GC issue with Fabia?

[AM_SOS]

Hello all !

This is my first post on the forum, and the immediate context is that I am looking for feedback on the Polo, Fabia, Grand Punto, and i20, specifically on the tricky issue of ground clearance.

This is a key issue for me, as the car will have to run on bad roads. Of course, there is no off-roading involved, but then the driving cycle will involve frequent trips on badly paved highways.

Unless I am mistaken the model that debuted the Fabia in India had a 134 mm GC which has now been changed to 146 mm as part of the rough road package.

However, if you compare this with the standard GC of most cars (165 - 170 mm), it seems to fall short by a significant margin.

I am therefore wondering if the Fabia is quite prone to scrapping its underside on bad road, speedbreakers etc.

This aspect obviously has to do with the suspension setup, wheelbase to GC ratio (?), typre type.

I would appreciate if people commented on this aspect of the cars mentioned above.

Thanks!

[milestogo]

Dont just go by the numbers. Take a TD. I've driven the fabia, punto and the innova. Punto and innova both scrape in places where the fabia just sails over. Its the handling that I miss in the fabia.

[MK3]

Yes, i've not faced any such scraping with my fabia. I've driven only 6000 kms so far and mostly in bangalore and NHs to chennai, salem, tiruvannamalai. Out of these bangalore is known for its speed breakers and road to thiruvannamalai is not to be considered a road at all except for trucks and bus.

[mayankjha1806]

Figures quoted above are wrong, here are the right ones (Source Autocar March 2012 edition)

Fabia - 158mm
Brio - 165mm
i20 - 165mm
Punto - 185mm
Polo - 168mm

Did you took a TD of the cars above, to ascertain if they scrape at all? GC is one parameter, and there are others like how soft the suspensions are, and wheelbase which i have not looked into, and they can also contribute towards the problem. Unless one has driven it cannot be stated with confidence. Hence recommend you to taken them for a spin over bid speed breakers.

BTW, the Fabia owners in my apartment never commented on its low GC being a problem.

[deepfusion]

@am_sos,

I have driven the Fabia over potholes, the no-roads, and the mini hillocks that exist on the roads, specifically in U.P. and Haryana.

Its certainly a no-brainer that the Fabia just flows over all these.

[kunaldhami]

I have driven my Fabia for approx 38K kms and yet to scrape a bumper whereas our Honda City(now sold) love to kiss every speed breakers with 5 adults and some luggage in it.

[CrackedHead]

Having seen Aligadh's roads (or the lack of them) personally. I would also advise you to take test drives of all these cars and drive over the typical speed breakers and potholes.

Also look at spare part costs.

[AM_SOS]

Thanks all!

A quick question about the driveability, which for me is the really crucial issue, given that in everyday motoring (city and highway) it is really the torque that matters.

The specs for the current 3 cylinder petrol specify 110Nm @ 3750 rpm. Now, on paper this seems to be at par with say the Swift ( 114 Nm @ 4000 rpm ).

However, the Swift is also much more lighter than the Fabia, so one is not sure about the real world performance.

Can someone comment on the low end and mid range torque of the 1.2 MPI ?

How does it compare in the city and highway driving (sub 100 kmph speed) with other cars in its segment? But also particularly when compared to smaller cars such as the Spark.

Thanks!

[Dr.Vikas]

Hi all,
My special thanks to AM_SOS.. I think this thread won't be complete without my input..
Why so, simply 'cos, today only I intimated my claim to the INS. company- Bajaj Allianz about what could be the 'worst' outcome considering the LOW GC of Fabia- 'Damaged Oil Sump'!!
I own a New Fabia TDI since last 17 months & till date have done 28+K kms, with a very happy ownership experience except this incident.. So got the leakage fixed with M-seal for the time being & now waiting for the spare part to be arrived to Shrine Auto, the dealer workshop at Kolhapur..
I have decided to go for claim of the repair job under Insurance cover, as I already have opted for the 'Drive Assure' plan that offers Engine protection also ! (Though not necessary here in my case, as the engine is 'safe') Lucky me.. Why? To my surprise, there was another New Fabia just 3 months 'old' already at the workshop, with same problem as of mine- 'Oil Sump Leakage', but unfortunately that extensively led to further damage to the engine as well as to the 'Turbo' !!
And the approximate cost of repair for 'that' Fabia is quoted to whooping INR 3L; as the Turbo itself costs 1L ..
BTW, I am planning to get the 2nd service of my car done along with this repair.. Will update the proceedings..

