Skoda Fabia
GOODBYE
£19,400 OTR/£21,925 as tested/£273pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Does relentless all-round competence get boring?
DRIVER
Vijay Pattni
OUR TIME WITH THE HUMBLE FABIA IS UP, AND HERE’S WHAT WE FOUND. Throughout the course of your life there will almost certainly have been those friends you turned to when life got a bit chaotic the dependable and trustworthy aides who’d always have a kind word and a cup of tea ready
Surprise the Skoda Fabia is that friend And throughout the course of our time with the Czech company’s humble little supermini we’ve warmed to it Took a bit of time mind Because at first despite being a ‘Colour Edition’ it wasn’t exactly shooting out rainbows Ours came with the chirpy little litre threecylinder turbo matched to a sixspeed manual gearbox While at first it felt a little characterless over time we got used to its buzzy note and intriguing power delivery nothing nothing lots then nothing
When not deliberately trying to set it on fire its parsimony was a proper boon Here’s where its nature began to leak through we had it during rising fuel prices so to be able to squeeze nearly miles out of a tank felt like a victory Having adjusted the lens through which we judged the Fabia it continually delivered Holiday roadtrip? No problem it offered a great deal of space and never once complained
Sensible isn’t sexy true but mpgish speaks for itself And while it’s not the most striking of exteriors there’s a certain sharpness about its flanks that exudes a quiet sort of confidence it’s not ostentatious nor is it a wallflower Our car was a little drab inside though grey fabric with a dark grey dash isn’t the most inspiring of interiors and there were definite whiffs of ‘rental car’ about it Our advice? Try and choose something with a little more colour
We’d recommend one of these things in a heartbeat Whenever life got chaotic the dependable Fabia was always there with a buzzy engine note and dashboard squeak to soothe our ailments Good car this