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

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by skmami

Since I don't hear much about Fabia these days can I assume that Fabia is a failure. I don't even see one single person come here and post the review or talk anything about it. ?

I think so, its hardly caught the sales chart on fire. With the pricing Skoda has done, it will start selling less then the 1.1 Stile soon. Unles if they do a price revision.

[karanraheja]

Skoda should have rather brought a sedan version priced at 7.5-9 lacs
rather than bringing a hatchback at 8 lacs. They totally lost it. I guess
they still did not understand the Indian Consumer.

[jack33]

I had test driven one diesel fabia last month. It's utter disappointment. I'm using a skoda since 2003 and to feel such an initial lag from a skoda engine is the least you will expext. Pete's can be a help here. Also i found something strange..when i did some fast lane changing which i do usually in my octavia and lancer. The tail moved away from the expected line. I think the culprit here may be the Matador tyres which I'm seeing for the first time. The car has got loads of features, looks, etc, but the engine will need some Pete's touch to keep it moving!

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by srh

Can anyone show me a Fabia in flesh? I haven't seen one on the roads yet

I have seen only TWO Fabias so far in Bangalore. One black near cunningham road and one silver near bellary road.
You can easily miss the cars thinking they are swifts from side profile.

[karanraheja]

Yesterday i was next to a fabia diesel and trust me its extremely noisy!!
I think even Tata's have improved their engines in the past. For such a high price tag its surely a disappointement

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Yesterday i was next to a fabia diesel and trust me its extremely noisy!!
I think even Tata's have improved their engines in the past. For such a high price tag its surely a disappointement

Infact the current Indica Dicor is less noisier then the Fabia and it costs half as much.

[visu03]

Have been to skoda shown room here in Hyderabad.

No test drive - dealers story, company has not provided them a test drive car - cant believe it

Front seats are good. Rear seat is a let down, two people 90-100kgs each we felt there is no space left for even an ant in between us. Even if three kids want to sit in the rear i doubt it since the hump (in the middle of the car, along the length of the car) is bit big and very uncomfortable.

Has to pay 1lakh and wait for 6 weeks. If specific about color then wait 8 weeks. He has a back log of 160 cars and is struggling to deliver them (He is saying that customers are coming making full cash payment and taking any car that is available!!!).

Went to the work shop to check the car sound. Sound out side reminded me on old Metador vans. This totally let me down and i left the dealer with out any more questions.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by Scooby STi

I think a generalization about Europeans not being able to make cost effective small cars is completely uncalled for, I think its best to avoid any generalizations altogether. Renualt, VW and Peugeot make some great hatches (warm/hot) and all of them are VFM propositions on par with their Japanese counterparts. Also, I do not think i'd compare a Tata or
Hyundai to something that is essentially a VW Polo (same parts bin but the Fabia is bigger). Its at least a generation ahead of anything from Hyundai and at least two geeratiosn ahead of Tata as far as quality is concerned. I do feel its overpriced by 1L, but its something a discerning customer will still find OK. About the NVH issue, the noise is barely audible inside the cabin, the V and H part is negligible when compared to the 3 pot from Hyundai ( I have previously owned an Accent Viva CRDi). The ride quality on the Fabia is top notch, so if your an objective Indian customer with space, interior quality, standard equipment, FE and ride quality in mind, the Fabia makes a pretty compelling argument.

Mr Scooby, I'm sorry but you seem to have missed the point. I never said Europeans cannot make a good small car. They can. It's a cheap small car that they cannot make. I should have put word "cheap" in italics. I mean cheap by Indian standards and not by European standards. No European can match Maruti, Tata and Hyundai ( MTH ) on price front. I'm not comparing quality and technology of a VW or other Euro hatch to an MTH hatch. Euro hatches would be superior. They have to be, after all one would have to pay so much more for a Euro hatch over an MTH hatch.

Coming to Fabia, it may be loaded and be technologically superior to MTH hatch but it's a lot pricier, too. Different people have diffrent reasons to buy any car. A guy with lot of cash would pick a Fabia just like that ( although even they are reluctant to do so and I would get to that later ). Then a not-so rich guy who happens to be a die-hard Skoda fan who worships that badge would say ," Hey, this hatch sure is pricey. I can't afford one but then what the heck, it's a Skoda so I just got to buy one even if it means stretching my budget." These two different class of buyers may pick up a Fabia. The latter more. But for the most of us who weigh any product in terms of the amount we tender to buy that product, the aspect of Value For Money zooms into focus and in most cases that VFM steers our decisions towards cheaper options. After all most of us ( I mean those most of us who are not rich enough to splurge cash or are not lucky enough to be gifted a car by dad / uncle or whoever ) work our a$$es off to earn money and hence do tend to think twice before spending that hard earned money on any consumer product. It is these people who would walk towards MTH hatch. And whether you like it or not this group is in majority.

