Skoda Fabia Diesel : First impression & brief test drive

[speedzak]

Yes! I managed to get this car driven after a bit of nice words and a few phone calls.
I was travelling from one end of Kerala to the other end yesterday. Managed to stop at Cochin for a few hours and do many things including this.

But, let me put somethings first here. I have no intention of buying this car anywhere in near future or for that matter any Skoda soon. Maybe, if somebody gift me one I will accept one. That gives everybody a clear picture of what I have with Skoda I think.

First look at the car. Parked in all it's glory and my wife exclaims.... "WOWOW!!!! There's the new Skoda". I didn't want to tell her that we are actually here to drive it. I go in to meet the manager while she is kept busy with some blah blah female from the sales department. She goes on to claim that we have'nt recieved any information about the fabia. The car is here and we are not allowed to display. We are forced to show it to certain customer. She asks about the noisy engine and Ms. Blah blah goes on to say that they are not allowed to start the engine, so she hasn't heard it to comment on it. My wife is all excited that she wants to slap her the same way she plans to do it to me when I'm caught red handed with Priyanka Chopra.

We soon walk out and we are given the keys to the car. Hmm...mmm..... It's a typical Skoda key. It's same as heavy too.
I stare at the red beauty (ugly swan for me)! She does look nice with some very good curves and dinks in the right places. The waistline is curvy enough to give me some high. I go around gulping down the looks from almost every angle. Not that bad...... But there's a lot Swifts and Minis hidden here and there. The side profile is where it is pronounced much but otherwise it is a different car. Yes, I remind myself again. The bonnet is complete and unmistakably Skoda. Even with the traditional lines in the centre and the much pronounced logo on top of the grill. The headlights are projector ones thu out the range. They look beautiful individually but doesn't much gel with the rest of the car like Laura/Octy/Superb. It stands out make this car unmistakable for a Swift... BHUH! No No.... This a Fabia!

I am told that "we don't allow photos to be taken" when I take my camera out. I turn around and ask But, can I?? They all smile with an unhappy nod of approval. So, click!


It looks a bit confused from the rear. There's a lots of mixture here!
Yes, My wife cannot wait to fire up and here the noise. She is almost done with the interiors while I'm still busy with the backside.

The car was shod with BARUM tyres. 185/60/R14 size. As this being the top of the range model ie.. Elegance, it had alloys too. They looked good.

The wipers are a whole different story and I didn't pay much attention to it while I was with the car. I simply forgot!

Open the driver's door and I go inside. It's defifnitely a spacy car. Not much spicy but definitely lots of space for a hatchback. The facia looked good and the dash was neatly finished. The seats were cofortable. It had height adjustment too. Good! Ms. Blah balh female was now busy blabbering about the climate control in all the fabias. Now, I had to intervene. I object my highness! I can't see it here, I almost shouted now. She quickly points to a knob near the Ac controls. That looks like a normal temperature control knob for me as in every other Ac control. But, this one had some nubers with the usual blue/red lines. Maybe! I gave up.
The rear seats too. Comfy! The legspace too is similar to fiesta etc.. better than Swift/Getz. But don't get the impression that there is a heaven and earth difference here. It maybe just a couple a centimetres but it definitely made us feel comfortable.


The interror looks neat. A bit plain to some i think. But it's got a good finish. The HU is integrated well too.

Doors close with that assuring thud! So, they should also be made like those in Palios, Eh???



All the speaker provisions are on the doors. Good!
Door handles look and feel very plasticky! Bad!

The Boot made me go WaaaaaaW!!! It's almost as much big as a Saloon. With all necessary nick nacks to hold stuff in place.

I told you! It is big and will carry all those kids' stuff too! So, Hydra! Go ahead and buy one dude!

Now, that I had covered up almost everything around the car except the engine side, Ms. Blah blah wanted us to hear when would she come to collect the cheque. I ask her the booking amount and she very kooolllly says: 2 Lakhs! I ask her why and she starts up with another story of having guaranteed special cars for Cochin customers and first day delivery Blah blah..... Oh my god! I chose my earlier routine and ignores her.

Here is the Engine bay.

There's a lot of empty space in there, nay???

My friend now arrives and almost everybody is happy to see him at the showroom it seems. He simply asks for the keys and sits in the driver seat and fires up the engine! Phuk Phuk Trrrrr Kkkrrr KKhrrrrrooom wrrrr and settles down for a comfortable purrrr! Yes, there's a lot of shaking, shivering etc... It is noisy than many other cars for sure.
I sit in the passenger seat and the car moves. I look behind and I see some black smoke. Yes, It's a diesel. That also made me realise that it's not that loud inside. Neat!
I gain the control of the steering in a while and my friend says we cannot go for a long one. Ok Ok! I floor slowly. The pedals all have a feeling of it's own. I like it. The engine pulls effortlessly and smoothly. The steering has it's own meaty feeling which is something absent in many small cars. Slowly I am forced to take the U turn. We come back and Ms. Blah blah is still busy doing her job with my wife. I tell that to my friend and he laughs out loudly.
I am satisfied with the small drive I got. This car drives well and beautiful. Many people will be happy and will sign the cheque just because of it. No! I told you, I am not.

The car is parked back in it's old position and somebody comes and cleans it up and is given a small wiping job.

I have small chat with my friend and soon he leaves and I sit in my car to leave too! Now, Ms. Blah blah is a bit sad I think. Why??? She can't claim to anybody else that she hasn't heard the engine, Naaaa!

I ask my wife if she will buy this car. She says it is better than the Swift but that Priyanka Chopra was saying something like 8L for the ambiente version. I say yes, It is going to be somewhere near there. She says, she will buy an Estilo! Huh! Why did I ask her???

