Some people have said rather nasty things about the Felicia. I think it was a great little car for its price. Was better built and better to drive than other budget makes and models of the same time (hence why it won What Car Budget Car of the year several times). It came with a good warranty package and was very reliable.

Yet several Briskoda members have said it was a rust bucket, or the worst car they have ever driven etc. What do you think?

Never driven one, but I can't imagine its that bad. Not sure that they wre rusty, but didn't they have a problem with headgaskets?

As an aside, would a 1.8T engine fit in one?

Been driving mine for 4 years now, all I've had to pay for is usual wear and tear on tyres and one exhaust rear box.

He's been dependable as daily transport in all weathers, nobody wants to nick it, handles well with wider tyres and OMP strut brace, and is a hoot to drive in the snow! Has embarrased several work colleagues with the amount of stuff it can carry in comparison to their their hatchbacks, does about 40 mpg so not complaining!

OK I know its not everyones cup of tea, but on the limited budget I'm on it's more than suitable for me.

It's not my idea of a good car, but then I'm a fabia driver and my standards are set too high. All I can say is it was a dated car, cheap, and the one I drove briefly felt it too. The main problem is this car came out before VW had really had a serious impact on Skoda's production.

I never had the chance to look at build quality because the one I had was a typical loan car, i.e a bit mucky inside, not well maintained I suspected, but still drove OK and it never let me down for the day I needed it. But, you only have to look at one next to an octavia and a Fabia (which BTW I feel is also a cheap, good value for money, bargain car) and the two are a world apart. The Felicia has too many straight edges, and looks like a little like the VW Mark I series cars. A sad fact, but true. :(

However, put a chipped 1.8T in one, slap on some 19s with bodywork alterations, KWs, Group Ns, and I could be brought around for novelty's sake.

a fabia driver and my standards are set too high

I hope that's not a sarcastic Jon....

It's a bit true though. I've had my nice car for 2 1/2 years now, from brand spanking new, and due to this I don't really look "down" on cheaper cars, but aesthetically (phew, what a word for this late in the day) I can see that my car is superior (and yes yes yes, the octy vRS is even more so than mine...)

I also see that for

It's not my idea of a good car' date=' but then I'm a fabia driver and my standards are set too high. All I can say is it was a dated car, cheap, and the one I drove briefly felt it too. The main problem is this car came out before VW had really had a serious impact on Skoda's production.

I never had the chance to look at build quality because the one I had was a typical loan car, i.e a bit mucky inside, not well maintained I suspected, but still drove OK and it never let me down for the day I needed it. But, you only have to look at one next to an octavia and a Fabia (which BTW I feel is also a cheap, good value for money, bargain car) and the two are a world apart. The Felicia has too many straight edges, and looks like a little like the VW Mark I series cars. A sad fact, but true. :(

However, put a chipped 1.8T in one, slap on some 19s with bodywork alterations, KWs, Group Ns, and I could be brought around for novelty's sake.[/quote']

That'll be the 1600cc Felicia Kit Car ala Mr.Stig Blomqvist '96 RAC you'll be wanting then! The dogs dangly bits in action!

prefer the favorit myself and the estelle

aaah - Now a 1.6 suped up rally Felicia would be more like it. It still doesn't get over the fact the Felicia's chassis wouldn't handle as well as the octy or fabia. :(

Personally I think the Felicia was the car that changed the face of Skoda. It was the first Skoda for a very long time that the motoring press were actually complimentary about.

The Felicia was a decent car in its time and far more solid and reliable than some of the Italians / French small cars of the same period. I think the only reason people were slightly derogatory about it in earlier threads was that William was comparing it with the Fabia. IMHO you can't compare them as they are from a different era and technology, safety and refinement have all moved on in this sector.

SWMBO has had one from new, a 1.6 GLX P reg and it's still going strong today. Although it's in a different league to Skoda's of today, it's still a great car to drive (in it's own way) and my wife still loves it.

It's not rusted at all, and the only things that have gone wrong are the front tyres wear unevenly on the inside edge and the thermostat went back in the summer (which I replaced myself for about

There seems to be a lot of comment about the Felicia today, so here's my 2p worth.

I bought a 96 1.6 GLX estate after my previous car had been stolen and recovered in less than pristine condition. The estate was the only new car that I could find at the time that would fit the family and all its clutter. Sure, I could have bought second hand, but wanted new. The dealer gave me over the odds on PX to do the deal. When I was at the dealers doing the paperwork, two other customers were also in buying new cars - apparently the number of cars they sold nearly doulbled when the Felicia was launched. The car never broke down - it didn't even blow a light bulb. It never went below 40 mpg (best was 53) and only saw the dealer for its annual service. I saw it a local car park recently, and the new owner was also very pleased with it.

My wife also has a Felicia and it to has been reliable. Its now six years old, and considering the use it gets - school run and shopping trolley - its holding up very well. I don't think that for the price, there was a more cost effective car available at the time.

Of course the Felicia can't be compared to the Fabia - its a class act and it didn't get to be What Car's car of the year for nothing! The Fabia is much sharper to drive ( I like the Tdi) and is better screwed together, but the Felicia got Skoda on the right path and helped it to become the success it is today.

AndyC

Some people have said rather nasty things about the Felicia. I think it was a great little car for its price. Was better built and better to drive than other budget makes and models of the same time (hence why it won What Car Budget Car of the year several times). It came with a good warranty package and was very reliable.

