My Fabia Estate petrol 1.6 16v 6 speed Tiptronic

[Guest]

Right you guys, most of you know I'm a dedicated diesel freak...well ok then, just a freak! But, I'm now officially a petrol head freak! And it feels alright too! Never thought I'd see the day when I went back to a petrol engine in a car. Not just a petrol engined car, but one with an auto box too.

So why the change?

The change to a petrol automatic tranny car has come about for three main reasons. Firstly a leg injury (left leg) has made driving manual shift much harder (painful) when stuck in traffic. It's been on my mind therefore to make the jump to an auto. Diesel autos are plentiful, but with bigger engines than I really wanted. A 2.0ltr Golf diesel auto is nice but way too much overkill for my needs. Petrol autos are more in the range that would suite my needs especially as petrol engines, even the 1.6 16v are so much better on fuel these days than just a few short years ago. Secondly, my mileage is now much lower than 4-5 years ago when I bought my beloved Fabia Estate diesel. Frankly, diesels simply don't like short trips (which is mainly what ours gets used for) if they don't get a few longer trips thrown in too. We do some longer trips still but not like we used to. Thirdly, my wife and me both yearn for some hot air on these cold freezing mornings and again the diesel just doesn't deliver enough in the first couple of miles. They are much better at warming up now than some of the older diesels but not as quick as most petrol engines.

Am I happy with the change?

In short yes! I must point out we only picked up the car Saturday morning and have only cover 150miles, but so far so good and it could not be better. Of course, the new car is just new to us as some of you smart arses will have realised. The 1.6 16v Tiptronic version of the Fabia Estate is no longer sold in the UK, finishing it's run in late 2010 I believe and the newer 1.2TSI DSG taking over the mantel of the autos in the range. So it is a 'previously owned' car but in virtually new condition with just 10k on the clock on a late 59 plate. It's a Skoda Approved car so it has 12months full factory warranty. With pending projects on the horizon which may need money throwing at them, it seems sensible to shop for a second hand motor this time around. The car is finished in 'Cappacino Metalic'. Before collection the car was fully fettled by the dealer. This included a brake fluid change and various other bits and pieces. Side rubbing strips where fitted at my request too as I had them on my last Fabia Estate and they saved the day many times when unthinking individuals threw open their doors onto my lovely. You all know the type! I also had best quality wind put in the tyres, and instead of the can of tyre goop in the boot for fixing punctures, I have a nice shiney new wheel with a full set of tools. All in all, it's very nice.

So how does it go?

Wow! Gotta say it has plenty of power. 105ps/104bhp with 153nm of torque. May sound a bit staid but it's enough to wizz it along quite nicely when coupled to the 6 speed box. 0.60 is 11.5secs, about 2.1 seconds faster than my diesel version. Now that transmission. It's got to be about the best auto box I've driven. So smooth under acceleration or just when cruising and asking for more power/revs, it does it seamlessly. I've tried the tiptronic function and that works well but most of time it'll be in 'D'. On the way home on the dualcarriagway the car fuel economy was steadily climbing towards 50mpg. Most that was cruising at 60-65mph in 6th gear, which is a true overdrive. Tacho was showing just 2150-2200rpm. Very diesel like and that made me comfortable. However, thrust the throttle pedal down firmly and the car takes off like a rocket with the revs rising sharply around the clock giving a nice shove in the back. Again the auto box seamlessly delivering the engine speed for power. It has a sport mode too but I can't think it will be needed by me these days. The engine note is somewhat quieter than my 3 pot diesel engine when under acceleration. I think I will miss my 3 pot engine note as it sounded so good as the revs climbed round the clock. By contrast, the petrol engine is so quite you can barely hear it, just a gentle wooshing noise as the speed climbs. Very limosine like.

Everything else about the car is the same as our previous motor. Although the new car benefits from discs alround and that gives some advantages. It has as standard ESP, MSR, ASR, EDL,TPM etc etc. So a bit safer I guess. It also has no cambelt to bother about either, both camshaft being chain driven with hydraulic tappets of course. So we have sacroficed some mpg of our diesel Fabia for a bit of luxury and ease of use on this one.

Oh nearly forgot...the only thing we have found wrong with the car is the rear wiper motor has gone up the swanny. It developed a mind of it's own and then just stopped working. Dealer says it will be around 3-4 days for the new motor to arrive. Funny, but I've never had a Skoda ever develop a proper fault before. I was told they used the wrong cake mix for the motors on some chassis numbers!!

Anyone else got one of these? Any comments and/or tips appreciated.

[Furbytom]

Good review and sounds like a nice motor, enjoy!

What sort of auto is it? Is it a DSG type or a traditional slush-box?

