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BEAUTY ON WHEELS The car looks a lot more compact and agile than it actually is owing to a tight-fitting roof, its friendly smile and the large headlamps.

Built on an updated and mostly new platform; the PQ25 platform; the Fabia is the first to use this kind of platform though it will be shared by other Volkswagen groups. It is to be used on the new Volkswagen Polo as well. The suspension that will come on the Indian version of the Fabia has been raised and is referred to as ‘rough-road’ package made especially for our roads. The car tested here comes with ABS and airbags but other versions don’t. Ground clearance is up to 146mm, and Skoda has also provided a three-part metal plate underneath the car for protection.

Once the solid doors of the Fabia shut, you don’t feel like the cabin you are sitting in belongs to a hatchback. The up-market feel, mature design and the use of high quality materials give the Fabia’s interiors and aura of the car that is worth at least Rs. 10-12 lakh. There is not a cheap-looking plastic button in sight (okay, the AC knobs aren’t great), everything works with a solid, slick feel and what completes the picture are the top-class quality and colours. We especially liked the dials and doorpads of the car, as they possess a charming design. The seats at the rear are comfortable. However, the front seats don’t have the best lateral support and the seats don’t hold you as firmly as they should.

Powered by a 1422cc, direct-injection diesel motor that allows Skoda to pull an excise sop, the Fabia delivers adequate performance. The motor is actually a familiar one. The three-cylinder unit is Skoda Laura’s motor minus one cylinder. Using two valves per cylinder and a fixed geometry turbo, this motor uses Volkswagen’s Pumpe Duse method of diesel injection, meaning no common rail system. The slick, light gearbox is brilliant and at times, even addictive to use, this gearbox and linkage is the one you want to put in a box and carry with you from car to car. Very positive and light, it slots in without fuss or much effort. And we even liked the lip on the gear lever that helps when you shift to gears in the lower half of the shift H. Brilliant.

Another area the Fabia puts in an exemplary performance is ride and handling. The suspension has been raised for India, and sometimes this results in a less-than-perfect package. Not in this case. The tall springs, wide rubber and perfect damping result in the most pliant ride ever witnessed on a hatchback. Very few shocks filter in from the road and all but the largest bumps are dealt with noiselessly. Up the speed and all that absorbent compliance miraculously does little to mess up the fine sense of balance this car possesses. The car still rides flat at high speeds, only pitching a tad over long horizontal bumps. And straightline stability is rock-solid too. The Skoda provides loads of confidence to the driver.

In the city the Fabia delivered 14.1 kilometres a litre and on the highway, mileage is 18.5kpl.

The Fabia isn’t just another diesel hatchback that will only save you money, it will do all this and more and that too, in style.

The car looks good, performs well and even has a 300-litre boot and near-record-breaking fuel efficiency.

In addition, its interiors feels like a luxury car and the ride quality is super-pliant, stability is rock-solid and the Fabia is fun to drive as well. For all these reasons and more, this car is definitely one you should consider before making a purchase.

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