Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI (Old)

Climb into the Fabia, thud the characteristically-solid doors shut and you are in an environment that feels alien for a hatchback. The maturity of the design, upmarket feel, high levels of quality, and the way the doorpads have been built all give you the impression that you’re behind the wheel of a 10 or 12-lakh rupee car. The insides actually look and feel better than those of its more expensive and larger cousin, the Octavia and that’s no exaggeration. There is not a cheap-looking plastic button in sight (okay, the AC knobs aren’t great), everything works with a solid, slick feel and what completes the picture are the top-class quality and colours. Particularly cool-looking are the dials and doorpads of the car, both designed delightfully.

There is plenty of room for tall drivers, with lots of seat travel (there’s more legroom here than in a Fusion), seat height is adjustable and you can adjust the steering wheel for reach and height as well. This makes a big difference to comfort behind the wheel and you can drive for hours without feeling any sense of fatigue. Still, there were some things we weren’t too impressed with. The steering wheel feels oversized, lateral support on the seats isn’t great, the seats not holding you as firmly as they should, and electronic climate control console should have been added as well.

Passenger space at the rear of the Fabia, however, is generous, the long 2462mm wheelbase providing more than sufficient legroom to seat six-footers. There is decent space in the footwell too and thigh support is good, but the seatback is a little too vertical. Overall, however, comfort levels on the rear bench seat are quite good for a car of this size. And then the cloak of hush the Fabia throws over you with its super insulation just goes to add to the feeling of comfort.

Storage space at the front is also generous. The central console has cubbyholes and cupholders, the doorpads can take a full-sized bottle and there is a clever rubberised band to hold items in neatly. Both gloveboxes are tiny and oddly shaped however and don’t hold very much.

Not so the boot which, at 300 litres, is frankly massive. There is a clever parcel tray at the rear as well that can be placed at two levels for added flexibility. 
Equipment levels, as expected, are high. You get powered mirrors, windows and doors, airbags for driver and passenger and an MP3 audio system with an auxiliary socket for your iPod or similar device. And the four-speaker music system on the car we tested played loud and very clear, with a strong mid-range, but rear speakers were strangely missing. Also very useful is a trip computer that tells you how efficiently the car is using its fuel in real-time, refreshing every few seconds.