• Class-leading quality and design
• More tech on range topper
• Layout and materials nice across the board

How is the quality and layout?

The Fabia’s cockpit gets some cool features, including a two-spoke steering wheel, fully digital instruments and optional digital climate controls. The materials used are quite hard, but a brushed pattern on the top of the dashboard gives it a softer look. And besides, hard plastics are easier to clean!

Either way, it’s less of a step down from fancier in-house rivals like the VW Polo and Audi A1 than we expected. Neat elements like a full-width chrome strip running from door to door via the air vents, and piano black inserts in the instrument binnacle all contribute to a classier environment. Even if the latter reflects glare from streetlights back onto the windscreen.

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The unusual door handles may polarise opinion. The Fabia’s most successful design changes are also the subtlest. Buttons backlit in white instead of green look a lot more modern than before, as does the frameless rear-view mirror, while an optional panoramic roof gives the cabin a welcome lift. However, we found it can make the cabin get overly toasty on a hot summer’s day.

Infotainment and tech

You can specify the Fabia with a 9.2-inch connected navigation set-up that receives real-time traffic data and modifies your driving route depending on how busy the roads are. That’s the top tier system of course, with standard cars getting an eight-inch screen and no nav. Earlier cars made do with an even smaller 6.5-inch unit.

There’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a selection of USB-C sockets for charging, so it’s easy enough to make do with the tech in your pocket. Options like a heated windscreen and steering wheel are super luxurious for winter.

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Less essential is the 10.25-inch virtual cockpit display. It’s a nice addition that adds a real high tech feel but the function is a bit limited, other than showing you media info. If you’re torn between specifications, don’t trade up for the digital gauge cluster alone. It’s not worth the extra cash.

We also found the part digital climate controls, which are operated using physical buttons for the temperature but the screen for the climate, to be an odd mix and not great to use. We’d prefer physical controls for all the functions.

Comfort

• Soft seats with average bolstering
• Plenty of space between driver and passenger
• Armrest on top spec cars

Space is improved in the rear over the old car and you can get climate control vents to help keep rear passengers cool. However, the rear seat backrests are flatter than the previous car’s, which our passengers found could produce to some backache after several hours on the road.

Up front, there’s plenty of room, and the seats offer a reasonable amount of support. Despite this, we’d like to see more bolstering to make it easier to fight body roll in corners. As it stands, you need to brace yourself quite hard against the wheel if you’re spiritedly pedalling a basic model down a back road.

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The seats bases are a touch on the flat side, too, although the backrests offer just enough lumbar support to stop you from slouching on a long drive. You can solve all these complaints by spending some extra cash on the Monte Carlo trim, which features sports seats as standard.