FABIA write-up 1: Would you buy a Skoda?

Would YOU Buy A Skoda?
(source www.dooyoo.co.uk)
by kenjohn - written on 23.01.02 - Rating: (3 of 5 possible stars)

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~ ~ Forget all the old jokes that used to do the rounds a few years back about Skoda. In the bad old days, these Czechoslovakian cars were without question one of the worst on the road, with “sewing machine” engines, and the build quality of a small boy’s go kart.

But since they became part of the Volkswagen group, they have improved beyond recognition, and today they must rank in the top half dozen of European car manufacturers.

I wrote a review a good while back about the Octavia, their top of the range car in the large car bracket, which is proving to be a very popular choice with taxi drivers here in Dublin. (Not to mention the general public!) But today I’m taking a look at their small car, the Skoda Fabia, which is also making waves in the marketplace, and becoming increasingly popular as a “budget buy” for the cost conscious motorist.

~ ~ The current model Fabia is available in three versions.
You can have a five-door hatchback, a four-door saloon, or a four-door estate.
I would have preferred to have test driven the hatchback, which is the most popular model in the range, but as the dealer had just sold his last one, I had to content myself with the saloon version.

My car had a very lively 1.4-litre, 16 valve, petrol engine, with a five speed manual gearbox. If this engine doesn’t take your fancy, then you could also go for the two alternatives. There’s a lower powered version of the 1.4-litre petrol engine, (which obviously costs less of your hard earned cash) or if you fancy real economy (but at a higher price) then you could opt for the 1.9-litre diesel version.

~ ~ But whatever engine choice takes your fancy, you can rest assured that the Fabia offers a very spacious four door saloon, with ample room for four adults (five at a squeeze), and a luggage capacity in the large boot that rivals anything in its class, and even beats many cars in the medium to large car segme nt of the market.
And if you fold down the 60/40 split level rear seat, then you have the equivalent of a small van, and there’s very few loads that you wouldn’t be able to cart around with relative ease.

~ ~ The 1.4-litre that I drove could (with a stretch of the imagination) be described as the performance engine of the range. And it must be said that it was indeed lively enough through the gears, even if you’d never be entering it for a saloon car race at Brand’s Hatch.


Off course, like its Spanish cousin the Seat, the engines and running gear are all German made from its parent company Volkswagen, so you can be assured of both reliability and longevity, and easily affordable and obtainable spare parts.
And with service intervals of 10,000 miles, then a visit to the garage once a year or so would be the norm for most motorists. I did think the one-year unlimited mileage warranty was a bit cheeky though, especially in these days of 3-year warranties being commonplace.

Manufacturer’s these days (at least here in Ireland) seem to be quoting performance figures in “kilometres” rather than miles. The quoted time for the Fabia from a standing start to 100kph (62mph) is 14.1 seconds, and it will carry you onto a top speed of 168kph. (104mph) Not too bad for a car of this size!
And the fuel economy figures are fairly impressive as well. You’ll get about the 30mpg mark driving around town in the traffic, rising to an impressive 54mpg on a long run. So if your driving is a mixture of both, then on average you’ll get about 42mpg.


The ride was firm but comfortable enough, and the suspension coped adequately with the innumerable “speed bumps” that seem to be a feature of town driving today. And on the open road, the ride was quiet and refined, with no excessive cabin or wind noise up to 80mph. (which is as hard as I pushed it)
It cornered well, if not in the rally class , and the body roll from the firm suspension was not appreciable. And the servo-assisted disc brakes stopped you quickly and assuredly enough.


One criticism I would have would be with the power steering, which I found extremely light, with poor driver feedback, but I suppose that you could get used to it given time.


An immobiliser is also fitted as standard, so you don’t have to worry too much about it being removed illegally from your front drive, although I still think a stout chain and padlock round the steering column is the best deterrent going for a car thief.

~ ~ The interior of the car is spacious and bright, with comfortable seats.
And the colour scheme doesn’t grab you by the throat and try to throttle you either, with a subdued décor (beige on the test car), and matching plastic trim. (that doesn’t “look” like plastic, if you follow my drift)

Interior storage space is adequate, with a medium sized glove compartment, and storage pockets in both front doors. One nice touch is the small shaped holders for placing your plastic cup full of tea or coffee in the inside lid of the glove box.
A wide opening boot gives easy access, and there are electric windows fitted at the front, with central locking and child safety locks as standard. The toolkit is neatly stored away in its own little box inside the spare wheel well, so that it wont rattle around in everyday use.


There are two trim specifications “Classic” and “Comfort”, the only difference as far as I can make out being the height and reach adjustment on the steering wheel, and the height adjustment on the driver’s seat. Both are very handy, by the way, especially if you happen to be an “awkward” size. (i.e. larger or smaller than the accepted norm.)

Oh, and you only get the driver’s airbag as standard on the “Classic”, while with the “Comfort” your passenger gets one a s well.
There are rear seat belts fitted as well, but the middle passenger in the back has to make do with only a lap belt, which I don’t like, although they are still the accepted standard on most cars. (I think they’re damned dangerous!)
The instruments were all easily to hand, with nothing awkward to get at, and a nice touch was the adjustable lighting level for the instrument panel. (Great if you do a lot of night driving)

The car also has a very sophisticated trip “computer”, which if you like that sort of thing, will tell you everything you would ever want to know about mileage rates, fuel capacity, length of time to your next fuel stop, and so on ad infinitum. I was never too taken with these gadgets, but I could see how it could possibly appeal to the more technically minded motorist.

The radio/cassette was better than average, with no less than 8 speakers front and rear, although it had a generic badge, so it was impossible to tell the manufacturer. (although I suspect it was a Blaupunkt or Bosche)

~ ~ Costwise?
Well, there are a lot of different specification models available, so if you are truly interested in this car then you would be as well to visit a good website like “autotrader” or “Top Gear”.


So the little Skoda Fabia gets a three (and a half) star rating out of five from this reviewer. Personally, it wouldn’t be my own particular choice of car in this bracket. (see my review of the Seat Ibiza, or the Alfa 147)
But if it’s an inexpensive, good quality, and high specification small family car you are looking for, it’s well worth having a look at.
One thing is for SURE! The days of all the Skoda jokes are long gone.