[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Just wanted to give you an update on this. Landed in deceit and bailed out. Initially they told me that the armrest (incl taxes) comes at about 10000/- which sounded ok to me.

Just today I get a call from the dealer saying that is the price for jus the armrest and then I need to buy additional bushes and spares to install the armrest. Altogether, would total to about 18100/- it seems.. Now, that's definitely not worth it. But, I've made a point to myself that my next car comes with an armrest by default.

Try buying it from superskoda.com
You will probably get it for less.

[puchoo]

Almost 100% unquoted cost , really!!

Completely agree , not worth it at all , might be better to explore an after market brand and fit - those universal arm rests which one gets on ebay are around 1200-1500 or so - i am sure there are better brand which might exist which even at 5000-6000 would make more value for money...... provided one is willing to go in for a non skoda part!

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Just wanted to give you an update on this. Landed in deceit and bailed out. Initially they told me that the armrest (incl taxes) comes at about 10000/- which sounded ok to me.

Just today I get a call from the dealer saying that is the price for jus the armrest and then I need to buy additional bushes and spares to install the armrest. Altogether, would total to about 18100/- it seems.. Now, that's definitely not worth it. But, I've made a point to myself that my next car comes with an armrest by default.

[deepfusion]

Originally Posted by puchoo

Almost 100% unquoted cost , really!!

Completely agree , not worth it at all , might be better to explore an after market brand and fit - those universal arm rests which one gets on ebay are around 1200-1500 or so - i am sure there are better brand which might exist which even at 5000-6000 would make more value for money...... provided one is willing to go in for a non skoda part!

How has your trip to HP been?

The log is awaited.

[puchoo]

Originally Posted by deepfusion

How has your trip to HP been?

The log is awaited.

On its way in a bit!!

[93000BHP]

My first post after the introduction post.
First of all thanks to all members for providing such valuable feedback and information which helped me decide on the 1.6. Bought it last november but became a member only today.
Have been looking forward for details of the armrest but 18k

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by 93000BHP

My first post after the introduction post.
First of all thanks to all members for providing such valuable feedback and information which helped me decide on the 1.6. Bought it last november but became a member only today.
Have been looking forward for details of the armrest but 18k

Welcome to the club fellow-petrolhead. DO share your experiences and issues here so that we all get to know and treat our machines better.

About the armrest, -

[puchoo]

Welcome and congratulations!!! Looking forward to a write up and pictures!

Originally Posted by 93000BHP

My first post after the introduction post.
First of all thanks to all members for providing such valuable feedback and information which helped me decide on the 1.6. Bought it last november but became a member only today.
Have been looking forward for details of the armrest but 18k

[93000BHP]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Welcome to the club fellow-petrolhead. DO share your experiences and issues here so that we all get to know and treat our machines better.

-

Originally Posted by puchoo

Welcome and congratulations!!! Looking forward to a write up and pictures!

Thank you guys.
It has been almost 8 months since i brought home the fab but was not around much to enjoy it. Got oit end of nov but had to join back ship within a week for an urgent relief . But in that one week i had already clocked 1200 kms. Last time I was home added a few thousand kms to the odo and before I left the odo was almost reaching 5000.
Will be home soon

[puchoo]

First of all, apologies for posting this so late but I was out of the country for most of August and while I was hoping to be able to put this trip report before I left, was unable to.

Trip Summary

Total Distance: Total coverage of approximately 800kms
Time taken: 15 hours / Avg Speed of 53 Kmph on the whole
Road Type: 500 Kms on the plains and the rest on the hills
Road Quality: Roads on the plains were fine, most of the hills as well, about 50 Kms in almost off roading conditions

This was one trip I was really looking forward to given that ever since I got the Fabia home I have been confined to driving it in the city and not had a chance to go back home , which happens to be a little outside of Shimla. I really wanted to gauge what this car would do out on a proper stretch of highway and more importantly on hill driving : I got all that and much more on this trip thanks to encountering road surfaces which I was not expecting at all – both in a good and bad sense.

The trip started from Delhi early morning at about 6 AM. Delhi upto Chandigarh is what I qualify as the ‘Plains’ and beyond that even though the gradient is low to start with it is the hills.

On the plains the car was an absolute gem. NHAI has done a pretty decent job with respect to the quality of the road so it’s a reasonably comfortable and quiet drive (given the quality of the tarmac) , this is one area where while I was happy to have the extra power with regard to pick-up and better suspension did not excite me too much – reason being that I typically do not go beyond 110-115 – which I could also do in the WagonR , the difference thus was more from a “ How fast can I get to 110” rather than achieving top speeds which I was unable to do with the previous car.

