Skoda Fabia 1.2 MPI

PankajP · 1st August 2008, 18:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbr

IMO, Black is the shade to go .This shade really stands out with resemblence to octy/laura.The other shades look very much similar to swift.

Yep Black looks really good on Fabia. The alloys look magnificent with Black color..

AdvaithC · 6th August 2008, 19:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mysticeyes

I hope to make a detailed post of my experience from the begining and would like more reviews to be put up by the 1.2 HTP owners

Sure Mysticeyes, this is just the right thread for the Fabia petrol reviews. We will look forward to see how your 1400cc baby is running.

Continuing my love hate relation with the Skoda dealer in Fabia I booked a 1200cc one. They promised me no change in the price so let's see how it works. By the way, can you share the email addresses of both Skoda India and Skoda International?

Mysticeyes · 6th August 2008, 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdvaithC

Sure Mysticeyes, this is just the right thread for the Fabia petrol reviews. We will look forward to see how your 1400cc baby is running.

Continuing my love hate relation with the Skoda dealer in Fabia I booked a 1200cc one. They promised me no change in the price so let's see how it works. By the way, can you share the email addresses of both Skoda India and Skoda International?

whihc color did you book advaith? if the color you said was in stock before august 1st, then you need to pay the old price only (this is what the dealer and skoda told me)

i'd be glad to share the email id's of both. but is that allowed in this thread? hope moderators would advise on that. else you can go to skoda india website Contact and they've given two contact email ids. one of them does not work. try mailing to both id's. same way, you can go to the international website ?koda Auto - Contacts
and find the email id

i would post my experience till now on the fabia purchase soon

Mysticeyes · 6th August 2008, 22:32

Here it goes..a recollection of my experiences from January 2008 till now. I was just “driving” in my 2005 Zen and suddenly, a thought of “journey” in a car entered my mind. I used “journey” and “driving” because both are different. I’ve been using Yamaha RX 100 for the last 14 years and even now, every ride in it is still journey. Those who have used RX 100 must be knowing what I meant and how much they wish to keep on traveling in RX forever. For the last 1.5 years, I’ve just been “driving” my car and not enjoying it even though I keep both my vehicles polished and dust-free anytime.

Thus entered the Fabia diesel in January 2008 and as soon as it was launched in our city, I rushed over to take a test drive. It was a pretty hot afternoon and took the TD around the city. At that time I was ignorant about the importance of phrases such as ‘torque’ or ‘power-band’. I just kept looking at the new baby which was waiting outside the dealer’s window and was licking my tongue in anticipation. The TD vehicle was C. Beige TDI Ambiente, spanking new and I was running to the car to lay my hands on it. I was impressed with the looks and styling and felt so much assured with the familiar “Thunk” sound of the closing door..it was the same sound of the door closing in Corsa which was once owned by my dad years before.

Once the baby got into life, a shudder went through my body. I felt the vibration passing up from my feet to head and was shocked. I told myself that this may be because the car is brand new and would smoothen up over time. It was time to move on and slotted into 1st gear. There is a medium climb to enter the road from the dealers compound as my 1st apprehension about the pulling lower down in the band appeared. I felt as if my Zen had more pulling power than this baby. I again reassured myself telling that the car is new. Soon we were on the main road and the traffic was such that I could slot it till 3rd gear only. I was stomping the pedal so much, but the baby was not willing to obey me and I got frustrated and frustrated. I drove around for about 5 Kms and felt totally disappointed by the performance and drove back to the dealers place and with a long sigggggghhhhhhhh… I resigned myself to the fate that this baby too won’t give me the “feeling of journey” I was looking for. But still I couldn’t stop looking at it and asked the guy there about the launch of the petrol model. He told that he had no idea and if ever the petrol was launched, it would be around 1lakh less than diesel. My heart felt blank that I would’ve to wait more. See how stupid I was..if only I had taken the baby to the free bye-pass road I could’ve felt the real power of her in the top range.

