the very first review of the skoda fabia!!

I am travelling so havent had a chance to see the car myself, my wife has  - and will test drive it in a couple of days.  But so far, here are the pros and cons that we see:

Pros

• Quality car - shows everywhere, including interiors
• Even base model Active shows high quality and compares very well with other premium hatches - so this model is price competitive
• Higher end models, like Ambiente are superbly loaded - this model will be the most popular with the feature conscious buyer
• High sitting position - can be adjusted
• 1.4L engine - will be reasonably efficient - can expect 10-12 city driving.
• 2 years unlimited warranty

Cons

• Very low clearance - is the lowest of all hatches at 146 mm
• High cost - will also result in high cost of spares

The ground clearance is actually very poor only 146 mm, the lowest of all premium hatchbacks - whereas the next lowest is 170 mm of the Swift - so you can imagine.

Besides this I cannot see any obvious shortcomings.

great. got the whole review from him. is in point format and i am too bored to edit it. he lives in mumbai by the way.

car looks great in white and brilliant in silver.

on display were 3 cars all tdi's candy white. cappuccino beige, and brilliant silver. at showroom opp fame adlabs.

boot space is pretty big for a hatch back.

seems to have good ground clearance. not sure about it though.

i love the big bonnet, makes me feel as though the car is a huge engine.

the class of any product or service comes out in the detailing. this car surely
has been given a lot of attention. small features like defogger for the driver's window, lock and unlock button on the center console in front of the cup holders. touch pad button for opening the rear hatch etc etc.

even if the driver's seat is taken fully behind the backseat passenger does have good legroom. car feels really strong when you sit in the driver's seat. steering wheel is great and also i love the gear stick.

the car does not look huge at all, altough it is huge. 

my thought is that because of the high price tag, owning a fabia would become more of a statement, saying that "i have the king of all hatchbacks". although its way to early to give it such a title. but something like that. "i have a European car and i have enough money to maintain it". also lets see how people pete this car!!

ohh almost forgot, the tires man. they'r gorgeous and really wide, am sure they'll offer good grip on the road.

colours available in models:

active:- white, silver, grey, red.
classic:- white, silver, grey, red.
ambiente:- white, silver, grey, red, beige and black.
elegance:- white, silver, red., black.

interior colours:

active/classic:- stone red, stone blue.
ambiente:- style grey.
elegance:- chic (cream or light beige kinda colour), chic night.

Would like to digress from "Skoda Fabia" to "Low Ground Clearance".

I was reading an auto mag recently and a very practical solution was mentioned for cars with low ground clearance to clear longish/tallish speed breakers. The writer suggested to drive the car over the speed breaker in a diagonal line (say 45 desgrees and not at 90 degrees which is how we go) so that all the wheels cross the speed breaker at different times. This way the car would always attain a higher clearance as there would be a tilt when one wheel goes up.

I really do not know how good this solution is. Yet to try this out. May look funny though when in the middle of a NH someone is trying this when others are approaching fast at breakneck speeds. Or for that matter even in city on a busy road if in a Skoda Fabia the police guy caught me trying this solution!! Anyone tried crossing speed breakers like this before?

Bhushan

Would like to digress from "Skoda Fabia" to "Low Ground Clearance".

I was reading an auto mag recently and a very practical solution was mentioned for cars with low ground clearance to clear longish/tallish speed breakers. The writer suggested to drive the car over the speed breaker in a diagonal line (say 45 desgrees and not at 90 degrees which is how we go) so that all the wheels cross the speed breaker at different times. This way the car would always attain a higher clearance as there would be a tilt when one wheel goes up.

I really do not know how good this solution is. Yet to try this out. May look funny though when in the middle of a NH someone is trying this when others are approaching fast at breakneck speeds. Or for that matter even in city on a busy road if in a Skoda Fabia the police guy caught me trying this solution!! Anyone tried crossing speed breakers like this before?

Bhushan