New Skoda Fabia offers more of everything

General Guides  New Launches 

Based on Volkswagen Group's modular MQB-A0 platform – the same basic building block as the VW Polo and T-Cross, and the Audi A1 – the brand-new Skoda Fabia is larger inside and out. VW may have shot itself in the foot by making a bigger, more practical, and better value version of the brilliant Polo. Skoda has already claimed the new Fabia is larger, safer, and more efficient, and that makes it an alternative lease option worth considering.

In terms of looks the new Fabia is pleasingly similar to its VW stablemates. There are a few more contemporary touches that make the Skoda Fabia a thoroughly modern hatchback. The clear-cut headlights featuring LED technology as standard extend to the Skoda grille. The full-LED variants provide more light-intensive low beam and high beam, as well as cornering and adaptive light functions. Full-LED tail lights are also an option.

There is a choice of nine body colours for the new Skoda Fabia, with two new metallic paint finishes available on the Fabia for the first time. You can also choose contrasting paintwork on the roof, wing mirror caps and the grille surround. Wheel options include 14-inch and 15-inch steel wheels, as well as nine different alloys ranging from 15 to 18 inches. The optional, burnished 18-inch Libra alloy wheels in black are the range-topping variant.



The interior features a free-standing infotainment display measuring up to 9.2 inches and can also be fitted with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster for the first time. Comfort features such as dual zone climate control, a heated windscreen and heated steering wheel, are amongst other new options on the Fabia. The new interior improves the Fabia's already impressive feeling of spaciousness and will be available in three trim levels – S, SE, and SE L.

It's the little design touches that show somebody put some thought into it that make a difference in the Skoda Fabia. Alongside the modern stuff like Wi-Fi hotspot, wireless connectivity and charging, online support, and gesture control, there are few simple touches that make a car just a little bit more useful.

‘Simply Clever' is a series of design touches that make use of dead space or solve the little problems that everybody deals with. In the storage compartment in the centre console, for example, a little clip for a credit card or car park ticket and an elastic band as a pen holder keep things tidy. A removable cup holder between the front seats is an optional extra to provide more flexibility, while a box on the transmission tunnel offers rear passengers a clever storage option for small items. There are smartphone pockets on the front seats so rear passengers have a secure place to stash a phone, an ice scraper in the fuel filler cap, an umbrella in the driver's door, and even a rear-view mirror with a USB socket so you can connect a dashcam without distracting wires obstructing the windscreen.

Skoda is offering five engine choices from Volkswagen's latest EVO generation for the small car to lease. The four-cylinder 1.5 TSI with a power output of 150bhp and a 7-speed DSG as standard is the latest top-of-the-range powertrain variant. It even has the ability to switch off two cylinders when not needed to make it even more economical. The rest of the options use a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine and deliver between 65bhp and 110bhp depending on the configuration. The 65, 80 and 95bhp versions are fitted with a 5-speed manual gearbox, while there is a choice of a 6-speed manual gearbox or an automatic 7-speed DSG for the 1.0 TSI producing 110bhp. Skoda has also confirmed a sportier Monte Carlo version will follow on later.

If you're in the small hatchback market you might have a difficult choice to make now. Yes, the VW badge carries a little more prestige, but do you really need to spend money on a Polo when you can have a slightly bigger Polo with Skoda Fabia written on the back?

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