Hello all, after admiring little Fabias for a while I have decided to get a wagon model in next few weeks. 

 

Now, here is Australia you cannot find many Mk3 models to try, so I thought I'll ask for advice here.

 

I have a 10 year old, 7 year old and a 2 year old. Will they fit in the back if the 2 year old is in a forward facing seat, 7 year old is using a booster base (no extended, head height back support, just a base) and a 10 year old not using a booster?

 

Majority of the time the 10 year old will be in the front, but on occasions when wife comes along, I would need them to sit together in the back.

 

Would having a 2 year old's baby seat in the middle help?

 

Or should I just get an Octavia, even though reading through this forum I get the impression  that Octavia has more leg space, but not much width to make a difference. 

 

Thanks all

Hi, welcome. 

 

Just to be clear, a wagon is what we call an estate here in the UK and others a combi (or BMW touring).

 

People come in different sizes at all ages but as my mate told me the Fabia Mk3 when launched had the roomiest cabin, it is a 5 seater cabin.  The back seats in my wife's 2015 hatchback has ISO fixings for babyseats on the two outside rear seats and depending on how big the babyseat is I'd think two reasonable sized adults would also fit in - but - I don't know, we don't have kids and have never had kids or a babyseat in the Fabia, four adults but never five.

 

You are much better looked after by VW in Aus that in UK so a second-hand Fabia might be better than in the UK.

 

I recommend before buying you read the Owner's Manual as it will tell you a lot about the car, you really also need to read it and refer to it  when required as soon as you own the car and after to help you know about the car and save you time, hassle and money and unnecessary trips to the Dealership, garage, mechanic, auto-electrician, which in the UK can involve a lot of unnecessary expense and hassle.

 

The German marques love complex computer programs and the start/stop system can mean many owners use, abuse and neglect the car 12V battery even more than when a car doesn't have start/stop so do check the state of charge and state of health of the battery on a VW or Skoda and when you get the car take care not to let the battery get too low for the computers, info in the Owner's Manual.

 

Free VW/Skoda pdf downloads of the Owner's Manuals here, Fabia Mk3 is a previous model. - https://www.skoda.com.au/apps/manuals/Models

 

Here are some UK videos of the UK Mk3 that you might find generally helpful, I don't know if there are much differences. - 

 

Are Hondas and Toyotas that much more expensive and difficult for you to get then?

 

HTH.

 

Edited 4 June, 20242 yr by nta16

Thanks. I'm not really after Japanese cars and I like the look of Fabia and it's small dimensions. 

Any newer car will have issues as they are more complex. 

I was hoping Fabia estate will do well with three kids as I don't like big cars. 

Fair enough.  As I understand it you get much better looked after in Aus with cars than we do in the UK, we get 3 years warranty on stuff like VWs and would have to purchase "cheaper" brands like Kia and MG to get 7 years warranty (car manufacturers can still can rely on out of date good and bad reputations and snobbery in the UK). 

 

The Fabia Mk3 is a big car to me but that's another matter.

 

The newer the car the more complicated they get, owners are now relearning and learning about using (appropriate) 12v car battery chargers (maintainers) again as we used to in the 1970s when we had old-bangers (now called "classics") and not nearly new or new cars, because of all, and increasing, electric convenience devices and driving "aids".

 

Reading the Owner's Manual before you buy will help with buying the car and will certainly help with ownership.

 

Cheers.