Team-BHP - First Drive: Skoda Fabia F/L 1.6 petrol

The new Superb, Laura and now the Fabia are all alike in many terms. Going the VW way it seems. Nice to see the Fabia now has DRLs. Hopefully i will get a Fabia to play with the VagCom. But one problem with these DRLs in India is, so many people passing by, wave & tell me my lamps are ON! I guess they haven't seen Audis or the new Mercs. lol:
The Fabia does look like a nice buy now except that the exteriors are not much different.

OT: More on the secrets of the new Skodas, here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...vag-com-3.html

Nice review Mr.Scoopman. I think the mediocre performance from the 1.6 is as per expectations. It's alright that they have dropped features like Heated ORVMs and projector headlamps which do not translate to much value to the end customer, but something absolutely essential in our monsoons is the defogger; I am really shocked to see that missing in a so called premium offering. Powered ORVMS also will be sorely missed by the target audience.

All in all do not see this one doing a lot of numbers either.

Hello every one,newbie here.My first post,Got Team-BHP gates opened yesterday clap:.
Booked skoda Fabia 1.2L CRDi Elegance model last week(First diesel vehicle in my entire family tree),expecting delivery in 10 days.One small update for prospective buyers - contrary to data on skoda website both 1.2L petrol as well as Diesel Elegance models come with 185/60 profile tyres(TD vehicle has it and showroom people swear so).Also none of them come with Tinted windows even though website claims so.

Good first ride report Sid. A carefull move, I would say, by Skoda considering they have got the pricing right this time. However, they have an uphill task of getting the customer back into their confidence, especially with the A.S.S. part.

Peace of mind, plays an important aspect, for any average buyer after he has made the purchase. MUL enjoys its numero uno status owing to their nation wide service backup.

Dear Sid

Another wonderfully written review.

During our hunt for a car before settling down to our present one, we did check out the erst while Fabia.

Some of the features I loved most are now surprisingly missing.

Of them all, the order of preference is:

1) Rear Wipers and Defogger
2) All 04 Power windows
3) Internally Adjustable ORVM.

I can understand that Skoda, to boost sales especially after growing competition from the likes of i-20 and Polo had no other option but reduce its prices.

I still however feel that this move is a little too little, too late.

Better engines are available and to any lay man, one of the major criteria to buy any hatch is the fuel efficiency. This will grossly be missed in Fabia as a FE of 8-11 kmpl from a 1.2 litre 03 pot engine, to me is certainly not acceptable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnabchak (Post 2117189)

Dear Sid

Better engines are available and to any lay man, one of the major criteria to buy any hatch is the fuel efficiency. This will grossly be missed in Fabia as a FE of 8-11 kmpl from a 1.2 litre 03 pot engine, to me is certainly not acceptable.

Dear arnabchak, beg to differ on that.
When people use the term hatch generically, they are unfairly comparing butterflies like i10/A-Star/Santro to heavily build premium hatches like Skoda Fabia or i20.Arent these a separate class of vehicles as such? A Skoda fabia weighs more than or same as sedans like Ford Ikon/Fiesta/Verna ect ,have a comparable wheel base and most importantly have much better safety features compared to the similarly priced variant of any of these sedans.So how do we make a comparison regarding their FE to the earlier small cars which wiegh almost 30 - 40% less ? More over Premium hatches are bought by a crowd who purely out of choice choose not to buy a sedan, but would want the space/security/safety which may be comparable or better than that of a sedan.FE may not always be the major driving factor for their decisions and even if FE becomes a criterion then these hatches match or surpass the FE figures of the above mentioned sedans which weigh the same.A Ford Fiesta DuraTorque diesel sedan is available for 7.75L on road in Bangalore, but I chose a skoda Fabia diesel hatch for 8.2L onroad.It was more about the Build quality and Safety features like ABS,EBD,Dual Brake Assist/Dual Airbags/Tank Like Build ect ect.I think all the flak these premium hatches are receiving is primarily because of the way our minds are conditioned, “The more we pay ,the larger should be the size of the car".:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by pajero4me (Post 2118364)

True , one cannot compare TIN boxes with polos / Fabia.
If FE is criteria , Diesel Fabia / Polo is best.

Should not be a bad idea that they are relaunching Skoda Fabia with lesser features to make it more apt for competition. Does Skoda have it in them to ensure their A$$ is good enough?
But somehow feel that the 3 pot engine on diesel / Petrol will be a let down and not in the same league as the national engine (1.3 CRDE from Fiat / 1.2 K Series)

Coming days should be interesting considering that VW have a good stake in Suzuki, will they arm twist MSIL to start using 1.2 - 3 pot engines for Swift & Ritz?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidindica (Post 2112481)

No idea about parts pricing/ punto t-jet.
Will be driving the fabia TDI soon and will add about it here. Was told that its an overall "better" package as compared to the polo TDI. I think that The fabia TDI could capatilise on pol's wait periods and have nice sales figures, more so after the massive 1,30,000-1,50,000 rupee price cut.

Hi Sid! Waiting for your feedback on Fabia TDI. :)

I Hope that you keep up your promise? please:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chethan B G (Post 2120116)

Hi Sid! Waiting for your feedback on Fabia TDI. :)

Hi Chethan,
My new diesel Fabia would get delivered in about a week (Hopefully :) ).And as i have mentioned earlier in one of my posts(in your polo ownership thread page 50) your polo review was of tremendous help in understanding the new engine and making a decision.
Going by the Reg No: of your polo we may be neighbours as well.So you are aleays welcome to drive my Fabia and get a first hand experience,may be on NICE road.(But in exchange of some gyan and guidance on proper maintainance of diesel beauties as its my first diesel car ever :D )