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Skoda, The Flying Arrow had a overwhelming response from Indian Car Market, that’s led them to set-up a manufacturing wing in Nagpur. Fabia is the only hatchback from Skoda so far, but it has inherited the good characteristics of its successful predecessors. Skoda understood the dire need of affordable hatchbacks in Indian market but they did not compromise with the safety, comfort and styling.

Style & Exterior

No Doubt the look of this Czech beauty is appealing and any body can fall in love. At first glance Fabia seems to have some common design elements of Suzuki Swift, but look closely you will find it completely different. Bonut embossed with sturdy line in the middle, which ends up near the grill with chrome studded Skoda Badge shows a strong presence of Skoda. It seem Skoda has spend enough time and money to design and manufacture the exteriors which is visible in finishing touch and the paint quality with proper curves. Build quality of all the Skoda’s are unique selling point of the car. It also comes with under Chassis Coating for rust prevention.

Rear portion of the car is decorated with the leaf shaped tail-lamp which matches perfectly with carved body line.

Interior Design

Here Skoda has done a wonderful  job. Interior just looks different and clean. The dual mix tone of black and light gray is a good choice. Cabin has sufficient numbers of Pockets and cupholders.

It’s not only looks but Fabia offers luxury features like Hand Gloves, Climatic Control AC and Airbags as an standard in all variations of the vehicle.

Dual tone on the doors with Silver handle finish looks Sleek. Look at the Door and Dashboard joint, it is well Aligned.

Driving Comfort

Ergonomically Fabia offers an excellent riding posture for driver and passenger seat both. Space is lavishly used inside the car. The suspensions seem to be bit hard than other counter parts, but they are able to absorb all the roughness of Indian Road. Basically for harsh road they work better than other counter part and for city roads they are perfect and long wheelbase adds into the comfort and stability. Wide dashboard and windshield gives a open view to the driver for a better visibility. Front and rear glasses are also wide and open to infuse lots of light inside. Smooth Power steering provides a good intellegent assistance at the tough corners. During the drive I was surprised to see the maneuver-ability of the car for the size, which makes it pretty good for city driving.

Look at the image below, it shows Fabia has plenty of leg room for passenger seat, to accomodate three people comfortabily. The combination of Strong Shock absorbers with long wheel base minimize the amount of body roll for the back seat passengers, which directly reduces the exertion level.

Performance

I found Fabia petrol a bit sluggish, specially on long ride and need to be pumped with more CCs.  1.2 ltr Mpi engine which delivers 70Ps@5400rpm & 108nm@3000rpm is not a justice for the size of car. In city ride high torque at lower rpm does a good job and makes car a good choice for city riding, which is definitely a clever way to deal the situation, but at the same time when you are riding on highway it will not be good fun.

If you are looking for a Diesel variation then its is really a different story to talk about, the 1.4 ltr TDI is awesome for both city and highways.

Boot Space

Big Boot-space makes it a pefect family car to carry lots of luggage for long drives.

Variation and Prices

Prices may vary according to location. Road Tax and Additional Accessories extra.

Vital Specs

Colors

Available in Six Colors: Black Magic pearl Effect, Candy White, Corrida Red, Brilliant Silver Metallic, Cappuccino beige Metallic and Satin Grey Metallic.

Verdict

Though there is tough competition and difficult to select a car of your need. But if you are looking for spacious & Luxury family hatchback with safety as a primary concern then this car is a suitable choice in competitive prices. On the other side it could be bit expensive buy in terms maintenance and spare Parts but no doubt luxury and safety comes in expensive package.

- Ab