Fabia 2 1.6 Petrol Automatic - Test drive

[rainbow-walker]

Had a courtesy car today whilst my Mk1 VRS Fabia was in the garage for a few bits and pieces. I was really impressed with it !

The looks of the MK2 have been slowly growing on me (after initially hating it), and the courtesy car looked very smart in a gunmetal grey (sorry not sure of the actual name).

The Auto was a dream to use, smooth gearchanges and the only criticism I can level at it was that the fuel economy wasnt brilliant (29mpg on a 30 mile run).

The car's suspension was excellent, and much more refined than the Mk1 (although obviously this wasnt a sporting model, so higher profiled tyres and softer suspension). I found I could take speed bumps comfortably at 30mph, when I would take them at 20mph in my VRS.

The cabin feels really big, but it's quite a narrow car, which I really like for threading down the country lanes, and darting through gaps in traffic. Im quite tall, as is my wife, so the cabin of the Fabia suits us as its quite upright compared to some superminis.

Roll on 2010 to see if a VRS appears, hopefully with 7 speed DSG and either a powerful and efficient petrol or diesel.

Cheers.

RBW.

[Bassa]

The 1.6 Tiptronic is a very smooth and pleasant automatic, the fuel economy and emissions being the only real slight downsides. However, I would much rather sacrifice those downsides for its smoothness when compared to some of the current jerky semi automatics (DSG excepted) available.

A 1.4 TSI DSG Fabia would be a very tempting proposition.

[Bassa]

The 1.6 Tiptronic is a very smooth and pleasant automatic, the fuel economy and emissions being the only real slight downsides. However, I would much rather sacrifice those downsides for its smoothness when compared to some of the current jerky semi automatics (DSG excepted) available.

A 1.4 TSI DSG Fabia would be a very tempting proposition.

Meant to add that the Tiptronic's sixth gear overdrive also aids higher speed refinement as well.

[helix]

How do you find the auto for performance? Is it noticeably blunted over the manual, or as is sometimes the case, just as good in practice because of optimal gear changing? Have you noticed benefits in the sport mode?

[Bassa]

On paper the manual tops the Tiptronic in most aspects bar top speed where they are equal. However, in the real world there is not much difference except a fully rested left peg. Having only driven the 1.6 manual for a short distance I'd say that there is little to choose between it and the Tiptronic. Apart from the aforementioned ' fully rested left peg' I believe that the Tiptronic's sixth gear overdrive slightly aids higher speeds regarding refinement. The sport mode utilises first to fifth gears only so the box will not go into the sixth gear overdrive, top speed always being achieved in fifth gear anyhow.

On paper they both have quoted top speeds of 118mph and 0 - 62 time of 10.1 for the manual and 11.5 for the Tiptronic. With fuel consumption, the manual's combined figure is quoted at 40.7 mpg and the Tiptronic at 37.7 mpg. CO2 emissions it is 165 g/km for the manual and 180 g/km for the Tiptronic.

As good as they are however, in my opinion and bearing in mind in the current climate, the 1.6 really needs to be replaced by the 1.4 TSI in both manual and DSG options. This would not only improve power and performance but also lower emissions and improve on fuel consuption.

Come on Skoda, you know it makes sense!

[helix]

On paper the manual tops the Tiptronic in most aspects bar top speed where they are equal. However, in the real world there is not much difference except a fully rested left peg. Having only driven the 1.6 manual for a short distance I'd say that there is little to choose between it and the Tiptronic. Apart from the aforementioned ' fully rested left peg' I believe that the Tiptronic's sixth gear overdrive slightly aids higher speeds regarding refinement. The sport mode utilises first to fifth gears only so the box will not go into the sixth gear overdrive, top speed always being achieved in fifth gear anyhow.

On paper they both have quoted top speeds of 118mph and 0 - 62 time of 10.1 for the manual and 11.5 for the Tiptronic. With fuel consumption, the manual's combined figure is quoted at 40.7 mpg and the Tiptronic at 37.7 mpg. CO2 emissions it is 165 g/km for the manual and 180 g/km for the Tiptronic.

As good as they are however, in my opinion and bearing in mind in the current climate, the 1.6 really needs to be replaced by the 1.4 TSI in both manual and DSG options. This would not only improve power and performance but also lower emissions and improve on fuel consuption.

Come on Skoda, you know it makes sense!

Totally agree with your comments about the 1.4TSI. I've just test driven the new Octy with this engine, and even in the heavier car, with its broad torque band it is responsive and surprisingly quick to accelerate (rather diesel like, not requiring change downs), not to say extremely refined. Having also driven the 1.6 Fabia only a couple of weeks ago (good in itself) I have to say the performance of the 1.4TSI in the Fabia would be in a different league. I think it would also make the car feel more mature which would be in keeping with Fabia's existing refinement and big little car feel.