[pajero4me]

Since time immemorial i had a dream of owning a skoda. Finally i bought her home on 20th Nov 2010.(My first kid and a new job kept me so preoccupied that it took me this long to finally pen this post.) Looks like this may be the first Black Tdi CR on T-Bhp.
Firstly, li’l background about this choice.
One Key Fob was the deciding factor which ultimately made me buy this New model of fabia!! Ok let me explain.
It all started last year 4th quarter with skoda announcing a massive price cut on Fabia.Did hundreds of hours of research on T-Bhp and few other sites and did countless showroom visits and testdrives of competitor premium hatches. No offence to all other premium hatches - But none impressed me and my Bro as much as this czech beauty did.Fit and finish, Premium thud on door closing, Tank like build, Best boot space among hatch backs, rear legroom, handling, Wide tyres ( i can go on and on ) etc gave her a cool walkover victory over others. I decided to buy a petrol model and wanted a test drive. Sales guy handed over a cute little key fob and took me for TD on a fabia Ambiente model.TD further cemented the confidence I had in my choice. We decided to buy a classic petrol model and entered one parked in the showroom. Later I found out that classic doesn’t have ABS,EBD,MSR.It neither had that cute li'l key Fob!!!That was it, for my Wife. She was soo obsessed about the key fob that we decided to upgrade to ambiente version. Lack of our choice of colour with this delaer made us to explore Vinayak skoda.
Got to admit that I made a right coice here as well.They were very warm and welcoming. They even offered to give extra discount on top of what skoda officially announced.
Everything was too good to be true, but then came the worst part, they did not have ambiente in their inventory.
Meanwhile the sales man who figured out that my wife was 'expecting' further added fuel to fire by emphasizing on the child safety features in elegance model. Now she had fallen head over heels for Fabia elegance model.
After a long debate and discussion and some amount of emotional blackmailing from my wife we decided to upgrade to elegance model. Now I have exceeded my budget by 2 lakhs and my Bro promised to give me soft loan to cover the deficit. I pay up 25K as advance and decided to pay up the balance and take delivery in 2 days.
On the day when I was about to pay the balance my dad says Red colour is strict no no for me as some astrologer has advised him so.
I called up Vinayak Skoda and unfortunately they didn’t have any other colour.Got to adtmit that those guys were remarkably patient with me. At this point when I am about to take back my advance,Vinayak Skoda GM gives me the scoop.Sir,wait for 3 weeks and the new model will be launched. But ofcourse no dicounts please!!
I agreed to wait and and as promised they call me as soon as the new model arrived.I Test drove 1.6 petrol,finalised on it and filled all relevant papers placing the order.
That night my bro gave me gyan about the impracticality of a petrol guzzling 1.6 motor and asked me to consider 1.2 Tdi CR.That was the first time during this entire car buying exercise I even thought about the diesel option. But that meant a budget increase of 70 - 80 K on top of my already strained budget. Bro promised more soft loan to cover the gap.
Next day i went back to Vinayak ,test drove 1.2 Tdi CR and half heartedly decided to go for a diesel car.Colour options was kept open and after a long debate at home I bulldozed every one into accepting black(Yeah ,wifey tried that emotional blackmailing for white ).
Finally after all these drama, my czech beauty was delivered to me after 3 weeks. Though I was apprehensive in the beginning about buying a diesel car (never owned a diesel car before, owns a petrol esteem),I am so happy about my decision and thanks to my Bro for influencing my buying decision.

Some Disappointments:
No electrical adjust for external Mirrors.
No rear washer/wiper (This is an omission that pissed me off the most)
No Cooled glove box (My wife still cribs that the older elegance had it)
No centre arm rest.
No projector head lamps.

Brief user review:
Duration of ownership: 80 days
KM run so far - 3500
Best FE Figure - 4.3L/100Km
Worst FE Figure - 7.5L/100Km
Average till date (80% Bangalore traffic + 20% openroads) - 16.6Km/L
Max speed achieved - 170KM/Hour (On Elevated highway Hosur road, just clings on to the road and gives immense confidence even at this speed)

Would update more user review in coming days.

D Day:

Showing off her curves from different angles:



Interior:







Got to admit the eye for details:see the small rubber bush to arrest any possible rattling,Bet none of the Koreans or Japanese would ever have it:

The so called Rear Aircon Vent:

Key FOB:The source for all my troubles:

Extra Fuses and Bulbs:

Head Light Switch,Very european:

Boot Space:Crossover between Hatch and a sedan:

Spare wheel and Accessories:

Wide opening Doors for Easy ingress and egress:

alloys:

And Finally my Empty Wallet after all this:

[Pyrotek]

Congratulations pajero4me! That's one regal czech beauty you got there. That last picture in your post had me in splits. I know it's been a wallet-busting experience, but hopefully your car has made up for it many times over.

Here's wishing you many years and kilometres full of memories!

[anekho]

Congrats! Nice write-up and pics I really have a soft spot for the fabia.

Please post your thoughts on the engine, gearbox, handling and ride!

Cheers!

[pajero4me]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

Here's wishing you many years and kilometres full of memories!

Thank you brother.I use cars till they virtually fall apart(still have a 12 year old esteem,140,000 kms done and still no plans to sell )
Going by that, this beauty has a loooooong way to go.

[vb-saan]

Congrats Pajero! The Fabia indeed look very Fab in black. Expecting more details on the ride, handling, comfort etc. And the last photo was quite cheeky!

[freakmuzik]

Congrats! The car looks beautiful and a very well written report too!Wishing you many more happy miles ahead. :-). Though the upgraded Fabia is less equipped, i think it looks better than the outgoing one!(Just my personal opinion). And btw, how much did it cost you on-road?
P.S: The last pic, ahem, no words! :-D

Cheers!

