Overall good package. Review on Skoda Fabia - Diesel

Skoda fabia ambiente 1.4PDTDI - April 08 (I am hatchback fan, earlier used wagonR(15K KM) and getz(23K) .

Also tried swift diesel(excelllent engine) fiesta diesel(Ok-ok-ford), verna diesel(not so impressive))

So far driven 3000+ KM both on highway and city no issues.

Pick up - worst compared to swift diesel, (In fact I would prefer to have swift engine on Fabia if somebody can do :-)

engine - too noisy, its one/two generations old engine with unit injector and not a common rail. When you start, it makes noise like tata trucks (407, indica v1) But smooth in 3-4-5 th gear. when you drive past 60kmph it gives nice sporty sound.

anyway noise factor doen't carry much weightage in india :-)

Vibration - not much felt inside, good insulation.

suspension - very good, while driving you feel that its different, firm and steady.

Dealer experiance - worst compared to marutis and hyundais, simply  it seem they are least interested in selling the vehicle. Nobody at dealer, really knows about the vehicle(I tried both dealers in pune). I am sure if skoda dealership matches maruti or hyundai service, they will add at least 1-2 more clients per day.

mileage - 13kmpl in city with AC, on highway 18+ with AC, only other hatchback, that can beat this is swift diesel.

Comfort level, build and ride quality- very good in the class, excellent on highway, I was even comfortable to drive past 140KMph, touched 150-155 comfortably.

Interior - very good in the class.

Gears - Very smooth gear shift, best in class.

City driving- not suitable for city driving, if you want to quickly get out of the traffic(engine responds slowly and burns more fuel if you race too much).

Service - no experiances so far, Will have troubles with spares, since 80-90% parts are imported from Germany and other europeon countries.

Skoda knows that they have troubles with dealers and service issues etc., So they do not take feedback from customers :-) and if they give good service, demand will rise, and they cannot meet that demand :-)

Hidden gems - CD player> auto volum leveler with Gala with increasing speed.  Auto door lock when speed reaches 20KMph,  Auto Wiper speed with increased speed.  Turn signal > Flash turn signal and it automatically gives turn signal for 2-3 seconds. Semi automatic air-con, maintains inside temperature to a set point.  Small cooling compartment to preserve things like chocolates.

Doors do not open when first time you open(pull the lever once again then it opens).

Bad things - High beam on left side. Giving quick dipper is difficult. Manual lock on fuel tank. No remote fuel tank cover release, anybody can open tank cover. No graphic equalizer on CD player.

Non linear fuel meter indication.

Overall

There are some features which you can find only in high class sedans(powered mirrow adjust, engine immobilizor, built in radio CD player, steering adjust,

Its a very good package.

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updates Nov 08

First service after 10, 000KM completed.

• Believe me its same rock solid build, it was far better compared to Maruti and Hyundai experiance after 6 months.

  
  




• Overall mileage 17 KMPL (On highways, I drive @100-140 Kmph+) mostly normal diesel used and tourbojet sometimes. There is a hidden fuel tank capacity, it can accomodate 60 liters.

  
  




• Very good suspension, it has not complained, despite rough use.

  
  




• Breaking -excellent, very good stability at high speeds.

  
  




• ABS, sometimes creates troubles on uneven surface, especially in patholes. but recovers.

  
  




• 40% city driving so far -  Pickup at low speeds not that bad if  premium diesel used.