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Skoda Fabia Review

Sam Worth
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What's good?

– Practical
– Good value
– Handy compartments and features

What's bad?

– Not striking to look at
– Isn’t as fun to drive as its rivals

What's the score?

7/10

Overview

The Skoda Fabia is arguably the best value for money supermini if you’re looking for something small, practical, reliable, and safe. But if you’re looking for a car that’s also good-looking, I wouldn’t say the Fabia’s attractive, as it’s got a bit of a plain and dull design. I guess looks on the outside of a supermini aren’t normally the number one priority for customers, because sometimes, all you want is something that just does the job.

The Fabia starts at £14,365 for the hatch and £15,625 for the estate, which is very well-priced compared to its rivals, considering most of them are more expensive than the estate model and they only come as a hatchback. However, the Fabia doesn’t have as much tech as you’d find as standard in its main rivals. But some of the owners will only use the infotainment system for the very basics, like listening to BBC Radio 2. So, tech doesn’t always matter.

As standard, it comes with features including daytime running lights and halogen headlights, body coloured door mirrors and handles, stop/start system, and front assist – which is a collision-alert system that monitors the situation in front of the car and applies the brakes when it detects an oncoming vehicle to reduce the chance of an accident, or at least reduce the impact.

Drive

The Fabia can be reasonably enjoyable to drive, but it isn’t the most exciting in its class. The steering has a nice amount of feedback, and feels light to use at low speeds, which is ideal for driving in town. But on the back roads, the Fabia feels wallowy if you start pushing it, so it doesn’t feel as fun as the Fiesta or the Ibiza. However, the chances of you buying a Fabia with the intention to chuck it into some corners isn’t likely.

Two engines are available for the Fabia. They’re both 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged TSI units, with 95hp and 110hp. I tested the most powerful engine, which has 148lb-ft. It seems relatively pokey and picks up power from a low rev range. It’s also economical, as it’s expected to get about 45-50mpg.

The 110hp engine only comes with manual gearbox, which does feel a little bit notchy. Unfortunately, you can’t get the DSG auto gearbox with the 110hp engine, but you can with the 95hp, which is also available as a five-speed manual. That’s if you don’t have a lazy left foot.

If you are just pottering around town and doing the odd journey, I’d recommend the 95hp engine. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s got enough power for the job. If you’re doing more long-distance journeys, then you may want to look at the 110hp, or look at some of its rivals which offer more power and comfort. The driving position is good and there’s a decent amount of visibility as there are relatively narrow A-pillars, and a large rear window, which does help when it comes to parking.

One thing I wasn’t sure of at first, which grew on me, was the steering wheel. Yes, the steering wheel. The Fabia comes with an odd-looking two spoke wheel. It may look weird without the bottom spoke, but when you’re cruising or driving at low speeds, it’s nice and comfortable to hold onto. If you’re not keen of the look and prefer the ‘fan’ look (get it), you can buy a three spoke leather steering wheel, with a flat bottom for just under £180.

Interior

Solid, neat, but slightly cheap. The cabin feels simple and nothing over the top, although some of the materials do feel scratchy and plastic-ey, however, the main touch points feel better quality. You’ve got to remember that the Fabia starts at a much lower price than virtually all its rivals, so cheaper plastics in the interior are to be expected.

All models come with a 6.5-inch infotainment touch screen, which works well and is responsive, although it can seem and look a little dated. Only the higher spec trims, including the SE L, have built in Sat Nav, but I wouldn’t let that bother you as all models are compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so you can save your pennies.

The steering wheel controls look neat, and the silver scroll parts add a nice touch. Using the controls on the steering wheel for the instrument cluster can seem fiddly, as I often thought I was pressing the correct controls, but I just got further away from the display I wanted to appear. To be fair, it’s like anything, it just takes time to get used to how a system works.

There’s some handy features in the Fabia, like an umbrella under the passenger seat, a parking ticket holder on the windscreen, an odd-shaped glove box which is the perfect fit for a big bottle to stop it rolling from side to side. And tucked into the fuel flap door is where you’ll find an ice scraper and a tyre tread depth gauge. Very handy.

The back seats are comfy and there’s a good amount of leg and head room. There aren’t any USB ports or power sockets to charge your gizmos in the back, which is a bit of a shame. But it comes with wind down windows, so once the kids phone batteries have died, they’ll have to play ‘who can wind down the windows the fastest’, unless they’d rather have a kip.

The boot is big and impressive for a supermini, with 350-litres. There are areas either side with hooks, storage compartments and a flexible strap for an even larger bottle of wine (ahem) water. And if you don’t want the parcel shelf in place, then simply take it out and slide it into its second home, which is behind the rear seats, to keep everything neat and tidy. Once the rear seats are folded down as a 60/40 split, there’s 1,150-litres. Although the rear seats don’t fold down completely flat, it’s still the second biggest boot in its segment.

Verdict

In no way is the Fabia the most fun, best-handling or the quickest in its class. But for a supermini, it’s not always important. You could say the Fabia is ‘the best’ supermini because it’s one of the most practical, cheapest, with lots of convenient features, comes with a reasonable amount of tech as standard, and it isn’t the worst looking. Not only that, but it also comes with a five-star Euro NCAP rating.

It may not feel refined inside, and not that exciting on the outside either, but if you’re not into looks or a fun drive, and you just want a small practical car, the Fabia is most likely the car for you.