Hi my Octavia went into the workshop yesterday to have a few jobs done. The dealer has lent me a Fabia 1.4 16V. This is the first time I have ever been in a Fabia. I have to say that in some ways I am impressed and in others disapointed with the car. Like my Octavia the build quality of the Fabia is good, certainly better than the Felicia (which I used to own), and the engine is more refined than the Felicia 1.3 MPI. Those are the good points, the bad points are that compared with the Felicia the Fabia does not seem to be a good use of space. The car is in certain dimensions actually bigger than the Felicia, but seems much smaller when you are actually in it. I don't like small cars much so that is a problem for me. I am left thinking that Skoda might have been better improving the quality of interior trim and equipment levels of the Felicia and replacing the old engines with the range now available for the Fabia.

Things like side impact bars, soundproofing and crumple zones all take up space. Considering the Fabia is classed as a supermini though, it is certainly quite large compared to the competition - more Astra sized than Corsa!

If you want to see bad use of space, look at the new style Beetle...

Rob.

I agree with your point on the interior trim. Its not the most exciting I've ever seen and the sloping dash makes it difficult to store stuff on.

I also agree it is a "small" car for the size. Rear legroom is limited for my mates which are 6 foot odd, but for front seat space the Fabia is pretty much unrivalled. Tons of headroom & leg room is way above what I need (my seat sits about 1/3 distance from the back - despite being 6'1")

I have to point out I believe the chassis performance of the Fabia is vastly superior to the felicia, maybe due to technology, design, different dimensions, I'm not sure, but I drove a courtesy 1.3 felicia and although it drove well, it didn't inspire any confidence at all when good handling was needed (i.e braking & corners) - Just my opinion.

Boot space is definitely a drawback, but then I rarely need it so it doesn't affect me (to the point I 1/3 filled it with a sub) :speaker:

:cheers:

I will give you it about the chassis, I used to loose the back end of the Felicia on the little country roads of the Ards Penisula in N. Ireland quite frequently. The Felicia also had loads of room in the front, but also had respectable room in the back, in fact my Octavia only beats the Felicia in terms of width, with no more leg room than the Felicia.

As for breaking in the Felicia, you need to get used to it, the braking system was designed for left side driving and the extra links in the UK versions means that you have to press the pedal harder to get the braking. Once you are used to it, you don't notice it.

My impression of the courtesy Felicia was that it was the worst car I've ever driven. Bear in mind that my girlfriend used to own a 10 year old Citroen ZX, and I had to drive that junkheap frequently. It was superior to Claybank's three year old Felicias in every respect.

The Felicia is a hideous car, both internally and externally. It had poor engines, feels dangerously unstable at anything in excess of 60 MPH, and it's rather amazing that the car reaches such speeds at all.

The Fabia has earned more than enough kudos from the public and motoring press, which is more than can be said for the Felicia. For Skoda to move forwards, it simply had to ditch the Felicia. May it rust in peace.

My impression of the courtesy Felicia was that it was the worst car I've ever driven. Bear in mind that my girlfriend used to own a 10 year old Citroen ZX' date=' and I had to drive that junkheap frequently. It was superior to Claybank's three year old Felicias in every respect.

The Felicia is a hideous car, both internally and externally. It had poor engines, feels dangerously unstable at anything in excess of 60 MPH, and it's rather amazing that the car reaches such speeds at all.

The Fabia has earned more than enough kudos from the public and motoring press, which is more than can be said for the Felicia. For Skoda to move forwards, it simply had to ditch the Felicia. May it rust in peace.[/quote']

Sorry William but I completely agree with Rob on this.

Whilst I have never had the good fortune of driving a Fabia, I have had the grave misfortune of driving a Felicia for a day (thanks to Claybank for that).

The worst car I have ever driven, and subsequently at services I drop my car off, and pick it up again, just in case they try and make me drive another.

from my limited experience of driving my dads favorit and my own fabia i would say the furbie is a much more complete car unlike the favorit ok it is a little different to the felicia but i doubt it improved that much from the favorit IMHO

The Felicia in its time won praise and awards from the motoring press. It was after reading an extremely favourable review in What Car in 1997 that I bought my Felicia rather than a second hand western car. I never regretted it. The Felicia was the car that started to turn Skoda's reputation around. Oh an between my 2 Felicias I drove 130K miles rather more than you will have done in your loan car. In some ways it was superior to the Octavia. I found the drivers seat to be more supportive and the car had cupholders and cubby holes a plenty, both sadly lacking in my octavia.

