Skoda Fabia was launched in the Indian market in 2007. It is a lot roomier than its predecessor Skoda Felicia. Taking a sneak peek into the history, The Skoda Felicia was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1994 and was discontinued in 2001. After the great success of the Skoda Octavia in India, (Skoda Octavia was Skoda’s first car launched in India) Felicia wasn’t launched in the Indian market because it was a little obsolete then.
Now coming back to the Skoda Fabia, it was launched in India with two power-train variants- The 1.2 litre HTP (high torque performance) petrol engine and 1.4 litre TDI PD (Pumpe-Düse) diesel engine. It came in three variants – Ambiente, sport and elegance. Now let’s see how the 1.4 litre TDI PD diesel car serves the owner.
EXTERIOR
It is a five door sedan with the typical Skoda features. The larger and clearer integrated front grille gives the car the typical face of Skoda. The overall design of the car is modern yet not very sophisticated giving it the youthful, cheerful and fresh look which favoured the youngsters. When compared to the other competitive cars, the Skoda Fabia has a very impressive built quality.
Skoda has also used good quality paint for the Fabia which doesn’t degrade in time and you can be free of tension if you have a minor abrasion. The front headlamps that extend to the front wings provide the car with larger surface area of lighting which adds to safety and style as well. Now coming to the rear lights, they are built in such a way that they look sporty and make Fabia more visible in traffic during bad weather. The windows are larger than its predecessor making it look way larger and classy. The Fabia is 3992 mm longer and 1498 mm taller making it one of the largest cars among the premium hatches.
INTERIORS
The interiors of the Fabia is very roomy and offers a very impressive leg space and head space. It has a close connection with the Skoda roomster with respect to the design and built of the car. The interior designs are very eye pleasing and are very well made. Skoda has used high quality materials for its interiors which are very soft to touch. But some minute things put me down, for example the stereo system doesn’t have a remote and every time the rear passengers have to move forward in order to change a song, which I found very inconvenient. However I was very happy with the interiors of the car when I got in for the first time.
What I liked even more was the boot space. It surely has a boot space which is the best among all the premium hatches. When the seats are upright, a total of 300 litres of luggage can be taken, whereas when the rear seats are folded down, Fabia provides a boot space of 1,163 litres. The four spoke adjustable telescopic steering is very light to touch and easy to handle. The gear box too is very smooth. Now speaking about the seats of Fabia, they are easily adjustable to the drivers need, making the driving experience a very wonderful one. There are many storage spaces available in the Skoda Fabia (apart from the boot space) like the dash storage, bottle holders in the door, a bottle holder in the centre console and seat pockets on the rear side of the front seats.
ENGINE
The 1.4 litre TDI PD Engine gives an output of 51 Kilowatt at 4000rpm. It gives a decent torque of 155 Nm at 1600-2800 rpm. This vehicle is equipped with 3 cylinder engine of 1422 CC. Because the engine is 3 cylinders, city driving leaves me a little tedious, however highway driving is gratifying. The fuel efficiency of the vehicle is decent enough. It gives 18 km/litre in the highways and 16/litre in the city. The engine is smooth even at a speed of 160 kmph without any feel of vibration. Also, this TDI PD engine is a little noisy when compared to Skoda second generation CR engine which comes in the new Skoda fabia, which was launched in 2011.
SAFETY
The Skoda Fabia 1.4 litres TDI comes with good safety for its passengers like the ABS and front Airbags. Again I’m unhappy with the fact that The Skoda Fabia doesn’t have the side Airbags making its passenger’s safety at stake. But I don’t think it’s something that I should complain for because with this price that is 8 lakhs on road; Skoda Fabia offers enough features that score a 10 on 10 for its quality. The central locking system of the Fabia is something worth commenting. Unlike other vehicles, the central locking system of the Skoda Fabia doesn’t lock automatically when the engine is on. For example if a person turns the ignition switch on and go out of the car for some reason with the key inside, the car wouldn’t be automatically locked. I admit this is a big advantage for a careless user.
MAINTENANCE AND RESALE VALUE
Maintenance charges are on the high side and are done every 1 year or when the vehicle has reached a distance of 15,000 km, now because of this one year gap between services, the owner might forget to take care of the tyres. This can lead to premature wearing and tearing of tyres, so one should be vigilant and should know the condition of their vehicle. Now coming to the resale value, well the resale value of the Skoda Fabia is quite low because the spare parts of the vehicle are very costly.
BOTTOM LINE
With four years of ownership and 40,000 km travelled, my Skoda Fabia doesn’t seem to have aged much. On an overall, Skoda Fabia 1.4 litre TDI PD is a very classy and impressive car which has its own elegance and charm. Owning one does make you feel proud!