But of course , needless to say the entire driving experience was elevated given that it the car is a segment up from the Wagon R , so pot holes were driven over with indifference , overtaking was easy , sharp turns were more controlled thanks to the tyres and the car was more stable.

Chandigarh took about 5 hours to reach , typically for me this is normally 3.5 hours , the added time was owing to the work which NHAI is carrying out short of Karnal all the way upto almost Ambala. Road widening and construction of additional flyovers is the work taking place and unfortunately maintaining a consistent speed is a problem , and in many places one has a single lane service lane available to cross a village or a town with the end result being jams and speeds as low as 15-20 KMPH.

Past Chandigarh things started taking on a different perspective. For all those who have not been through that area for a while this section has improved vastly. Firstly we have the express way from Zirakpur upto Parwanoo and very recently (April 2012) , a new express way has been made by the government which allows one to bypass Parwanoo as well and come out straight at Timber Trail - this little stretch can save upto 40 minutes of travel time since one avoids the congestion of Parwnoo , Kalka etc. This is a toll road but absolutely gorgeous and I would recommend highly that if anyone is around that area take out sometime and drive on it!

Anyway, back to the car, the hills is where the Fabia impressed me the most. It’s a beast, a damn mountain goat. Even with the AC on the car was running up the hills in 3rd at speeds which I had never managed to get on the older car. Overtaking was a breeze and hitting 70-80 was more the norm than the exception. The added advantage that we had was that the HP government had just redone the entire road till Shimla so the tarmac was smooth as silk.

Most of this drive was done in 3rd gear, even when I needed bursts of speed I got it at this level without needing to downshift, in the Wagon R this would have meant reducing to 2nd or even 1st depending on the situation. The wider tyres allow more impressive grip resulting in corners being dealt away with swiftly and without the need for excessive braking. It took about 2 hours only upto Shimla and post that ofcourse we hit the city traffic.

Mileage was another area where the Fabia beat the Wagon R – on the plains (till Chandigarh) the car averaged 17.8 Kmpl and climbing up this went down to about 15 which I am very happy and impressed with given how much I was pushing the car. So overall, an average mileage of about 16 Kmpl.

On the way down this was even better since it was downhill, the car recorded 16-16.5 on the hills and back to 17.5 -17.8 on the plains. This is with the AC on, aggressive driving in the hills and at about 100KMPH on the plains. I could not ask for more from her, Lots of fun with beautiful numbers on the fuel aspect as well.

The last stretch to our house is about 13Km’s (one way and one went on it multiple times) is just horrible. Refer to the attached picture of the tyre and you will get an idea of what the car had to go through. There is no road surface, it’s essentially lots of dirt and rocks thrown together to form some sort of a surface , add to this the fact that it was the Monsoons and one can imagine that this was not a something one wanted anything to do with but there is only 1 single road to our area and hence unavoidable.

Running up and down on this stretch 3-4 times I think took its toll on the car. Even though one was moving pretty much on clutch power only in 1st-2nd gear , by the end of the trip there were a few more things rattling inside the car , noises from the suspension sound a bit louder than they have before and I think the shockers will need to be looked at as well , in the sense that now in Delhi when one drives over a patch of bad road the suspension noise is much louder in the cabin then it used to be and there appear to be more noises as well – all this from the front 2 tyres , the rear appears fine.

The road also resulted in a plastic piece on my rear wiper coming off somewhere on the road , the driver windows creak a bit now on turns.

But the one thing I was most worried about was something I noticed when we got back to Delhi and I parked the car. The tyres and some parts of the alloys had an oily residue on them – so for example if I touched my finger to the tyre it came away with something ‘black’ on it , I tried hard to remember if this used to happen with the Wagon R as well but could not , and the reason I was concerned was because of the added advantage of coming downhill one was pushing the car even more on the way back – and by pushing I mean hard braking on corners , tight turns – lots of usage from the brakes. There was also some black particles which I have attributed as brake dust ( which is not a concern for me) but the oily residue was a bit mystifying – anyway within 2-3 days of driving in Delhi all of it went off , helped by a generous application of a tyre shine and cleaning solution as well – but would love to know what you guys think about this. Maybe I just went through an oil patch somewhere?

Also if I had any doubts on whether the alignment of the car was fine before starting, I know now for a fact that it is not and probably need to get both alignment and balancing done once.

