Skoda Fabia 1.6 MPI - Ownership Review at 18,000 Kms

[tlchang77]

Hello guys!! I'm a Doctor and this is my first review on my car. happy driving.

My search for my next car began in November 2011.

My points of consideration:

Has to be a hatchback

FAST (powerful engine)

Solid built

With airbags, ABS, and all the security feature

And not black again....worst colour for maintenance, but looks great.

So, i test drove every hatchbach available and most of them felt underpowered. I have always driven my friends Skoda Fabia 1.2 MPI. I like the built and quality but no fun driving it. I had almost booked the car but on that particular day i was told that the 1.6 MPI was available for a test drive. I immediately went for it and wow. It was awesome . I did all the trick and tyre skidding thing on that particular test drive. The light steering, light clutch and smooth gearbox, Fabia is a joy to drive in city.

Look at the safety features.

Fabia has ABS, anti glare view mirror, duel rate brake assist, driver front airbag front passenger air bag, height adjustable front seat belts, Side door protective strip and along with many other sophisticated features which adds safety of the passengers. Most of all i felt in love with the key fab. Now i can unlock the vehicle, pull down and up all the windows (great feature if u forget to rool up your windows while still in the car), boot open all by this pretty remote. And not to mention one touch window operating for all windows. Great help to keep you focus on the road otherwise you have to hold it till it fully rolls up or vice versa.

I came back and booked it right away and lucky for me they had my colour choice. Capuccino beige. Gave the booking amount and came home and started searching all over the web for reviews and videos on the web. Couldn't wait to get it and i was already dreaming about it. Did the PDC and paperwork and took delivery of the car on the 9th of December 2011.

Post delivery, the car zoomed past all cars and its fun to drive. The power distribution is perfect. And the mileage in city and highway with AC on all the time always returned me above 15KMPL. I think its all, in the way how you drive a car and control the throttle response. I am a careful driver and most days my run is 30 to 40KM.

I upgraded the sound system since i had them from my precious car. I kept the stock head unit and added to it Sony four channel amplifier, JBL bass tube, infinity reference speaker with a wooden tray as i did not want to cut the stock tray. (Pretty expensive. I was told it costs about 8k!!! Imagine that). I just had to pay for the new wiring and the wodden tray and wow. Great sound. Didnt bother to change the front door speaker nor add a component at the rear. Will come later.

Did my first service at about 13000KM in December 2012 since it was nearing a year. There is one particular annoying noise at the right rear side of the car. Its like a small nut. Took the car two to three times to the service centre but they could never fixed it saying that it is minor and should not be a problem. They also changed the engine mount and the suspension mount since i had noticed a vibration. Great. Now runs perfectly.

Now its 18000km and i got a call saying there is a free summer camp so i went there at about 10am and got the car around 2pm.

One thing i notice that almost all the fabia has a manufacturing defect pertaining to the B piller. The black plastic cover kind of melts in the heat under the sun and tends to peel off. I put forward this today and i was told that they will replace the part for free since its under warranty. I was so relieved, but not so because they dont have the stock and they will let me know when it arrives.

I always look forward to drive this machine and never miss an oppurtinity. I will surely upload pictures and more coming. Till then enjoy safe driving.

 

[350Z]

Skoda Fabia looks sober and understated similar to its German sibling. Delightful 1.6 engine is an icing on the cake. Congrats and keep us updated on the overall running costs.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[tlchang77]

Today i got a call from the service centre saying that the black colour plastic patch on the B pillar has arrived and i can go anytime and get it fixed free of cost. Before i do that i'll try to upload the picture. I will surely try to follow up with the running cost.

 

[ZenandEnfield]

@ tichang. nice review, thanks. Does it drag/slow a bit when you turn on the AC? What is the mileage without AC? Have tried the Beat, I20, Polo?

 

[tlchang77]

@ tichang. nice review, thanks. Does it drag/slow a bit when you turn on the AC? What is the mileage without AC? Have tried the Beat, I20, Polo?

Thanks.... The best thing about this massive engine is that there is absolutely no drag nor it slows the car with the AC on. As i have said earlier, it all depend upon the way you drive and the traffic. There is not much of a difference without AC running. On an average, my car gives me above 15KMPL on daily travel of 40km.
And yes i tried the Beat car since my previous car was Chevrolet Beat. Very peppy car though. After two months of delivery i had taken the car (Beat) to Shimla>Tattapani>Manali>Rohtang Pass>Half of Kaza(but couldn't reach since the road itself was washed away>Keylong and back to Delhi. And all this, during monsoon season with all the landslides. Underbody scraping and all that and the whole engine mounting had to be repaired. Anyways that's a different story all together.
Here is a picture taken at Rohtang Pass


I20 was considered but didn't enjoy the ride and my experience at the showroom was a bad one.
Polo.... yes but before i went for it, my sister had already bought for herself. But I am really happy with my Skoda Fabia car. The best part being the 1.6l engine.

 

[tlchang77]

Done 50,000KM

It's been a long gap since my last update on my car. I've completed 50,000KM and during this i've done few changes to the car other than the Regular services.
1. Upgraded all four stock tyre to Continental Conti-Premium Contact 2 195/65 R14 89 H for Rs.20200/- with wheel alignment and balancing included.
2. Changed steering column and connecting rod under warranty due to strange noise and hard steering. Didn't have to spend a penny
3. New brake set on all wheel. Showroom rate plus taxes
4. Reversing rear view camera which fixes to licence plate light. Brought from ebay @ Rs.1399/-

The car now feels more alive and drives very sturdy.

 

[tlchang77]

 

[vijay_968]

Some designs would never feel dated; like the Fabia (and Rapid and Vento). So much so, the Girl in 3rd Pic above the Key Fob Pic, couldn't resist a bite . At a distance from behind, I always felt a Sedan was ahead only to be greeted by this solid Hatch. You said "light clutch" in your opening post. Three (IIRC) Rapids had HARD clutch and Skoda lost the potential buyer in me. BTW, where was this last Pic with all that snow shot ?

 

[tlchang77]

Myself and Wifey had gone to Ramgarh on our anniversary which is about 300km drive from Delhi. It's a Neemrana property and pictures shot during 1st week of December. Beautiful place and luckily we got so much snow, we had to extend our stay since the roads were not motorable. But this car managed the snow very well and we were the first one to drive on the snow covered road. Hoping to go back to escape the summer heat.

 

[Kichu]

Morethan 15kmpl with AC is really great since the arai claimed mileage for the 1.6 Fabia is less than 15kmpl.
How do you calculate the mileage?

 

[Niku]

Hello tlchang77. Nice to hear that your car is holding well after the 50k mark also. Also nice to know that you are happy with Skoda service. The car looks good in the pics, especially the one with snow!

If you plan to visit Neemrana now, then better be ready for the same "Delhi" heat there also. I visited Neemrana a week back, only to find out that the conditions (weather) aren't any better.

Keep the thread updated.

 

[tlchang77]

Are you talking about the Neemrana fort Palace near Delhi or is the Ramgarh Bungalow near Nainital. We'll be deciding soon on the escapade.

 

[tlchang77]

Key fob silicone cover.....

 

[Niku]

I was talking about the Neemrana fort palace.

BTW can you give more details about the key fob cover? Was it ordered online?

 

[tlchang77]

Yes I ordered it online. its easily available on ebay.in and amazon.in. I got it more than a year back and i don't remember much about the price. It's listing at about Rs.300/- online now. It gives you a good grip cos the stock is slippery and stands out and easily recognised when you have to search. Most importantly it gives proper protection against potential scratches.