Skoda Fabia TDI 2 years 22000 kms report

I own my Skoda Fabia 1.4TDI ambiente from september 2009.I am enjoying the ride every time. I had only few options on diesel hatchbacks with Airbags and ABS in 2009. I had i20 CRDI and Grande Punto as options. Somehow I was not inclined for i20. I felt the handling was bit cumbersome.

Grande punto has less rear leg room space. Also I owned Fiat Palio for 5 years and I dont want to get Fiat car again.There was No Ford Figo Titanium, No swift ZDI, No VW Polo Highline (Sorry if I missed anyother car). When I had a seen Fabia I liked the looks, Quality of interiors, Ride quality, safety features and Build quality. After test driving I found handling and Maneuvering was the best. The compromise was on the engine noise when outside the cabin. The excellent insulation does not allow noise to be transparent inside the cabin.

First year or 10000 kms:

The first year was hassle free. I enjoyed couple of sturdy long drives even at triple digit speeds. The rough road package keeps the under chasis covered and avoids any damages to the parts which are exposed. My city drive had kept my car engaged only for 500 - 700 kms for a month. I had to damage my left front and left rear alloy wheels on a trip to Triupathi. I got it replaced by insurance. Both the wheels would have costed Rs. 18000. The first service costed me Rs 4500 approx which was a free service. My city mileage was 11kms and highway was 18kms.

Second Year or 20000 kms:

After the first service My car started to give 12-13kms in city and 19 - 21kms on highway. The parking area in my house was very small which required lot of work with the steering. I guess this generated some noise from the steering. I took to the service center and they replaced the power steering rod in warranty and issue got fixed. From then on I decided not to steer sharply while parking in stationary mode. There were couple of free check up camps by Skoda which I utilised. I had also had issues with the AC. It was checked and found the fan motor did not run. This was also replaced in warranty. The wait time to get back the car after service was not reasonable. I wanted to sign up for extended warranty and when contacted I was disappointed to know that it cannot be availed. The new version of skoda Fabia comes with 2+2 years warranty with road side assistance. This clearly indicates that the 1.4 TDI was not in prioirity for skoda. One of the tyres started to show buldge and I had to replace and keep as standby. Soon after the second service the AC issue again started to show up. The service guys again replaced the AC Fan motor and they promised that the issue will not come again.

Final Words I am keeping my fingers crossed on the forthcoming services and issues. I am amazed by the quality shown by Skoda in every aspect in this car. Yes Skoda is truely obssessed by quality.

Areas of improvement After sales support. To include MFD.

Looks, Quality of interiors, Ride quality and ComfortEngine noise