Buying a new Fabia 2

[takksi]

Originally Posted by HZ123

How is it going over there. FYI Heathrow temperature at 15;00 yesterday was 18C and I sat outside all afternoon. That said you still really did not require air con.

Hi guys... well... I'm still going around.... trying to find the best deal.

I have set my eyes on the Kia Cee'd at the moment. I managed to get a very good price on it - which is only €465 more than the Fabia. However it has a 1.4 VVT engine which delivers around 108 bhp. The spec sheets for this engine state that it does around 36 or 37 mpg urban.

What do you guys think?

[Blaze]

About the Fabia 1.4 16v, 85bp - wouldn't the piston rings still be a problem with this engine? Or has the problem been fixed in the newer Fabia? The earlier 1.4 16v engines seem to have this problem(as suggested by lots of posts on this forum).

[takksi]

Originally Posted by Blaze

About the Fabia 1.4 16v, 85bp - wouldn't the piston rings still be a problem with this engine? Or has the problem been fixed in the newer Fabia? The earlier 1.4 16v engines seem to have this problem(as suggested by lots of posts on this forum).

Don't take my words as de facto, but as far as I know those were the old engines that were based on the old Skoda Favorit and Felicia engines that had problems with the cylinder heads. These ngines should be the ones used in the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza, and also the Seat Leon, VW Golf and so on...

[skisbp]

Originally Posted by Blaze

About the Fabia 1.4 16v, 85bp - wouldn't the piston rings still be a problem with this engine? Or has the problem been fixed in the newer Fabia? The earlier 1.4 16v engines seem to have this problem(as suggested by lots of posts on this forum).

Running a 2004 Seat Ibiza Sport 1.4 16V 100HP & haven't a clue as to why you would think there's a piston ring problem... That's with 90K Kilometers!

[Blaze]

Thanks Takksi, Skisbp.

Skisbp - Sorry, I was just asking. No first hand information. Just going by the numerous posts I've read here. I'm glad you've not had any issues.

BTW I'm from India. The Fabia has been launched here only recently. Hardly anyone buys Skoda petrols here (mileage is the concern). I don't like the diesel - we only have the 1.4 TDI, 68bhp option. Also it is very expensive (Fabias are being imported). The petrol is a bit cheaper. All that I was told by the local dealer is that it had a VW engine.

With no feedback on the 1.4 16v locally, I was checking for some first hand information on this forum.

[takksi]

Originally Posted by Blaze

Thanks Takksi, Skisbp.

Skisbp - Sorry, I was just asking. No first hand information. Just going by the numerous posts I've read here. I'm glad you've not had any issues.

BTW I'm from India. The Fabia has been launched here only recently. Hardly anyone buys Skoda petrols here (mileage is the concern). I don't like the diesel - we only have the 1.4 TDI, 68bhp option. Also it is very expensive (Fabias are being imported). The petrol is a bit cheaper. All that I was told by the local dealer is that it had a VW engine.

With no feedback on the 1.4 16v locally, I was checking for some first hand information on this forum.

I had an old Fabia - 1.4mpi 8v pushrod - it used to do 29 - 30mpg.

The new Fabias come with a 1.2 3cyl 12V 70bhp engine and should do around 36mpg (urban) or the 1.4 4cyl 16V 85bhp which does 32mpg (urban).

The 1.2 shouldn't be too bad - although if you intend to use it for highway driving you might find that it lacks some power being a 3cylinder and having only 70bhp. Besides, I think you might be overworking it on a highway... On the other hand, if you're in a small area like we are here in Malta, where distances are very short and mostly traffic... the 1.2 is the best choice IMHO.

I am still looking around at the moment... but my choices are cut down to the Fabia 1.2 3cyl 12V 70bhp and the Kia Cee'd 1.4 16V VVT 105bhp. Amazingly enough - according to specs - the Kia Cee'd does 37mpg as opposed to the 32mpg on the 1.4 Fabia (and 36 mpg on the 1.2 Fabia) and also keeping in mind that the Cee'd engine delivers 105bhp as opposed to the 85bhp of the 1.4 Fabia.

So basically... as you can gather out I'm really confused now... and I'm presently feeling more inclined towards the Cee'd... besides it is more spacious inside and a much nicer shape than the Fabia.

Anyways, good luck with your choice mate - hope you (and even me) make the best choice for your needs...

[Blaze]

Yes, we do have the 1.2 HTP here. It's a good choice for the mad traffic we have in Bangalore - just that it is not available in the Elegance trim here.

Originally Posted by takksi

Anyways, good luck with your choice mate - hope you (and even me) make the best choice for your needs...

Thanks. Good luck to you too.

[Dmac1969]

The 16 V engines that had problems with the piston rings were the ones with the engine codes AUA and AUB. I think they were replaced by a different engine code around 2003/4 and these engines are a lot less likely to suffer trouble.

PS The old engine related to the one out of the Favorit and Felicia is the 1.4 8V (aka 'MPI') not the 16V engine - The 16V is a VW design , whereas the 8V is virtually 100% Skoda (it dates back to the rear engined cars , actually!). Oh , the 1.2 3 cyl engine used in the current Fabia (and Polo and Ibiza) was designed in Czech by Skoda.

[skoda1982]

i have a fabia 2 1.2 (70) 3 cilinder petrol front air bags plus side air bags in seats that is uk spec

[skoda1982]

ps done 250 miles at 50/70mph no problem the 1.2 (70)bph the htp stands for high toque performance it may take 11 seconds 0 to 60

[nickcoll]

Originally Posted by monkey023

If the car falls into a river/lake, or other water source

You must live in a VERY wet area! The chances of that happening here in the UK are vastly less significant (IMHO) than the safety (and amenity) benefit of being able to stop children from opening the rear windows.

You can try and protect against every remote possibility, even 1 in a billion chances like this, but at the end of the day there is always a trade-off, and when looked at in the round I don't think your particular fear is one that's really worth worrying about as much as you seem to do!

[skisbp]

Originally Posted by nickcoll

You must live in a VERY wet area! The chances of that happening here in the UK are vastly less significant (IMHO) than the safety (and amenity) benefit of being able to stop children from opening the rear windows.
You can try and protect against every remote possibility, even 1 in a billion chances like this, but at the end of the day there is always a trade-off, and when looked at in the round I don't think your particular fear is one that's really worth worrying about as much as you seem to do!

Good point almost like having said it myself...
Even more worrisome to me would be my kid or someone else not getting the rear windows fully shut!!! Then making my car an even easier target for theft, that's besides the obvious rain/car wash/sprinkler water that would find it's way in...