Skoda Fabia much awaited premium hatch is finally here!!!

[Shreyans]

Originally Posted by Tool

is the petrol 1.4 available ?
if so , what versions and at what price ?

Yes the 1.4 petrol is available only in the elegance . it is priced at 7.94 lacks OTR Mumbai.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by khanak

I disagree, other than the high price the Fabia looks like a pretty appealing package. Look at how excited everyone was on this forum about it until the pricing was announced.

coz the rumor was that it would be priced from 5.5lac to7lac

Originally Posted by Shreyans

Yes the 1.4 petrol is available only in the elegance . it is priced at 7.94 lacks OTR Mumbai.

Thats a lot !

And it doesnt come in lower specs for sure?

[Shreyans]

Originally Posted by jkdas

coz the rumor was that it would be priced from 5.5lac to7lac



Thats a lot !

And it doesnt come in lower specs for sure?

Yes the 1.4 petrol is available only in the elegance . They will launch the Active ,Classic and Ambient version with the 1.2 petrol but that will be only after April. The 1.4 petrol is available only with the Elegance.

[sameer551]

what do they write that the price range starts from 4.99 lack ex-showroom in news paper ads? which model is that one and is it available?

[Shreyans]

Originally Posted by sameer551

what do they write that the price range starts from 4.99 lack ex-showroom in news paper ads? which model is that one and is it available?

Yes that is the Active with the 1.2 petrol engine and it will be available after April.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by jkdas

coz the rumor was that it would be priced from 5.5lac to7lac

ACI has given 9/10 for the Fabia, but they also estimated price of the top-end version to be around 7L.

Wonder what they'll comment now!

[sunil8089]

India is a price sensitive market irrespective of social and financial stratums. Unlike developed economies where the perceived value of a car is based on quality, safety, performance, comfort etc, Indian market makes the choice based on associated costs. This is because for an average Indian, buying a car is a dream project and each and every penny spent in this name is hard money. It is a reality that people sacrifice a lot to buy a new car. Whichever company won in Indian car market (like Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors) realized this fact and they follow good positioning strategy i.e. price position vs. the value delivered.

Scoda Fabia in, in my opinion fails to woo Indian hearts. Believe me, Scoda is not a preferred brand anywhere in Europe, but in India, since we don’t have many choices in premium sedan / notchback segments, they are leaders. But here we are talking about premium hatchbacks - a segment in which Indian middle class reside. Even though this car may be technically sound with German engineering, people see Fabia as a hatchback which is priced more than some of the excellent sedans like Honda City, Hyundai Verna etc. If Fabia was a "sedan" within this price range, people may have a different perception. From an analysis following are some of the factors which are against the success of Fabia in Indian market.

- High Selling price
More than the currency notes we pay the emotionally disturbing fact for an average Indian is that that "Scoda is pushing up the hatchback segment prices to an unattainable level, which other companies may follow"

- High Maintenance costs
Like any other Scodas, people are scared about high operational costs. If Scoda is willing to provide a cheaper maintenance for Fabia, they need to do communicate / advertise as GM does

- Longer Hatchback
Why Indigo Marina, Tata Estate or Corsa Sail is not a success? One of the reasons is their shape which is un-proportionate to the Indian micro middle class families who use their car for city riding. In this market longer hatchbacks are not much preferred.

- Little differentiation
Not only it takes the shape of a stretched Swift, what exciting features this car is providing than a high end Swift or Getz?

- Outdated Style
Fabia’s looks and styling is nothing great compared to new generation cars. In my opinion even Nano’s styling is far better than a Fabia

Out of the all the aspects listed above, price to value tradeoff is the foremost factor which decides a sale. If Scoda fails to sense the pulse of Indian market than dumping some outdated models from Europe with a huge price tag, a thoughtful Indian is not going to buy Fabia, only because of brand image. The best example is Getz which is still struggling in this segment, even though Hyundai has a better band image and carries a much lower price tag.

Sorry, today Indian car market is mature enough to think independently and take wise decisions.

[sunil8089]

India is a price sensitive market irrespective of social and financial stratums. Unlike developed economies where the perceived value of a car is based on quality, safety, performance, comfort etc, Indian market makes the choice based on associated costs. This is because for an average Indian, buying a car is a dream project and each and every penny spent in this name is hard money. It is a reality that people sacrifice a lot to buy a new car. Whichever company won in Indian car market (like Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors) realized this fact and they follow good positioning strategy i.e. price position vs. the value delivered.

