Faults:

New starter.

Gearbox rebuilt.

New flywheel.

New wheel bearings x2.

High level brake light.

ABS wiring problem (in dealer for a week).

New clutch.

General Comments:

What a pile of junk, VW build quality!!! I have had 8 proper VW's & they were brilliant; then I buy this heap!

To add to the list above the bushes on the front suspension, which is a known weak point. They are on their way out, but at least I can replace those with powerflex items & they should last for a while.

I am stuck with this as I am not in a position to buy another car, but once I am it won't be another Skoda. Don't believe all the hype; Skoda are no more than an average car maker at best.

Run a mile if you're offered one.

JUNK!!!

Faults:

Only thing I found bad on the car is the alignment, car goes slightly to the right when you go under 80 kph.

General Comments:

Good and reliable car, in my town I have 2 Skoda service centers so that is a plus, well built, lots of space for a small car, great gasoline consumption rate.

Motor has enough power for 1.2 liter engine

+ no transmission belt, instead of it there is a transmission chain!?

Faults:

Gears grind when going into 3rd or 5th.

Dreadful to start after 60k service, especially now on a cold morning.

Despite numerous alignments, still pulls to the left.

Leaks oil.

Back windscreen washer pipe keeps disconnecting.

Back door central looking failed.

General Comments:

Poor handling in my honest opinion.

It's now at the stage that I don't listen to the radio in the car as every journey I make if I listen carefully I can identify yet another noise.

Faults:

The only fault I can find with it is that the paintwork gets scratched really easily. I would recommend paying extra for the lacquer finish if buying new.

General Comments:

This car is superb value for money, being a very well-made, comfortable and spacious (for a small car).

The performance of the 1.2 is slightly disappointing - very slow acceleration (compared to a 1.2 Polo). The fuel consumption is very good and it will cruise happily at 90mph when it finally gets there.

The level of equipment for the money is excellent - I got electric windows, alloy wheels, power steering, CD player, air conditioning, etc. for 8k on the road.

Not great for large adults in the back, but will comfortably carry 3 children or average sized adults in the back.

Faults:

Contact to rear window wiper broken. Fixed at dealer.

Front disks wobbling. Until now changed three times within warranty period, but without any luck.

Squeeking noises behind radio in the dashboard. Dealer tried to fix this, but without any luck.

Transmission hard - even when oil is warm - especially 4. gear very hard to access.

Thermostat for A/C gets "confused" at times, meaning temp goes up and down - which is quite annoying. Will be tried to fix at next service within warranty.

General Comments:

Elegant mini estate.

High driving comfort. Low noise.

High quality materials.

A good alternative to a VW product, although the bad things from VW seem to have been adopted to Skoda.

Faults:

Intermittent momentary failure of power steering.

Air conditioning failure (twice).

Air re-circulation inoperative.

General Comments:

The car feels solid and is great fun to drive, if a little nose-heavy compared to the petrol version.

It has been a marvellous workhorse and, because it it such a good all-rounder, we use it for nearly everything. Our Yaris (good though it is) often stays at home.

My previous car (SAAB 9000) was comfortable on long journeys, but its petrol consumption was too high, so we (perversely) often used a smaller car for those long journeys.

On my Fabia, I have supplemented the already adequate power by adding a 'smart box' in between the Engine Control Unit and the fuel injector socket. I reckon it has increased bhp and torque by 25% plus. My long term fuel economy (the car is mainly used for long journeys) is now 64mpg, an improvement on the standard consumption, which used to be in the high 50's mpg.

I like this car a lot and would certainly buy another one, despite the minor problems.

Dealer service has been very good.