Perhaps people were willing to accept shoddy cars six years ago. The Felicia just couldn't cut it in the modern marketplace, no matter how much facelifting it was given.

to quote the TG survey about the felicia

"As outdated as a pterodactyl, Felicias are cheap, fairly solid and awful to drive...."

enough said really!!! :flame:

I have driven a lot worse than a Felicia, for example Protons, Citreon Saxo, etc are/were all worse to drive, less well built and more expensive!

i am not saying i agree with the TG survey but i was going to buy a felicia before i bought the furbie but after driving both the furbie IMHO is far superior. Yes there are worst cars but seeing as you can get a felicia at furbie prices which would the public go for!

I know the Fabia is superior to drive, my only criticism is that in what is actually a bigger car, the interior space is not so great as in the Felicia. The Felicia had the room of a small family car while the Fabia is very much a super mini. The Felicia would also have been better to drive with power stearing, 1.4 16V engines etc. As it is the 1.6 SLXI Felicia was actually quite a good drivers car with the same engine as used in the 1.6 Octavia. However 99% 0f Felicias had one or other of the 2 1.3 petrol or the non turbo 1.9 oil burner.

i also found the felicia's i test drove before driving the furbie were all a little bit tinny in that the car didnt feel solid i myself am not a fan of small cars but the furbie felt solid and a lot bigger than it was which makes me feel safer also the furbie was so much quieter.

yes the felicia seemed to be bigger on the inside but it felt cheap which the furbie didnt.

another thing the furbie had going for it was its crash rating as i do lots of motorway miles and carry my son around in it safety is of prime importance to me.

It would not be hard to be quieter than the Felicia. However I would not describe it as tinny. I had a crash in one of my Felicias, from which I walked un hurt, my car was repairable while the Peugot I had hit was wiped out! I certainly found the Citreon Saxo I was given as a loan car while my Felicia was being repaied very much like a tin can compared with the Felicia. I also found my wifes 1997 Ford Feista like that. Its one saving grace is a nice 16V engine.

shall we agree to disagree on this william

at least we have seen the light and are now driving octy's

Certainly. Just get a bit defensive about Felicias. My two served me well, and the first one saved my life in that crash.

fair enough mate myself i get like that with landrovers :cheers: to the loonys of the world who like cars other people dont

Certainly. Just get a bit defensive about Felicias. My two served me well, and the first one saved my life in that crash.

Been in that position myself - Nova that hit me came off worse.

I still drive a Felicia, OK it's not in the same class as the Fabia but you would expect a newer vehicle to a be a progression over previous models, having said that it's not the worse car I've ever driven, I suppose it's horses for courses!

Some examples of worse vehicles I've driven - only my opinion though - no offence!

Citroen AX

Ford Fiesta

Vauxhall Nova

Fiat Stilo

Suzuki Swift

Suzuki Alto

....now hiding behind sandbags with tin hat on...

:shocked:

i would agree with that list forgot to include the felicia though!!

only joking mate

The Fabia's and Felica I have driven as loan cars from the dealer usually include a Sat morning collection to pick the vRS back up on a Monday night,, so I run around in it during the weekend and a 200 mile commute to Leeds and back....

The Felica is ok... it is reliable and ...... cheap... But the injected engine struggled on and off the Motorway, the handling, steering and brakes were not confidence inspiring... it had PAS by the way...

The Fabia is ( as it should be ) is far better.. the steering brakes and handling

are fantastic.. and the usual engine I get is the 1.2 12V 3cyl motorbike sounding... HTP... Ha.. but it can keep up at normal Motorway cruising speeds

even on inclines in 5th gear... The refinement is very good,, the Lights are superior to my Octavia. I do really enjoy driving it !!! even though I drive a Octi VRS.......

Cheers

Dazz

i would agree with that list forgot to include the felicia though!!

only joking mate

....None taken!

We Skoda Owners are a tough skinned bunch anyway!