Is the Skoda Fabia a Good First Car? 

We will now put a tax on everything apart from the ŠKODA

I own a mk1 Skoda Fabia vRS, completely stock too! 05 plate. It definitely shows its age with the bodywork. It's also my daily too because of its great MPG. It's also incredibly durable too and I won't say it too loudly, but it is also a slight sleeper too! A few mods and a map and it's a small box juggernaut! Cheap insurance too! Plus having the Volkswagen links, parts are extremely easy to get, easy to fix and german engineering never goes wrong! My vRS is sat on 140000 miles at the moment and it still drives like its on 60000 miles

Great video. But what do you think would be better for your first car when it comes to new cars. Hyundai i10 N-line or Kia picanto 1.2 84hp both 2020/21 models

Who has enough money for this as a first car ?

Even making vids while on holiday, thats dedication. Love the channel bro keep it up💪🏼🚘

Epic video as always!

I have an early 2016 pre-facelift Fabia NJ3. It also happens to be my first car, bought second hand rather than brand new. The pre facelift is exactly the same as this, but a lot cheaper due to being slightly older. If you want the extra gadgets, you can always go to a skoda dealer and ask for the parts or even get the dealer to fit them. There's also a very helpful forum to help with any issues or questions from day to day use, all the way to modifications and more. I have the 1.2L 110hp model with a 6 speed. The 5 speed models seem to have reliability issues with the gearbox, but this can be avoided with the six speed. I have taken my car across the UK on snow and ice, mud and gravel and even on multiple track days. It's a very capable for a first car and mine is now approaching 100k miles (4 years old) which is a considerable amount of mileage, however I am yet to experience any issues at all. Would 100% recommend the pre facelift 1.2tsi fabia. If anyone has any questions about the fabia, i will probably have the answer

I bought a 2017 skoda fabia monte carlo a few weeks ago as my first car , love it , got it lowered 35mm at the back and 25mm at the front.

Had two of these, excellent never had any problems, no workshop costs. Great car for the money 👍👍👍

The thing about extra tech is me right now while looking for my 2nd car, I don't need all the fancy features!!

My stepdad had 3 Fabia mk2 hatchbacks in a row before, he loved them and after that he had a Skoda rapid and twice the car had to go back to Skoda for some reason and twice he brought back a mk3 fabia he was never a fan of those he lost the rapid back in 2017 as it was too small, I can drive in 3 years and I wouldn’t mind a mk1 or mk2 fabia as a first car

I recently updated from a VW polo to a VW scirocco and I too miss the little shelf under the steering wheel 😪. However nearly 3x the power is quite nice.

I have a 2008 Mk2 skoda fabia and I would highly recommend it as a first car! Cheaper insurance as not many have them and it being a 4 door is awesome. The best thing in mine though is the speakers, which are actually better than those in my dads porsche 997! So yes, the skoda fabia is a great first car and I plan to enter mine into subscriber showdown soon as I've done a couple of tasteful mods :)

this is the car i was looking for since it was the car i learnt in but i couldnt justify the insurance premium on them. good little cars.

What do u think of an mx5 mk1 as a first car

7:30 You're supposed to use the little rubber handle/tug hanging on the inside of the boot to "pull" the boot lid shut with force, works fantastically in an acquaintance of mine's 2019 Fabia (the one you're testing seems to be the 2020 since it has the spaced out lettering on the boot which came for this year) and the pull tab is on other new Skoda models as well.

I've been watching some of your videos JB and don't seem to have come across any mention of the Ibiza in any of the relevant videos(maybe just missed it, haven't binged your channel yet). What's your opinion on it as a first car and in general? I feel like they are very similar to the Fabia given they're both built on the same platform, but also feel a lot more stylish with the Spanish flair

You should have to test 1.2 tsi 110hp version, because it's absolutely beast. It has 0-100 kmh in 9.2 seconds. Cons for it is that it has a massive turbolag like over 4 seconds and in low speed it is a horrible drive cause that. And it also do a very easily burnouts so tires wear pretty quickly.

for 15k you could probably get a £10,000 audi s4 with around 70k and the other 5k would pay for insurance and maintenance, wont be much of that though as there reliable

3Years ago, i bought a Škoda Fabia Monte Carlo 1.2TSI 77KW (2012) as my first car also in Switzerland. I must say, i love the car as my first car, dailying him every day, tuned it and and and more. I love it now, like i loved it 3Years ago. Had 0Problems with it and he's still going strong.💪🏼🚗❤

Had an experience of driving this model of Fabia but with 1.0 TSI 110bhp engine. I must say I was really impressed with the “performance” of that little car. Very nippy and pulls very nicely. I think it has like below 10sex 0-60. The n/a versions are dead as you said. I am planning of getting the turbo one with either 95 or 110 bhp as my first car as the insurance difference is not big between these and n/a. Anyways, great video as always!

