Island Life Magazine Ltd November/December 2005 | Page 64

MOTORING

Who's still
s n i g g e r i ng
at Skoda?
The Fabia is the smart, money-savvy but utterly credible choice in
this class. And speaking of class, like the Polo, the Fabia tends to be
bought by people of all ages, in all professions - it cuts across the
usual snob boundaries to have a near-universal appeal. It's not as
sporty-looking as the Ibiza, but then it doesn't come with its Spanish
twin's boy racer connotations.
The Skoda Fabia shares its basic platform (chassis, floorpan and essential
underpinnings) with both the Volkswagen Polo and the Seat Ibiza, and
most of its engines are common to those ranges too. It's the most familyoriented of the three, however, coming in roomy five-door hatchback,
conservative four-door saloon or load-lugging compact estate form (the
Polo and Ibiza only come as three- and five-door hatches). Model for
model, it's also the cheapest, though to treat it purely as a cut-price
Volkswagen rather undermines its appeal in its own right.
The extensive engine line-up comprises 1.2 6-valve (54bhp), 1.2 12v
(64bhp), 1.4 16v (75bhp or 100bhp), and 2.0-litre (115bhp) petrol units,
plus the 1.9 SDI (64bhp), 1.4 TDI PD (75bhp), 1.9 TDI (100bhp) and 1.9
TDI vRS (130bhp) diesels. There's also plenty of variation in
specifications, from entry-level models nearer the Skodas of old in terms
of creature comforts right up to fully-loaded, well decked-out top-end
versions.
All Fabias have a cable-free drive-by-wire
throttle, which was disconcerting and
dead-feeling to many drivers at first, but
this has now been improved. It has
relatively low repair, service and parts
costs. It also feels well