[BUSA]

Nice report speedzak, how is the torque, and the turbolag, anywhere the Swift Diesel(Stock)

[jesal]

u forgot to take or post the front end pics zac? 8 laks for a ambi eh, prove skoda is still smooking a lot of weed in their ends. no doubt a lot will buy this car since ppl are tired of swift rickshaws everywhere in bombay for sure. should be a huge hit in bombay since its small for women and its loaded with features... wondering how expensive the parts will be again

[androdev]

those who are considering fabia...

i can tell you that interiors (if you have a taste for Octy/Laura like interiors) will make you sign the cheque. and then they will own your cheque book. buy skoda only if you have some extra cash.. IMHO spare parts will be more expensive than Civic's.

you should never stretch your budget to buy a fabia or any euro brands they simply don't understand lower-cost of ownership. on the other thread someone mentioned that E class ORVM costs 1.3 lakhs, true?!?

[burnt.]

Originally Posted by androdev

you should never stretch your budget to buy a fabia or any euro brands they simply don't understand lower-cost of ownership. on the other thread someone mentioned that E class ORVM costs 1.3 lakhs, true?!?

Actually, the cost of ownership is the worrying factor that drives me away from the Fabia towards the Verna. I really hope this Skoda will be much lighter on the pockets as far as maintainance goes. Actually, IMHO, that is a very important factor, which will have a huge role in determining the success of this car.

[kpzen]

Zak.
Nice TD report.

[jerish666]

Nice report Zak.Did you see any other colours?What about the power?

[Ital-Flair]

Well...i checked he skoda Fabia spec and to me the only god thing was there is a small afordable skoda...but the car looks very SWIFT...ISH i know the car has a lot of features unheard of in the class.....but 7 lacs is too much for a "SMALL CAR" ....now i know many may think i am a average indian mentality guy just dont know what a premium hatch is.....

well
1 the skoda Fabia is under 4metres in length
2 its engine displacement wise it qualifies as a small car

i was eagerly waiting to buy a fabia but when hear of the diesel motor 69 bhp i was very disapointed.....i curretly own a 2001 palio 1.6 GTX and wanted to buy a new car ...but now looks like i will have to wait for the Punto......atleast its 1.3 JTD is better han the 1.4 TDI PD on the Fabia altough the TDI is vry good in itself but too puny for 4 people in th car A/C at full blast and the weigh of the car and the torque is 155 NM.....40 NM less than the SWIFT

the car will be no doubt be sold in ndia as its supposed to return a mileage of 20 odd kmpl......but the pricing i think ma affect skoda sales

[vkochar]

Brilliant report Speedzak !!!! I enjoyed reading it very much - Thanks !!

8 Lacs for this baby is wayyyy tooooo much. Skoda is frankly smoking POT as Jesal said

Also one can get the Verna Base Diesel ( after discounts ) with ABS for 8 Lacs or so OTR Delhi.

Yes, this is a Fabia & a Skoda, so price tag therefore is Justified. My question is that are we Indian's ready for a premium hatchback ?

2 Lacs over the Swift might not sound too big a deal - especially with all the goodies they are throwing. I mean if we calculate all the features ( it is certainly costing around 2 lacs ) - Airbags, Sunroof, Alloys, Parktronic, Music System, Sunroof, etc.

I would really buy this car if it costs 7 Lacs or so OTR Delhi ( Top End Model ).

I am eagerly waiting now for the prices.

One worrying thought - Speedzak said in his review that when the car started there was Black Smoke !!! Is that not too early for a brand new car ???

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by vkochar

One worrying thought - Speedzak said in his review that when the car started there was Black Smoke !!! Is that not too early for a brand new car ???

Actually no. I think this depends totally on the type of fuel used ( normal / premium ) and the driving style. Any diesel, including the Swift, smokes if it uses premium diesel and is floored.

I also think that the smoking goes down as the engine loosens up, but I may be wrong.

[hollywoodhogan]

check this out...

Top Gear | Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI PD Level 3 Car Review | June 1, 2007

skoda used to be a joke in europe several years back but vw has done lots of hardwork to get it to where its today. quality will not really be an issue but value for what one pays might be if its gonna cost 8 lacs.

like it has been been already said, perhaps it will go the ford fusion way. but one thing for sure, its certainly going to be of better quality than a ford, in india at least.

[hkanitkar]

Yo zak - thats a nice and quick report there ! Thanks a lot !
Btw, how much does the basic version go for ?

Originally Posted by speedzak

I have no intention of buying this car anywhere in near future or for that matter any Skoda soon.

Originally Posted by speedzak

Many people will be happy and will sign the cheque just because of it. No! I told you, I am not.

speedzak's signature :
Choose your foe very carefully.
However good you are to it, a snake may afterall bite you one day!

Be careful Mr speedzak

[speedzak]

Hey! That's a good one. Thanks, Mr. Hkanitkar!

I didn't feel the car to be having a lots of power or verrrrry verrrrrrrrry powerful. I felt it to be quiet adequate and good! That's all.

And I think the dealers are quoting whatever price they feel like. Let Skoda come out with it officially.

[skmami]

Thanks Zak for wonderful review. I really enjoyed reading it to tell you the truth. Thanks for taking pictures too.

I have booked the car in Hyderabad by paying INR 50K.

The Dealer in Hyderabad does not have the car on display.

Looks like some dealers are special than the others to Skoda :-).

Though I have made the booking the only thing that is worrying me is the price. If they price it over 7.5 Lacs for the higher-end diesel(OTR) then I have to look at Fiat Grande Punto that is coming up.

[hydrashok]

Nice review, Zakko

Frankly speaking, I'm actually tempted. This would probably be the only 7-8L car that could manage to get into (fit into) my garage/driveway.