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-   -   First Drive: Skoda Fabia F/L 1.6 petrol (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/90577-first-drive-skoda-fabia-f-l-1-6-petrol-2.html)

Nice review Sid, This actually look more VFM than the Polo and it gets the excellent fit and finish as well. If only the A.S.S issues are sorted out.

Thanks Sid. Can you provide actual dimensions compared to Polo. Being build on the same platform. I wonder how they were able to liberate so much more space in the back. Is the seating position taller than Polo as well?
sunroof and heated ORVM will not be missed. Rear wipe and projectors would be nice. The regular lamps are ruining the look of the car. Euro Fabia looks so much nicer with them.

Thanks a ton Sid for this fantastic review .

I got the chance to drive the 1.6 variant today in the evening .

i felt exactly the same as you except for 2 things :-

1- i felt the engine was quite responsive especially the time needle crosses 2k in the rpm ,also the low end torque is pretty decent. i might be wrong though as have not driven many 1.6 motor except for fiesta which is in a totally different league .

2- Steering was way to light , dint like it at all . have driven my friends previous 1.2 motor with hydraulic power steering and it has got fantastic feedback . this new one i doubt will inspire any confidence in the highway especially while cornering at high speed .

F.E figure which you have put is quite shocking to me 6.7 :eek: . Anything less than 10 is bad IMO .

what about powered/electric OVRMs? I guess they will definitely be missed.
Fabia always had more space than Polo. In external dimensions, it is 30 mm longer. (3970 vs 4000). The question is the other way round - how come Polo being such a long car (longer than Jazz and I20) has so much less space? lol:

Another disappointment is the replacement of the excellent Hydraulic steering with an EPS similar to the Polo.

Skoda Brochure says Fabia has a rear AC Vents. Does it have AC vents like Vento?

Nice review there!. The new positioning by the Skoda makes it lucrative. However, what has been at the background is strip it of the features that were available in the previous model.

Now would this be called VFM? IMO, it isn't. Anyways will check the car out sometime next week.

Nope the rear AC vents will be below the front seats.

Finally, a car that looks a likely successor to my Swift! A Fabia 1.6 at this price is something I can live with! Let's see, maybe in a couple of years...!

Sid, nice review.

Its a good move to reduce cost at the expense of features. That is what low end variants are all about. However ABS instead of Driver Airbags should me made standard from classic variant.

I personally believe Skoda will find very less takers for this car. Since it is almost the same as the Polo, Anyone would choose VW over skoda for the sake of reasonable *** alone. Moreover Polo is a new product. It looks better. Most of the features are at par and engines are the same. So why skoda and not VW?

We really need the 1.6D in this car (or Polo). Any idea if it will be made available anywhere in future? Or the 1.2 TSi?

@sid or anybody, is it possible to get a price list of fabia spare parts?

Except for the clutch assembly all spares are cheaper than they were 12 months back. 5 -10 % more than swift spares.
Source July issue of Autocar

Good Review! Thanks Sid! :thumbs up

Can you drive both polo & Fabia 1.6 and give us your feedback? I was told that the both the cars had the same engine, but tuned differently.


Fabia is Polo Mark-4. New Polo is Mark-5. There can be reasons to opt for a Fabia. for example:

1. Rear leg room.
2. Better utilized boot space ( Parcel shelf can be placed at 2 heights)
3. Few small additions like Better ICE with Aux-in, Boot light, Dead pedal, Vanity mirror, Rear seat reading light, dual glove box with light, rear AC vents, Dark floor color, Speed sensitive auto central lock - Makes life a bit easy.
4. Waiting period - 3 weeks for Fabia & 3 Months for Polo.

My close friend had booked a Polo 1.6 and was waiting from almost 2 months now. Car was to be delivered by last month end. But even now, there is no committed date. So, we canceled Polo booking and have booked a Fabia 1.6 (White). Delivery with-in 3 weeks. :)

Rear split seats, projector head lamps, EORVM & rear parking sensors, rear de-fogger - Are sorely missed.

Will be intresting to see the December sales numbers polo and fabia once the festival season is over.

Polo wait period will be less once production is ramped up.

Great review sidindica. I was looking forward to test driving this car. I am surprised to see rear defogger and wash and wipe missing in a 6+ lac car. The things that manufacturers skimp on!!

Nice work there Sid and a well written review and good photos :)

Its a nice car and now the new Skoda will definitely see some jump in sales. The newer prices have aroused interest in many people.

I bet the next months sales figures will put a smile on Skoda's faces.