Yet several Briskoda members have said it was a rust bucket' date=' or the worst car they have ever driven etc. What do you think?[/quote']

Hey William, no offence intended. I think myself and Rob have had a bad deal from Claybank. They seem to think that their curtsey car never needs servicing or cleaning, hence our comments.

I guess a well looked after Felicia with a bigger engine would be better, but after the alarm went off twice while driving (scorpion crap) and I broke down for 5 minutes on the M60, enough was enough. I also nearly crashed into the back of someone because I didn't start braking from 150 yards, and it took that long to build up to 70mph I was reluctant to use the brake peddle.

We have a 1.6GLXi as a daily runaround. Its solidly built, rust free, has a wonderfully torquey engine which will pull from idling (550rpm) in third gear without complaint, and it is cheap to run, service and repair.

The car never broke down - it didn't even blow a light bulb. It never went below 40 mpg (best was 53) and only saw the dealer for its annual service. I saw it a local car park recently, and the new owner was also very pleased with it.

Hmm...so judging by all the posts on here about stuff going wrong with Octavia's, it would appear that a heavy VAG influence has actually caused the cars to be less reliable?

Rob.

I owned a 97 pre-face lift 1.3 Gli and a 1999 1.3LXi estate. My father owns a 1996 1.3 GLXi (older non MPI engine). The alternator failed in all three cars. However nothing elese ever failed. In 79K miles in my estate the brakes pads etc never even needed changed. As for more faults in the Octavia, I would agree that VAG influence has led to greater unreliability, and for a reason, the cars are much more complex and have more to go wrong. My Octavia owned for 6 weeks already needs a new exhaust and wiper mechanism! The car is used but has only 17K on the clock (14.5K when I bought it).

I thought it was the Favorit that re-invented Skoda? I can remember Clarkson raving about its performance/handling when released.

A friend of mine had one, and she loved it. I seem to remember it going rather well for a 1300! When it got old (and rather rusty!), she replaced it with a 1.6 Felicia. She wanted her Favorit back! It was quicker, and far more fun to drive. Admitedly, the Felicia was made of higher-quality bits. Oh, and the Favorit didn't go wrong - the Felicia, and its replacement, a 2.0Glx Octavia, have had their fair share of troubles..

(btw - She also has a Skoda Fun - Anyone else have one of these? Great little thing - lovely frog-covered interior!)

I thought it was the Favorit that re-invented Skoda? I can remember Clarkson raving about its performance/handling when released.

A friend of mine had one' date=' and she loved it. I seem to remember it going rather well for a 1300! When it got old (and rather rusty!), she replaced it with a 1.6 Felicia. She wanted her Favorit back! It was quicker, and far more fun to drive. Admitedly, the Felicia was made of higher-quality bits. Oh, and the Favorit didn't go wrong - the Felicia, and its replacement, a 2.0Glx Octavia, have had their fair share of troubles..

(btw - She also has a Skoda Fun - Anyone else have one of these? Great little thing - lovely frog-covered interior!)[/quote']

my dad had a skoda foreman pick up based on the favorit and a favorit at the same time and i loved both of them the pickup really flew top speed of around 95 and seemed very quick getting there. i think the favorit is one of the few car that look their best in white

Could be worse - could go for one of these!

(saw one the other day and thought "who'd be daft enough to put a racing stripe on a matiz" - seem's daewoo themselves are!!)

(can already see Jason taking it to a cruise!! )

on terms of reliablity cost and ease of working on the felicia was and still is the best car skoda have made btw just for info vw brought into skoda in 1993 just when they facelifted the favorit !

I bought a 99 V Felicia 1.3 Pacific new, traded it in last year for my Octavia vRS. Nothing ever went wrong with it, as for them being rust buckets - I put a huge dent/scrape down the passenger side (it was down to the bare metal) two months after I bought it. Three years of living next to the sea later, there wasn't a single bit of rust on it apart from the bits that had all the paint scraped off in the ding. Nary a blister under the paint even right next to the scrape, I was well impressed.

It also once killed a bad boy Vauxhall Nova, which can't be bad! Nova was totalled, Felicia was driven home, and no I wasn't driving it at the time :( That'll teach the little bugger to do illegal u-turns across a box junction from a left turn only filter lane......

OK, it wasn't an exciting car to drive but you could fit an incredible amount of crap in the back with those lovely fold completely flat back seats.

Pete.

I don't know about Felicias, except that I love them intensely for their character, as the last '100%' Skodas before the great Octavia. But we had a Favorit LS for 9 years, which cost us $5000 new out of tax in Bulgaria, never cost a bean except for cheap servicing and 4 new tyres and an exhaust. It never broke down, never went wrong. If you look at the history of this fine automobile company, the third oldest in the World, and its record of motorsport and racing suucesses, it's all hardly surprising, is it? VW did a brilliant job getting this company into the fold, and have maintained its 'otherness' very nicely. But the Favorit, which took only 2 years to design and build from scratch, and the subsequent Felicia, are legendary cars. Perhaps some of you who would gripe on this forum about 'rustbuckets' etc. are just too young or ignorant of the facts. Down with all the idiots who laugh at these cars still, or who imagine these are cheapo cars built to a budget! If I lived my life again I would be out there selling the little blighters!

drive on Skodaly, brothers and sisters!

Kingsley

I think the Felicia is a great car, especially for a first time buyer with not a huge budget and not wanting to pay a fortune on insurance.

I picked my T-Reg Felicia up for

I picked my T-Reg Felicia up for