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25/09/2011
REVIEW by EWAN KENNEDY
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Having started its revival in Australia by importing relatively upmarket cars, Skoda, the Czech car company, has now introduced its smallest model, the Fabia.
The Skoda Fabia will compete in the small car segment, taking on the likes of Hyundai i20, Kia Rio Mazda2, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo and quite a few others in one of the hottest of all areas of the car market in this country.
Skoda is part of the Volkswagen Group and the Fabia shares many of its out of sight components with the VW Polo and the Audi A1. Fabia prices are kept down by using lower grade materials, particularly in the interior. However, clever design work means you really don’t notice this unless you do a side by side comparison.
The Fabia has a completely different body to the Polo and has cheeky lines with a great deal of fun in their shape. It’s being offered with a range of bright colours, including a bright (very bright!) green, yellow and a strong red.
Interiors are equally funky, especially if you opt for sporty seats and choose them in bright colours.
As part of the sales push, Skoda is importing a special model called Fabia Monte Carlo to Australia. It features sports seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.
With a ‘stealth’ look created by a black roof with a small rear spoiler, 16-inch black alloy wheels, blacked out headlight surrounds and a few other details done in that dark shade the Fabia Monte Carlo certainly looks the part.
However, the Monte Carlo doesn’t feel the part as it doesn’t have any more power or modified chassis settings. A full-on sports model, the Fabia RS is in the pipeline to Australia. We sampled an RS in the Czech Republic earlier this year and loved the way it went and handled.
Importantly for those looking for a small family car, the Fabia follows the usual Skoda practice of putting interior room and practicality high on its list of priorities. I found myself moderately comfortable for space when I sat ‘behind myself’ in the Fabia. If you've got a couple of large teenagers in your family forget the Fabia, but Mum, Dad and a couple of preteen kids will find themselves with room to move.
The boot has a capacity of 315 litres if all seats are in use, and up to 1180 litres when they are folded. This is significantly higher than others in this class, indeed, it isn’t far short of the boot size of many medium cars.
Power from the 77 kilowatt 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine is taken to the front wheels by way of a five-speed manual gearbox. VW’s dual-clutch DSG automatic transmission will be offered as an option later.
Our initial road testing out of Sydney showed the engine to be spritely and responsive in its performance. Even better it has a sporty exhaust note that’s a pleasure to listen too.
Handling of the Skoda Fabia is very European in being neat and tidy with fast responses to both the steering wheel and the throttle pedal. The little Fabia stays neutral until it is pushed really fast at corners, when mild understeer helps the driver stay fully in control.
Comfort is better than average for a small car but the Fabia can be knocked about on some rough surfaces. Tyre noise is pretty well muted on coarse-chip surfaces.
Visibility to the front-side of the Fabia isn’t too bad, but it does suffer from the increasingly common problem of the view being obstructed at times by the wide windscreen pillars.
Best of all, the Skoda Fabia has the solid feel we have come to admire in products from the Volkswagen Group.
We feel the Skoda Fabia may well tackle the BMW Mini in the fashion stakes, but do so at considerably lower prices. The Fabia 77TSI is priced at $18,990 and the Monte Carlo 77TSI at $21,990. Note that these prices do not include government or dealer charges. Contact your nearest Skoda dealer for driveaway prices. |
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