To Sum up then

Good Things

1. Pickup and power delivery on the hills
2. Fuel economy
3. Stability
4. Smooth , comfortable and quiet ride

Irritants

1. There is something wrong with the battery – if I drive with the headlights on then the noise that the horn makes is lower than normal , if I switch off the headlights while still having the horn pressed it goes up by a few octaves – Something I should be worried about?

2. The slight engine vibration/tremor problem which I mentioned earlier seems to still exist , while upping the octane has definitely helped it’s still around

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by puchoo

Irritants

1. There is something wrong with the battery – if I drive with the headlights on then the noise that the horn makes is lower than normal , if I switch off the headlights while still having the horn pressed it goes up by a few octaves – Something I should be worried about?

2. The slight engine vibration/tremor problem which I mentioned earlier seems to still exist , while upping the octane has definitely helped it’s still around

Wow! That's a test indeed. The tyres do the talking for themselves. The Fabia spoils one so much with that sound deadening that the slightest variation in sounds alarms one. I've had people tell me, "Seriously?? Can you even hear something?? This is why they say you should drive with the music on!"

Back to the irritants:

1. Since the car is new, I would be surprised if it's a weak battery that's the problem. Cannot comment, sorry.

2. Have you checked whether the engine mount needs a replacement under warranty? I had the mount replaced and haven't heard that glug-glug-glug since.

[rajcs]

Thanks for the clinical analysis of car's performance. I have had the same experience of exhilarating performance of Fabia in the hills... so much so that I 've made trips to Manali, McLeodganj (twice), Nauradhar, Renukaji all in last 18 months. Last weekend (Aug 18-20) I too was in Narkanda/Thanedar to see the apple orchards. In spite some horrendous roads encountered in these trips, so far I never had any problem with suspension... ; touch wood.

Originally Posted by puchoo

... by the end of the trip there were a few more things rattling inside the car , noises from the suspension sound a bit louder than they have before and I think the shockers will need to be looked at as well , in the sense that now in Delhi when one drives over a patch of bad road the suspension noise is much louder in the cabin then it used to be and there appear to be more noises as well – all this from the front 2 tyres , the rear appears fine.

Any noise from suspension / body is best resolved at the earliest. Do not hesitate to drive to a service station and go for a test drive with an experienced mechanic. Leave the car for the day and you will things are settled under warranty.

[puchoo]

So i finally managed to go for a 7500 check up last week.

This is a newly opened workshop at Okhla , which makes life very easy for me else even the closest was a good 15 kms away while this one sits right next to my office.

A small setup and they dont have a body shop hence can only accommodate servicing and no major repairs. I made an appointment the evening before and landed up at 10 AM to hand over the car.

Not too many cars fortunately hence got attention as soon as i arrived. SA sat down with me and made a list of all the issues i had. Was informed that nothing would be charged unless they needed to top up engine oil etc. Time for pick up was given as 2 PM , but that was irrelevant as i was only going to pick it up post leaving office at 6 PM.

Complaints / tasks i put down

1. Noise on bad roads , possibly engine mounting
2. driver window creaking considerably on tight turns
3. Complained about the mud guards installed at the dealership and asked for new ones.
4. Lubrication etc on all doors
5. Reduction / change of horn tone especially if i put the lights on
6. activation of auto speed door lock
7. Wheel alignment , felt that the steering was a little off center while driving straight


I must also add that at 1:30 i got a call informing me that the car was ready with a verbal update on items done - engine mount was replaced under warranty.

1. Done - engine mounting replaced under warranty. Noise has since gone. Grilled the SA on why the need to change a mount so soon and he advised that a few batches of the Fabia have this problem.

2. Unable to replicate hence not resolved but the noise has almost stopped now , have a feeling that the lubrication did the job

3. Mud guards not available hence not put
4. Done
5. Unable to replicate , they hooked the car up but no fault in the electrical system came up

6. Done. Locks at 20kmph now
7. Done , but i am still not entirely happy and am planning to get it rechecked and get the balancing done as well through Bridgestone or JK tyres.

Engine oil etc did not require any top up , air filter they must have checked and even if they did it does not matter since i cleaned it myself recently enough.

Got the car back nicely washed , the soft touch was given a dash of polish , as well as the tyres - and man did they look good!

2 days later i got a call as well asking for feedback , the only thing i could think of that point ( though i should have mentioned the mud flaps etc as well) was the driver door/window noise. They apologized and asked me to come back and to their credit they followed up every day with me , and still are , asking me when i can leave the car for this job.

