Fabia advice or other small estates

[philpalmer]

Hi there.
Just wondered if anyone knew when Skoda stopped you from moving the squabs/bolsters (not sure correct term) on the back seats forward when putting the seats down... so you can get a flat loading area.

My car is a 2009 1.4tdi fabia and I can do it but not on my wife's car. She has a fabia 2017 1.2tsi.
I'm looking at getting an estate. I saw someone online saying that on the mk3 hatchback they stopped this but you could still do it on the estate.
However we went to see one today. It was a 2017 car and I couldn't do it.

The alternative is a Honda hrv which seems to be a groovy way of folding the seats flat where the rear seats drop down into the footwell to give the flat load bay I'm looking for. The jazz also does this but is a bit small and the civic looks perfect but rear visibility is a big problem.

Happy to consider anything else. Not sure if Golf seats fold flat.

I'm looking Japanese or vw/skoda as I've been told to keep away from anything with a wet belt.

Sorry for the longwinded question.
Thanks

Phil

[Belle427]

Maybe take a look at the Yeti, I cant remember if the seats fold flat though sorry.

[Deerfoot]

Belle427 said:

Maybe take a look at the Yeti, I cant remember if the seats fold flat though sorry.

Pretty sure that the seats can be totally removed on some Yetis, of course that's OK if you have the space to put them..

A few years ago we ran a Volvo V60 alongside a Mk2 Honda Jazz.

The Jazz had by far the better designed load space and the seats were just a genius solution. We used the Honda over the Volvo to collect a washing machine from Comet..

[Snow and Rocks]

Civic Tourer too old?

Great car with a huge boot for the exterior dimensions and surprisingly nice to drive with the very economical 1.6 DTEC.

[Belle427]

Deerfoot said:

Belle427 said:

Maybe take a look at the Yeti, I cant remember if the seats fold flat though sorry.

Pretty sure that the seats can be totally removed on some Yetis, of course that's OK if you have the space to put them..

A few years ago we ran a Volvo V60 alongside a Mk2 Honda Jazz.

The Jazz had by far the better designed load space and the seats were just a genius solution. We used the Honda over the Volvo to collect a washing machine from Comet..

We have a few jazz in the family, have always liked them. Would have one myself if they had a bit more go in them but all the ones I have driven just feel gutless.
I appreciate they are aimed at a certain market.

[ZX10R NIN]

Kia ProCeed is well worth a look.

[Deerfoot]

Belle427 said:

I appreciate they are aimed at a certain market.

That's a UK thing mainly. In the States and Canada the Honda Fit doesn't suffer from this.

It never bothered us, we bought our Jazz in our thirties. I'd have another Mk2, it was totally reliable in our ownership, we put tyres on it and got it serviced by Honda every 12 months.

[alangla]

Owned a 12 plate Jazz for 3 years, again, a great car, not the quickest but incredibly well specced for what it was (panoramic glass roof, powered roof blind, climate control, cruise control), with the back seats folded up there was tons of space in the rear footwell for carrying stuff. Only real problem I had with it was a bit of corrosion on the battery fuse box causing a power steering failure but a new fuse box sorted it.

[philpalmer]

Thanks for the advice. We went to see a Yeti but we're a bit disappointed. The rear seats roll forward but then partially block access to the rear doors
... unless you remove them completely which is a bit of a faff. Also there is no flat load bay

They changed the bolsters at the end of the mk2 Fabia so no newer than 2014 which is too old now.
We want a car that's going to last us the next 10 years.

Civic tourer. Good choice but very rare
Spoke to guy in Honda garage who said it had one and loved it but with it is a bit low to the ground and bottoms out occasionally. We live in the middle of nowhere and our driveway isn't the best.

Loved the practically of the Jazz ... just too small and similar ground clearance to Civic.

Looked at a Kia Stonic but seemed massive on outside with a tiny little boot. The complete opposite to our fabia. They didn't have a proceed but then the real world mpg isn't great on any Kia according to Honest John website

Also went to see a Mitsubishi Asx but felt really dated. Nice car otherwise.


So it's the hrv. It ticks all our boxes.

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. Really appreciated.

[Trevor555]

For the 2015 onwards Fabia estate, you can buy the panel to make the floor area flat, called the "variable floor"

It's quite expensive as you have to buy the plastic supports that go either side of the load area.

I'll try and dig out a photo.

Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 20th July 11:44

[Pica-Pica]

Try the Škoda Scala. I believe they do not make a Fabia Estate any more.
I like the Honda Jazz, but it does not have a spare wheel, but the Fabia and Scala do.

[Oberheim]

Toyota Corolla Touring Sports (2019 onwards) has a variable boot floor that can easily be raised to form a flat loading area when the rear seats are folded down. It’s bigger than a supermini estate like the Fabia but not huge and definitely not as wide as a some in its size category. Excellent highly durable hybrid drivetrain too.

At approx. 3 minutes into this YouTube review you can see the flat loading area:
https://youtu.be/JDdUH0BBDD4?si=_JimfXBpImQgK2g4