But again, I use my car for city driving (98%), that means I would be slotted in 3rd gear at the max. most time except on saturdays or sundays. Long distance comes in once a while only..that too limited to a distance of 70 kms. The average distance covered by me would be around 20 kms/day on the days when I use my car. That means I would be covering around 8000-8500 per year on normal usage. See how skewed I’m towards my RX 100, as most of the other outings are on my loyal buddy for 14 years. So these were the factors that lead me to drop the idea of diesel option. More than that, the sluggish performance of diesel fabia during city ride really put me off.

The wait for getting a car for my “journey” prolonged.. one day, another thought entered my mind. I thought, why don’t I take an used Old Honda City 1.5 or VTEC (Type 2- 2000-2003). I toyed with this idea for long and decided to take the plunge in May 2008. Checked out couple of 1.5’s. Most of them were treated badly by owners. Few good 1.5’s did come up but they were asking about 5lakhs. I had calculated that I would be willing to part with that much bucks only if I get the VTEC. Finally few VTEC’s started popping up and again, those precious babies were in bad condition. By then, it was June and I was getting really bit impatient about things. One thing was that OHC was on such a demand here that some guys were willing to pay more than what the owners were asking if a good OHC came through.

I had almost given up hope of OHC and out of the blue, sprang up a well cared VTEC (2001). It had done 80000 till then and had undergone a service recently. But, the owner was adamant on getting 6.5 lakhs and I said bye-bye to him. Within few days, another VTEC popped in. I couldn’t believe that I saw what I saw. It was an immaculately maintained shining scratch free Black VTEC (2002) which screamed drive meeeeee..with genuine leather seats and the most juicy part was that it had done only 30000 km till then. It looked even more better than showroom condition. The looks were enough to keep me drooling forever in life just dreaming about that baby. The owner started at Rs. 6lakhs and finally settled at 5.80 lakhs.

I started visualizing myself driving the black beauty within a week and made the finance ready. One fine morning, I got a ring from the owner and I took the call with a wide smile. I thought that he’s ringing to ask me whether if we could complete the deal that day itself. But what followed was the shock of my life. He told that he had a rethinking about selling the VTEC. It was like a Hiroshima over me. I begged, pleaded, sweet talked and did everything possible to soften him. I packed off to his home that evening and told that I was even willing to pay 6 bucks for that jem. He said that he would think over his sleep and let me know the next morning. And he did ring up next day, only to drop the 2nd bomb over me that he’s not going to sell it anyway, even if someone is willing to give him 10 lakhs. Well…he added that he understood the value of his VTEC suddenly one day while he was going thro some blogs/ forums about the VTEC. Sometimes I wonder how much a guy would’ve been happy if internet weren’t there. And to add salt on wound, I see that black beauty almost daily gliding driven by the cruel man, radiating its presence in the form of the sparkling.

I resigned myself to fate still unaware of the fact that Fabia 1.2 HTP was launched silently in India. One fine day, as I was brushing through the newspaper, I read the news of the 1.2 HTP being launched in Kerala. And on the same day I rang up the Skoda dealer and he told me that a car was available for TD. I went for the TD that evening itself. Once bitten, twice shy. I didn’t carry much hope with me as I had inflated to the brim during the previous TD of diesel fabia. The TD vehicle was 1.2 HTP Active version. I wasn’t much impressed by the gaps and holes and manual windows, but was happy to hear the options in Classic and Ambiente versions.

Soon, the baby jumped to life and presto!!!!! This time, the vibrations weren’t there. I Switched off the engine and started again and again 3 times. Praise the lordddd.. I slotted it to 1st gear and just gave the pedal a light touch and the baby was off smoothly. I couldn’t believe the difference in experience between petrol and diesel. Soon the vehicle reached the steep surface before joining the main road. In diesel’s case, I had to floor the pedal fully, but this time, the new HTP baby climbed it with the least effort. I Couldn’t believe what I went through and a wide grin appeared on me and we soon joined the traffic. The most striking thing was that it required very few gear shifts compared to what all I drove before and this made me a very happy man. This time I had planned to take the TD through the heart of the city during the peak time (5.30pm-7.30pm) with the after office hours at its height.

