[shivir]

Originally Posted by Zero Cool

^^^ not just on the forum, but a lot of fabias are now on Delhi roads....imo more than punto or even polo for that matter!!! and BTW the fabia looks awesome from the side view and mileage ur getting is amazing for a 1.6ltr car. i mean currently im getting abt 12-13 for my sx4 bhai!!!

I am very impressed too! Im not too sure if thats along term thing or is it because I cant really tear it up through office hour traffic. Also IMHO the A/C will impact this substantially once the summer rolls in.

Just nice little factoid guys - Saw three brand new red fabias on my way to work today - which was cool! Two diesel elegances and one was the 1.2 petrol elegance. So I am seeing a lot more on the road

@ Mohit - hope you get your car today as promised and drive safe!
@ Dry Ice - Cant make an honest call on that since I had my music cranked up quite a bit, but it did seem relatively non intrusive on the noise front!

Also, just as information - the service interval recommended is 15000 KMs or 12 months, whichever is earlier - which helps on the overall cost - I have heard a regular service is upward of 5K (Im talking the free service here)!

[Zero Cool]

dude if skoda provides quality actually there is no worry for the service cost. i gave my sx4 for its 3 free service and the estimated bill is about 1500 bux. now that is quite a difference but when your incurring this only once a year plus the main difference is because of the synthetic oil being used by skoda, one should not really fuss over it.

talking of service, i came across a thread over here where some gentleman gave his fabia for service and when he got it back there was a slight discoloration with one of its rear doors. though giriraj (or maybe it was silvertone) totally refused that they had anything to do with the cars door the customer was obviously angry and rightly so. not that this is common only with skoda or say ford.....i myself have seen TWICE cars at safdurjung hyundai being banged into the walls by the service staff!!! even service at apra auto doesnt match up the standards set by competent in delhi. i guess maybe it is just a wee bit safer to give your car in delhi than to these mooks here in gurgaon.

[arvi86]

Congrats Shivir. That is one red hot Fabia. Absolutely beautiful and stunning. I always thought that the VW Polo was best looking car in red but this one almost beats that. I think the recent facelift, though very subtle, has improved the looks of the car and make it look much more mature than the previous version.

Wish you years and years of happy mile-munching !

[drsnt]

Congrats on the red devil.
I see that corner lights are provided in the car, i read someone got them working in his laura. if wiring is there I think that even your can can have functional cornering lights with some ecu changes,

[shivir]

@Zero Cool - In complete agreement - will give it to Giriraj for the first service and then take it from there. Im not averse to giving it somewhere in Delhi but Giriraj is really close to the house and makes a lot of sense. Will supervise the entire service and see whether they look after my car the right way or not. If they do then it just helps me a whole lot. Also I think Skoda uses only Shell Helix for their cars and also recommend it - so it will be a little more expensive I guess! I dont mind spending that little extra once a year for a quality spa session for the car. I have also written a review on Giriraj in the Dealerships Forum - which might answer some questions. I believe there has been a change in ownership which will brig about a change in name later. Ill only know for sure once I clock 15K.

@arvi86 - Thanks Mate! I do think the Fabia is nice and mature looking however, I think the Polo looks a lot sharper as does the SRV - which I still think is the nicest looking hatch out there! But I can tell you for sure it outperforms the Polo & SRV and a lot of the lower end sedans too!

@drsnt - Im not too sure how that works -plus also I hear stuff like that has an impact on the warranty. Its my first venture away from Maruti and am still a little too scared to mess with the warranty. I guess a little later into the ownership I might be able to.

[agm]

Fantabulous . Congrats Shivir for your latest aquisition .

This car looks stunning with those classy looking fog lamps and minor changes to the front . Screams premium !

Got the chance to take a short test-drive and i was choked till neck with the built quality of this czech beauty .

One of my friend have shortlisted i20 and fabia . Equipment level in i20 is much more but overall Fabia 1.6 is a better buy .

Can you please tell me if the stock music system can be changed or not? it has got some code which makes it difficult to make the aftermarket HU work .

[shivir]

Originally Posted by agm

Fantabulous . Congrats Shivir for your latest aquisition .

This car looks stunning with those classy looking fog lamps and minor changes to the front . Screams premium !

