Skoda gives its hatchback some minor tweaks... and a major engine. Kartik Ware drives the new Fabia 1.6
This is fun. No matter how carefully I launch the car, the front wheels spin furiously as soon as the clutch is let out, all the while protesting against the 1.6-litre motor’s bullying. As a consequence, acceleration times aren’t as quick as they should be, but who cares? When a car is this much fun, numbers automatically go up in a thick cloud of tyre smoke. But it’s certainly unusual to be doing it in a Skoda Fabia, an average performer the last time we drove one. But this is the ‘new’ Fabia, the latest facelift, with an important addition — a 105 bhp 1600cc engine. Have I got your attention yet? Read on, then.
When I first saw the car, I remember wondering what was different about it, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was only three days later that I realised that I’d been driving the facelifted version. Sigh. So you know not to ask me what’s different, right? Well, in case you do ask, it’s the headlights that are slightly bigger and swept backwards. Oh, and the grille is a new one too. And there’s a host of new trim all around the car, inside and outside. The 1.6 is available only in the top-of-the-line Elegance trim, so it gets all the bells and whistles that a Fabia can come with, which is actually quite a decent amount of kit. You get pleasant beige interiors, a multi-function display, power windows all around and alloy wheels, among other things. Interior space was never an issue for the Fabia and it still has decidedly more space than its rivals.
What impresses me most about the Fabia is the way it feels like a much bigger car, solid and assuring. Build quality is superb; no hatch in India is built like the Fabia. It really should teach sedans how to behave on the road too. Fantastic ride quality comes along with rock-solid handling. The other side of the coin is that its solid build, unfortunately, also adds weight. This is why the earlier anaemic motors never really complemented the Fabia’s dynamic skills. That is what Skoda has remedied with this, the 1.6-litre unit that also does duty in the Volkswagen Polo 1.6.
The Polo essentially uses a modified Fabia platform, but somehow the Skoda feels more solid than the VW. Must be the weight again, then. But this time, the Fabia is not a slow car by any means, not with a 1598cc motor that produces 105 bhp@5250 rpm and 15.6 kgm@3800 rpm. Throttle response is crisp and the Fabia eagerly leaps forward at the slightest prod of the pedal. During the aforementioned acceleration runs, the 1.6-litre motor showed its true colours, catapulting the Fabia to 60 kph in 5.2 seconds, while the 100 kph mark was crossed in 11.3 seconds. Keep it pinned and the Fabia 1.6 will take you to a true 170 kph, with a bit more to come if you are patient and brave enough to do so on our roads. The Fabia, on the other hand, is as calm and confident near its top speed as it is crawling around at city speeds.
I expected the Fabia 1.6 to lack low-end grunt and be wheezy around town, but I shouldn’t have worried. Thanks to its broad spread of power, it’s more driveable than any of the smaller hatches too; the gear ratios are well spaced to take care of in-city driving duties as well as highway blasts. Also, the gearbox’s positive shift action feels almost perfect, with every shift slotting home without too much effort. What’s more, despite a big capacity motor, the Fabia 1.6 returned a consistent 11 kpl in our combined driving cycle. That’s not bad for a hot hatch! However, we would have liked to see sportier accessories like bigger wheels, different bodywork, maybe even a WRC-liveried Fabia! A hot hatch should have these options available, I think. Don’t you?
The Fabia 1.6 is an appealing choice — the power of a bigger, more expensive sedan, but in a city-friendly size with lots of space and probably, better build quality than that sedan you’ve been eyeing. But now we come to the Fabia’s traditional Achilles’ heel in India — its price. The Fabia was positioned as a premium hatchback with a premium so high that not many people were willing to pay for it. Now, the entire facelifted Fabia range has come with price revisions (downward!), which make Skoda’s premium hatch more affordable. The fully loaded Fabia 1.6 is priced at Rs 5.86 lakh (ex-showroom, Maharashtra), giving it a good power to price ratio, with segment-beating quality thrown in. We think this gives the Fabia a renewed chance to slug it out in the already fierce premium hatch segment.
| COMPETITION CHECK |
| VW POLO 1.6 The immediate option to the Fabia 1.6 is its cousin, the Polo 1.6. The Polo is around Rs 15,000 more expensive than the Fabia, though the latter still feels more solid. However, the Polo is the hottest hatch in the market right now and comes with the premium VW badge and fresh styling. It is also lighter than the Fabia, so with the same powerplant, we expect it to be slightly quicker as well. |
| HONDA JAZZ In the premium hatch category, the Jazz rules the roost in terms of price and interior space. It might only have a 1.2-litre petrol motor, but it’s a Honda motor and is a marvel indeed. The flexible interiors combined with the monovolume shape give unmatched space, though its price starts at Rs 7.28 lakh, over a full lakh more the 1.6 hatches! |
| FIAT PUNTO 90HP This is the dark horse here, one with a diesel option that might attract many customers. Ride quality is good, but doesn’t better the Fabia’s. However, it has the edge over the Skoda when it comes to handling and the grunty diesel is light on the wallet. At Rs 7.02 lakh, ex-showroom, Mumbai, it is on the expensive side, though. |
