[thirugata]

Disclaimer: When I bought the car I did not think I will be writing this report. So I have limited data to refer to, so mostly its what I can remember.

How we chose our car

When we were in look out for a hatchback, initially I wanted to buy Maruti Ritz as I was very impressed with its performance.
One of my colleague had this car back then and we had been on a drive to Hassan in it.
I used to drive a Maruti 800 then, sitting in the passenger seat in Ritz and seeing the way it drove on highway, i was sold into.

But we decided to take the opportunity to test drive all the petrol cars in the budget range we had decided.
My first test drive was in Ford Figo. We had a average size speed breaker at the end of the lane we lived in and Figo scraped bottom on that speed breaker. My 800 never had such issue. That was good enough reason to look for next car to test.

My next car to test drive was Fabia. Tafe got me a brand new car from the fresh lot they had received. This had new design alloy wheels (guess this was face lifted one).
My wife sitting in the back seat was mighty impressed with the car with in first km of the drive. It was kind of instant hit for both of us.
But the top end vehicle we test drove was bit out of my budget. So with the heavy heart, we decided to look for other options.

Next one in the list was Chevy Beat. It drove well, but felt really small, especially after being in Fabia. ( Now were comparing everything with Fabia ).

Next we visited Nissan to test drive Micra. The only car they had was out of service, so they promised to call back. That call never came.

Next in the list was Fiat Punto, didnt feel comfortable driving it, felt like I was seated in a well.

We visited Honda showroom to test drive Jazz. This was out of budget too, being the most expensive hatchback at that time. But the theory was Fabia the only car we liked was out of budget, so if we have to stretch our budget why not try Jazz.
Showroom guys didnt have Jazz and they were very interested in selling Brio. Though I didnt want was I was persuaded to test drive Brio. I was very impressed with the way it drove. But my wife who was sitting in the back seat could not tolerate the hot sun hitting her back from that big glass of Brio.

We visited Toyota showroom to test drive Etios Liva. They refused to provide test drive as I had not booked an appointment.
We were left with VW, Maruti, Hyundai and Tata now. Polo was rejected by my wife as her colleague had a polo and her opinion was Fabia which was of same price range was a better car.
Every other car was a Swift, so we didnt want that. I was still thinking Ritz, but the moment the mind compared it with Fabia, it was a lost case.
We didnt want to consider Indica, for some reason it never appealed to me.
So we were thinking of visiting Hyundai to test drive i10 and i20; and my wife asked the question I wanted to ask her, " What do we need to do to stretch our budget to buy Fabia ?". And my answer was, " let us do whatever is necessary". Thus the decision was made.

I called the Tafe guy whom I had spoken earlier and explained about my budget constraints. I informed him that I was still not OK with the price they were quoting, but since we like the car I am willing to stretch my budget a bit provided they are willing to give me a fresh quote. He asked me what is my offer price and asked for a days time to check with whom ever. Same evening I got a call back and they agreed to the offer I had made.

We bought Skoda Fabia 1.2 MPI Elegance on 02/02/2012 from Tafe Access Ltd, Bangalore. Buying experience was very good.

We named her Czech Chick.

[thirugata]

10 years of ownership

Likes:

Longest hatchback ( Exactly 4 mts in length), this gives ample space.And beige interior makes it look even more spacious.
Very spacious boot, I have never felt need of more space irrespective of how much luggage we had to carry for any of the road trips we have been to.
I am not a fan of fast driving, i prefer cruising at 80- 110 kind of speeds, and this car is very stable even if you take a corner at these speeds, never had even one moment in 10 years where i doubted the stability of the car or felt I was not in control.
Though on paper its just 165 mm of GC, hardly felt it was low and risked scraping the bottom. (Most bottom scrapping happened when there is a pot hole filled with water and didnt know how deep it was).

Dislikes :

Wish the headlights were more powerful. (I dont drive on highways in nights unless it is an unavoidable situation, so not a big issue for me).
The infamous hump int he center eats space and makes it difficult for the passenger sitting in the middle seat. ( Again not a big issue for me, more than 90% of the time its just 2 people in our car, out of 95350 KMs this car has done, I guess we had 5 people for less than 300 KMs, so not an issue for me)

When you have very little to dislike, ownership report becomes short.