[puchoo]

While my Fabia is one of the youngest on the forum at only about 2000km , i can safely and confidently attest to the fact that the clearance is perfectly fine. I have done by bit of bad roads and even worse illegal speed breakers and have not scraped it at all.

[deepfusion]

I feel it is on the stiffer side, when compared to the fusion. And Fusion, by no means is soft. So you can well estimate.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by Dr.Vikas

Hi all,
And the approximate cost of repair for 'that' Fabia is quoted to whooping INR 3L; as the Turbo itself costs 1L ..
BTW, I am planning to get the 2nd service of my car done along with this repair.. Will update the proceedings..

Holy moly ! That's half the price of the car itself. Almost. I just don't understand this pricing mechanism of Skoda. But, yes, I've heard this issue of a damaged oil sump is happening too often on VW TDIs. In fact, the service center fellow told me the same.

[Dr.Vikas]

@ mempheS.D,
I think, it's not simply half the price of the car, if you calculate it carefully.. B'cos if you deduct all the taxes from the ORP & consider just the Invoice price, you'll find the 'estimate' even more 'gigantic' !! Here, one must not forget, this includes the Labor charges also along with the costly Spares... As most of the cost paid can be reimbursed through Insurance, there won't be any heavy burden for the owner though..
BTW, I have been given an estimate of 'just' 1.3- 1.4 K towards the repair charges as to be borne by me, that of course, except the OIL charges.. So, happily accepted.. And the spare is supposed to arrive by today..
Bye,

[rajcs]

Originally Posted by Dr.Vikas

Why so, simply 'cos, today only I intimated my claim to the INS. company- Bajaj Allianz about what could be the 'worst' outcome considering the LOW GC of Fabia- 'Damaged Oil Sump'!!
I own a New Fabia TDI since last 17 months & till date have done 28+K kms, with a very happy ownership experience except this incident.. So got the leakage fixed with M-seal for the time being & now waiting for the spare part to be arrived to Shrine Auto, the dealer workshop at Kolhapur.. .

Did the oil sump get damaged in spite of the underbody guard provided as part of the "India Package"?

Last weekend I was driving on a fairly deteriorated road from Chakarata to Kanesar in Uttarakhand on a friend's Diesel Punto, which scrapped the road on a number of occasions. I was under the impression, the underbody guard would provide adequate protection.

[Dr.Vikas]

Did the oil sump get damaged in spite of the underbody guard provided as part of the "India Package"?

Yeah, it got damaged despite the 'guard' was on 'duty'!
Jokes apart, though the 'Engine Protector' is there to take care of the 'Oil Sump' of Fabia, with this & some other examples too it seems, this much protection is not 'enough' at least for the 'countryside' roads. Even if it is not a direct underbelly impact, but some indirect one (through the Guard) could also be sufficient for such damage/ leakage of the Oil Sump.
In my case, I remember I applied the brakes urgently that not only resulted into instant stoppage of the car but the shockers also worked immediately & a bit extra 'forcibly'. And that had caused a downward movement of the 'nose' of the car with which the underbelly, especially the Oil Sump area struck hard either onto a ground 'hump' or onto a stone. Whatsoever very soon, a biker behind intimated me about the 'untoward' result saying 'Saar, there is a Oil leakage!'. At first, I thought it could be the dripping of some 'condensed water' considering the continuous use of A/C! Optimistic me, But alas! the story was something different.
Here is the pic-