I couldn’t control my smile when the HTP baby obeyed all my whims and fancies and took me where I wanted to with the least gear shifts and less flooring. The AC was more effective than the diesel version. Back at the dealer, I kept looking at the HTP baby and visualized about one such thing in my garage. I took few more TD’s and once took fabia to a curvy, twisty potholed road. The handling was so good and assuring and the suspension was so sweet that I felt like being in a Volvo bus (reminds me of the Trivandrum- Bangalore Volvo journeys in the golden days of bachelorhood)

I started googling for the reviews and comments and this in turn took me to Team BHP. Going thro some of the posts were so horrific to say the least, especially about the low mileage and delay in deliveries. As I read more and more, I felt as if I should wait more time to get my dream vehicle. I had almost given up the hope again.

In-between, one day, I had a chance to drive my friends new Swift VDi. I was thoroughly impressed by its peppy response. But once it reached the twisty section, the car went where it wished and not where I intended it to go. Moreover, I could feel the whole damn gutters and potholes on the seat. The interiors were bit tacky and the finish was not good. It wasn’t much different from the Zen I’m using. But still, the thoughts of Swift VDi went through my mind and I drove my friends Swift VDi once more. Well now, a new scenario emerged and I decided to make a comparison between 1.2 HTP and Swift VDi. Of course, you can’t compare the economics of diesel and petrol. But the other things such as the ride and the quality, fit, finish, Skoda is miles ahead of Maruti/ Suzuki. Still I burned midnight oils to develop a comparison model including the economics and finally presented it to my wifey, who in just a split second, gave the decision. She simply tore up the comparison paper into pieces and said “either me or Swift VDi would be hanging around here. In case, its fabia, I would be hanging around here forever”. So that made things easier for me.

I kept reading various blogs/ posts and the turning point came in the form of NETCHEFS thread. I read all posts over and over and did some detailed studies in the net and finally, news were coming out that Skoda has upgraded some of the components (whether its software or valves or something else. I don’t know still) and positive responses came up about the new HTP. I was almost at the door of the dealer and put one leg inside..

One day, I found an elderly lady parking a white fabia baby and to my disbelief, it was a petrol baby. I just jumped on the chance and started a conversation with her. She got her vehicle 2 weeks back and was very much satisfied and happy with her fabia and now, I was sitting at the booking table on June 30th... The relief is felt on the day I booked after many twists and turns like the good old “Santhi” Serial is beyond words to be elaborated.

July 29, 2008 – 10 AM – The dealer rang and told me that there’s going to be a price hike on August 1st and if I make full payment before that, I could be insulated from the hike. This set me scrambling for finance and finally made the full payment on July 30th morning.

July 30, 2008 – 2 PM – The dealer’s call – Tangerine Orange won’t be available for delivery on the scheduled date as it’s out of stock. I can selected from C. White or Black or Silver if I want the car on existing price level. I insisted on T. Orange . He told me that I would’ve to pay the hiked price since the T. Orange has to come from abroad. I again insist on t. Orange and the dealer says that I’m free to cancel my order. This made me mad and I got in touch with a Senior GM of the dealer in Cochin. He said that it might take 3 or 5 or even more time to get T. Orange and they can’t give a date. Went to the dealer at evening and had a fight. The place resembled local market with various customers in person and through phone fighting for colors.

July 31, 2008 – Shot a mail at morning to Skoda India with a copy to Skoda Auto International. Within 10 minutes, I got a mail from Skoda that they’ve asked for a detailed report from the dealer.

