SKODA LAUNCHES THE NEW FABIA RANGE
22 April 2007 - Skoda

On the back of UK and world record sales in 2006, 39,000 in the UK and 500,000 around the globe, Skoda are about to launch their new and slightly larger Fabia ‘supermini’ five-door hatchback.

UK sales start on 17 May at prices ranging from £7,990 to £13,015 with a full range of three and four cylinder petrol and diesel engines varying in size from 1.2 to 1.9-litres. A six-speed tiptronic automatic transmission will become available for 1.6-litre petrol versions. A new Fabia Estate will also be introduced in 2008 but the current model continues in that form until next January. A vRS high performance diesel hatchback is likely to be added in the future.

The new range has been simplified for specification with models logically badged 1,2 and 3. All models are fitted with power steering, twin front and side airbags and central door locking. All models also have a reach and rake adjustable steering column along with a height adjustable driver’s seat and electrically operated front windows. Air conditioning and alloy road wheels are fitted as standard on Fabia level 2 and 3 models.

Warren Richards, product marketing manager for SkodaAuto in the UK, said this week, “The launch of the original Fabia in 2000 changed the fortunes for Skoda. Customers love it and it has won numerous awards for its design, equipment levels, driveability and reliability. We have sold 130,000 of them in the UK in seven years, 18,000 in 2006, and by 2010 we expect to sell 23,000 Fabias annually in the UK.”

He added, “The Skoda brand as a whole is now highly rated by customers and we have also received numerous awards for customer satisfaction. For instance in the most recent J D Power survey 96.7 per cent of respondents said they would recommend a Skoda model to a friend. Skoda has been ranked in the top five of all brands in the J D Power survey of customer satisfaction for the past 11 years. The average age of our UK customers across the brand is 55 years.”

“Currently our UK sales are increasing and we expect the Fabia to assist us in achieving a two per cent share of the UK’s new car market quite soon. Overall our sales are split 60 per cent to retail buyers and 40 per cent fleet and business users. With the Fabia 70 per cent are retail sales and the rest to business and fleet users. I expect 70 per cent of sales to be achieved by petrol engined variants. The best selling petrol model will be the 1.2-litre three-cylinder 70bhp version, which will account for 23 per cent of sales. The best selling diesel model will be the 1.4-litre 80bhp three-cylinder TDi and the most popular specification will be Fabia 2”, he added.

Skoda from the Czech Republic, and now part of the Volkswagen family, is one of the world’s oldest car companies, making vehicles for over 100 years.

Richards said, “The new Fabia will sell against the likes of the new generation ‘superminis’ which include the Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, Renault Clio, Fiat Punto, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta and Citroen C3. Whilst the new Fabia is not the longest, widest or tallest car in its class it does provide the largest amount of interior space providing comfort where it really counts. The boot space ranges from 300 litres with all five seats in use to 1,163 litres with the rear seats down and is the largest in the segment.”

He added, “The new Fabia range is on average six per cent cheaper than its competitors but that increases to 10 per cent once the specification has been equalised and we expect it to grow the three per cent share it already has of the ‘supermini’ sector.”

The new Fabia uses a revised version of the platform first introduced in 2000 and then adopted by other models the Volkswagen brand family. Changes have been made to give more strength, and improved driving refinement. Inside there has been detailed attention to the layout of the driving controls. The latest Fabia uses the new expressive face of Skoda, the grille first seen with the Roomster, and now has strong creased styling lines running right around the car with signature ‘C’ segmented rear light clusters.”

Views
During this week’s UK media first drive event we had the opportunity to try the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.4 diesel variants, both with three-cylinder Skoda designed engines.

As far as the overall design of the new Fabia goes, it is more of the same but improved and that says a lot because the outgoing Fabia was highly rated. The car benefits from more headroom and rear legroom. The width is still a bit cosy but the boot is larger and makes for a very user-friendly five-door hatchback. The controls are well laid out as was Skoda’s aim and seemingly the quality appears to be very good and should keep Skoda owners raving about their cars. The price is very attractive when you consider the specification you get and now the brand has lost its jokey image there is no reason not to buy. Sensibly priced and good looking probably sums the new Fabia up very well.

At this stage I can only comment on the performance provided by the two, three-cylinder engines. Yes both give reasonable performance and I’m sure will return reasonable fuel economy but a three-cylinder engine will never be as flexible or as responsive at low speeds as a four cylinder unit. Both engines, even the 1.4-litre diesel, have very narrow torque and power bands available only at higher than normal engine speeds so you have to work them hard to get the best out of them. In particular in the case of the petrol unit this means plenty of gearchanges to keep the 1.2-litre engine singing along.

The 1.4-litre diesel unit also doesn’t deliver enough torque at low engine speeds so again you push it harder and need to use lower gears on country roads. On motorways the five speed gearbox ratios are fine and respectable cruising speeds can be maintained. The Fabia 1.2-litre 70bhp petrol engine returned an average of 35.1mpg during my test drive over a combination of A, B roads and motorway driving. The 1.4-litre, 80bhp diesel did better at 44.2mpg, but in reality neither of those figures are class leading. It is not unusual to get 1.6 petrol and 1.9 diesel four-cylinder engines to produce better figures because they are not worked as hard and they give a more flexible and relaxed drive at lower speeds in and around town.

With regard to comfort and handling. The revised suspension is set up for ride quality and generally absorbs most bumps ands potholes pretty well. The steering is accurate and offers reasonable feedback and the car does turn in nicely during cornering with good levels of grip.

MILESTONES. Skoda Fabia 2, 1.2-litre 70bhp. (Anticipated best selling model). Price: £9,720. Engine, 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol, 70bhp and 112Nm of torque at 3,000rpm. Performance: 101mph, 0-62mph 14.9 seconds, CO2 140g/km, VED Band C £115. Insurance group 2.
For: Good looks, price, value for money specification, low insurance rating, more space, versatile five-door hatchback.
Against: Choose four-cylinder engine options for greater day-to-day driving satisfaction.

Miles Better News Agency

www.skoda.co.uk

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