Dec 14, 2009 01:15 PM
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(Updated Dec 14, 2009 01:18 PM)
As mentioned in my i20 review, I am test driving some of the hatches in the Indian market this week. The review object this time around is the Skoda Fabia Ambiente 1.2
Exterior Looks & build quality
I had a lot of expectations out of this car having seen some of those well-built premium Skodas on the Indian roads. The Skoda Fabia doesn't disappoint you at all when it comes to the looks, sturdiness and overall build and ride quality. From the front the car looks neat and carries that unimstakable Skoda grill and beautiful emblem. From front to rear the car looks neat and well propotioned unlike the Maruti Swift that suddenly wraps up toward the rear. The looks from the sides could have been better but I buy their idea that more squarish means more safety(Like Volvos). The rear is quite beautiful as well with a neat tail lamp and the beautiful emblem. Overall, from plastics to paint the car looks awesome!
Interiors
As you get into the car, the immediate thing you would notice is the heaviness of the doors. Man! It's quite some steel out there, I am sure this is no ordinary build. And you slam the door you will hear more metallic sound than a thud(improvement area: The door rubber beading). But once you're within the doors, you feel like you are in a heavy iron cage and safe!
The Skoda Fabia boasts exceptionally well built interiors as well - especially the dashboard area, four-spoke steering wheel and the door panels. The dash looks as good as any upper C-segment car or even better than a New Honda City. The steering feels firm and nice. All controls are well positioned including the ones on the floor(Aux port, 12V/cig lighter jack etc) between driver and co-passenger. The seat height adjustment is available for driver and co-passenger. The steering is rake/reach adjustable and the driver side airbag area looked neat(I didn't like this part of i20). Overall, I liked the feel as a driver except for the funny joystick type ORVM adjustment switch. It was really funny to handle it especially when adjusting the left mirror.
As for the seat fabric, it was better than that of the i20 but still not really top end. For the pricing, they should have done a better job here. Everything except this was really cool when it comes to the interiors.
When you get on to the backseat, the immediate thing you would notice is the huge legspace. I mean, it's probably even better than a Skoda Octavia's backseat legspace, I thought. As a rear passenger you will feel really safe driving as the heavy vehicle carries you smoothly. However, I felt that the shoulder room is not good enough for three big passengers and it's not as good as that of i20.
Driving experience
I must say that by now, I am all excited to test the car but that excitement stopped as soon as I jammed the accelerator. It didn't feel all that bad in the first gear but the second gear was pathetic and it reminded me of my Linea test drive. The vehicle, with four passengers, wasn't quite taking off with that kind of torque on the second gear. When I read the manual, I found that the torque is something like 110Nm and cars like this one really needs at least 125Nm torque(Similar to that of an Ikon or Accent)
The gear was butter smooth(shhh. much better than that of my Altis) and the floor pedals were exceptionally good. I wish they had some power built into this otherwise marvellous piece of machinery:(
The ride comfort both on front and rear was good. There was some tire noise that started picking at around 80Km but I thought that was okay. Overall, it was a good experience.
The best thing about the Fabia(other than the build and ride quality) especially as compared to the i20 was a cool sporty suspension along with a superb steering. There was absolutely no ground scraping(despite 146mm or low GC) with four adults in and the car handled very well. Also, there are no issues like bad A/C or horn as in the case of i20. The brakes were also very good and I did the similar sandy road test. The car managed to stop with ABS engaged and without any slipping whatsoever. The Fabia is all about safety(and less performance)!
Summary
I must say that I was hugely disappointed with the Fabia mainly because of the low torque engine and the gear ratios than the price itself. I mean, I would still pay~6, 00, 000 ex-Bangalore for this car if it was a little more powerful and torquey. The following are some of the good and improvement areas of the Fabia 1.2L Petrol.
Good
Exceptional build quality and features
Not ground scraping issue and great sporty suspension
Back leg space is better than even C-seg sedans
Good ABS/Brake assist
Cool Headlamps and tail lamps
Handling and cornering without fear
300L boot - the best in the class and a lot of additional storage/cubby holes
You can lower/raise all windows together with the key while locking. Helps after parking or while getting in or to leave a little half-inch open on all windows to help with ventillation. I haven't seen this feature on any small cars.
Dual side ORVMs - If the side mirrors are hit from rear, they fold back frontwards without breaking.
Bad
Oops! No remote locking on the fuel lid. More over, the fuel cap(after opening the outerlid) has to be opened with the ignition key. That's really bad!
Child lock - Even the child lock needs to be engaged with the ignitian key put in - No slide lock here! Again bad!
Gear ratios - especially the second gear is pathetic
Not really meant for five adults
classic design and little bit too squarish from sides
Low torque engine - Did not feel like a Skoda
Overall, I would give a rating of 3(in fact slightly below 3, say 2.75) out of 5 for Fabia. Wish they used their brain while designing this engine and with that corrected it would have got a 4. I am sure this one will drag on highways while maintaining good ride quality and stability.
A lot of people are always ask this question as to which hatch to go for. Unfortunately none of them on the Indian market today meet all your requirements despite high pricetags. The general guidance is that:
Go for a Fabia for Safety, build quality and brand name
Go for an i20, if you can put up with the ground scraping problem
Go for a Swift if you want the most responsive engine in the class and you care less about the space
Go for a Punto if you want value for your money but put up with bad after sales service(Yet to test drive and review this!)
or.
Start saving money now and await the Volkswagon Polo!
