SKODA CASHES IN (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Andy Enright

Introductionword count: 174

Skoda's original first generation Fabia used to be a car that came with qualified praise at its launch back in 2000. 'It's good for a Skoda', 'it offers a lot of bang for your buck', 'it's set to break into the big league' and so on. Read between the motoring journalist-speak and it was clearly a car that offered a decent deal for the money but couldn't level with the best superminis. Cars like the Ford Fiesta, the Volkswagen Polo and the Peugeot 207 all queued up to give the little Skoda a good working over. Much of that changed when Skoda relaunched the Fabia in second generation guise in 2007. It was suddenly a car to be taken very seriously. The qualifiers suddenly disappeared from the road test verdicts and the Skoda faithful looked rightly smug. The car we look at here is the facelifted version of the second generation Fabia, introduced in 2010 and running through to generation three, which was launched at the end of 2014. Here's what to look for.

Modelsword count: 28

5dr hatch, 5 dr estate (1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0 petrol, 1.6, 1.9, 2.0 diesel [S, SE, SE Plus, Greenline II, Elegance, Black, Reaction, Monte Carlo, vRS, vRS S2000])

Historyword count: 342

The 2010 model year updates to the Fabia were unveiled at that year's Geneva Show and comprised new engines, a fresh face and a whole raft of technical refinements. The range at launch included three 1.2-litre petrol engines of 60, 70 and 105PS outputs and 1.6-litre TDI diesels in either 90 or 105PS guises. Hatch and estate models were announced concurrently, with the Fabia vRS hatch and estate sports models arriving in July. These got a 1.4-litre TSI twin-supercharged petrol motor good for a healthy 180PS. That month also saw dealers get their first stock of Greenline II 75PS 1.2-litre TDI diesels. These were billed as Skoda's most environmentally conscious car to date and it was hard to dispute, the 89g/km emissions figure attracting plenty of buyers. Skoda does tend to love a special edition or two and in November 2010, the first of this shape arrived in the form of the rather lovely vRS S2000 to commemorate Skoda's success in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The next one was hot on its heels, with January 2011 seeing the launch of the rather more tepid Fabia Monte Carlo. In May 2011, Skoda inserted an SE Plus trim level into its range, featuring unique upholstery, sunset privacy glass, climate control, multi-function steering wheel, electric rear windows, storage boxes under the front seats, protective black side mouldings and a Media Device Interface (MDI) with connecting cable. The front of the car got a minor tweak at the start of 2013, with the Fabia now wearing the revised badge and sporting 'Skoda' lettering on its bootlid. In summer 2013, Skoda launched the Fabia Reaction edition, priced at £3,715 less than the normal price of a 1.2 hatch. Air-conditioning, alloy wheels, and Meteor Grey paintwork were included on a decent equipment list. In June 2014, Skoda launched a value-packed Fabia SE, shaving 20 per cent off the previous retail price and then announced the Black special edition. Later that month the third generation Fabia was announced, which was duly unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October.

What You Payword count: 8

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