Skoda Fabia

New small hatchback distils Skoda’s common-sense ethos into a handy package On sale Late 2021 Price from £15,000 (est)

- John Howell

THERE ARE SMALL cars that are cheap, but you feel every penny of the cost savings. There are small cars that you pay a premium for but, even without Sherlock-style scrutiny, you find yourself wondering “What’s all the fuss about?”. And then there’s the Skoda Fabia – a car that feels more than the sum of its parts, for less than you’d expect those parts to cost.

Deliveries of the all-new, fourth-generation Fabia will begin at the tail end of this year. It’s longer, wider, and lower than before and is available with new features, such as digital instruments, a heated steering wheel, and a heated windscreen. Full LED headlights and taillights are now standard and the list of safety aids includes lane assist, blindspot warning, and rear cross-traffic alert.

There will be four trim levels from the getgo, with a sportier Monte Carlo model joining the range from next year. Around that time, a 148bhp 1.5 TSI 150 turbocharged petrol engine will arrive, bolstering the opening salvo of 1.0-liter petrol in varying states of tune.

We haven’t tried the two non-turbocharged 1.0 MPI engines, but since the sprint from 0-62mph in these versions takes forever – well, more than 15 seconds – our advice is clear: go for at least the turbocharged, 94bhp 1.0 TSI 95. It cracks 0-62mph in around 10 seconds, so it’s more suited to motorways, but you still need to drop the five-speed manual gearbox from fifth to fourth if there’s a hill and you’re aiming to make headway between 50 and 70mph. The 109bhp 1.0 TSI 110, meanwhile, offers a touch more fizz and comes with a six-speed manual ’box or an optional seven-speed automatic.