[AdvaithC]

I recently brought the Ambiente model of the 1200cc petrol. Its been a month and little over 800 kms now. Wanted to share the following:

Really like about the car:
- great driving comfort for both driver and front/ back passengers
- features like seat height adjustment and steering telescope/ tilting
- good steering, can park easily in tight corners also
- build of the car. Forget the outside world when you close the doors
- neat dashboard with good design (interiors are like some 10lac+ cars
- great music quality (both CD, iPod and Radio)
- remote entry key chain
- pre-tensed seat belts: you won't feel anything even putting them for long time
- one touch power windows and central locking
- distinct horn and thud sound closing doors

good things:
- need not bother to explicitly shut A/C when shutting down the engine
- remote controlled rear-view mirrors
- climatic a/c: set a/c to required temperature and it is maintained there
- very quiet a/c blower at speeds 1 and 2
- digital tachometer and fuel indicator
- nice engine hum while driving
- for Ambiente I really do not have to buy any other accessories if I chose to (no additional speakers, seat covers etc)

Myths:
- low clearance: I drive in the sucker Hyderabad roads and I did not feel any special problem with Fabia. You have to be just as careful as you would be with any other car.
- low pickup: no problem here too. Car runs good in all gears. You cannot always do 20 kpmh in 4th gear but that is there for every car. Actually if you dont have to brake, it does not mind coming down to low speeds at high gears.

bad things:
- dealer is an ***. In Hyderabad Mahavir is the sole dealer for the entire state of Andhra Pradesh. Lot of times I wanted to beat him with a cricket bat.
- on delivery of vehicle dealer wanted signature on blank feedback form
- no followup from dealer after sale of car. Salesman does not pick calls for questions
- only front speakers + tweeters. No back side speakers even in Ambiente.
- high cost of spares (e.g. clutch plate is 12K)
- higher than average cost of maintenance (needs synthetic lubes)

Concerns:
Its been one month (and ~800KM) since I brought the car. I take it to office (~40KM up/down) daily and like the car. So far I observed the following three items which I need to check with the service station guys:
- rattling from left back side especially when going over a pit/ rough road
- low power when reversing in upward angle
- current fuel efficiency is 11 to 12 kmpl
- not so good braking

Because of the traffic I have to be in 2 or 3 gear for a good part of my daily travel (45 mins for 18 kms). Perhaps this is a reason for the mileage. On the highway or at free city traffic I am sure the mileage would be a lot better. So as such this is not a concern.

Some other people have also raised concerns about the low power in certain gears and the rattling sound from left rear side. But it seems like they were all resolved. So I am waiting for my visit to the dealer next week - I am going to accesorize at that time. Will get back with a final review and pics.

Summary:
- great luxury and driving comfort option over swift and i10
- mileage is 11-12 kmpl with a/c and considerable 2-3rd gear driving (traffic reasons)
- engine performance is ok in the city (yet to test on highway or floor the pedal fully)
- holds tight to the road
- great steering: easy to park in tight corners also
- avoid Mahavir auto in Andhra Pradesh if possible
- two concerns with rattling and engine power in rear gear to be verified
- if the above two concerns are resolved I will love the car even if the dealer is an ***

[vinjaram]

I was about to book Indica Vista but looked at your review for fabia. I will test drive it today and will confirm with you cheers:.

[snaronikar]

Congrats on your new car. Pls upload the pics and also inform about the OTR, Freebies you have got with it.

Yeah, skoda vehicles are very good to drive with. But their dealerships sucks. Most people are scared of skoda because of this reason. The cost of spares are also too high for comfort.

[Brosreview]

Hey there, Congrats on your purchase. But, we were wondering of the competition for the Fabia in your country. No offense, but we felt the interior to be basic, has scary body-roll issues, scarey stopping distance and long time-taken to stop. The fact that it bears a low-end grunt is truly a myth. But, then the car is not for the ones who are in a rush. It handles sharply but doesn't involve the driver. Internationally, it does manage to scare the Clio, 207, Fiesta, Corsa and Ibiza.

[MadRash]

Congrats AdvaithC. One more addition to the Fabia family. Upload pics please.

[cvvikram]

Congrats buddy!!.. Have a safe drive and post some pics.

[petrohead]

Congratulations BHPian, on your new car.

I am planning to buy a replacement car for my santro, 2 choices are Swift and Fabia. Swift is nothing compared to fabia (my view, with all do respect to swift owners). But, the problem is i am interested in Petrol version and the guy brought me a diesel verson for TD. And i am yet to TD the petrol version. I have a few qestions.

(All queries are regarding ambient version)
1. Does it have a lack of power in lower gears compared to santro ?
2. Do you feel comfortable in the back sear in long distance travel ?
3. Is the car stable in 130+ speeds ?

Hope you can help, Thank you in advance!

[motionfreak]

Fabia, Palio, U-va ( also Uno) are cars with engines with power in whole rev range, while in case of Santro, WaganR etc have most of the power in lower rev range only.
That's why we feel palio, fabia and u-va don't have good low range power. but again, many will agree with me, there is no use of revving Santro-WaganR's engines, coz they are mainly made for city driving.
I do like the low end power of Santro in city, but when u get on a highway it's Palio that I prefer.

[madhokritesh]

Pics of your Fabia would be very welcome.

[sbanerjee]

Originally Posted by petrohead

(All queries are regarding ambient version)
1. Does it have a lack of power in lower gears compared to santro ?
2. Do you feel comfortable in the back sear in long distance travel ?
3. Is the car stable in 130+ speeds ?

Hope you can help, Thank you in advance!

1. Yes, it does have a slight lack in power in lower gears, but that compensates in highways, as once up there there is plenty.

2. The most comfortable hatch as per rear seating arrangements, IMO.

3. Yes sir! The car itself is quite heavy. I just test drove a 1.2 Classic variant, and while opening the hood, it was quite an effort. Not the sheet metal we are normally used to. It plants itself well in the ground. The standard wheels are 185/60 R14, with a wheelbase of 2462mm, which makes it pretty stable in highways.

To add on, the 1.2 is a three cylinder engine, which gives pretty good FE compared to such a car.

[para_7k]

Congrats on your new car . Please post some exterior and Interior pics

[VKJ]

Congrats Fabiosi and warm welcome to the Fabia club. Please post pictures of your roadmate.

[Docbops]

I am planning to buy one and am glad for the positive feed back.

[Murugan]

Originally Posted by AdvaithC

I recently brought the Ambiente model of the 1200cc petrol.

Summary:
- great luxury and driving comfort option over swift and i10
- mileage is 11-12 kmpl with a/c and considerable 2-3rd gear driving (traffic reasons)
- engine performance is ok in the city (yet to test on highway or floor the pedal fully)
- holds tight to the road
- great steering: easy to park in tight corners also
- avoid Mahavir auto in Andhra Pradesh if possible
- two concerns with rattling and engine power in rear gear to be verified
- if the above two concerns are resolved I will love the car even if the dealer is an ***

Its more than a year since you purchased this car. Please give a long-term report including details of service, spares, ride quality, NVH, mileage etc

[Caramelo]

one thing i noticed that although the fabia has a petrol 1.2 ltr engine with 3 cylinders it creates 123 Nm@ 3000 rpm of torque which is higher at lower rev band than any 1.2 ltr engine out there. so it should be torquey.

also can you just point out some unique secret features you found on the fabia. like i heard that autodown power windows are on all windows not just driver side. stuff like that.

top speed i read somwhere on the net for 1.2ltr petrol engine is 163kms

congratulations. please keep updating