...but feel powerless to stop it: I woke up this morning a perfectly normal, well-balanced human being, and decided that what my life really needed was a Favorit. I know very little about Skodas, so why did this have to happen to me?!

Anyway, hi all, if you can shed any light on this madness please do so! For my part I have begun my search, and notice that there's a very tempting little LXiE Plus going in the same town as me. I'll be sure to post back and let you all know whether it is love at first sight or a case of mistaken identity, but in the mean time I do have one serious question:

I need a small economical local run-around. So far so good, but I also need to do the odd trip to the family home in South of France (can't afford the train, don't fancy flying). As an utter numpty when it comes to mechanical things do you think its still reasonable to consider the Favorit? And if you were to recommend one non-standard 'upgrade', what would it be?

Andy

:)Welcome

The Favorit is an extremely under-rated car...go for it!

Where-abouts do you live?

Hi Dave, thanks for the warm welcome.

I'm in the West Country: Stroud (Gloucestershire)

Hello and Welcome to Briskoda

Looks like your rather close to me (Swindon) - Welcome Dave.

Rob

welcome to briskoda

go get it mate and welcome to the site/.

Hiya.

Might I suggest looking at the longer Western Channel crossings as a way of saving yourself several hundred miles driving?

Get a Felicia instead.

There's more of them about and for very little extra cost you can have a more modern , better equippped and better looking car

Welcome

Get a Felicia instead.

There's more of them about and for very little extra cost you can have a more modern , better equippped and better looking car

Thanks Doc. I think that's the consensus yes, although I'm sure I read somewhere on these forums that in some respects the Favorit could claim some superiority over the Felicia. Without wanting to start a flame war, do you have a view as to what these aspects might be?

The Favorit is the last Skoda not to have any Vw influences. The Felicia has some (mostly engine?), but it doesn't have an entire Vw platform, like the Octy, Furbie and Superb et al do).

Hi & Welcome

Hello and welcome. I had a Felicia and enjoyed it. Might be the better option for your long drives.

:)If you're logical and sensible like I'm not, the Felicia is the better car. It's basically a heavily facelifted Favorit and is more refined, slightly more modern and has the option of power steering, VW 1.6 petrol and 1.9 diesel engines. To be honest though the faithful old 1.3 in high compression 68bhp form is hard to beat as an all rounder.

However, in my experience the Favorit, especially in Mk2 guise is less rust prone than the Felicia. The Felicia also loses most of the Favorit's quaint, honest charm too.

All depends on what you want really. I'm not logical or sensible and love characterful [often meaning crappier!] cars so I prefer the Favorit.

Thanks again Dave. Hmm, I too am tempted by the idea of style over substance!

Out of interest, is there much difference in the interior load carrying capacity between the Favorit and Felicia (both hatches)? The reason I ask is that I have a Central Asian style tent with very long poles that I just about managed to squeeze into a Golf mk3, from windscreen to rear window...

Ohh We are in Cam, nr Dursley so really close to you!!

Ohh We are in Cam, nr Dursley so really close to you!!

*waves*

What Skoda do you run - I'll look out for you? And totally off-topic: any idea what the parking charge at Cam railway station is these days?

Welcome to Briskoda.

We don't have our car yet. We have ordered a Roomster Scout, but it won't be ready until June as we have ordered the roof, maxidot, extra headrest etc. It is metallic grey, 08 plate.

No idea on the parking charges but I can have a look later for you. My girls go to Coaley Primary so I drive right past it 4 times a day, so I shall have a peak and let you know.

Nipped into the carpark on my way through. Couldn't see any pay & display boards and none of the cars had anything in their windows, So sorry, no idea whatsoever. Would like to think it is free as it is quite remote but I very much doubt it.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

No problem, thanks for looking

:wave: welcome to brisky, had a couple of favorits and a felicia, preffered the favorit if you manage to find a nice GLXi, our felicia was only the 1.3 and didn't have power steering, obviously a later/greater model will be different. On a Favorit check the heater matrix as the seal goes and causes coolant loss, also check the oil/coolant as the head can warp .

We don't have our car yet. We have ordered a Roomster Scout, but it won't be ready until June as we have ordered the roof, maxidot, extra headrest etc. It is metallic grey, 08 plate.

I would've thought the roof would come as standard...:eek:

No seriously sounds good a good spec, and I rather like the scout look.

:wave: welcome to brisky, had a couple of favorits and a felicia, preffered the favorit if you manage to find a nice GLXi, our felicia was only the 1.3 and didn't have power steering, obviously a later/greater model will be different. On a Favorit check the heater matrix as the seal goes and causes coolant loss, also check the oil/coolant as the head can warp .

Thanks Postie. actually one has come up in my home town and its an LXiE Plus. What am I missing out on by not looking for a GLXi?

Thanks especially for the inspection tips as I know very little about Skodas yet and have failed to find a Favorit buying guide, even on this site (so keep the tips coming folks!).

Well, I've gone and done it and DaveRapid: I hold you fully responsible! I am now the proud owner of a Favorit LXiE Plus, and its absolutely gorgeous.

I was umming and ahhing about whether to get a Favorit or a Felicia but a Fav came up on eBay from the same town as me. I went to test drive it, my first time in any kind of pre-2K Skoda, and was hooked immediately. It was that beautifully smooth 1.3 iE engine that did the trick, a simply wonderful thing that I reckon could give a challenge to the VWs on a good day.

It seemed in near-perfect condition although I'm no mechanic. Hardly any rust, incredibly low mileage at 44K (3K per year), my only worry was that there have been 8 previous owners - that's 1 every other year! That can't be normal surely?

It does at least mean that one of you may have owned it once, and I'd love to hear from any previous owners and their adventures. Its blue, registration M31MMO, and looks like this:

I pick it up tonight, hurrah! £285 - reasonable for the condition/mileage?