Will rich guys buy it? Well, the trouble with Fabia is that even rich ( well, most of them ) would dismiss it as just another hatch. It may be a Skoda and it may bristle with technology but at the end of the day it's still a hatch and that is a big infra dig for most rich guys. They find a 17 lakh Laura cheaper and more value for money than 8-9 lakh Fabia. You can't blame them. Inida and USA are sedan countries while Europe is a hatch continent. USA loves sedans for their wide roads and Inidan for their wide ego and status perceptions. You can't change that. Whether you like it or not, even an outdated pre-owned 2 lakh Opel Astra sedan commands more respect than a brand new 4 lakh Santro. Most of the rich guys will go ahead and buy Laura, Superb, BMW , Merc or any such other luxury sedans as their budget permits, but not a pricey hatch even when they can pretty well afford. The not so rich tend to look for value for money and would give Fabia a miss when the cheaper options are available.

BTW, regarding the tech supriority of Fabia over cheaper hatches, as has been pointed out by you, you may read several readers' comments on this thread itself who have found Fabia engine to be noisy, sluggish and very rough sounding--- sounding like Matador or a tractor, as has been pointed out by some readers. Someone even pointed out that even Indica engine is better. I haven't seen a Fabia up close and personal yet, but if that is true then people will have even fewer reasons to buy one.

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by visu03

Has to pay 1lakh and wait for 6 weeks. If specific about color then wait 8 weeks. He has a back log of 160 cars and is struggling to deliver them (He is saying that customers are coming making full cash payment and taking any car that is available!!!).

Take that with a bucket full of salt, the Fabia is hardly selling, if you notice dealers have the same car lying around with them since quite a few weeks.

[visu03]

Hi Busa,

If Fabia is hardly selling why is he speaking about 6 - 8 weeks wait time? I am not going to buy it, but just curious.

Cheers.

[skmami]

Originally Posted by visu03

Hi Busa,

If Fabia is hardly selling why is he speaking about 6 - 8 weeks wait time? I am not going to buy it, but just curious.

Cheers.

visu03, you have asked very important question. Remember you are talking to a sales man. I have paid 50K Rs for booking one car (this is before the car is even released and price was announced) and they told me they have 4000 orders and they cannot deliver the car for about 3 to 4 months after the car has been launched.

I have asked my dad to get the booking money back from the dealer as soon as I found out about the price and its engine noise.

My Dad spoke to one customer while at the dealership (when he was there to get our money back ie on Monday) who paid full cash for a classic model on Saturday and he was picking up his car on that Monday.

Don't believe the sales guys. I don't trust them even in the United States where they have to abide by lot of rules when dealing with the customers.

If you really want one just go there and tell them I want to buy one Today or Tomorrow and I came with the cash (don't ask any questions about the car) and they will tell you you can have one right away. If you just go there with the intention of trying to inquire they will try to paint a rosy picture to you about the car. No one in the world who is selling any commodity will tell you the 100% truth.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by BUSA

Take that with a bucket full of salt, the Fabia is hardly selling, if you notice dealers have the same car lying around with them since quite a few weeks.

there is a waiting period of 3 months for the Fab. Its selling like hot cakes, only problem is that Skoda cant deliver these cars. Something has gone wrong at the plant. They not able meet the demands.

Speak to the dealers, they will tell you how overbooked they are, as a matter of fact, even getting a test drive is a problem.

cheers,

[BUSA]

Speak to the dealers, they will tell you how overbooked they are, as a matter of fact, even getting a test drive is a problem.

That doesnot speak good about Skoda or the dealers, They better have TD vechicles, and they should have allotted them before launch. Nobody has ever had a problem getting a TD of the Swift Diesel, no matter how much waiting the car had. Speaks how good MSIL B.S.S is.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by BUSA

That doesnot speak good about Skoda or the dealers, They better have TD vechicles, and they should have allotted them before launch. Nobody has ever had a problem getting a TD of the Swift Diesel, no matter how much waiting the car had. Speaks how good MSIL B.S.S is.

100% correct. In fact i think skoda did underestimate the fabias demand here i think.

[Shreyans]

Originally Posted by ac 427

there is a waiting period of 3 months for the Fab. Its selling like hot cakes, only problem is that Skoda cant deliver these cars. Something has gone wrong at the plant. They not able meet the demands.

Speak to the dealers, they will tell you how overbooked they are, as a matter of fact, even getting a test drive is a problem.

cheers,

I dont think that is true because i have spoken to Autobahn and they have delivered only 6 cars till date and they dont have too many bookings . In fact he said i can get the car in 1 weeks time from the day i book it. The test drive is easily available at Autobahn i have taken a TD twice . The 1st one was on the day the car was launched that was a short one and the second one was like 15 days back . The first TD was a short one but the second one was a long one . So i do not think there is a problem getting a TD maybe its just the dealer . The car is really noisy otherwise i liked it its pretty good but not good enough to justify the 9 lack price tag.