[manikjeet]

the launch is postponed till 12 October and the prices will be out by 10 October.

[vsk2009]

Elegance price will be almost near to Polo Higline. What will be interesting is whether Fabia can give more stuffs like rear parking sensor, front arm rest etc, better music system with USB,Aux etc. Recently ndtv car and bike show had a short review of the new fabia.

[Yeldo]

The Fabia in last week's NDTV C&B Show had power mirrors (the typical Skoda round knob), but I couldn't see the rear wipe/ wash.

[avishar]

I wonder what is the USP of the fabia now,with so many competitors in the B+ segment.

1.A hatchback with "german" build quality?( the polo has it covered here)
2.A hatchback with lots of features at reasonable prices making VFM(the i20 is king here)
3.a good engine and handling package(punto,swift)
4.no diesel engine
5.Brilliant looks(Polo,i20,swift,punto)
6Gimmickry like a start stop button,novelty value(Micra)

IMO the Skoda people have to position this Fabia right because in this cut throat and crowded hatchback market unless you can stand out you will get lost and trampled in no time.

[sriramv.iyer]

Originally Posted by avishar

I wonder what is the USP of the fabia now,with so many competitors in the B+ segment.

1.A hatchback with "german" build quality?( the polo has it covered here)
2.A hatchback with lots of features at reasonable prices making VFM(the i20 is king here)
3.a good engine and handling package(punto,swift)
4.no diesel engine
5.Brilliant looks(Polo,i20,swift,punto)
6Gimmickry like a start stop button,novelty value(Micra)

IMO the Skoda people have to position this Fabia right because in this cut throat and crowded hatchback market unless you can stand out you will get lost and trampled in no time.

Pretty much summarizes what Skoda should think! I hope they read Team-BHP
- Thoughts like this is one of the reason why I read Team-BHP many times a day

[avishar]

Sorry fabia has a diesel engine,it had slipped my mind.
But what about an AT?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by avishar

IMO the Skoda people have to position this Fabia right because in this cut throat and crowded hatchback market unless you can stand out you will get lost and trampled in no time.

It's easy the first time, very difficult the second. Skoda has a mighty challenge on their hands to revive a product that's deemed a market failure. It's as if the consumer is tuned to "ignore" it from his shopping list.

Another little known fact is that the Polo is an entire generation newer. The VW is based on the PQ25 platform, while the Fabia on the PQ24 (which was used for the previous generation Polo).

[buddha]

Originally Posted by GTO

Another little known fact is that the Polo is an entire generation newer. The VW is based on the PQ25 platform, while the Fabia on the PQ24 (which was used for the previous generation Polo).

Interesting point! Its not good that Skoda is actually selling an older generation car here (well, everywhere else too).

What I would like to figure out is, what will the 'New Octavia' be based on? I just read this piece in the latest Auto Bild India, that Skoda will launch a saloon version of the Fabia and badge it the New Octavia. Which means it would go a segment down, a-la NHC from OHC. Article says it will be a mix of Polo and Fabia platforms, which becomes interesting because as GTO says, Fabia is not actually the latest gen Polo platform! Attached is their artist generated pic of the Fabia Saloon / New Octavia. Doubt if it will look that attractive, especially the side profile.

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by GTO

It's easy the first time, very difficult the second. Skoda has a mighty challenge on their hands to revive a product that's deemed a market failure. It's as if the consumer is tuned to "ignore" it from his shopping list.

Another little known fact is that the Polo is an entire generation newer. The VW is based on the PQ25 platform, while the Fabia on the PQ24 (which was used for the previous generation Polo).

A04 (PQ24)

A04 platform cars, now officially referred to as the PQ24 platform:

• Škoda Fabia Mk1 (Typ 6Y, 1999–2007)
• Volkswagen Polo Mk4 (Typ 9N, 2001-on)
• SEAT Ibiza Mk3 (Typ 6L, 2002–2008)
• SEAT Córdoba Mk2 (Typ 6L, 2002–2006)
• Volkswagen Fox (Typ 5Z, 2004-on)
• Volkswagen Gol Mk5 (2008–present) (with some parts of PQ25)

A05 (PQ25)

PQ25 is a development of the PQ24 platform, informally known as A05.

• Škoda Fabia Mk2 (Typ 5J, 2007-on)
• SEAT Ibiza Mk4 (Typ 6J, 2008-on)
• Volkswagen Polo Mk5 (Typ 6R, 2009-on)
• Audi A1 (2010-on)

source: wikipedia

[v.anand]

@GTO, agreed Polo is a generation newer but newer need not necessarily be better. Polo looks a million bucks compared to Fabia but the latter has/had better interior materials, features space and ride, handling and steering package next only to Punto. All it lacked (apart from A.S.S. of course) was good powerful and refined engines, which it will now share with Polo and hopefully 1.6 diesel from Vento. Still do you think it is outdated car-wise in its segment?

P.S.: sidindica posted platform changes. I guess PQ25 is an evolution of PQ24 with minor changes similar to the platforms of current Golf with the previous one.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by buddha

What I would like to figure out is, what will the 'New Octavia' be based on? I just read this piece in the latest Auto Bild India, that Skoda will launch a saloon version of the Fabia and badge it the New Octavia. Which means it would go a segment down, a-la NHC from OHC. Article says it will be a mix of Polo and Fabia platforms, which becomes interesting because as GTO says, Fabia is not actually the latest gen Polo platform! Attached is their artist generated pic of the Fabia Saloon / New Octavia. Doubt if it will look that attractive, especially the side profile.

The discussion on Octavia replacement can be seen in this thread.

[ampere]

Today's ACI show mentioned about cars for 2011. No Golf for 2011!
But then again I felt, let VW handle Polo and Vento well for the time being!

They also confirmed about 100BHP Fabia.

Now we are talking of Powerful Hatches.

100BHP Fabia/Polo; 90BHP I20 CRDI....

Next would be a 1.5 Jazz (If that can happen) and a 100BHP petrol I20.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by ampere

Next would be a 1.5 Jazz (If that can happen) and a 100BHP petrol I20.

OT but the 100bhp 1.4 i20 is already available, except only as an Auto.

[fz_rider]

SKODA had a huge advantage , when they entered the market 2 years back .They were literally unchalanged in the premium hatchback segment . But the prices and the engines (apart from diesel ) were a let down . Had they priced it sensitively , they could have ruled the segment.

Ironically , the POLO is cheaper than FABIA , which is an unseen phenomenon in any part of the world !

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by v.anand

@GTO, agreed Polo is a generation newer but newer need not necessarily be better. Polo looks a million bucks compared to Fabia but the latter has/had better interior materials, features space and ride, handling and steering package next only to Punto. All it lacked (apart from A.S.S. of course) was good powerful and refined engines, which it will now share with Polo and hopefully 1.6 diesel from Vento. Still do you think it is outdated car-wise in its segment?

P.S.: sidindica posted platform changes. I guess PQ25 is an evolution of PQ24 with minor changes similar to the platforms of current Golf with the previous one.

While I agree on all the facts about Fabia, I do not think the 3-cylinder 1.2 motors of the Polo is a great step ahead in terms of power and refinement. The petrol engine of the Polo is just a tweaked Fabia motor. If you talk about the 1.6, it is powerful but am not sure that it will be launched now and even if it is launched, it will not sell in any significant numbers.
I firmly believe if Fabia is priced similar to the Polo, it will be the better car to buy. It has better space, better handling and steering, better features, better quality of interiors, bigger boot space. I guess Skoda might be stripping some of the excellent features in the older Fabia to keep the price down.