The Fabia Story As someone mentioned, she came shod with a strange ‘Slovakia’ brand of tyres called Matador. They’re ok. Seems to me that tyre noise is a bit high at the 80-90 kmph I hit on a run down the Mysore road, but I may be over-reacting or in a psychological loop induced by the knowledge that it’s a brand of tyre not known to me. In any case that’s not a scientific assessment made after comparing another similar sized and weight car on the same highway on the same day, with the same music at the same level, the A/C going at the same speed, the same 4 adults etc. or the same car with different tyres other parameters being the same
Someone else asked about the ground clearance: I take it as accurate the 146mm mentioned as I do not know the metrics. That said, we managed to clear all speed breakers without scraping the underpinnings, and that was with a payload of 4 adults. One particular hump on the Wind Tunnel Road is particularly nasty and often manages to take the epidermis off the downpipe on my Honda Fireblade, but not the Fabia.[
The TAFE people told me these first batch of Fabias are entirely imported. Even the battery comes from the Czech plant, so I don’t know what sort of warranties are on offer. Does anyone know if I can opt for an extended warranty? Does it make sense?
The service intervals I’m told are 10,000 kms, but they recommend a check-up at 5K kms before the first free service. At the rate my folks use the car we may just about hit 5K in a year. I did ask about the cost of spares and service because of stories I’ve heard of astronomical sums paid by Skoda owners to fix their Octavias, but my apprehensions were put to rest with assurances that most parts were reasonably priced (pack of lies ).
If you ask me, I’d say it all depends on your luck with the machine you get. I’ve heard of an Octavia blowing up its alternator that cost 40 thousand Rupees to replace… and one on which the battery died. But then those cases are aberrations- I certainly hope so as my folks are retired and cannot afford to spend a packet on maintaining their wheels. (For cheap maintenance, there was nothing to beat heir 20-year old Maruti 800. The A/C didn’t work anymore, but everything else did, and without much prodding and goading
The music system: The in-dash CD-cum-radio player is reminiscent of what the Swift offers (petrol?). Sadly there are only 4 front-mounted speakers: 2 in the doors, and 2 that bounce off the windscreen. I’m a music freak and love to immerse myself in my music while driving, so it is a disappointment not to have the thump of rear speakers on tap for my rock and jazz listening. In my humble opinion, this set up is good for western classical or ghazals—I can vouch that Brahms and Chopin sounded like they were performing just for us right there in the Fabia. If one is looking for more rambunctious bytes, an amplifier and rear speakers would be my prescription
Things that went awry: One rear passenger seat belt clip is missing but I think it’s slid under the seat where it jammed. Must have that sorted
The power steering-The only car I’ve ever owned was a Cielo, and the biggest flaw in the machine was its over-servoed steering. It just got too light at highway speeds, and that was most disconcerting. The Fabia, I’m glad to say, is aimed at more serious driving. The steering is well-loaded and proffers the right amount of assistance thru all the speeds I’ve done so far. I love the weighting even if she doesn’t have one of those fancier set ups that actually reduce assist with speed, I find it a pleasure
The power windows can be shut or opened from the outside (with the engine off), using the keys. Just twist the key in the door lock, hold it a few seconds, and all windows are operated. Helluva feature when you’ve stepped out of the car after turning off the engine, only to find an offside window down
The glove compartment has the sexiest damped lid ever made. I bet Aston Martins and Maseratis don’t have them. Once you unclick the latch and let go, she glides down gently to impress the most hardened phobe. The receptacle is even cooled by an A/C duct that can be flow controlled, so those sandwiches can be preserved before your lunch…or the champagne cooled for the date
Cool’ works here, doesn’t it
Adjustable headlights
Talking of headlights, the top of the line Fabia has projector lamps: could anyone tell me why and how they are better? Do you get a more focused beam like a stage spotlight? Is it that intense blue light we see on some passing cars or is that just the gas in special bulbs and not the technology of the lens?
ps. Patil, I shall check with the dealer when I next visit. Note from Mod - Please do not pase formatted text. Please write unformated text directly or copy from wordpad and add bolds/ italics on line
Last edited by ajmat : 3rd March 2008 at 13:07.
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