Skoda Fabia Greenline Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Skoda Fabia GreenLine range
Prices: £11,710-£12,360 - on the road
Insurance Group: 3
Emissions: 109g/km
Performance: Max Speed 107mph / 0-60mph 13s
Fuel Consumption: (combined) 68.8 mpg
Safety: Twin front and side airbags / ABS
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 3982/1646/14971mm

THE GREEN MILES

Our Rating: 7.4 / 10

Doing your bit for the environment doesn’t seem such a drag in Skoda’s Fabia GreenLine. Andy Enright reports

If going green sends you to sleep, the Skoda Fabia GreenLine models offer an easy way to do it without feeling as if you’re missing out on too much. Admirably economical and low in emissions, these diesel models also feature all the qualities that have made the latest Fabia one of Britain’s favourite superminis.

I need to get this off my chest. I’m getting a little bit hacked off with conspicuous non-consumption. You know the sort of thing; the smug little glance from the next door neighbour because his car is more economical than yours, the endless line up of celebrities looking to endorse the latest hybrid car, the guy down the road with his personal wind turbine who makes a face every time I drive by in a big 4x4 I have on test. To be honest, I’d rather do without it all which is why part of me sank when I heard that Skoda had hitched up to the environmental bandwagon. Seems I needn’t have worried. If you prefer to keep your environmental exploits on the down-low, the Fabia GreenLine could be just the ticket. It doesn’t shout its achievements, nor resort to weird styling, preferring solid engineering to get the job done. How very Skoda.

While we’re at it, here’s another personal bugbear: economy models of existing cars that use hard compound ‘low rolling resistance’ tyres to improve economy. Ask yourself how you’d feel if you aquaplaned off the road and caused injury or fatality as a result of saving a few quid on your annual fuel bill with such rubber. Thankfully Skoda hasn’t resorted to this sort of false economy with the Fabia GreenLine. To drive, this model feels much the same as any other 1.4-litre 80PS TDI Fabia. The steering requires no great effort, the gearchange is slick and positive and the pedal weighting is all very good. Factor in excellent all round visibility and you have a car that’s utterly unthreatening.

The second criterion buyers look for is ride quality. Just because you’re not breaking the bank doesn’t mean that the car should feel cheap when it’s on the move. The Fabia scores again here, with a well-damped ride that feels as if it belongs to a car in the class above. Thirdly, customers look for liveliness. The 80PS 1.4-litre is no sluggard either, getting to 60 in 13 seconds and hitting 107mph.

It’s easy to see where Skoda is going with their design language. If you’ve been paying attention to any of their show cars and concepts in the past few years, the shape of the Fabia will come as no great surprise. The economy benefits come courtesy of additional aerodynamic panels fitted to the underside of the chassis, the replacement of the spare tyre with a puncture repair kit and the raising of the front bumper by 35mm, further smoothing the airflow. Both the Fabia GreenLine hatchback and the estate are very assured pieces of styling.

The estate model offers passengers more comfort and also more space for the luggage then its predecessor. The boot has grown by 54 litres and its volume is 480 litres now. With the rear seats folded flat, the total size of the luggage compartment is 1,460 litres, 235 litres more than in the previous model. Skoda claim more rear knee and headroom than any rival, helped by the fact that the Fabia hatch is 22mm longer and 47mm taller than the model it replaces. Boot capacity for the GreenLine hatch stands at an impressive 300 litres with the seats in place or a massive 1,163 litres when they’re folded.

The GreenLine is based on the Fabia2 trim level and is priced at around £11,500 for the hatchback and just over £12,000 for the estate, figures that represent a premium of around £200 over the standard model. Despite the success of the Fabia, Skoda still recognise the limits of their badge equity – the upmarket Superb saloon taught them a key, and rather expensive, lesson here – and the Fabia is priced realistically while recognising the need to nudge the brand incrementally upmarket. Colours offered include Amazon Green, Magic Black, Brilliant Silver and Candy White, although I’d do without the latter colour’s optional GreenLine decals.

Equipment levels were never the Fabia’s strong point, relying instead on solid no-nonsense build quality. This time round there are items like electronically-controlled Climatronic air-conditioning