Note: Data shared here is upto 1st week of Feb 2022. Data of Feb - Jun 2022 has not been included in this.

By the end of 10 years, our car has done 95350 KMs with a fuel economy of 13.3 km/l. Its a mix of highway and city drives. My assumption says its about 60:40 highway to city drive ration.
On highways I have mostly got about 16 km/l and in city drive it depended on how many times I had to pass Silkboard flyover.
Ownership has been hassle-free and I am glad I ignored all the horror stories I read about owning a Skoda and went with what my heart said.
I am glad our Czech Chick has never let me down irrespective of what ever the road condition she was put into.

Now talking about the maintenance expenses over the year.

Total 10 annual services , average cost per service turned out to be Rs 9170.

Apart from this few parts had to be replaced over the years :

1) Windshield replacement (2013) - 9430 (This also included wiper blade replacement and complete interior cleaning)
2) Steering gear replacement (2018) - 23800 (There were few other minor things to be fixed along with it)
3) Accident 1 (2013):



Cost of fixing : 28850

4) Accident 2 (2021):



Cost of fixing : 87880 . This included Tail lamp replacement, windshield replacement ( Too many scratches on it). There were 7 minor dents all over the body courtesy some spirited drivers on Bangalore roads which had to be removed and full body painting.

5) Boot door shocks replaced: 7400.

Total of 9 new tires have been bought over the years and battery has been replaced twice.

Only add-on to this car which did not come when we bought was leather covers for seats, else she remains as stock as she can be.

[thirugata]

Thirugata she has been part of

Following are the list of long distance drives she has done over 10 years:

Bangalore - Wayanad - 576 KMs
Bangalore - Shettihalli - 485 KMs
Mangalore - Malnad region - 1360 KMs
Bangalore - Hassan - 511 KMs
Bangalore - Kotagiri - Coonor- Ooty - 977 Kms
Bangalore - Madurai - Rameshwaram - Thiruchanapalli - Tanajvoor - Chidambaram - Pondy - 1900 Kms
Bangalore - Dandeli - 1100 KMs
Bangalore - Badami - Aihole - Pattadakallu - 1070 KMs
Bangalore - Valparai - 1015 KMs
Bangalore - Masinagudi - 575 Kms
Bangalore - Goa - 1480 Kms
Bangalore - Kodaikanal - 1300 KMs
Bangalore - Kochi - 1250 KMs
Bangalore - Ganapatipule - Tarkarli - 1860 KMs
Bangalore - Gudalur - 770 KMs
Bangalore - Leepakshi - Gandikota - Raichur - 1150 KMs
Mysore - Gadag- Hampi - Dandeli - Jog falls - 1530 KMs

On an average we had 5 travels every year to my native, Mangalore and multiple one day trips around Bangalore which have not been added here.

To conclude adding few of the photos taken over the years.





She got ferried once.





She was never left unattended.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ajayc123]

Nice post, a lot of data maintained like an accountant. What’s the transmission and gearbox of your car? Thanks.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

Nice post, a lot of data maintained like an accountant. What’s the transmission and gearbox of your car? Thanks.

Thanks, I do keep a track of what I spend on, though I am not an accountant.
This car is 1.2 TSI, 5 speed manual.

[Brumby]

That's a well maintained Fabia and congratulations for completing 10 years of ownership with your Czech Chick.

Whenever I see one in beige colour, I repent my decision, not to buy the Fabia 1.6 in 2011. My wife was not comfortable with the light colored interiors hence it was rejected.

Wish you many more years of companionship.

Cheers

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by thirugata

Thanks, I do keep a track of what I spend on, though I am not an accountant.
This car is 1.2 TSI, 5 speed manual.

Did the fabia come with a 1.2 Turbo engine? Or you mean the 1.2 NA engine?

[architect_santo]

It is good to start the day seeing a well maintained Skoda which has rendered fuss free ownership; apart from your care towards the car, may be its also cause of the simple 'man maximum machine minimum' strategy?