All in all an ok experience , definitely nothing along the lines of what one hears about Skoda. I planning to get the car serviced next month and will take care of the door at that point if required. What i did learn was that the dealership and my sales guy have not given me vouchers which they were supposed to hand over during the delivery of the car - 2 free vouchers , 1 for this check up and the other for the 15,000 km. Only got highlighted when the service guy asked for it

Only one sad thing - and i cannot blame the servicing center because of a failure to notice at my end - 2 days later i noticed several scratch marks on the left side of the bumper , along its entire height. I have not banged the car while driving , so its definitely not me , could be the service center guys or could simply be another driver at home or office but no way to prove anything since i did not notice this at the service center - hence will spend sometime on it with various polishes and waxes and see how much i can get out , else will ask them to do a touch up job.

I now need seat covers quite badly , looking for similar colored leather , love the ones which are on the laura and on the City VAT (with moonroof)

I am as mentioned above not happy with the alignment still , i still feel that the suspension was better prior to be going to shimla than it is now , could be just in my head

I paid 0.00 INR , no charges for anything.

[puchoo]

Just another update , managed to take the car up for another last minute dash to Shimla again a few days back and fortunately the roads were not as bad as they were last time

Got a mileage of about 16.8 overall which while not that important does make one happy , top speed achieved was about 145 for the last 80 Kms from Panipat back to Delhi - amazing , did not even know i was at those till my co passenger told me to slow it down a bit

Got a ticket for overspeeding at Karnal , 110 Kmph against the 90kmph allowed

Lastly , and much to my delight in some ways , the Mrs has expressed an interest to take over the Fabia and has allowed me to pick up another car and sell the Ritz that we have - she loves the Fabia and its 1.6 powerplant and now wants to have it to herself!

I have been doing some research and while i would have loved to pick up the laura its a bit expensive , and have frozen upon the Linea Tjet Plus for myself and if everything goes as planned should hopefully have her in sometime , if not i dont think i would be picking up anything else ( not really blown away by anything in that segment..... atleast not as of date) and the Ritz will stay.

Shall keep everyone updated!

[rajcs]

Originally Posted by puchoo

Got a ticket for overspeeding at Karnal , 110 Kmph against the 90kmph allowed

Radar trapping is now more the rule than exception on NH1 north of Delhi; so better to adhere to the speed limits.

Look out for a stationary Qualis / Gypsy facing the direction of travel between Sonepat and Shahbad. That's usually the radar guard. Slow down to under 90kmph immediately. Check post is mostly about a km further ahead.

You may also use the speed limit function in MFD and you would be careful not to exceed the limit. Keep it at 100 kmph accounting for speedo error and you should be OK. That beep sound and flashing display is quite annoying !!

Incidentally, there are radar traps within Lutyens Delhi too. I have been ticketed doing 70.3 kmph on Rajesh Pilot Marg. Challan is send to registered address of the car. Speed limit in city is 50.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by rajcs

You may also use the speed limit function in MFD and you would be careful not to exceed the limit. Keep it at 100 kmph accounting for speedo error and you should be OK. That beep sound and flashing display is quite annoying !!

Incidentally, there are radar traps within Lutyens Delhi too. I have been ticketed doing 70.3 kmph on Rajesh Pilot Marg. Challan is send to registered address of the car. Speed limit in city is 50.

.. really? Does the MFD have a function like that on the Fabia? OMG.. I still have a long way to go before I get to know the Fabia better I guess. Wonder what would happen if I ever happen to own one the complicated German consoles ever.

Yes, sharing stories about radar traps takes me back to some funny incidents too:
1. I am usually a sedate driver within traffic. Slow. Sticking to lane. And calm. A usual drive out with friends and suddenly I see cars/bikes braking hard and notice an interceptor in front. I pass off in the extreme right lane thinking that my vehicle papers are in order, I am not drunk and I am not speeding. And suddenly the cop jumps in front of my car too. I pull up with a smile on my face and the guy says "You were speeding". WHAT??? "Yes.. ". The inspector shows me on the radar gun that I was doing 67kmph while the city speed limit is 60kmph. I tried explaining to to him that a +/- 5% is allowed every where. He says, "I have not heard anything like that. If you were doing 62kmph, I would have let you go. BUT, 67?? No way!...click click click.. CHALLAN 300rs!"

2. An early morning airport run at 4am and I was keeping a steady 120kmph wherever possible and suddenly FLASH FLASH FLASH... For a moment I wondered who would be crazy enough to snap photographs at 4am ? Yikes! I ve blown it again.. A challan of 300rs again arrives at my doorstep a month later.

You see, I am an honest donor to the Bengaluru Traffic Police's welfare.