Hi All,

Having finally traded in my faithful 10 year old Felicia for a 55 reg Fabia 1.9 PD TDi last week, I just though I'd air my first impressions of the new car.

Overall, I am delighted with it. Performance and refinement are excellent. I've not yet given it a good motorway run, but around town it's much easier to drive than the Felicia. With all the adjustments available, it's easy to find a comfortable driving position and the excellent visibility makes manouvering a doddle. Economy is so far looking good too. Interior space is generous though the boot seems a little small and the folding arrangement is not as practical as the Felicia. All the various pockets trays and cubby holes in the passenger compartment are really useful though. Niggles include the seat height adjuster which is too easy to catch when getting in and out and I sometimes catch the corner of the centre console plastic with my shoe when taking my left foot off the footrest. The driver's seat creaks a bit and there is a rattle in the driver's door speaker housing which I will get the dealer to have a look at but otherwise it seems to be fault free. If it proves as solidly built and trouble free as the Felicia for the next 10 years I will be very happy. All that's left to do now is browse the accessories catalogue and decide what goodies I'm going to buy for it; I think the cup holder is on the list....

Clive

Nice impartial summing up.