I have just got back from test driving the new fabia, in black, 1.4tdi (trim 3). It really does look a lot better in the metal. Everything on it is much more refined and doesnt seem as plasticy (although it is in reality).

For a 1.4 it is really nippy and has the power you want when you want, and is also so economical its unbelieveble (coming from a 1.4mpi owner so its understandable)

I must admit it does sit pretty high but that didnt bother me, just meens your above the other drivers, lol :P So many people had to look twice hehe.

There were 3 things with it though wich i was a little little bit let down by

1. the height adjustment thingy is in the same place as before, i dont know about you but when i get out of my fabia i always catch it and it pumps the seat down a little.

2. It doesnt seem to have the same sort of road presence that the old fabia does (possibly the heigth?)

3. Last of all the brakes :( they just werent responsive enough at all, should have had disks all around imho.

But all in all i love it, and would get one right away if my financial status was correct

Puts a smile on your face

3. Last of all the brakes :( they just werent responsive enough at all, should have had disks all around imho.

How many miles on the clock? Sometimes takes a while to bed in.

i put the first 30 on it

i put the first 30 on it

Oh well then. Not bedded in? Hardly got its head on the pillow, I reckon.

If it is the same one ALL dealers got it is the 80BHP TDi, I didnt test drive, this one as I want to see what the 105 is like.

I personally found the following + & - with the car.

1) The inside plasics were nice and tactile and didnt look cheap.

2) The overall feel inside the car was quality.

3) I was disappointed with the door opening handle, whist the silver looks quality , it feels quite cheap and nasty plastic, anyone who is heavy handed will snap this

4) Whist the seat hight adjustment is very good, I found that the view over the bonnet was awkward, and would take some time to adjust to.

5) Maybe it was the car that the dealer had, the headlining at the A pillar front corner was saggy & crinkled.

6) The black TDi I saw, looked like it had low profile tyres, and desparately needed lowering.

7) VERY NICE touch in the boot were the 2 carrier bag hooks, and the ability to lower the parcel shelf , However it did only hide approx 3/4 of the boot when on the lower setting , a retactable string connection from shelf to boot lid would be an excellent addition, so that on the lower shelf setting, you could retain shelf to boot connection.

Overall a nice looking car, that will probably keep its current market, but I dont believe it will attract a more younger market share.

Lets see what they do with a vRS :)

3. Last of all the brakes :( they just werent responsive enough at all, should have had disks all around imho.

Not sure you'd be able to tell the difference between drums and discs on the rear in terms of responsiveness as the rears only do around 10% of the braking. More likely that either Skoda/VAG have either toned down the assistance () or the front pads just weren't bed in. A few high speed stops should have shown them improve if that was the case

Chris

Will be going out for a play tomorrow

hehe, im sure you will be impressed overall

I was at the dealers today and it happened to be their launch day for the new fabia. I had a quick poke around and got to admit I actually quite like it - looks much, much nicer in the metal than when photoed, (a bit like the roomster which also looks better in the flesh). The tdi in black looks good albeit it sits a bit height, also seems a bit narrow. Looking forward to the vRS version.

As too whether it will appeal to a younger audience - if the people I saw today were anything to go by then I highly doubt it