[DRIV3R]

Congrats on the Fabia! Looks great.

OTR price and discounts offered please.

Also share your driving experience on the CR 1.2 engine.

[pajero4me]

Originally Posted by anekho

Congrats! Nice write-up and pics I really have a soft spot for the fabia.

Please post your thoughts on the engine, gearbox, handling and ride!

Cheers!

Thank you .
If you have even a mild soft spot on her, i would say go for her.

Engine:
Much quieter than the previous 1.4Tdi.
Mild clatter outside,only a vauge distant purring inside.(Excellent insulation job)
Could do some excellent in gear acceleration,overtaking manouvers in 3rd,4th and even 5th gears.
By the time you shift 5 gears (in all gears engine revved not more than 2500-3000rpm) she touches 120 and you feel you are doing 80
I got to experience text book definition of turbo lag in person (Keep her above 2000rpm in high gears or your heart may skip a beat while trying to overtake )But nevertheless in cruising speeds and rpm of 2500-3000 you would forget that its a diesel car.
Even though engine is only 75bhp,performance gives a perception that it has much more.

Gear Box:
Excellent peppy shifts with short throw.
Very smooth for an european car.(I would rate it better than Punto's, i know i will be stoned for this comment)
You need to be very artistic in clutch release or might end up feeling a slight jerk while shifting gears,once you get a hang of it,jerk just disappers.
I did proper run in,so power delivery is smooth,there is no resistance in any gears.

Ride:
Man got to admit it,ride is slighly stiff.Suspension is bit more sturdy compared to even the older version of Fabia.They have increased the Ground clearance as well,this may add to a mild bumpiness in ride.
Pot holes are absorbed to a decent extend,but she does pass on some turbulence.
Diesel model has tyres of profile 175/70,so ride may be a bit better than the older 185/60 profile tyres.

Handling:
You draw any possible shape on earth and i am confident that i can drive her over that at any speed.
I have done shap curves at above 100km speeds and she follows one predictable line,very sharp,very predictable.
Stiff suspension helps reduces body roll.(There is virtually none,despite the fact that this car weighs 1150 kgs unladen-comparable to many sedans)
Steering weighs up very well at high speeds.

Hmm looks like i'm getting excited and blowing my own trumpet,need to stop now
(Disclaimer!!be warned that my review may be biased due to my unconditional love towards Skoda)

[ajay0612]

Congrats. You are very observant. The car looks beautiful and well put up. The loading bay is neat. Wish Fabia starts offering the split rear seat again.

[vivriti]

Congratulations !. Nice to see a Skoda in black.

There seems to be a sudden increase in Fabia ownership by T-BHPians of late.

Hope this is a reflection on improving A.S.S by Skoda.

[pajero4me]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Congrats Pajero! The Fabia indeed look very Fab in black. Expecting more details on the ride, handling, comfort etc. And the last photo was quite cheeky!

Thank you.
I have already replied on Ride and Handling.

Comfort:
It starts with that famous 'Thud' once the door is closed.(I open and close many times just to feel it over and over again,aah its music for my ears)
Seats are large and very ergonomic.(driver side height adjustable too,yeah previous fabia had even passenger side height adjustable seats)
Driving position is extremely comfortable with dead pedal and tilt /telescopic adjustable sterring wheel.
Excellent Front and rear leg room (Polo was a last minute entry into my list,but her rear legroom ditched her)
Excellent AC,cools rear sets too with minimal blower settings(May be its still not summer in Bangalore)
Though i sorely miss electric adjustable mirrors they have place the manual adjusting knobes in a very reachable position.
Superior noise and vibration insulation.

Downside:
Stiff suspension,Sturdy ride.
Lots of goodies missing from the previous elegance(Cooled glove compartment,electric mirrors,centre hand rest,Rear parking sensors,Rear speakers,Isofix child seat preperation,Rear washer wiper,set belt pre tensioners ect ect )
Last but not the least - "You bought a small car for 8.2 lakhs?????" comment from friends and neighbours.

[pajero4me]

Originally Posted by freakmuzik

Congrats! The car looks beautiful and a very well written report too!Wishing you many more happy miles ahead. :-). Though the upgraded Fabia is less equipped, i think it looks better than the outgoing one!(Just my personal opinion). And btw, how much did it cost you on-road?
P.S: The last pic, ahem, no words! :-D

Cheers!

Thank you.
OTR was about 8.2(Blame the astronomical taxes in bangalore).
I do agree with you on the looks part.(but then lots of good features are missing, yeah... got to live with it)
I,m trying to pull out those invoices and would post a detailed split on OTR soon.

[M00M]

congratulations on the new fabia, i infact test drove the fabia today the 1.6 and was greatly impressed with its calm composure. i wish skoda had not removed so many features it did from the older elegance model.

[pajero4me]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Congrats on the Fabia! Looks great.
OTR price and discounts offered please.
Also share your driving experience on the CR 1.2 engine.

Thank you 'DRIV3R'.
Here you go on OTR and discounts.

EX showroom : 6,72,805
Insurance : 21,851 (First insurance has to be bought from showroom,else they dont sell you extended warranty.Thats what i call Armtwisting )
Road tax and Handling? (read Bribe) :1,13,612
extended warranty (2+2 years) : 10,400
OTR:8,18,668

All that listed above was what money could buy..
Driving experience....Priceless
(would post a detailed one soon )

[pajero4me]

Originally Posted by ajay0612

Congrats. You are very observant. The car looks beautiful and well put up. The loading bay is neat. Wish Fabia starts offering the split rear seat again.

Thank you ajay0612.
Aaah Split rear seats .Thats one more goody stripped off from older fabia.
You just sprinkled li'l more salt on my injury