[awfabia]

Have heard of wiper problems across the range, a shame 'cos Skodas have a justifyably good reliability reputation.

Had mine 3 yrs and 3 months, gone from 13,000 to 63,000 miles and it's a 2,3,4,5 car!

2 bulbs, 3 tyres, 4 spark plugs and 5 oil changes! That's all, what a great car.

Roll on the Yeti later on this year.............

[Guest]

Furby, it's an epicyclic torque converter type with full digital control. It is of course linked in to the engine management system. With the 6 speeds it has a gear for anywhere in the rev and speed range. It is an advanced design and much more efficient than previous versions. It's very very smooth. It is sealed for life and it's design life is very long into the hundreds of thousands of miles. It's reputation is good for being trouble free. It's the auto box that's used in many modern cars and can handle 250nm of torque and is and has been used in the Golf, Passat, and many other cars of that ilke. I'm not so sure about being sealed for life is a good thing, but it uses the long life Dextron 111 ATF which is very heat resistant so it should be good. But I will change the oil and clean the filter in the summer just to be sure as there is a way to do it. I've heard it doesn't use the torque converter to slip the transmission when travelling slowly, but I don't have a handle on that yet. If anyone knows let me know if you will.

Awfabia, thanks for the info on your car. Indeed, it sounds like you have done well with yours. Is your auto as well?

[terakris]

Drove my other halfs today, slush box did my head in as usual. Apart from it being a bit slow (I even checked in case I had the hand brake on lol) its a good car... Same mpg as the vrs though, perhaps the way I drive

[philhoward]

Probably means converter lockup is available on all gears and/or a very low stall speed on the converter? If, like a DSG, the spread of gears is sufficient then there will always be a suitable gear and with some handy engine control it should (like the DSG) be able to maintain the seamless changes.

Think I drove a Polo with the same box in many years ago (2004/5?) briefly and it didn't slur between gears like I was used to Autos doing. Didn't pay much attention at the time as only had it for a short while but I do remember it being very different to the 3 & 4 speed autos i'd driven up to that point.

[Guest]

Hi Phil, thanks for your thoughts. Yes, the box is absolutely seamless in the way it changes gear and it doesn't seem to slip inbetween changes like the auto boxes I remember from years ago. I'm told by my tech friends it's one of the most efficient converter boxes you can buy...and not too far off the dsg in terms of efficiency. In fact, I drove the 1.2 DSG and again, that was very good too and not too disimilar to the Tiptronic in my car in the way it felt, inspite of the mechanicals being completely different. The only real difference is I would say, is my Tiptronic felt marginally smoother, but that's all.

Today wife and me were out and about and got the chance to let the car stretch it's legs on a long but familiar drive on dual carriageway and country roads. I continue to be impressed with the actual amount of power available, it's refinement, and surprisingly, the FUEL ECONOMY!! I really didn't think this car, the least most economical of the Fabia models would be able to show me 49mpg on the type of run we did today. We had to cover 55 miles in all, but far enough to explore the parameters of the car's performance. Mind you, for a large part of the journey we were mostly on the dual carriageway and kept between 60-65mph. On the way back, I held here at an indicated 80mph for several miles (12) as there was no one about, yet the car still showed 41.8mpg after that spurt. But it started to climb back upwards again by the time we arrived home finishing at 47mpg. Quite staggeringly good for the mark. At 80mph the engine is revving at just 2750rpm in 6th gear, and that has to help the economy. The engine really wasn't doing any work. Kickdown released an amazing amount of power and the speedo climbs round the dial much quicker than expected. Top wack is supposed to be 115mph on the auto and without doubt I would say that is a conservative figure. But I don't go that fast these days anyway!

Anyhoo, all going well at the moment. Bye for now.

Edited 19 March, 2013 by Estate Man

[Guest]

Just a little update. Overall, there isn't much written about the Fabia Estate 1.6 16v Tiptronic so I'm trying to add to the pool of information about it. There are few specific reviews about it. It is less popular I guess for lots of reasons, ie a relatively big petrol engine, auto box etc etc, but it is none the less a very good car carrying all the traditional Skoda values of reliability, ease of use, performance, and value for money. No turbo charger or cambelt to add to the expense of ownership. Just good solid conventional Skoda/VW oily bits that don't usually go wrong.

As I mention earlier in the thread, it is not the most economical car in the Skoda range. The 1.2TSI DSG auto is better in that respect. However, wife and me have now covered some 640 miles in the last two weeks in her and have been very surprised at the fuel economy. Frankly, it aint that bad and has been the biggest surprise from the word go! We expected much less from it. Skipping around the county I manage 49-51mpg everyday in this cold weather. And if I'm running late for an appointment and I tank it a bit it's still 43-44mpg! By tanking it I mean 75-80mph for quite lengthy spells, instead of 65mph, my normal loitering speed on the dual carriageways these days. So fuel gets a big thumbs up for this biggish 1600cc engine.

