Skoda FABIA SALOON RANGE
First We Had The Hatch, Then The Estate, And Now The Saloon. Is There No End To Skodas Ambitions For The Fabia? Andy Enright Reports
Never underestimate Skodas potential for surprise. First they achieved the impossible rebranding themselves as a credible choice for just the sort of person whod never be seen dead in a
Skoda. Secondly they pulled off the Car of The Year award with the Fabia hatch. Thirdly, the Fabia metamorphoses into estate versions and now a saloon.
What next?
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However surprising the Fabia may appear on the surface, the story just gets stranger when you dig deeper. The saloon version is no different. Like its hatchback and estate siblings, the Fabia four-door is based around the next-generation
Volkswagen Polo platform,
Skoda being given priority over the Polo and the
SEAT Ibiza in Volkswagens empire. Whats more, in creating such a massive boot for the saloon version, Skoda have created a model that can boast more carrying capacity than the five-door estate version.
Work that one out if you can. Things are far more easy to fathom when it comes to the Skoda saloon line up. One trim level is available with three engines to choose from. Opening the range is the £9,640 1.
9-litre SDI, a relatively low-tech diesel engine that musters 64bhp. Next up is the 100bhp 1.4-litre 16v petrol-powered version at £9,750 whilst the most expensive Fabia saloon makes do with a 75bhp version of the 1.4-litre engine mated to an automatic gearbox at £10,480.
Again, Skoda bends the conventions. Most manufacturers would have offset the drivetrain power losses of the automatic box with the more powerful engine. Still, if they were conventional, theyd be VW, so the Czechs look set to continue bamboozling us with wacky differentiation.
"Everything feels as if it was hewn from a solid billet of exotically-named petrochemical, so tight are the interior fitments"
The Volkswagen Group have a reputation for massive boots. Who can forget the Jetta and the Vento, cars with boots so large they almost seemed to be crawling up the rear window? The Fabia saloon pulls off a neat trick here, with a boot that looks so understated youd need to look twice to differentiate it from a five-door hatch version. How can 438-litres fit into something so small? This Tardis-like quality extends to the passenger compartment. The Fabia is one of the longest cars in its class and has the interior space efficiency to capitalise on those extra inches.
Nor is any future rival likely to surpass it in this respect, for anything larger would stray into Bora, Astra and Focus family saloon territory. Certainly buyers of such larger cars could consider this surprising little Skoda, for five can be seated in reasonable comfort. The Fabia has recently received its most far-reaching set of revisions since it was launched, the visual changes centring on a revised front grille, spoiler and fog lamps, as well as restyled rear light clusters that echo the "C" shape of the latest Octavias rear lights. The interior look is modernised with fresher interior upholstery. The rather Spartan feel is the only real criticism you could make of an interior that is otherwise a class above most other offerings in this sector. Scan the dashboard and youll realise that theres a fair complement of standard equipment, its just that the frighteningly logical layout tucks everything away tidily and creates the impression that youre just ending up with vast swathes of dark plastic and a few air vents.
The one trim level comprises power steering, electric front windows, a height and reach adjustable steering wheel, remote central locking, ABS and twin front airbags. Metallic paint and air conditioning are available as optional extras, but inveterate button jabbers will find the Fabias dash a sensory deprivation area. Nevertheless, everything feels as if it was hewn from a solid billet of exotically-named petrochemical, so tight are the interior fitments and theres an undoubted feeling of structural integrity to the car that on one hand lends a massive air off reassurance but on the other makes the Fabia just that little bit antiseptic to drive. Its hugely competent, but lacks that small spark of fun.
Fun is something of a peripheral concern when youve got 789 litres to play with. This is the load capacity freed up when you drop the back seats, and its a huge chasm. REM have played gigs in halls smaller than this. Thats even more space than in the back of a VW Bora.
Expect to see legions of Fabia saloons at the dockside in Calais, cavernous boots stuffed to the gunwales with cigarettes, beer and asylum seekers for personal consumption. Continuing on a practical theme, the Fabia 1.9 SDI falls into the lowest tax group as a result of is emissions rating just 132g/km. Likewise, you can expect to average 59mpg from the 1.
9SDI, 36mpg from the 75bhp 1.4-litre auto and 40mpg from the 100bhp 1.4-litre manual. On the road, the handling is tuned to please the family driver rather than the enthusiast - which is understandable given Skoda's likely clientele. Expect it to ride and respond with all the quality of a VW Golf and you won't be disappointed. The 100bhp 16v 1.4-litre engine offers a good all-round package, making sixty in 11.5s on the way to 115bhp.
There are no throttle cables: your right foot impulses are communicated via a 'drive-by-wire' throttle. Five years ago, you found this technology on F1 cars: now you find it on Skodas. What other comparable four-door saloons are there for around £9,000? In terms of quality none, and its doubtful that the sort of buyer whod be attracted by the Skodas build and image would be swayed by the attractions of a
Proton Wira or a
Kia New Mentor. Operating in a class of one is always good news for the revenue stream. Like all good ideas, its a wonder nobody has thought of the Fabia saloon before
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Skoda Fabia saloon range
PRICES: £9,640-£9,750 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 4-6
CO2 EMISSIONS: 132-170g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.4 100bhp] Max Speed 115mph / 0-60mph 11.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.4 100bhp] (urban) 29.7mpg; (extra urban) 51.4mpg; (combined) 39.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 3990/1646/1451mm WHO TO SEE:
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