Skoda Fabia Sport Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Skoda Fabia Sport range
Prices: £11,325-£13,470 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 2-4
Emissions: 120-165g/km
Performance: [1.9 TDI] Max Speed 118mph / 0-60mph 10.6s
Fuel Consumption: [1.4 TDI 80] (combined) 61.4mpg
Safety: Twin front, side and curtain airbags / ABS
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height 3982/1646/14971mm

CZECHS AND BALANCES

Our Rating: 7.4 / 10

We’ve never really considered the Fabia a sporty model and the Sport versions probably aren’t going to change that fact. Andy Enright reports

As long as you don’t get too worked up by a Sport badge that confers no dynamic advantages, the moniker on this Fabia variant being a mere nameplating job, there’s a lot to like about this car. It’s good value, looks a bit less pedestrian than other Fabias and is decently equipped.

It’s easy to get very cynical about cars that wear a Sport badge. More often than not, the only sport they’re good for is raising the hackles of a neighbour who’s got the bog standard version. Whenever we receive notice of a Sport model, the first thing we tend to check is the suspension. If it’s been uprated, then we’ll give a certain degree of respect. If the engines and tyres have been given a pep up as well, then that car is fine in our books.

Then there are models like the Skoda Fabia Sport; resolutely unsporty cars, given some window dressing. That’s not to say this Fabia is a bad car – far from it. Merely that if you’re expecting something a little more focused to drive than a normal Fabia, you may well come away disappointed. Think of it as a stock Fabia made a little better looking via a 15mm drop in ride height and it seems a sweeter prospect.

There are no great surprises as to how the Fabia Sport drives as it is mechanically identical to the rest of the Fabia range. This in itself is a car that borrows heavily from the underpinnings of the original Fabia, a car that never really focused on keen drivers. Even the vRS model was a rather modest diesel. The latest Sport model can be specified with either of two petrol units or two diesels, so there’s no shortage of choice.

The petrol range kicks off with the three-cylinder 1.2-litre HTP 12v engine, developing 70bhp. The next step up is the 105bhp 1.6 16v engine. Go for diesel and there’s a 1.4-litre TDI unit good for 80bhp and a 1.9-litre TDI that’ll make 105bhp at the top of the range. The basic underpinnings - a MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear - haven’t changed a great deal from the old Fabia but tuning to the damping means this car rides a good deal more smoothly. The steering wheel requires a bit of arm twirling lock-to-lock but it’s a decently accurate helm and the gearchange is one of the best in its class. Visibility out of the car is a bit of an issue with the thick pillar

Let’s take a look at the Sport-specific features of this model. As mentioned before, the engines and suspension systems are stock Fabia, so this is no go-faster version. Instead, customers get 16-inch alloy wheels, a boot spoiler, front fog lights, a chrome exhaust pipe and rear diffuser. The overall effect is to give the very unthreatening Fabia shape just a couple of degrees more attitude. 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 front end mimics that of the Roomster mini-MPV while the rear end is a lot cleaner, offering a more conservative tack than the Roomster’s weird kinked window line. In fact, the splayed shoulder line of this car and neatly sawn-off rear pillars aren’t dissimilar to the Suzuki Swift. It’s a very tidy styling job and serves to make the old Fabia look positively archaic.

It’s a notably bigger car too, the subsequent growth of the family hatch in size giving this Fabia a bit more room to let its belt out and remain a fully fledged supermini. Skoda claim more rear knee and headroom than any rival, helped by the fact that the Fabia is 22mm longer and 47mm taller than the model it replaces. Boot capacity stands at an impressive 300 litres with the seats in place or a massive 1,163 litres when they’re folded.

As well as the wheels and spoilers and other external trimmings, the Fabia Sport is reasonably well equipped inside too, with a three-spoke leather trimmed sports steering wheel, curtain airbags, sunset glass and sports seats. Skoda claims that this little lot tots up to £1,825 of added value for a premium over the Fabia2, on which the Sport is originally based, of Around £1,000, making this virtually a half price sweep through Skoda’s options list.

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 ai