What an amazing little car that really punches above its weight. Plenty of space, Comfort, performance, economy and quality. Very clever of Mr Franks to find such a Surprising Skoda, as they used to say in the 1980s
Yes, Mr Franks still has this, and it is still proving to be economical to run, although some main dealer parts prices are ridiculous, so independent servicing is definitely the way forward.
This is the type of car that I really like. One that is comfortable and sharp handling with plenty of space for luggage yet is not a juggernaut to try and park. I used to hold the Astra MK4 and MK5 Estate as the benchmark at this skill. There was briefly a Dual Fuel model around 2003/2004 I think that seemed particularly civilized on longer trips yet still matching the noisier diesel economy of the time. I have yet to drive a 1 litre turbo in a bigger chassis. It really is intriguing. A friend recently replaced a 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI with a Dacia Sandero Stepway Laureate with the 0.9 TCe engine. He is very happy with the Dacia and said the deal was a no brainer.
Yes, Mr and Mrs Franks are very happy with their Fabia. It is easy to drive and park, and probably similar in size to a Mark IV Astra. There was indeed a Dual Fuel model late in the life of the Astra G. LPG cars tended to get worse fuel economy than their petrol counterparts, but the LPG fuel was so cheap that it offset the worse economy with lower fuel bills. We had the same 1.0 TSI engine in our Toledo and it was both punchy and highly economical. I have driven a Dacia Logan MCV, which is very similar to the Sandero Stepway, and it really wasn't that bad. The Toledo we bought ended up cheaper over the three year ownership period than the Logan MCV I drove, though.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting as I am sure that you are aware already Joseph, Dacia have recently announced a Dual Fuel version of its 1 litre petrol engine with 100 bhp. It is available on Sandero, Sandero Stepway, Duster and I believe Logan MCV. Dacia say that servicing is not much different from petrol models and will be similarly priced. Now I don't know how much of the infrastructure for LPG remains in place but I still have access to an LPG pump less than a mile from my home. Quite a few folk run P38 Range Rovers, X5s and V6 Nissan Muranos with gas conversions. Might be an option you could offer clients as it is low emissions.
@@seancooke4127 , yes, I am aware of the LPG variants of the Dacia range, sir. Mr Coleman is a good person to ask about LPG as he ran his Volvo 960 on it for well over five years and he is qualified to work on such conversions. The use of LPG in this country is now starting to decline, though.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting to put it in context, my brother in law is Land Rover mad. He bought a 1997 gas converted Discovery 3.9 V8 auto that had luxury, comfort, space and power, not to mention a lovely burble. He worked out that in normal daily driving he was getting mpg in the teens but when autogas prices were factored in it was doing 37 mpg.
@@seancooke4127 , yes, I know. Mr Coleman used to fill up the Volvo for something like 84p per litre, which is absolutely crazy. I also had a friend with a 3.9 litre engined Range Rover, and he used to swear by his LPG conversion for saving money.
Ahhh Mr Lloyd.....sure I have seen this car on my travels as you were not too far from me.... Anyhow our family car is a mark 3 Fabia Estate S trim with the mpi engine. Will be 3 years old in a couple of weeks and never had a issue with it at all apart from a puncture and my dealer damaging the car when it was two weeks old. Ours or should I say my wife's now has covered 13000 miles from new. But it's still a fun little car to drive, my only complaint is my 6 years old car seat does not give him enough leg room so I tend to have the passenger seat pulled forward and so my knees are nearly touching the dash!
Yes, you probably are familiar with the lovely roads where we filmed the car! Fabias, Rapids, Seat Toledos and Seat Ibizas (they are all based around the same basic platform) do tend to be fairly reliable, and economical. Mr and Mrs Franks have had theirs for over two years now. I did cheat with the rear legroom in this review a bit.... Our Toledo was similarly very reliable.
Yes, the post-facelift one is even better (this is a pre-facelift). I have been offered a Mark II for the channel, but it is in a full lockdown area a fair distance away, so that is going to have to wait for now. I do know someone with a Roomster, actually.
Thank you ever so much indeed for letting me know! Really happy that you found the video useful, this was one of the first reviews ever on the channel. I hope that you are happy with your Fabia.
Thanks Rich! It's a good suggestion. The car is just a little bit too restricted in terms of rear legroom (you can't see it very well in the video), even if it is good for its class, so it would have to be the next size up (the Scala or Octavia) if I go for a Skoda.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting haven't seen much of the scala is that a renamed rapide fastback sounds better if it is or replacing that segment or both cheers
What an amazing little car that really punches above its weight. Plenty of space, Comfort, performance, economy and quality.
