Skoda Fabia hatchback gets minor updates

The Skoda Fabia, which shares its platform with the Volkswagen Polo, is a major dud seller for the Czech car brand. Hefty discounts on the Fabia are the norm, even as Skoda is said to be trying to clear inventory of the last Fabias built at Volkswagen India's Chakan factory alongside the Polo. In a surprising development of sorts, Skoda has updated the Fabia with minor cosmetic changes. While the exteriors of the car remain unchanged, the interiors of the Fabia dig into the Rapid's parts bin. 

Team-BHPian Puchoo has published imagery of the updated Skoda Fabia. The images also depict the changes on the updated Fabia by comparing the interiors of the updated car with those of the previous models. From these images, the following changes can be discerned on the updated Fabia:

• New steering wheel with revised Skoda badge
• Revised AC controls
• New gear shifter

Apart from these changes, the updated Fabia remains bog similar to the older version, suggesting that the parts sharing with the Rapid is a cost saving measure by Skoda India. The car is available with two, triple cylinder engine options: a 1.2 liter MPI petrol engine and a 1.2 liter TDI turbo diesel engine. The car is also available with a 1.6 liter-4 cylinder MPI petrol engine. The car is known for its solid build quality, excellent road manners and high quality interiors. 

Downsides include anaemic petrol and turbo diesel engines, and Skoda's questionable after sales record in India. If you do fancy a Skoda Fabia, bargaining hard for a chunky discount would be a good idea. Once stocks deplete, the car is likely to be pulled off Skoda's Indian line up. For now though, the Volkswagen group owned Czech car brand continues to list the Fabia on its website, while also advertising the hatchback in different media outlets. Production though, is said to have been ceased.