If more proof were needed, SKODA's newest Fabia shows that you can have your cake and eat it, too. Their secret to success is making a car that is one of the best superminis in terms of value for money. Even so, some people might question whether the Fabia is really a supermini because it is not very small. It's a good-sized piece of metal that can fit a family of four comfortably and with room to spare. This is likely why the first car, which came out seven years ago, was such a hit in the UK. Over 130,000 of them have been bought here, and over 1.5 million have been built in that time. It has also won a lot of awards.
The new model, which came out earlier this year, builds on what was good about the old Fabia. It competes with cars like the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, and Renault Clio for sales, and the entry-level 1.2 HTP 1 model starts at a competitive GBP7,990. It comes with a CD player, ABS, power steering, immobiliser, and dual front airbags as standard. However, to keep the price low, sacrifices have to be made, so the Fabia 1 (the lowest trim level) doesn't have remote central locking or electric door mirrors. On our first meeting, the brakes were a bit softer than I'm used to, which made me wonder for a moment if they'd also forgotten them.
But you can rest easy knowing that even though the pedal travel is long, there is enough bite at the end to stop you safely. There are seven engine options, with the 1.2-liter three-cylinder 60bhp unit in our test car being the slowest. This engine is also used in other VW Group cars. The sound of the engine has a thrummy quality, but it's fine for driving around town. It's just a little weak when the road opens up a bit and there's less traffic. Its breathing slows down, and it's a little like a fat kid trying to keep up with the rest of the class on the cross country run. Using a cake as an example, it doesn't really put the zip in the marzipan, but there are plenty of other options if you want something with a little more speed.
People choose Skodas for a number of reasons, including price, dependability, and ease of use. The newest Fabia checks all of those boxes, and this one in particular, even though it was just the base model, was a comfortable and cheap way to get around. It gets just under 59mpg on the highway, which means that it won't cost a lot to run, even though it didn't cost much to buy. Oh, and it's also an insurance group 1 car. So, a five-door hatchback that looks good and is a big step up from what came before. It's really a piece of cake.
