There are certain cars which are really, really good, but they're always ridiculized.
The Toyota Prius is a great example, but so is the Skoda Fabia. Just imagine you meet someone who says 'I'm a member of the Skoda...
Fabia Fanclub'. That's right. You won't want to sit next to them at a dinner. And that's not really fair, because for generations,
the Skoda Fabia is the smartest Polo you can buy. And this fourth generation is a tad smarter again than its predecessors.
And with smart, I mean spacious. Behind the bootlid, you've got a boot which offers 380 litres of luggage space. That's huge for the B-segment.
Even better, you wouldn't even look bad in the C-segment. And I know that, because the Volkswagen Golf has the same amount of luggage space.
And the space hasn't compromised the space on the rear seat, because the Fabia is now built on the MQB-A0-platform.
Just like the Seat Ibiza and the Volkswagen Polo, with the latter being built on that platform for years now.
And that modular platform doesn't only mean a big boot, but a lot of legroom on the rear seat as well.
And it's the same story here. For the B-segment, the room is really, really good. My knees aren't even near the seat in front of me.
And I'm behind myself right now. I'm 1.80 m. myself and I might be a tad close to the steering wheel, because of my 'dynamic driving position'.
But still, you're able to sit in here with four people. Maybe even five if they're not too tall.
There's more than enough headroom as well and the great news continues in the front. The Fabia used to look like a dull, gray mouse,
but it now looks much more premium. Cosy even. It's just like the Octavia when you first get in, you'll really think it looks good.
If you take a closer look however, you'll discover that Skoda has applied some clever tricks to make you think it all looks good. Because if you touch...
it, the quality isn't that great. But that doesn't really matter, because you're not always touching your dashboard.
The seating, on the other hand, is good and you've got the newest generation of multimedia and safety systems. And Skoda has done things a tad...
smarter than Seat or Volkswagen, because they're using a lot of shortcuts. That way, you'll get where you need to be much quicker. If you combine...
that with the cabin space, the static first impression is very positive. Also, because it's a Skoda, it's filled with all kinds of 'Simply Clever'-solutions.
The chief editor told me that if I show the ice scratcher in the fuel filler-cap or the umbrella in the door one more time, I'll be fired, so I won't show them today.
But there are lots of other smart solutions. Take the cap for the wiper fluid, that automatically forms an funnel.
But there are new features as well. A pen holder, a card holder, there's an USB-C-port near the rear-view mirror for a dashcam,
an optionally you can have a hammock for chill banana's.
In short, it's not only spacious, but it's very clever as well.
Then there's the drive. And the Fabia once again reaps the rewards of the MQB-A0-platform. Just like the Volkswagen Polo and Seat Ibiza.
And I'm naming those two so I can explain the chassis to you. Imagine you're buying a ready-to-eat avocado at Albert Heijn.
One that you can use to demolish bricks. That's the Seat Ibiza. If you leave it for a few days, it becomes riper and softer,
which means you've got the Polo. If you leave it for a couple of additional days, it becomes even softer. And that's when you have the Fabia.
It's very recognizable, but much softer. It's much more comfortable. And it's a very nice mix. The steering is very light,
but it's not indirect, so you won't have to shuffle constantly. So when you're driving in the city, when you encounter speedbumps and...
bumpy roads, it absorbs a lot. The chassis is a tad noisy, but it's agile and comfortable. Very nice. When you're driving on back roads,
it's still good. However, I'm driving in Poland right now and the tarmac is really bad compared to the Netherlands.
That's when you notice that the rear axle can get into trouble. Especially when you speed up. Not racing or anything, but just going faster.
So if the surface isn't that good, the car feels dribbly. As a whole however, it offers much more stability than before. It's not a car that gets you from A to B...
in a fun way, but it gets from A to B in a very comfortable way. Like I said, the steering is light but not too indirect.
It's good. It's okay. Just like the interior. Sure, it can be nicer to look at and it can be more refined, like in the Polo.
But it's just good. It's jumps out without sparkling too much. And it doesn't have to, because the engines don't sparkle either.
In other parts of the world, you can have an entry level version powered by a 65 horsepower 1.0-litre petrol engine,
or a 1.5-litre 150 horsepower TSI. Both of which aren't coming to the Netherlands. Instead, we'll get the 1.0-litre TSI...
producing either 95 horsepower or 110 horsepower. You can get a manual gearbox or an automatic gearbox respectively.
Right now, I'm driving the first one. 95 horsepower and 170 Nm of torque. And it's just like the interior and chassis. It's okay.
And I think it's very funny, Skoda going for 'just okay'. The boost kicks in relatively early, and if you're driving around with your foot halfway down,
it's all good enough. You don't need to put your foot all the way down when you go uphill, so it seems to have enough power left.
However, if you start looking for power, there isn't anything left. You can put your foot down in the gear you're in, but it won't go faster.
The car will only start to make more noise. The engine kind of asks you the question how much car do you need, and immediately answers it.
This is all you need. It's spacious enough, it's comfortable enough, it's powerful enough, and it won't be a gas guzzler. So now it's all about...
the price. And traditionally speaking, it's the Polo minus a few thousand euro's. Having said that, it will be around €20.000 - €25.000 for a version...
with a few nice features. And you've got everything you need. But you won't be buying it for the driving pleasure.
Instead, you'll be buying it for this bad boy over here.