[GTO]

The Fabia has had quite the roller coaster ride in the Indian marketplace. It was written off as a market failure not so long ago, managing monthly sales of barely 500 units. Skoda repositioned the Fabia at a lower price point with the face-lifted version in October 2010. Well, after maintaining an initial sales momentum of 1,500 cars a month, the Fabia dropped to 1,100 / month for the most recent 2 quarters. March 2012 was a particularly weak month with only 770 Fabias shipped. This Skoda hatchback just isn't able to match the VW Polo's relatively stronger run in India.

Now, Skoda launches the Fabia Scout variant @ a pricey Rs. 6.79 lacs (Ex Showroom - Delhi) for the 1.2L petrol, and 8.10 lakhs for the 1.2L diesel. Needless to say, with this kind of a pricing blunder, the Fabia is not going anywhere too soon. Peculiar strategy, coming from a company that launched the value-for-money Superb Ambition only recently (Link to thread).

Here's a list of what's new:

• Projector headlamps
• Front bumper with spoiler
• Rear bumper with diffuser
• Peripheral protective cladding
• Front & rear door sill trims
• Stainless steel pedal set
• Leather bits & pieces

Pics from our Auto Expo Report

[sandsun7]

8.10 Lakhs ex showroom for a 3 cylinder hatch? This beats even the i20!! Surely, only hardcore skoda enthusiasts or some one who prefer high degree of exclusivity might put their money on this one! BTW are the goodies and gadgets inside comparable to i20 s?

[rohanjf]

No 1.6 petrol option! With this kinda external look, one would prefer some nice power to go along.

Well, I can understand. If Fabia on stilettoes is going to cost so much with all the tax benefits for these engines, a 1.6 petrol will probably cost 10L on road. Poor Skoda, couldn't find a way to reduce the manufacturing cost for these claddings etc.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

8.10 Lakhs ex showroom for a 3 cylinder hatch? This beats even the i20!!

You know what sandsun7, I remember one of the BHPian mentioning that Swift ZDI looked like a "Good Deal" with the launch of I-Gen I20...The Fabia Scout has suddenly made I-Gen I20 Look like a "Steal" with that Price!!

Originally Posted by rohanjf

No 1.6 petrol option! With this kinda external look, one would prefer some nice power to go along.

Poor Skoda, couldn't find a way to reduce the manufacturing cost for these claddings etc.

You said it rohanjf.

I for One, cannot quite understand what Skoda were thinking when they priced the Scout. As GTO has mentioned, "Fabia Scout is not Going Anywhere Too Soon...In the Literal Sense" with that 3 pot engines!!!

[speedmiester]

Another market dud in the making. What is Skoda thinking.

When the Fabia is doing so badly in the market. Cant they take hint from it?
Even with all the top notch bells and whistles this will sure be a huge failure.

[2cents]

If the suspension and GC are the same, I wonder what's really the difference, and what took them so long. How much will it cost to add those cladding to my Fabia!? Not a loss otherwise for Skoda anyway - hardly any investment would've gone into developing the product, pieces can be made based on demand! Perhaps rarity will give it a niche status on the road.

[iceman7]

Is this a "Late April Fools" prank? If not, I am not sure what the Skoda team was smoking.

Correct me if I am wrong here - Why would anyone in their right mind pay 8.10L for a 1.2 Fabia diesel when they can get a Skoda Rapid for a couple lakhs more?

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

You know what sandsun7, I remember one of the BHPian mentioning that Swift ZDI looked like a "Good Deal" with the launch of I-Gen I20...The Fabia Scout has suddenly made I-Gen I20 Look like a "Steal" with that Price!!

Going bit off topic, I would say i-gen i20 is a well priced hatch for the kind of quality,equipment and engine (diesel) it has got it. It is as good as any C segment car sans boot space.

Talking about the Scout, when I looked at the topic I thought 6.79 lakhs is for 1.6 litre petrol !
They better bring on the 1.6 litre diesel and price it competitively.

[Arun Venugopal]

Sometimes just do not understand the pricing rationale of the companies. When they have had to do massive price cuts to move the Fabia off the dealer forecourts, what chance does an overpriced and to me rather funny looking hatch have.

Surely someone was smoking up when they were fixing the pricing...

[greenhorn]

To me it looks more like a halo vehicle to make the fabia look less like the polo's cheap cousin
I recall some marketing and pricing concepts I was taught which make this look sensible. Let's see what the market says.

[Ford5]

Well I hope none of this scout thing makes it successfully on the sales chart. When the Octavia was in production back in 2008 Skoda was planning to launch a fully loaded 1.9 Tdi Fabia. No polo at that time to even compare what a fully loaded Fabia with a 1.9 Tdi engine would cost. Thankfully they did not. But where are they going with this?

Looks more like showroom confetti to me

[swiftnfurious]

Atleast 1.6L engines would have made sense with this kind of pricing! They want to avail the tax benefits and then NOT pass those onto the customers! Or do they just want the title of "premium" cars without even bothering about selling one?!!

[madnish30]

was really looking forward to the Scout as to me the Fabia looks and feels somewhat better than the I20 or the Polo, even though its not as popular or loaded respectively.

But that price makes no sense, Skoda is having a bad time here now...

[Akshay1234]

I don't get what Skoda is doing with their lower end cars. Very stupidly priced I must say. Rather than this, a Fabia vRS should have been launched, and whether petrol or diesel it would have done better than this Scout will do.

[shuvc]

Are they trying to position this (price-wise) against the upcoming Ford Ecosport?