Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 11 Sep 2011 18:51
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - jrlittle24

We are looking to replace our Toyota Aygo (2006) petrol with a 1 to 2 year old car, which is driven approx 6500 miles p.a. We would like to keep the replacement for ten years or more. Daily commute is 20 mile round trip, urban and also motorway. Other trips include around town of 1 to 6 miles. The best options appear to be the Honda Jazz: 1.4 i-Vtec ES; Skoda Fabia: 1.2 TSi (86 or 105) or the VW Polo 1.2 70 S or 1.2 TSi 105 SEL. Polo seems to be most expensive and have the worst reviews. Any advice would be welcome.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 11 Sep 2011 19:03
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - Bobbin Threadbare

There's loads of different cars you could pick! All of those are good so I see your dilemma. Well, the Skoda and the Polo are effectively the same car, but the Fabia will be cheaper all round, going from reviews I've read. It also looks more roomy. There's a few Jazz owners on here - the Jazz came in 10 years ago and even 10 year old ones still look good.

My mum has the same car as you do currently, same year and everything. She's going for a Mazda 2 for her next car.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 11 Sep 2011 19:21
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - jamie745

Anything you plan to keep for ten years is a decision which should only be taken after thorough reviewing the cars and test driving all of them. I would also consider the Ford Ka, built on the same platform as the 500 but albiet lacking the 500's image the Ka is set up better.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 11 Sep 2011 19:32
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - daveyjp

I don't know how Jazz model line up works, but my dad has the top of the range and the ride is very harsh - the larger wheels don't like potholes and this is one of two aspects my dad complains about after 2.5 years of faultless ownership.

The other is the fact it seems to 'bing' and 'bong' at you at every opportunity, the most annoying is when it gets to a few weeks before a service, everytime you go to turn it on there's another reminder 'bing'!

But for long term ownership it would top my list of those you mention as it doesn't have a turbo - a potentially expensive repair.

Edited by daveyjp on 11/09/2011 at 19:35

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 11 Sep 2011 20:08
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - carl_a

I'd go for a Mazda 2 too. Or new Kia Picanto or Rio, the Hyundai i10 or i20 although thats a little dull. All these will likely last better than a VW product and will deliver better MPG.

I'd recommend the Mitsubishi Colt but they're getting a little old now and safety equipment isn't up there with the ones mentioned above.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 10:10
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - madf

It's easy. Just read the Owners' Forums Technical sections.

Don't buy cars with lots of posts.

On that basis , rule out VW and Skoda...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 14:26
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - pugswhdi

No contest if you're planning to keep it for so long, buy a Jazz.

We had a 2007 model before needing a larger car to fit our children into (now driving a Honda FRV) and they are great. The only downside for us (we're 32 now) is that they do seem to attract 'older' drivers and are therefore definitely not cool!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 12 Sep 2011 14:31
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - jamie745

On that basis , rule out VW and Skoda...

Little harsh, as its reasonable to expect cars with very high sales volumes to have more reports of problems than rarer cars.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 13 Sep 2011 00:20
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - carl_a

On that basis , rule out VW and Skoda...

Little harsh, as its reasonable to expect cars with very high sales volumes to have more reports of problems than rarer cars.

VW have one of the lowest sales volumes in the USA yet one of the worst reliability records there.

The Toyota Corolla was the worlds best selling cars for years yet also regarded as the most reliable.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 13 Sep 2011 00:26
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - jamie745

Theres always going to be exceptions to anything isnt there? One example of each extreme proves very little. It is slightly news to me mind as i'd always been under the impression VW's are meant to be renowned as quite reliable, mind you ive never owned a VW, never drive a VW and never had any interest in doing either of those things.

Ford have a hit and miss reliability record, when you sell as many cars as they do theres always going to be a few. Arent they currently ranked around 5th in reliability or something? Some break some dont.

Toyota are of course going to rank highly here, as are Honda. The Americans love both of those which may surprise some people but alot of Americans dont subscribe to 'buy American, American is best' etc and Japanese is extremely popular there.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 13 Sep 2011 08:07
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - bazza

For a 10 year ownership plan, the priorities should be a long warranty combined with straightforward servicing and as simple technology as possible these days. The 1.2 tsi gets rave reviews but it's very complex and unproven long term. Could be a liability outside of warranty. The 1.2 3 pot is a possibility but plenty of problems associated with it.

I would go with either Japanese or Korean ( long warranty), so would look at i20,i30, Ceed etc with non turbo petrol motor. Or Yaris - well proven, bombproof and good support/plenty of parts and know-how about. On your list I would favour the Jazz but i think servicing is costly down the line.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 13 Sep 2011 09:10
Fabia, Jazz or Polo - Fabia, Jazz, Polo,which is best 1-2 yr old petrol - Buster Cambelt

Jazz by a mile, I have one in my company, 59-reg 1.4 EX (new model, largest engine, bought at launch so Japanese built rather than Swindon) and despite general abuse and neglect it has been 100% reliable. I drove it yesterday and it goes brilliantly with very tidy ride and handling. Load space is awesome for such a small car.

Only thing I have never liked is that the headrests are fixed at a forward facing angle but if that doesn't bother you then it's a great car.

No rattles at all, unlike every Polo or Skoda I've every been in.

Great engine, but so is the new 1.2 that Audi designed and the rest of VAG now uses.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?

Choosing a child seat can be a quite baffling experience – there are so many sizes, types, brands and price points available that you might not know where to start.

How to choose the right child seat