[rohan_fonseca]

Yup bought a Skoda!, However a little background on my purchase.
Decided it was time for the zen to go and was out car shopping again with a budget of 8lks. Criteria for buying, ftd factor. I did not consider sedans which were cut paste jobs.The cars i had considered were:
Fiesta 1.6- provided i was getting a good discount as the current model was on its way out , none came so chucked that idea out.
Pre-worshiped civic- Did not go for it since we already have one.
Punto 90hp - did not like the driving position and found the car a little too sluggish and the gear shift rubbery. Best part i liked was the blue and me.
i20 crdi - Somehow sales staff did not get back to me quickly enough and by then i was hell bent on the polo 1.6
Polo 1.6: Not much to be said about the car simply love it, however the bits that kept me away was the interior space ( i'm 6'2"). IT had a minimum 3month waiting period.
Swift vdi ABS: Minimum waiting period 6 months. Besides we have a swift zxi.

Finally the fabia.. well it wasn't even in consideration initially due to the "skoda" badge. But went for a td anyways and was duly impressed.
Good bits: -Airy interiors. Space but not in the league of vista or jazz.
-Yes it has the 1.6 engine
-Face lift has made the car more aggressive from the front, rear however remains boring.
-Only car btw amongst the hatches i test drove where my elbows would not knock the co- passenger during gearshifts.
-excellent nvh
-nice trip meter/ information display

Bad bits: -Where's my climate control?
-Heard of electronically adjustable orvms? Hell the WagonR has it.
-Rear wiper wash missing as well.
Irritating bits: DRLs

Mileage btw for those interested, got 14 at best and 9.5 at worst.

Will keep this updated.

[altius]

Rohan, congratulations! how is the low end response in your car? When I test drove Fabia 1.6, i found it to be a bit sluggish. But then most new cars I drove seemed to have the same problem problem due to tuning the engine for BS4 regulations.

[quadmaniac]

Pics please !

Congrats on the car!

[rohan_fonseca]

Low end is not bad at all compared to the newer breed of cars in the segment. Where it shines is the mid range. High end not so good.. the torque drops dramatically as one reaches the redline.
Pics next week.

[TracerBullet]

Congrats on the car. I reckon this is the first Skoda Fabia 1.6 on the forum, correct me if I am wrong.

Yeah, Skoda has cut down a lot of things on the new Fabia. I wish they had rear wipers and defogger on the top-end flavour.

I have booked Fabia 1.6 last week and the expected delivery is last week of Jan.

[Reinhard]

Hey Rohan,
Congratulations on the new super hatch. Nice compact post there. Do give a larger report with minute details about your ride along with pictures soon next week.

Wishing you unlimited safe and happy miles with the Fab!

Cheers.

[naj]

Hi!,
Congrats for the new Fabia 1.6.
Infact I am going to follow your ownership review closely.I need to decide between the Polo 1.6 and the fabia 1.6 since both have same engines.

cheers,
naj

[travelwriter]

Originally Posted by rohan_fonseca

Good bits: -Airy interiors. Space but not in the league of vista or jazz.

Will keep this updated.

Vista has better space? Are you certain about this? Because I had an altogether different feeling when I compared both. But it was not the new 'fab' Fabia. It was the older version.

[rohan_fonseca]

@reinhard: Dude thats a really long post by my writing standards
@Travelwriter: vista definately has more space on the rear bench.

[PPS]

Hi Rohan. Congrats on the car! Is there a 1.6 badge somewhere on the car to differentiate with other variants? I have only managed to see 4-5 Polo 1.6 here in Mumbai and none 1.6 Fabia's. Agree with you on the space bit, Vista certainly has more space but i personally feel the seats in the Fabia are far more comfortable. How do you find the ride quality on bad roads?

[rohan_fonseca]

It has a 16v badge. Ride is good. But haven't found any extremely bad roads yet.

[ritzy]

Congratulations Rohan for the Fab.

As far as driving is concerned, me and my colleagues here find Fabia more fun to drive than the Polo. The frame is more robust & the steering is a delight.
I know most of the reviewers out there rate Polo better than the Fabia but being through lots of Polos & Fabias I think Fabia score better in
1. Space & comfort.
2. Interior color harmony. I don't like beige carpet in Polo/ Vento but prefer black in Fabia.
3. Plastic quality in the interior - still some big parts are imported.
3. Maneuvering
4. Equipment level at lesser price viz. Airbags right from the lowest trim, rear AC vents, Space.
While the Polo scores better in
1. Styling
2. Brand value

[moralfibre]

Good choice Rohan. The Fabia has more interior space compared to the Polo. You'll also love the boot space on the car as much as you love the engine. Its huge. Congratulations.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by ritzy

Congratulations Rohan for the Fab.

As far as driving is concerned, me and my colleagues here find Fabia more fun to drive than the Polo. The frame is more robust & the steering is a delight.
I know most of the reviewers out there rate Polo better than the Fabia but being through lots of Polos & Fabias I think Fabia score better in
1. Space & comfort.
2. Interior color harmony. I don't like beige carpet in Polo/ Vento but prefer black in Fabia.
3. Plastic quality in the interior - still some big parts are imported.
3. Maneuvering
4. Equipment level at lesser price viz. Airbags right from the lowest trim, rear AC vents, Space.
While the Polo scores better in
1. Styling
2. Brand value

are you talking about the old Fabia or the new one?
The old one had an excellent steering but I dont think that it is the same in the new one.
But Fabia is no doubt more spacious than Polo and feels build more solid.
Regarding equipments, again the old Fabia had a laundry list of features and equipments but the new one lacks many of those. Not to say, the Polois any better. Actually, both the Polo and the new fabia lack lot of features/equipments but removing the rear defogger and washer in the Fabia is hard to digest.

@Rohan, congrats on the new car - the most powerful hatch in India. Since you have other cars, please put your relative driving experiences.

[Swooper]

Re: Skoda Fabia 1.6 - Initial ownership review

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has a 16v badge. Ride is good. But haven't found any extremely bad roads yet.

No offense meant...
No bad roads found yet? Are you not moving out from your home or is it Panaji's corporation working as an example for others.
Get close to your market area. You will sure find a bad road.

But strongly believe fabia train will handle it better than better.