I hope it is going to be hard for you to find another hatchback like this (considering VW has also stopped producing the Polo); wish you many more years of happy motoring.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by thirugata

Thanks, I do keep a track of what I spend on, though I am not an accountant.
This car is 1.2 TSI, 5 speed manual.

The Fabia never got the TSi engine. It was only sold with the MPi engine. The facelift Fabia only had either the 1.2 MPi or 1.6 MPi.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

The Fabia never got the TSi engine. It was only sold with the MPi engine. The facelift Fabia only had either the 1.2 MPi or 1.6 MPi.

Thanks for correcting me.. it is MPI.. .
Now I feel like I dont even know my car...

Originally Posted by Brumby

That's a well maintained Fabia and congratulations for completing 10 years of ownership with your Czech Chick.

Whenever I see one in beige colour, I repent my decision, not to buy the Fabia 1.6 in 2011. My wife was not comfortable with the light colored interiors hence it was rejected.

Wish you many more years of companionship.

Cheers

1.6 would have been an awesome Fabia to drive. Best thing about beige exterior is it hides all the dust on the car and it looks like you clicked photo just after a wash.

Originally Posted by architect_santo

It is good to start the day seeing a well maintained Skoda which has rendered fuss free ownership; apart from your care towards the car, may be its also cause of the simple 'man maximum machine minimum' strategy?

I hope it is going to be hard for you to find another hatchback like this (considering VW has also stopped producing the Polo); wish you many more years of happy motoring.

Wish Skoda continued to sell latest model of Fabia in India and of-course, Fabia 1.6 too.. ( When you ask, why not ask for more)

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Did the fabia come with a 1.2 Turbo engine? Or you mean the 1.2 NA engine?

Its not turbo, my bad.. its 1.2 MPi...

[AKSarkar1]

Thanks for creating this thread, this car really deserves the attention!

IMHO the Fabia alongside the Polo of course, gave Indian consumers the first taste of European cars that were affordable to the common public. Superbly built cars with a brand badge that commands respects and most importantly a price tag that doesn't break your bank account for years to come, what more could one ask for?

For me the Fabia has always been a notch above the Polo, it had a remarkable design language alongside that were unimaginable for cars of those days, I remember the top trims having sunroofs and stunning alloys.

A close friend of mine still daily drives his Fabia and he says there are very few cars out there that can replace the Fabia's experience in the budget of a common man. Really wish that Skoda and Volkswagen India keep their pedigree in mind before coming up with future models to make sure that they don't disappoint veteran owners like their current India 2.0 cars.

[sachin_cs]

Lovely to see the "Fabia" which has seen the parts of India which other cars can only dream of. Eagerly waiting for pictures of your ride from the mega road trip. And by the looks of it, it's so difficult to figure out that it's a 10 year old machine. Looks as good as new.

[fawad0222]

I have had the experience of driving my brother's Skoda Fabia Diesel off and on for last 10 years and I fully agree with OP and others that the Fabia was a great car at that price point, bringing in the solidity of german engineering, without any quality issues usually associated with their costlier cars. The car had soft touch dash board, one touch and remotely controlled windows and many other features, unheard in the hatches of that time period. In comparison to the i 20 diesel, I used to drive, its ride was more settled, plush and confidence inspiring. Most amazing was its maintenance friendly nature-very reliable, no breakdowns and with least niggles. The turbo engine though coarse, was punchy, efficient with minimum turbo lag.
All in all, I am mighty impressed with the Skoda Fabia and would buy one without wasting a second, if such piece of engineering is made available again by Skoda.

[Aditya]

Thanks to Bhanuj Singh Chaudhary for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

I came across a fantastic review of a Skoda Fabia, but there is a small error. The owner mentioned that he has a 1.2 TSI, but the Fabia was never launched with that engine. Instead there were 3 engine options available (FL Fabia):

1) 1.2 HTP (High Torque Power) 1,200cc petrol - same as the Polo 1.2 MPI (Multi Point Injection)
2) 1.6 (16V) 1,600cc petrol
3) 1.2 TDI 1,200cc diesel engine.