AB FAB

Skoda's fourth generation Fabia will appeal to sensibly-minded supermini folk. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Skoda's fourth generation Fabia makes up in sense and practicality for anything it might lack in dynamic looks and pin-sharp handling. All the latest VW Group chassis technology has finally made it to this supermini model line and the result is a very complete product indeed.

Background

Skoda's modern day renaissance can broadly be traced to one model, this one, the Fabia supermini. The design we look at here is the fourth generation Type PJ version, launched in 2021 and building on a heritage stretching back to 1999 when the MK1 Fabia arrived to replace the old-fashioned Felicia model. That all seems very long time ago now. Today, the Skoda brand is so in tune with the times that the Volkswagen Group has chosen it to develop its forthcoming range of small electric cars. But for the time being anyway, in the Czech maker's line-up, there still a place for a conventional combustion supermini like the Fabia. This MK4 version was the last of the VW Group superminis to get the brand's MQB-A0 chassis, a platform that by 2021 had already been in use in cars like Volkswagen's Polo, SEAT's Ibiza and Audi's A1 for half a generation. It was certainly needed for this Fabia, the previous car having been based on elderly PQ35 underpinnings dating all the way back to a turn-of-the-century MK5 Golf. It should make this fourth generation Fabia bigger. But has it made it better?

Driving Experience

Most Fabias are sold with the brand's 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine and Skoda has taken the opportunity of updating the more powerful version of it with a unit from the brand's EVO2 generation. That's increased power output from 110PS to 116PS; as before, a 6-speed manual gearbox comes as standard, with a 7-speed DSG auto optional. As before, the range also offers two more affordable 1.0-litre units; the older-spec 1.0 TSI unit in 95PS form (which can't be had with the auto option); and a normally aspirated MPI 1.0-litre engine with 80PS that's mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and is offered for budget minded folk. We'd avoid it unless you particularly need the cheap insurance ratings that come with that engine. At the other end of the range, there's still a larger 1.5-litre TSI four-cylinder petrol unit with 150PS, paired non-negotiably with the DSG auto 'box. Expect solid rather than engaging roadgoing drive dynamics - in other words, tuned for comfort rather than engaging handling. Skoda has made the damping noticeably softer than, say, SEAT Ibiza and more like a Volkswagen Polo, which shares this Czech model's conventional torsion beam rear suspension set-up. There are no mild hybrid or plug-in powertrain options - they'd push the price too much.

Design and Build

Visually, this fourth generation Fabia is clearly an evolution of what went before. It looks noticeably bigger than the old pre-2021-era NJ-series MK3 version and is, 11cm longer than that older model. The headlights feature part-LED technology as standard and the sharply drawn crystalline tail lights can also be had with LED tech on request. There are sleek aerodynamics too - the Cd factor is rated at 0.28. The biggest changes for modern-era Fabias though, are found inside, where mid and high-spec models feature a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel; an 8-inch display features further down the range. The centre stack screen offers further sophistication, available in a choice of 8.25 or 9.2-inch sizes. Soft plastics are noticeable by their absence, but there's a strip of fabric along the middle of the fascia to break things up. As usual with Skoda, the cabin features a range of 'Simply Clever' touches - a possible 42 in all - like an umbrella in the door armrest, smart phone holders in the front seatbacks and rubbish containers in the door cards. Rear seat space, aided by the 94mm wheelbase increase, is near class-leading, as is leg room. There's a big boot (for a supermini) too; it's 380-litres in capacity - as big as you get from a Volkswagen Golf from the next class up. And it's full of various nets and partitions, plus a hammock for loose items.