mileage will be put on it, the 1.4 16v is a much better option. [what am I saying? :eek:]

PS: I think if you look below in the "related threads" - you'll see one titled "1.2 54bhp, slow" - Look at that for further info.

I imagine either 1.2 will be fairly "thrashy" on A-roads' date=' guess it comes down to why you're choosing that engine size...

Lancashire, eh? Which dealer are you going to, if you don't mind me asking?

Rob.[/quote']

you are right rob my experience of both engines is that the 12v is the better engine but they are really only suitable for town use especially if loaded up with 3 to 4 people they become rather slow and thrashy 4500rpm for 75mph can get very tiring

I test drove a Fabia with the more powerful of the 1.2 engines (look for the HTP badge) a few months ago. It didn't seem particularly sluggish to me but I didn't get to spend much time on dual carriageways. The main thing I noticed was how quiet the engine was: I thought it had stalled when waiting at junctions.

I have the 1.4 8v engine, which is a less modern design and not massively more powerful. That said, I've driven over 3500 miles in mine, many of those on motorways. The car certainly doesn't struggle at motorway speeds and it's very comfortable over long distances.

Having said that, I rarely have more than one passenger so I don't know how much difference carrying children would make. The two other Fabia owners I know both have the same engine as mine, use them as the main family car, and are delighted with them.

As some of the others have said, the only way to judge is to see how you get on in a test drive. If you do settle on the 1.2 12v, find out if the Silverline and Blueline are still available. This is the basic model with some nice extras thrown in for not much more money.

If you go for the bottom-of-the range Classic, the Plus Pack (remote central locking and electric windows for about

Dear all

I intend to purchase a Fabia for the wife as our second car' date=' what I am after knowing is whether the 1.2 (6v) is good enough or should we look at getting the 1.2 (12v) ??

The car will be used for the school run 20 miles round trip which is mainly A roads.

Also is there anything that we should be aware of before purchasing the 1.2(any possible horror stories lurking out there) ?

We have a test drive booked for Wednesday, hope you can help.

Regards

Mark Harrison[/quote']

Might be worth my mentioning I have a 2002 '02' reg Fabia Silverline special edition for sale.

1.48v, 17k miles, Silver (obviously), elec windows, remote c/locking, alloys, leather s/wheel, gear knob and handbrake, in addition to the standard special edition spec, mine has a full skoda fitted Fabia Bodykit (almost identical to the new vRS and cost

Jason the Diesel makes sence if you intend to keep the car for a long time too. Mine only has 13900 miles after 20 months but the diesel does 450 miles on a tankful and is saving me bucket loads of cash. The torque makes it seem a lot quicker and it's more relaxing to drive

both 3cyl engines are good but need to be driven like 3cyl's ie over 4000rpm if you want power i would go for 1.4 16v (as other people have stated) but a word from the wise if your looking for reliabilty choose the 3 cyl one. sorry 16v guys but i have driven and worked on thousands of 16v's and not the world most reliable engines.

both 3cyl engines are good but need to be driven like 3cyl's ie over 4000rpm if you want power i would go for 1.4 16v (as other people have stated) but a word from the wise if your looking for reliabilty choose the 3 cyl one. sorry 16v guys but i have driven and worked on thousands of 16v's and not the world most reliable engines.

I'd never try and argue against someone who works on them... What's your opinion (having worked on them) of the 1.9 TDI as well? - Seen any high mileage ones still going strong?

I imagine either 1.2 will be fairly "thrashy" on A-roads' date=' guess it comes down to why you're choosing that engine size...

Lancashire, eh? Which dealer are you going to, if you don't mind me asking?

Rob.[/quote']

Rob

I imagine either 1.2 will be fairly "thrashy" on A-roads' date=' guess it comes down to why you're choosing that engine size...

Lancashire, eh? Which dealer are you going to, if you don't mind me asking?

Rob.[/quote']

Rob

I live in Horwich and so my local dealer is Peabody Street at Bolton, don't really know of any other local to me.

Have you had or heard aof any dealings with them.

Cheers

Mark..

I live in Horwich and so my local dealer is Peabody Street at Bolton' date=' don't really know of any other local to me.

Have you had or heard aof any dealings with them.

[/quote']

Haven't used them, but someone on here might. Only other Skoda owner I know who lives around Horwich uses Horner's in Manchester, but they work in Manchester. Briskoda does have good connections with Horner's though - we get 10% off servicing, and it does apparently have an affect on negotiations with the sales team...

Rob.

Haven't used them' date=' but someone on here might. Only other Skoda owner I know who lives around Horwich uses Horner's in Manchester, but they work in Manchester. Briskoda does have good connections with Horner's though - we get 10% off servicing, and it does apparently have an affect on negotiations with the sales team...

Rob.[/quote']

Rob.. its because you get a 10% discount on parts and servicing if you buy a car from them anyway.. the GOLD card now if briskoda discount was ontop of that.. then id be happy!

Mark. i got my Fabia vRS from Horners Bury, and i wouldnt hesitate to reccomend them.. they can be a bit busy sometimes for such a small dealer but they will bend over backwards to help, and i got a grand knocked off my vRS, and i ordered it the same week it was released!.

its because you get a 10% discount on parts and servicing if you buy a car from them anyway.. the GOLD card

Well, yes, that's why I get my 10% off...but, for example, Ian didn't buy his car there, and gets a 10% Briskoda discount.

Unfotunately it is either not both, but hey, it's still 10%...

Rob.

Hello coming to this thread a bit late the 1.2htp is no ball of fire it carried myself the wife and 2 friends with luggage on a trip to Brighton recently once you got it on the go it was no problem and i got over 40 mpg there and back.