Fab and functional

SKODA’S SMALL HATCH’S BIG ON GADGETS ..AND SPACIOUS TOO

Skoda has given its excellent Citigo the chop so this Fabia is now the company’s smallest car. Not that it’s particularly small. This new-from-the-wheels-up Fabia is built using the Volkswagen Group’s MQB-AO platform (also used for the Audi A1 and VW T-Cross) which means the car is stiffer and the wheelbase has grown 94mm.

This means that there’s more legroom in the back and that the boot can now hold 380 litres of luggage.

That’s equal to the current Golf and more than the Ford Focus. Skoda’s cars have always offered more space for the money and the new Fabia certainly follows that form.

Our test car looks very presentable in its Phoenix Orange paint but it’s a tidy design that could have come from the pen of almost any company’s design department.

The Fabia we’re driving is in top level SE-L spec and is powered by the 110PS version of the three-cylinder petrol engine.

This one and the 95PS option are turbocharged but there’s also a naturally aspirated triple that produces 80PS.

Both of these engines come with a five-speed manual gearbox but the 110PS engine comes with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG auto.

Ours has the former which means a price without options of £19,330. Not that you’d need to add many extras to the Fabia SE-L. Skoda coined the term ‘Simply Clever’ for the myriad of natty gadgets and solutions that it has come up with over the last few years.

Like the ice scraper that lives behind the fuel filler cap and the smart phone pockets on the backs of the front seats.

You even get a USB socket in the rear view mirror, for example, if you want to power a windscreen-mounted device.

There are also USB sockets for the rear passengers which your kids will approve of.

Finally, you get 100 litres of useful storage space dotted around the cabin.

If you’re stepping from the current

Fabia into this one you’ll immediate notice that Skoda has cranked up the quality of the materials in the cabin.

Soft-touch materials cover all the vital areas and there’s a smart looking two-spoke leather- wrapped steering wheel.

The interior quality and the materials are certainly as good as they need to be and are the equal of those found in a Volkswagen and even an Audi.

Anyone snobbish about Skoda these days is making a mistake – and a costly one too.

The instruments are digital and our car carried a 9.2in infotainment screen, but unfortunately no wireless charging for phones.

If you’re looking to save money, the entry level cars get a much smaller screen and analogue dials in the instrument binnacle.

The 110PS engine in this car is more than powerful enough and will propel the car to 62mph in 10 seconds. The DSG gearbox knocks a tenth of a second off that time but who cares?

We’ve driven this engine with the DSG gearbox in other cars and although it’s a smooth combination, my preference is the manual gearbox. Skoda has focused quite rightly on making the Fabia comfortable to drive rather than it being ‘sporty’, with compliant suspension that soaks up bumps and a quiet cabin.

If you want a car that’s more fun to drive then look at a Ford Fiesta but you’ll be missing out on space and practicality.

What’s more, you won’t get an umbrella that hides away in a door. The new Fabia is a simply clever choice of family hatchback, as its maker would say.

Buy a VW or even an Audi instead and you’re making a very costly mistake