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The right move

The Fabia, Skoda’s latest offering in India, is a good car. Except for its price tag which is a bit steep for a hatchback in India. Skoda hopes to somewhat reduce the Fabia’s sticker-shock by introducing the Fabia 1.2 petrol. Does this finally make the Fabia value for money?

Let us get the bad bits out of the way first. Four cylinders is harmony, three-cylinders is not. This 1198cc three-cylinder petrol lets some vibrations in through the seat and the floor when the car is idling. It smoothens out as the revs build, but it never gets as smooth as the Swift’s four-cylinder unit or even Skoda’s own 1.4-litre petrol.

Second, the engine sounds like a household appliance gone berserk as it nears the red-line. This thrashy nature of the motor encourages you to shift up earlier, which is a good thing. Third, if you want the 1.2’s performance to match its hot hatch looks (especially in this shade of red); you will have to figure out how to turbocharge it.

This 1198cc engine puts out a modest 69bhp. Performance as a result is modest. Once it revs to 3000rpm, where this long stroke motor puts out its peak torque of 11.04kgm, the rate of acceleration picks up. But if there ever was a car that works best when you short-shift, this is it. And this is the reason why the Fabia feels strained on the highway. Out on an open highway, it will get to 120kph fast enough, past which it you will need a lot of road and the patience of a wildlife photographer to see it run to its 155kph top speed. At these speeds, the engine is spinning quite fast too, so there is always a fair bit of noise in the cabin.

What is surprising is the Fabia’s driveability. The Fabia has short gearing to help disguise the power deficit. You will not feel the lack of power when you are simply driving along with other traffic.

The Fabia’s cabin. It is unlike any other small car available in India. Yes, this top-of-the line Ambiente’s cabin comes finished in boring shades of grey and black, but you will not argue about the way it is put together or how functional and spacious it is. In fact, if the Great Khali was forced to buy a hatchback, we would bet 500 litres of petrol on him finding the Fabia the most comfortable one around.

The seats are supportive and spacious. The only small complaint we have is with the rear seatback being a tad too upright. Adding to the comfort is the fantastic way this Fabia rides. The pliant ride and almost perfect damping makes this easily the best ride seen this side of an Octavia. A D-segment car is what you could compare the handling to. The steering is direct, grip from the tyres is good and we would even go as far as to say the new Honda Accord is not as much fun on a twisty road as this hatchback. It is that good.

There are three variants of the 1.2 Fabia. The base Active costs Rs 5.11 lakh, but equipment levels are modest with only a driver airbag and no CD player or power windows. Next up is the Classic trim, which has power windows, an integrated CD player with the auxiliary input port, power windows and dual airbags. It costs Rs 5.48 lakh. Then comes the top-of-the line 1.2 Ambiente, which adds alloy wheels, powered mirrors, remote locking and ABS with brake assist and it can be yours for 6.09 lakh, which makes it Rs 1.4 lakh cheaper than the diesel Fabia.

Fuel efficiency? Expect around 9.1kpl in the city and 14.2kpl on the highway. That said the Fabia’s fuel consumption is not much worse than the Swift’s.

The bottomline? The cheaper Fabia 1.2 is a move in the right direction. You get a spacious and high quality hatchback for a little more than the Swift. Also, 30,000 kilometres down the road, the Fabia will also age much less than the Swift, thanks to its better build quality. If all you care about is quality and the feel-good factor that comes as standard equipment with every Skoda, then the higher price of the Fabia 1.2 should not matter to you. It is a great car to drive in the city and it comes loaded with features as well.

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