I own a fabia mk2 1.6 tdi as my first car and its amazing I've had a stage 1 remap and at 153 bhp it is amazing would highly recommend

What's the ride like?

Where abouts in Switzerland were you ?? Omg you were in Interlaken!! It’d beautiful! Did you visit Lauterbrunnen ?

I love how he sounds very civilised throughout the whole review, and then when the parking sensor assaults him, the roadman comes out lmaooo, going to uni so i wont be able to drive my mum's car. I'm unsure if I even need a car though... mmmh prolly wont afford one and if i do, it'll be a tenth of this car or less

My first car in 1980 was a £120 dark green Hillman Imp, and I bought a map! 12 months later I sold it for £200 and bought a mustard mini ! Happy days.👍

I have to say it's cool it has heated seats. It's not often a car in that class has them. Love the review.👍🏻

Great vid mate keep the good content up!

Can you do the best future classics for under £3k?

I still stand by my mark 1 smart 454, it’s fun to drive round corners and has quite funky design language, I’ve ended up with 2 now, if your even across the water in Northern Ireland, your more than welcome to see it / drive it

It's a shame they never did a VRS model for this generation. I'd be all about it!

I'm actually a reincarnation of a Granddad because I want a Volvo 940

i wish we had Škoda in South Africa😔😢

Iam JUST looking for my first owned car I had fiat for a month and it just broken down after 2500km in one month I am looking for Skoda Fabia MK1 1.2 HTP 54hp(I just don’t know it is enough this power?) 80% town and than country roads I live in Czech Republic. Does someone hale experience with this engine ?

Would love to see you doing new and used IT WILL HAPPEN

Video idea! Second Fast cars for 18year olds with 1 year no claims.

Had one of these while my A3 was being serviced. You can get close to 25% of these just by using Carwow. Fabia SE, metallic paint, 1.0 TSI 115PS = £12845 Its a good car as well, very stable and comfortable however I would probably pay a little bit extra and go for the new Polo as I found the seats in the Fabia not to be very supportive of my lower back.

Would you choose this or a Seat Ibiza?

The chassis and interior of the 2019 fabia is actually older than that of a comparable 2019 Ibiza or Polo. VW only updated the infotainment system, tech and platform for the Ibiza and Polo In 2018 probably to keep the Skoda as the cheaper option 🤷‍♂️. The VW group revised the look of the 2019 onwards fabia it seems but left in the platform and tech of the previous gen Polo and Ibiza. A bit disappointing really. Great video anyway 👍 and enjoy the rest of your holiday 😀

Clean you camera lens bro

So I'm 18 tomorrow and bought my first car a few weeks ago. A Volvo C30 2.0 petrol. I really have no idea why people don't mention this as a first car more often. It is incredibly good looking, very comfortable, insurance is okay despite the big engine because of the Volvo badge and the excellent safety credentials, loads of standard kit. My 2012 R design has cruise control, the high performance sound system (very good), bluetooth, parking sensors, dual zone auto climate control, auto lights, sport chassis, plus so much more. Other trims have sat nav, heated power seats, sunroofs and electronic mirrors. It's also very distinctive, quirky and rare in comparison to cars such as the Skoda fabia and the VW polo. The only downfalls are practicality and fuel economy; it only comes as a three door and there are only two (albeit very comfortable) seats in the rear. The boot is also small but I have literally only used it once so.... In terms of economy the mighty 145BHP 2.0 engine is not good in comparison to my brother's polo with its 1.0 59BHP engine but this is to be expected. So far in real world driving I've averaged 33.6mpg, you can take what you want from that. Personally I'm good with it and I feel it's a small price to pay for all the great things about the car. In terms of cost mine was £7298 from an Arnold Clark dealership. It is fairly good with 40,000 miles, one owner from new, sep 2012 etc. You can get a good pre-facelift one for far less money but it would have to be from before 2010. Prices go up to about £9000 for the best of the best. If you care more about economy then you could get the diesel DrivE model. The DrivE is also tax exempt and I've heard it's also fairly punchy too. I avoided the diesels because the won't meet my city's low emission zone requirements meaning I can't drive into the city centre come 2022. Anyway I'll stop rambling now just go buy a C30!!!!

