Skoda Fabia Hatchback (07 on) - Review

Review by Dan Harrison on
Last Updated: 15 February 2011
The handsome new Fabia sticks to what the original model has been doing since it was launched in 2000. It's well built, practical and good value - in short an appealing car to own, while excellent ride quality makes it comfortable too so it's great for town driving. It's equally capable on the open road, but despite precise steering the Fabia isn't particularly agile on more demanding roads. Plus the diesel engines are noisy - especially on the motorway. Although it looks all-new, much of what's underneath the metal is carried over from the old car but that's good news - the Fabia has built a reputation for strong reliability and the latest model will doubtless carry this over. There's also an eco-friendly model, badged Greenline, which emits just 109g/km of CO2 and averages 69mpg. In 2010 the Fabia was tweaked with a new front end, this included a reworked radiator grille and the 3D-shaped headlamps have been widened. The Czech maker also introduced an 85bhp 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine to its line-up. Skoda has also added the vRS variants in hatch and estate guises to complete the Fabia range, along with a special edition hatchback model called the Monte Carlo.
4 out of 5

Other Skoda reviews

4.5 out of 5

Running costs

The diesel engines offer excellent fuel economy of more than 50mpg in everyday driving, while the petrols are frugal for their size. Skoda servicing is usually excellent value and insurance groups tend to be average for this size of car. There’s strong demand for the 2000-2007 Fabia and the increased interior quality and improved interior space of the newer car should mean that residual values are stronger. The 1.2-litre TSi petrol engine introduced in 2010 is an extremely frugal unit, it averages 54.3mpg.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,137 - £1,659 *

Diesel

£772 - £1,125 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

10,000 miles (minor), 20,000 miles (major).

Warranty

Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£0.00 - £215.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

4.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
    89
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
    180
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Fabia performs very well on the eco front. With an average of 144g/km CO2 across the range, its emissions are comparably low for a supermini. Eco-conscious buyers should consider the 1.4-litre diesel Greenline model, which is the greenest model in the range. Thanks to aerodynamic tweaks and longer gearing it emits 109g/km of CO2 and can average 69mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2