Scoda Fabia in, in my opinion fails to woo Indian hearts. Believe me, Scoda is not a preferred brand anywhere in Europe, but in India, since we don’t have many choices in premium sedan / notchback segments, they are leaders. But here we are talking about premium hatchbacks - a segment in which Indian middle class reside. Even though this car may be technically sound with German engineering, people see Fabia as a hatchback which is priced more than some of the excellent sedans like Honda City, Hyundai Verna etc. If Fabia was a "sedan" within this price range, people may have a different perception. From an analysis following are some of the factors which are against the success of Fabia in Indian market.

- High Selling price
More than the currency notes we pay the emotionally disturbing fact for an average Indian is that that "Scoda is pushing up the hatchback segment prices to an unattainable level, which other companies may follow"

- High maintenance costs
Like any other Scodas, people are scared about high operational costs. If Scoda is willing to provide a cheaper maintenance for Fabia, they need to do communicate / advertise as GM does

- Longer Hatchback
Why Indigo Marina, Tata Estate or Corsa Sail is not a success? One of the reasons is their shape which is un-proportionate to the Indian micro middle class families who use their car for city riding. In this market longer hatchbacks are not much preferred.

- Little differentiation
Not only it takes the shape of a stretched Swift, what exciting features this car is providing than a high end Swift or Getz?

- Outdated Style
Fabia’s looks and styling is nothing great compared to new generation cars. In my opinion even Nano’s styling is far better than a Fabia

Out of the all the aspects listed above, price to value tradeoff is the foremost factor which decides a sale. If Scoda fails to sense the pulse of Indian market than dumping some outdated models from Europe with a huge price tag, a thoughtful Indian is not going to buy Fabia, only because of brand image. The best example is Getz which is still struggling in this segment, even though Hyundai has a better band image and carries a much lower price tag.

Sorry, today Indian car market is mature enough to think independently and take wise decisions.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

sunil8089,

Its Skoda not Scoda. I agree with most of the points, except style. Fabia looks are good, IMO! (But too swift'ish)

[skmami]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

sunil8089,

Its Skoda not Scoda.

No, Its not Skoda it is Škoda. Note the inverted cap on top of S.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by skmami

No, Its not Skoda it is Škoda. Note the inverted cap on top of S.

Two questions!

1. Whats that for? The cap on top of S?
2. How far is seattle from trivandrum?

[LLL]

Originally Posted by sunil8089

- Longer Hatchback
Why Indigo Marina, Tata Estate or Corsa Sail is not a success? One of the reasons is their shape which is un-proportionate to the Indian micro middle class families who use their car for city riding. In this market longer hatchbacks are not much preferred.

Seriously, i had a good look at it in actual operation and didnt find it any longer than swift. In fact, it felt smaller than swift. Checking the specs,
--------------swift-------fabia
Overall Length 3,695 mm 3992 mm
Overall Width 1,690 mm 1642 mm
Overall Height 1,530 mm 1513 mm

So there is not much of difference in external size.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

You'd probably be getting a lot more metal for your money: check the gaps, check the fittings.

I'd lay a small amount of money (OK, the price of a round of chai!) on your being able to tell the difference in build quality with your eyes shut.

Of course, I haven't seen the Fabia yet, but I do own a Swift.

well, i was only talking about external looks and road presence. Once you bring in other factors, you would also consider purchase cost, FE, Service reach, service costs, resale, build quality and durability. I guess except the build quality & durability, fabia will loose out to swift on all the other factors.

hence, this would be very similar to fiat cars...no one buys them even though they have best build quality as they fail in all other factors.

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by LLL

this would be very similar to fiat cars...no one buys them even though they have best build quality as they fail in all other factors.

Sad but true. I wouldnt say no one buys though!

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by LLL

hence, this would be very similar to fiat cars...no one buys them even though they have best build quality as they fail in all other factors.

errr. . difference here would be, the Skoda Sells.

Regardless busa, let me first clear i do not work for skoda. And if demand is more than supply, obviously someone is buying or wanting to buy this car. So according to that it is a success. But whether 6 months down the line, will there be the same queue for the Fabia is a thing to wait and watch.

[jaibir]

There is another thread running about someone who waited 6 months for a BMW. By the waiting period argument, that would make BMW a huge success in India. The fact remains that if supply is artificially small, a waiting period cannot indicate success