Not that that has helped the brand sell many. Skodahas moved only 484 examples of the Fabia over the first six months of 2016, which is tiny when you consider the biggest-selling city cars can sell four times that many in four weeks. And that figure includes hatchbacks and wagons…
The Skoda Fabia Wagon range starts at just $17, 140 plus on-road costs for the entry-level manual model, while the dual-clutch automatic ( DSG) model tested here kicks off from $21, 440 plus on-road costs.
That may seem a steep step up just to get an auto gearbox, but you also get more power.
The 81TSI version with the DSG transmission is powered by the same-sized engine – a 1.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit – but with the seven-speed auto it has 81kW of power ( hence the name) and 175Nm of torque, where the five-speed manual, 66TSI model has, you guessed it, 66kW of power and 160Nm of torque.
Fuel use is miserly, rated at 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres no matter whether you choose the self-shifter or the stick. To be fair to its competitive set, though, we used an average of 7.7L/100km over our week with the car, which included highway and urban driving. We’ll get to our driving impressions soon, but first, what are this thing’s competitors?
Well, there are no other light or city-sized station wagons on the market, but you could consider this a rival to, say, a Honda Jazz ( with its clever seating) , or just about any of the high-riding hatch brigade of small SUVs: we’re talking the Ford EcoSport, Holden Trax, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Mitsubishi ASX, Renault Captur, and even the Skoda Yeti.
The thing the Skoda has over all of those SUVs is boot space. In fact, with 505 litres of cargo capacity, it has more suitcase-swallowing ability than many cars in the medium segment. Its boot is just a litre smaller than a Mazda 6 wagon, and that car spans a further 608 millimetres from nose to tail. The best of the small SUVs is the Honda HR-V with 437L of cargo capacity.