July 31, 2008 – 2 PM – A Call from Senior GM of the dealer that I would be getting the T. Orange color within the specified time and that Skoda is flowing in some T.Orange kits to meet the circumstances . But the ambiguity over the price still remains.

August 1, 2008 - A Call from Senior GM of the dealer intimating that the price hike would be bare minimum

I feel that buying a car is the personal choice of each individual and it depends on what all factors which he value most. For me, it’s the style, fit, build and refinement which are of paramount importance. I’m sure that HTP won’t be too less in FE.

Now, the longggggggggggggggggggg wait continues, striking in the calendar to be 18th August for my Tangerine Orange to roll out. . Hope there won’t be more twists in the story. Dear BHP-ians, sorry for this utter boring post, but had to type out and relieve my experience. Now you may kindly wake up.

6th August 2008, 22:32	#64
Mysticeyes BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 396 Thanked: 748 Times	Buying Fabia 1.2 HTP - My Experience so Far Here it goes..a recollection of my experiences from January 2008 till now. I was just “driving” in my 2005 Zen and suddenly, a thought of “journey” in a car entered my mind. I used “journey” and “driving” because both are different. I’ve been using Yamaha RX 100 for the last 14 years and even now, every ride in it is still journey. Those who have used RX 100 must be knowing what I meant and how much they wish to keep on traveling in RX forever. For the last 1.5 years, I’ve just been “driving” my car and not enjoying it even though I keep both my vehicles polished and dust-free anytime. Thus entered the Fabia diesel in January 2008 and as soon as it was launched in our city, I rushed over to take a test drive. It was a pretty hot afternoon and took the TD around the city. At that time I was ignorant about the importance of phrases such as ‘torque’ or ‘power-band’. I just kept looking at the new baby which was waiting outside the dealer’s window and was licking my tongue in anticipation. The TD vehicle was C. Beige TDI Ambiente, spanking new and I was running to the car to lay my hands on it. I was impressed with the looks and styling and felt so much assured with the familiar “Thunk” sound of the closing door..it was the same sound of the door closing in Corsa which was once owned by my dad years before. Once the baby got into life, a shudder went through my body. I felt the vibration passing up from my feet to head and was shocked. I told myself that this may be because the car is brand new and would smoothen up over time. It was time to move on and slotted into 1st gear. There is a medium climb to enter the road from the dealers compound as my 1st apprehension about the pulling lower down in the band appeared. I felt as if my Zen had more pulling power than this baby. I again reassured myself telling that the car is new. Soon we were on the main road and the traffic was such that I could slot it till 3rd gear only. I was stomping the pedal so much, but the baby was not willing to obey me and I got frustrated and frustrated. I drove around for about 5 Kms and felt totally disappointed by the performance and drove back to the dealers place and with a long sigggggghhhhhhhh… I resigned myself to the fate that this baby too won’t give me the “feeling of journey” I was looking for. But still I couldn’t stop looking at it and asked the guy there about the launch of the petrol model. He told that he had no idea and if ever the petrol was launched, it would be around 1lakh less than diesel. My heart felt blank that I would’ve to wait more. See how stupid I was..if only I had taken the baby to the free bye-pass road I could’ve felt the real power of her in the top range. But again, I use my car for city driving (98%), that means I would be slotted in 3rd gear at the max. most time except on saturdays or sundays. Long distance comes in once a while only..that too limited to a distance of 70 kms. The average distance covered by me would be around 20 kms/day on the days when I use my car. That means I would be covering around 8000-8500 per year on normal usage. See how skewed I’m towards my RX 100, as most of the other outings are on my loyal buddy for 14 years. So these were the factors that lead me to drop the idea of diesel option. More than that, the sluggish performance of diesel fabia during city ride really put me off. The wait for getting a car for my “journey” prolonged.. one day, another thought entered my mind. I thought, why don’t I take an used Old Honda City 1.5 or VTEC (Type 2- 