Auto India, Car India

The major market players against Fabia are the Honda Jazz, Fiat Palio Stile, and Maruti Ritz. All of these hatchbacks are well designed and produced vehicles and offering almost all the same features. This makes the run quite tough. Nevertheless Fabia has maintained its high ranking at this race with its superior quality and all rounded features.

Highlighting Features:
The new Skoda Fabia, as mentioned above, is an all rounder in terms of looks, comforts and safety. The distinct fresh look of Fabia immediately attracts the viewers. The Fabia is made available in 6 excellent tones. The fresh looking Fabia is equally good at its engine performance. The Fabia engine produces a peak power of 70 Bhp, which suffices it to rock the car on highways.

The new Skoda Fabia is launched in 8 different variants, 4 variants of each of diesel and petrol engine. Following is the specification statistics for Skoda Fabia Active TDi variant.

General statistics

• Name and Model : Skoda Fabia Active TDi
• Ex showroom price (Mumbai) : Rs 5,70,077 (May vary)
• Body type : Premium hatchback
• Available colors :
  • Black Magic Pearl Effect,
  • Candy White,
  • Corrida Red,
  • Brilliant Silver Metallic,
  • Cappuccino Beige Metallic,
  • Satin Grey Metallic
• Engine type : Turbocharged diesel engine, in-line
• Maximum power : 70 @ 4000 (Bhp@rpm)
• Maximum torque : 109 @ 1550-2850 (Nm@rpm)
• Steering : Power
• Brakes : Front Disc, Rear Drum
• Transmission : 5 speed automatic
• Wheels : 14” Alloy
• Fuel tank size : 45
• Fuel efficiency : 20 (km/h, For highway), 18 (km/h, For city)
• Seating Capacity : 5
• AC / Non-AC : AC without climate control
• Music system : Front and Rear Speakers

Comments
The small and cute, yet strong and powerful, the Skoda Fabia, is launched recently in the booming Indian hatchback market and it created many waves among the buyers. Skoda has bundled stylish appearance, excellent engine performance and lavish interior, all into the new Fabia.

The Fabia body is given a distinct, new-age look rather than the regular boxy look of hatchbacks. The roof shape is somewhat similar to that of Maruti Swift. The chromed radiator grille, uplifted adjustable headlights with halogen lamps, body colored bumper and the fog lights attaches the front view of Fabia, a kind of obsession. Decorated with the alloys, the exterior appearance of Fabia is highly sporty and surely eye-catching.

The Fabia engine is a 1.4L, TDI, Diesel engine, producing a max power of 70Bhp and max torque of 109 Nm. The transmission and accelerator experience is greatly smooth and seamless and the super hatch runs swifts herself with great speed on smooth express highways. The driving experience is quite excellent with the powerful Fabia engine, moreover other recent features such as Power Steering, Accessory Power Outlet, Trunk Light, Adjustable Steering Column, Tachometer, Electronic Multi-Tripmeter, Glove Compartment, Rear Window Wiper, Rear Window Washer, Rear Window Defogger, make the driving more appealing!

The Fabia’s sporty exterior is accompanied by comfort rich interior. The seat design is much improved as expected in this segment class vehicle. Also, the seats are provided with some other additional comforts/safety touches with Height Adjustable Front Seat Belts, Rear Seat Belts, Rear Seat Headrest, Cup Holders (Front and Rear), Rear A/C Vents, Seat Lumbar Support and the Fabric Upholstery. Interior environment controlling standard features, the Air Conditioner and Heater, are provided in Fabia. Also, other features such as Outside Temperature Display, Cigarette Lighter, etc. increase the interior luxury.

The safety system in Skoda Fabia is standard, however it seems little ignored than other features. The suspension system uses McPherson suspension with lower triangular links & torsion stabilizer, as the front end suspension and a Compound link crank-axle, as the rear suspension. Fabia safety includes two airbags (driver and passenger), for the front seats. The impact safety is taken care by front and rear impact bars, unlike other most hatchbacks, which contains only side impact bar. Other recent-age safety features in Fabia are, Central Locking, Power Door Locks and Child Safety Locks.

Pros:

• 1.4L, 70Bhp, TDI, Diesel
• Front suspension- McPherson suspension with lower triangular links & torsion stabilizer
• Rear suspension- Compound link crank-axle
• Adjustable Headlights, Fog Lights (Front), Halogen Headlamps, Body colored bumpers, Chrome surround front grille(Upper chrome bar only), Rough road package
• Height Adjustable Front Seat Belts, Rear Seat Belts, Rear Seat Headrest, Cup Holders (Front and Rear), Rear A/C Vents, Seat Lumbar Support, Fabric Upholstery,
• Air Conditioner, Heater, Outside Temperature Display, Cigarette Lighter
• Power Steering, Accessory Power Outlet, Trunk Light, Adjustable Steering Column, Tachometer, Electronic Multi-Tripmeter, Glove Compartment
• Rear Window Wiper, Rear Window Washer, Rear Window Defogger, Wheel Covers
• Central Locking, Power Door Locks, Child Safety Locks, Driver Airbag, Passenger Airbag, Front and Side Impact Beams,

Cons:

• Under-prioritized safety (No ABS, EBD)
• No automatic climate control
• No music system

Bottom Line:
The super hatch, Skoda Fabia, is definitely “super” with its style, engine performance (both power and mileage) and of course the comfort level! The manufacturers have tried all possible options to utilize the maximum interior space. This makes the super hatch “super roomy”. The car is not only space oriented, but it also emphasizes on its appearance, both exterior and interior. It fulfills almost all the expectations of a hatchback in its class, such as, optimum price, sporty look, compact size, spacious interior, safety and comfort, etc. The new Skoda Fabia is surely a hatchback to drive on and to buy in!