Skoda Fabia Estate Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Skoda Fabia Estate
Prices: £9,360-£14,380 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 2-4
Emissions: 109-180g/km
Performance: [1.4 16V] Max Speed 115mph / 0-60mph 11.5s
Fuel Consumption: [1.9 TDI] (combined) 57mpg
Safety: Twin front airbags / ABS
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 4229/1642/1498mm

FABIA CARRIER

Our Rating: 7.4 / 10

Is there still a market for supermini-based estate cars? Skoda thinks so and it’s hard to argue with its Fabia Estate. Steve Walker reports.

Do you believe in love at first sight? If you don’t, Skoda’s Fabia has never been the car most likely to persuade you otherwise. Despite being almost spookily competent when it came to things like practicality, build quality and value for money, the Fabia has never been a supermini to set your heart pounding and your bottom lip drooling after the briefest encounter. The latest model follows along these low key lines and as you’d imagine, grafting on an estate bodystyle does little for its charisma quota. You discount the Fabia Estate at your peril though. This highly user-friendly car might have the capacity to seduce you on the sly.

Being too straight-laced was the only criticism that the old Skoda Fabia received with any regularity. Otherwise, it was a fine supermini and in estate form it had even more practicality to call upon. There was even the suspicion that the car’s lack of obvious sparkle could be attributed to Skoda’s Volkswagen Group paymasters wanting to protect sales of the Polo. The latest Fabia addressed this to an extent with its curvier lines and distinctive blacked-out A and B pillars. The Estate version inherits this look but still lacks the verve of rivals like the Renault Clio Tourer, Peugeot 207 SW and MINI Clubman.

In the main, power options for the Fabia Estate mirror those of the Fabia hatch. 70bhp is the starting point as the amount delivered by the 12-valve 1.2-litre HTP engine and from there, petrol buyers can step on to a 1.4-litre 16-valve with 85bhp or the 1.6-litre 16-valve with 105bhp. Anyone after rip-snorting performance shouldn’t really be looking at a Fabia Estate in the first place but if you want a bit more muscle for getting heavy payloads off the line, on of the 70bhp 1.4 TDI, 80bhp 1.4 TDI or 105bhp 1.9 TDI diesels should suffice. These direct injection oil-burners lack refinement not being the supermini sector’s most advanced units but they don’t come up short of mid-range urge. Even the 70bhp option turns in 210Nm at 1,600rpm. The petrol engines are smoother but the 1.2-litre has to work hard to get a fully loaded Fabia Estate moving. Thankfully, Estate does with out the weedier 60bhp 1.2-litre unit offered in the hatchback.

The Estate is only 20kg heavier than the hatch, so it drives much the same - that’s pretty darn well, for those unfamiliar with Skoda’s supermini. The Fabia’s suspension handles rough surfaces with some grace but remains composed through the corners with far less body roll than you’d experience in a taller supermini-based MPV. The pointy steering also helps the car deliver a pleasant driving experience. It’s no ball of fire regardless of the engine you pick but it has the basics nailed down making it an amiable companion across the full range of UK road conditions.

If room is your thing, the Fabia is a good supermini to go for so it follows that the estate isn’t short of capacity. It’s actually nearly 24cm longer than its hatchback relative and viewing the two cars side by side, you can believe it. The estate looks altogether lither and less stubby with its extra side window and the shallow angle of its tailgate. The extra dimensions have helped Skoda engineers achieve a 480-litre boot capacity with the seats up, some 180 litres more than you’ll cram into the hatchback. Fold the 60/40 split rear seats flat (a less than straightforward operation that involves removing the headrests) and there’s an Albert Hall-esque 1,460 litres. That’s 297 litres up on the hatchback.

The styling of the Fabia Estate follows on from the hatch. It’s more distinctive than Fabia models past which just looked like the budget Volkswagens they, in essence, were and today’s car has evolved its own themes and character. The Fabia Estate does classy about as well as a small estate car can with its chrome grille and the roof bars on the plusher models but it’s palpably no MINI Clubman. The looks should be engaging enough for what will be bought primarily as functional vehicle and the Fabia Estate is more impressive still on the inside. The Volkswagen influence is in evidence in the cabin with an upmarket element to the switchgear and the materials. Again, the Fabia isn’t exactly brimming wit