2000-2003). I toyed with this idea for long and decided to take the plunge in May 2008. Checked out couple of 1.5’s. Most of them were treated badly by owners. Few good 1.5’s did come up but they were asking about 5lakhs. I had calculated that I would be willing to part with that much bucks only if I get the VTEC. Finally few VTEC’s started popping up and again, those precious babies were in bad condition. By then, it was June and I was getting really bit impatient about things. One thing was that OHC was on such a demand here that some guys were willing to pay more than what the owners were asking if a good OHC came through. I had almost given up hope of OHC and out of the blue, sprang up a well cared VTEC (2001). It had done 80000 till then and had undergone a service recently. But, the owner was adamant on getting 6.5 lakhs and I said bye-bye to him. Within few days, another VTEC popped in. I couldn’t believe that I saw what I saw. It was an immaculately maintained shining scratch free Black VTEC (2002) which screamed drive meeeeee..with genuine leather seats and the most juicy part was that it had done only 30000 km till then. It looked even more better than showroom condition. The looks were enough to keep me drooling forever in life just dreaming about that baby. The owner started at Rs. 6lakhs and finally settled at 5.80 lakhs. I started visualizing myself driving the black beauty within a week and made the finance ready. One fine morning, I got a ring from the owner and I took the call with a wide smile. I thought that he’s ringing to ask me whether if we could complete the deal that day itself. But what followed was the shock of my life. He told that he had a rethinking about selling the VTEC. It was like a Hiroshima over me. I begged, pleaded, sweet talked and did everything possible to soften him. I packed off to his home that evening and told that I was even willing to pay 6 bucks for that jem. He said that he would think over his sleep and let me know the next morning. And he did ring up next day, only to drop the 2nd bomb over me that he’s not going to sell it anyway, even if someone is willing to give him 10 lakhs. Well…he added that he understood the value of his VTEC suddenly one day while he was going thro some blogs/ forums about the VTEC. Sometimes I wonder how much a guy would’ve been happy if internet weren’t there. And to add salt on wound, I see that black beauty almost daily gliding driven by the cruel man, radiating its presence in the form of the sparkling. I resigned myself to fate still unaware of the fact that Fabia 1.2 HTP was launched silently in India. One fine day, as I was brushing through the newspaper, I read the news of the 1.2 HTP being launched in Kerala. And on the same day I rang up the Skoda dealer and he told me that a car was available for TD. I went for the TD that evening itself. Once bitten, twice shy. I didn’t carry much hope with me as I had inflated to the brim during the previous TD of diesel fabia. The TD vehicle was 1.2 HTP Active version. I wasn’t much impressed by the gaps and holes and manual windows, but was happy to hear the options in Classic and Ambiente versions. Soon, the baby jumped to life and presto!!!!! This time, the vibrations weren’t there. I Switched off the engine and started again and again 3 times. Praise the lordddd.. I slotted it to 1st gear and just gave the pedal a light touch and the baby was off smoothly. I couldn’t believe the difference in experience between petrol and diesel. Soon the vehicle reached the steep surface before joining the main road. In diesel’s case, I had to floor the pedal fully, but this time, the new HTP baby climbed it with the least effort. I Couldn’t believe what I went through and a wide grin appeared on me and we soon joined the traffic. The most striking thing was that it required very few gear shifts compared to what all I drove before and this made me a very happy man. This time I had planned to take the TD through the heart of the city during the peak time (5.30pm-7.30pm) with the after office hours at its height. I couldn’t control my smile when the HTP baby obeyed all my whims and fancies and took me where I wanted to with the least gear shifts and less flooring. The AC was more effective than the diesel version. Back at the dealer, I kept looking at the HTP baby and visualized about one such thing in my garage. I took few more TD’s and once took fabia to a curvy, twisty potholed road. The handling was so good and assuring and the suspension was so sweet that I felt like being in a Volvo bus (reminds me of the Trivandrum- Bangalore