Got the chance to take a short test-drive and i was choked till neck with the built quality of this czech beauty .

One of my friend have shortlisted i20 and fabia . Equipment level in i20 is much more but overall Fabia 1.6 is a better buy .

Can you please tell me if the stock music system can be changed or not? it has got some code which makes it difficult to make the aftermarket HU work .

Thanks agm. I would pick the fabia over the i20 seven days a week, because all the i20 offers is kit - nothing in the driving range and pricing of the sports i20 is close to 1.6 fabia - so no brainer right there.

I believe that the dealers can change the stereo - however I havent tried so cant give an accurate answer!

[shivir]

Review On Interiors / Ergo / Upholstery

Ok, so when I bought the car I knew maintaining the interiors would be a nightmare. And so it has turned out to be. The seats pick all sorts of particles, strands of hair, textile fuzz, dust pretty much anything that can make it look dirty! This is where scotch brite comes in. I end up using the lint roller almost every day to keep the seats clean - my neighbors just think Im a freak! But that is pretty much the only downside to the interiors.

I struggled initially to find the perfect driving position however I have now and am extremely comfortable with the ergonomics and placement of stuff. All controls are easily accessible while driving with the exception of the AUX in port - but then again -why really would I need to reach for it while Im driving? The Aircon controls are pretty easy to use and pretty simplistic - I do thing Skoda was cutting corners there but really - they needed to give this car to us at an affordable price and I am cool with it. And its not like they are low on quality or anything - they are just very dated looking rotary knobs.

The odd dash of chrome does add to the flair of the interiors and it is definitely quite refined. There is fair amount of space for the driver and passenger, but if the driver is tall (i am 6.3) the passenger behind the driver really doesnt have much space. But that applies to all cars really. Most anyway.

The pedals are spaced well though the dead pedal doesnt seem a bit forced, but that is a minor niggle rather than a major ailment, since the benefit of it being there is quite tremendous - no achy knees after a long drive. There is sufficient space in the footwell for a comfortable drive - though if youre extremely picky you can say that your knees will occasionally knock the dash, but then again I dont know if thats the case for someone who is of average height.

So the quick run down - comfy seats and good ergonomics - the height and reach adjustable steering does make it fairly easy to get into a good position. Everything is within reach and easy to work with. VERY TOUGH to keep the seats clean but does look nice. Soft touch rocks, but 95% is spent touching the wheel and the gear so that pretty much is it. It does look nice though. But What I really like is the amount of space to store stuff neatly - I always had stuff lying open in the swift but the fabia has let me put everything inside.

Next up - Drive / Handling & Braking - Stay Tuned!

Will put up some more interior shots in the evening.

[shivir]

More Pics as promised.

[2cents]

Originally Posted by shivir

And I will write a lot on the FE because trust me it has shocked me. I was expecting 8 or 9 but am getting about 14.5 (albeit no air con yet and the cars not on the redline as often as it will be!)

Damn!! those are fantastic mileage figures you got there!! I am barely managing 10 in my 1.2 (old version)

Congrats on the beauty.

[amtak]

Congratulations on your new Fabia. It looks fab and has really classy interiors. However, I fail to understand, why are they giving the old style AC knobs? Cars segments below have better knobs.

[shivir]

Originally Posted by amtak

Congratulations on your new Fabia. It looks fab and has really classy interiors. However, I fail to understand, why are they giving the old style AC knobs? Cars segments below have better knobs.

Thanks amtak. In complete agreement with you! We need something more modern. Truth is though, I will gladly settle for dated but high quality parts over flimsy elegant ones. And there is no shortage of quality with the interiors of the car at all.

[pjbiju]

Congratulations. I have a question. For this kind of gear shift pattern, when you push the gear lever into the neutral position where does it locate itself? Between the 3rd and 4th gear?

[shivir]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Congratulations. I have a question. For this kind of gear shift pattern, when you push the gear lever into the neutral position where does it locate itself? Between the 3rd and 4th gear?

I think so but am not too sure, it does slot neatly in the centre of the box. Will check that out and let you know!

[Zero Cool]

off topic -

dude whats the baseball bat for .....raccoons......or the scum of society that roam the badlands of gurgaon!!!