Very clever of Mr Franks to find such a Surprising Skoda, as they used to say in the 1980s
Yes, Mr Franks still has this, and it is still proving to be economical to run, although some main dealer parts prices are ridiculous, so independent servicing is definitely the way forward.
This is the type of car that I really like. One that is comfortable and sharp handling with plenty of space for luggage yet is not a juggernaut to try and park. I used to hold the Astra MK4 and MK5 Estate as the benchmark at this skill. There was briefly a Dual Fuel model around 2003/2004 I think that seemed particularly civilized on longer trips yet still matching the noisier diesel economy of the time.
I have yet to drive a 1 litre turbo in a bigger chassis. It really is intriguing. A friend recently replaced a 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI with a Dacia Sandero Stepway Laureate with the 0.9 TCe engine. He is very happy with the Dacia and said the deal was a no brainer.
Yes, Mr and Mrs Franks are very happy with their Fabia. It is easy to drive and park, and probably similar in size to a Mark IV Astra. There was indeed a Dual Fuel model late in the life of the Astra G. LPG cars tended to get worse fuel economy than their petrol counterparts, but the LPG fuel was so cheap that it offset the worse economy with lower fuel bills. We had the same 1.0 TSI engine in our Toledo and it was both punchy and highly economical. I have driven a Dacia Logan MCV, which is very similar to the Sandero Stepway, and it really wasn't that bad. The Toledo we bought ended up cheaper over the three year ownership period than the Logan MCV I drove, though.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting as I am sure that you are aware already Joseph, Dacia have recently announced a Dual Fuel version of its 1 litre petrol engine with 100 bhp. It is available on Sandero, Sandero Stepway, Duster and I believe Logan MCV. Dacia say that servicing is not much different from petrol models and will be similarly priced.
Now I don't know how much of the infrastructure for LPG remains in place but I still have access to an LPG pump less than a mile from my home. Quite a few folk run P38 Range Rovers, X5s and V6 Nissan Muranos with gas conversions. Might be an option you could offer clients as it is low emissions.
@@seancooke4127 , yes, I am aware of the LPG variants of the Dacia range, sir. Mr Coleman is a good person to ask about LPG as he ran his Volvo 960 on it for well over five years and he is qualified to work on such conversions. The use of LPG in this country is now starting to decline, though.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting to put it in context, my brother in law is Land Rover mad. He bought a 1997 gas converted Discovery 3.9 V8 auto that had luxury, comfort, space and power, not to mention a lovely burble. He worked out that in normal daily driving he was getting mpg in the teens but when autogas prices were factored in it was doing 37 mpg.
@@seancooke4127 , yes, I know. Mr Coleman used to fill up the Volvo for something like 84p per litre, which is absolutely crazy. I also had a friend with a 3.9 litre engined Range Rover, and he used to swear by his LPG conversion for saving money.
Ahhh Mr Lloyd.....sure I have seen this car on my travels as you were not too far from me.... Anyhow our family car is a mark 3 Fabia Estate S trim with the mpi engine. Will be 3 years old in a couple of weeks and never had a issue with it at all apart from a puncture and my dealer damaging the car when it was two weeks old. Ours or should I say my wife's now has covered 13000 miles from new. But it's still a fun little car to drive, my only complaint is my 6 years old car seat does not give him enough leg room so I tend to have the passenger seat pulled forward and so my knees are nearly touching the dash!
Yes, you probably are familiar with the lovely roads where we filmed the car! Fabias, Rapids, Seat Toledos and Seat Ibizas (they are all based around the same basic platform) do tend to be fairly reliable, and economical. Mr and Mrs Franks have had theirs for over two years now. I did cheat with the rear legroom in this review a bit.... Our Toledo was similarly very reliable.
I really like the styling of these mark 3 Fabias, I never much cared for mark 2 although the Roomster looked alright.
Yes, the post-facelift one is even better (this is a pre-facelift). I have been offered a Mark II for the channel, but it is in a full lockdown area a fair distance away, so that is going to have to wait for now. I do know someone with a Roomster, actually.
Thanks to your positive
Review I own a great car, same colour too!
Thank you ever so much indeed for letting me know! Really happy that you found the video useful, this was one of the first reviews ever on the channel. I hope that you are happy with your Fabia.
Thinking about your next car to replace the seat in SEL form ?
Thanks Rich! It's a good suggestion. The car is just a little bit too restricted in terms of rear legroom (you can't see it very well in the video), even if it is good for its class, so it would have to be the next size up (the Scala or Octavia) if I go for a Skoda.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting haven't seen much of the scala is that a renamed rapide fastback sounds better if it is or replacing that segment or both cheers
@@richroadin, the Scala is replacing the Skoda Rapid, the Skoda Rapid Spaceback and the Seat Toledo! First signs look promising...