Performance. This has been a revelation in the first instance and continues to be so. When we first took delivery of the car it was apparent the car probably hadn't been driven much lately. In fact it's been in the car pound for 3 months waiting for it's chance to go to a dealer to be fettled and sold...errr...to me! The previous owner had only covered 10k in 3 years so it's barely run in. Probably been used on shorter trips for most of it's life too. So although it still went well initially, now it is being driven in a, 'what I call' more normal fashion, it loves it. The engine picks up so much faster now it has had some longer motorway runs, and some fuel injection cleaner has worked absolute wonders. This too has had an effect on the fuel economy I'm sure, for the better. The engine is mechanically very quiet, and it never seems to be doing any actual work whatever the speed you are doing. It's a long stroke motor so it's quite torquey even for a normally aspirated engine. Dump the throttle and the box 'kicks' down very quickly and the engine roars!! quietly as momentum gathers very quickly.

The actual driving of the car just gets better as we become more used to the auto box and engine power. One of the best things about the petrol engine is the speed it warms up compared to our diesel. It's lovely on these cold mornings. We already find having the auto a big bonus in lots of ways. I think maybe I would have gone auto much earlier if I'd realised just how good it would be. Having a petrol engine up front instead of the heavier diesel engine is in many ways a bonus. Handling is a bit sharper on the country roads and yet the car seems well planted at all times, with only the highest crosswinds slightly unsettling it momentarily. In the snow the lighter front end is not so good as the diesel's weight over the front drive wheels was always better for traction. But just a minor negative for me. Brakes on this car are just the best ever, plenty of feel and power. Discs all round do make a difference. The main worry is the airbags going off if used too harshly!

This car has lived all it's life so far by the sea, and not in a garage. Yet the whole car shows no sign of this. I always put my new acquisitions over the 'pit' in my garage to check everything, and there is no sign of corrosion underneath on the seams, pipes or box section ends or in the engine bay. This is surprising and a tribute to the finishing off process of the car at the factory. Every other car I've owned new or secondhand developed early tell tale signs of this minor corrosion trait. My last Fabia and this one are the only ones not to have done so.

I've been over the whole car now checking for abnormalities or potential problems. None found! There is an absolute lack of rattles anywhere inside or outside the car. It's been thoroughly cleaned and super resin polished (two coats!) and then two coats of Collinite. Water dare not come near it now! Paint finish is superb with that deep wet look gloss finish. Horkin was right about the Collinite turning heads in another thread on here. I would point out that polishing a car is alien to me. I just don't do it. That's why my last car was supagarded from new. But I have to confess to actually quite liking that polishing process the other day. It was good excercise. Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf.

I've been informed by my garage that the new rear wiper motor I'm waiting for should be instock in a week. So it will go in for that to be done under warranty. So far so good...still very pleased with it!

Edited 3 April, 2013 by Estate Man

[MarginWalker]

Hi Estate Man, congrats on the new motor - sounds very nice. Sorry in a way that you've left the PD camp (we're a dwindling species) but there's a lot to be said for a smooth quiet run and a rested left leg. What spec level is it - sounds like it might be a '3'?

[Guest]

Hi MarginWalker, nope...it's a level '2'. Same as my previous PD engined model. But as it's the auto 1.6 it gets the discs on the back as standard and they give you some nice extras with those, and traction control too. I do miss the nice noise the PD's make though! They run for years and years without problems too. My old PD has been taken to Scotland apparently and will spend the rest of it's life enjoying the Highlands. Never mind...I like the engine in this new one and my left leg has thanked me!

[Bishopton]

Hi MarginWalker, nope...it's a level '2'. Same as my previous PD engined model. But as it's the auto 1.6 it gets the discs on the back as standard and they give you some nice extras with those, and traction control too. I do miss the nice noise the PD's make though! They run for years and years without problems too. My old PD has been taken to Scotland apparently and will spend the rest of it's life enjoying the Highlands. Never mind...I like the engine in this new one and my left leg has thanked me!

welcome back to 'petrol world' Estate Man. I too (pre Skoda) was a big diesel fan but, like you, the mileage didn't stack up. Enjoy.

[Guest]

Thanks Bishopton, I will. I notice you have the 1.2TSI, brilliant aren't they! Yours manual?

[Bishopton]

Thanks Bishopton, I will. I notice you have the 1.2TSI, brilliant aren't they! Yours manual?

yeah, I really like them; now on my second one since 2011! It's manual. Considered DSG but too mean to pay the extra! Incidentally, I posted a couple of pics under thread 'Wet Pick Up'