I’ve just bought a Skoda fabia vrs pd130 as my first car

Decent car especially to drive round in Switzerland as a hire car 👌🏽but I’d love to take a good handling Porsche 911 on those Swiss roads (not very cheap to hire tho loool) Btw I’m 17 and currently driving a 1.9 TDI Mk5 Golf Very fast and fuel efficient

That cost of £15,000 is for a 2019, 2020 Edition, if you get one that is 2015 to 2017 you can easily get it for around £5000 to £8000 depending on mileage and other features.

I’ve got a 2012 facelift fiesta, it’s a zetec so the most tech it has is Bluetooth. It’s my first car I’ve had it 3 months, my only gripe is it’s fuel economy, it’s averaged 25mpg in the time I’ve owned it and while yes it sounds alright it has such a small tank it uses fuel relatively quickly. And another thing whenever I start the car with my phone in it it plays any random song and I don’t know how to stop it doing that Great review.

Yoo man I am Michal the guy who said I'll buy a wv polo n9

Agreed that currently 10 years old cars will stay relevant for long time. They have enough tech like cruise control, bluetooth, heated windshield and automatic climate control to keep me happy while newer cars depreciate

I was hoping for a Fabia VRS Manual Petrol, but they don't exist..

I see first cars as a more temporary vehicle. I bought my first car based on insurance costs, knowing in 2 or 3 years time I can replace it for something a bit larger, more powerful and more comfortable. The mindset you'll need for this car is to keep it for a decent amount of time to get your money's worth.

If you’re in the market for a car like this, honestly the MG3 Excite is the better option, better tech for a better price and you shouldn’t be expecting a powerful engine at this price range anyway - MG3 is practically a Polo too as I believe MG is owned by SAIC who are in a joint venture with VW or something

This video is amazing even though he is just reviewing his rental car

Bought a 1 year old manual 68 plate for £8450 but it was the 1l, 75bhp SE(in Dec.2019). Let 1st owner take the hit for the biggest depreciation...Muppet! Use it as driving instructor car. Pupils love it. Really good visibility. Very practical car. Very easy to drive. Had it for 2 years now and still worth more than when I bought it. Very decent car. I will only buy German/ (Skoda Czech-but German) or Japanese usually Toyota as their super reliable. However VW group DSG is shit. Most reliable auto gearboxes on the planet are Toyota CVT.

I recently up grade to a 1.0 Eco boost fiesta from a 1.2 polo and the power difference is quite a lot much more fun to drive too 😊

I have a 2020 Skoda Fabia SE 1.0 TSI 110bhp & payed 1.7k without a black box as an 18 year old

Me with a 2.0 tsi scirocco at 17, yes. Yes a fabia would make a good first car... 3 grand insurance is silly money

It’s a shame they don’t make them in a 3 door variant

this video would of been better two weeks earlier when i bought a fabia for my first car ahahaha

The boots always shut so must be a problem with this car,, I have sold lots of these never had thtat problem. The 1.2 engine has gone now the car your driving is a 1.0 litre turbo and is great

1:10

A £15 hatchback has keyless entry/start, sat nav, 5 seats, 5 doors, luggage hooks and a rear wiper...my car costs double that used and has none of those, it's a bargain! I bet it has auto wipers too. ...I'm just going to sit in my Porsche and cry. Perhaps "cry" is the wrong word. What I might do is 0-100-0 faster than the Fabia does 0-60 ☺ Got parts for a tiny little mod on their way (which makes 2) so I'll have to get it into the subscriber showdown once they're on! Assuming I don't mess up the car. Honestly the Skoda seems like a rip-off, but then I would never buy a brand new car anyway.

Get an Audi A1. Much fun.

Yeah would have been better with your Mazda on them roads

Sorry it's not on the same platform as the Vw Polo or the Seat Ibiza, it's a different chassis altogether. And it has never come in a 3 door.

Good first car? It's a good car for anyone if you want something affordable and reliable. :)

Just buy a cheap reliable car and go camping in Europe, that is what I did. Fabia why not?

Can’t fit any women in the back

I would rather walk tbh I wouldn’t be seen dead in it . They were shite in the 70s n there still shite now

Had to put my Passat in garage and had one of these as a courtesy car and I have to say that is horrible to drive and is a cheap imitation of a Vw.

I seriously don’t get you if you think the car is not good enough for go buy an expensive one because this car is cheap as dirt. Your review is extremely rubbish you don’t give us an proper information .