Volvo journeys in the golden days of bachelorhood) I started googling for the reviews and comments and this in turn took me to Team BHP. Going thro some of the posts were so horrific to say the least, especially about the low mileage and delay in deliveries. As I read more and more, I felt as if I should wait more time to get my dream vehicle. I had almost given up the hope again. In-between, one day, I had a chance to drive my friends new Swift VDi. I was thoroughly impressed by its peppy response. But once it reached the twisty section, the car went where it wished and not where I intended it to go. Moreover, I could feel the whole damn gutters and potholes on the seat. The interiors were bit tacky and the finish was not good. It wasn’t much different from the Zen I’m using. But still, the thoughts of Swift VDi went through my mind and I drove my friends Swift VDi once more. Well now, a new scenario emerged and I decided to make a comparison between 1.2 HTP and Swift VDi. Of course, you can’t compare the economics of diesel and petrol. But the other things such as the ride and the quality, fit, finish, Skoda is miles ahead of Maruti/ Suzuki. Still I burned midnight oils to develop a comparison model including the economics and finally presented it to my wifey, who in just a split second, gave the decision. She simply tore up the comparison paper into pieces and said “either me or Swift VDi would be hanging around here. In case, its fabia, I would be hanging around here forever”. So that made things easier for me. I kept reading various blogs/ posts and the turning point came in the form of NETCHEFS thread. I read all posts over and over and did some detailed studies in the net and finally, news were coming out that Skoda has upgraded some of the components (whether its software or valves or something else. I don’t know still) and positive responses came up about the new HTP. I was almost at the door of the dealer and put one leg inside.. One day, I found an elderly lady parking a white fabia baby and to my disbelief, it was a petrol baby. I just jumped on the chance and started a conversation with her. She got her vehicle 2 weeks back and was very much satisfied and happy with her fabia and now, I was sitting at the booking table on June 30th... The relief is felt on the day I booked after many twists and turns like the good old “Santhi” Serial is beyond words to be elaborated. July 29, 2008 – 10 AM – The dealer rang and told me that there’s going to be a price hike on August 1st and if I make full payment before that, I could be insulated from the hike. This set me scrambling for finance and finally made the full payment on July 30th morning. July 30, 2008 – 2 PM – The dealer’s call – Tangerine Orange won’t be available for delivery on the scheduled date as it’s out of stock. I can selected from C. White or Black or Silver if I want the car on existing price level. I insisted on T. Orange . He told me that I would’ve to pay the hiked price since the T. Orange has to come from abroad. I again insist on t. Orange and the dealer says that I’m free to cancel my order. This made me mad and I got in touch with a Senior GM of the dealer in Cochin. He said that it might take 3 or 5 or even more time to get T. Orange and they can’t give a date. Went to the dealer at evening and had a fight. The place resembled local market with various customers in person and through phone fighting for colors. July 31, 2008 – Shot a mail at morning to Skoda India with a copy to Skoda Auto International. Within 10 minutes, I got a mail from Skoda that they’ve asked for a detailed report from the dealer. July 31, 2008 – 2 PM – A Call from Senior GM of the dealer that I would be getting the T. Orange color within the specified time and that Skoda is flowing in some T.Orange kits to meet the circumstances . But the ambiguity over the price still remains. August 1, 2008 - A Call from Senior GM of the dealer intimating that the price hike would be bare minimum I feel that buying a car is the personal choice of each individual and it depends on what all factors which he value most. For me, it’s the style, fit, build and refinement which are of paramount importance. I’m sure that HTP won’t be too less in FE. Now, the longggggggggggggggggggg wait continues, striking in the calendar to be 18th August for my Tangerine Orange to roll out. . Hope there won’t be more twists in the story. Dear BHP-ians, sorry for this utter boring post, but had to type out and relieve my experience. Now you may kindly wake up.
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