Skoda Fabia Euro NCAP 4 Stars
First things first ditch all those preconceptions!
Skoda cars may well have deservedly been the butt of many a joke during the 1980s, but make no mistake the Skodas of today must not be tainted with the same brush. Ignore them at your peril!
As if to prove the point, more than 56,000 Top Gear readers, who rated 152 cars in the magazines annual owner satisfaction survey, voted the Skoda overall number one car manufacturer of 2006, with the Octavia, Fabia and Superb all making the top ten.
The Fabia is no exception being amongst the best superminnis available in the marketplace. The original hatchback won Diesel Car Best Performance Car 2004, and What Car? Best Supermini for three years running, and its got better since then! Elegant and solid looking, stylish, reliable and fun to drive the Fabia has intelligent electronics and exceptional safety standards. You
will be convinced youre driving a car several classes up from a supermini.
There's currently a choice of four petrol and three diesel engines, with a range-topping vRS. Available in Saloon, Hatchback, Estate and RS hot hatch the. Fabia has built a reputation for strong reliability. Another ace up its sleev is that the Skoda holds on to its purchase price better than many of its peers. Add to that impressive fuel economy, low servicing costs and affordable insurance groups, and it seems to be one of the cheapest small cars to run.
The Fabia 1.4 TDi will appeal to anyone of a frugal mind and a green conscience with its VED B banding and superb fuel consumption figures of 61.4mpg combined and 68.9 extra urban. To top it all, for those living or driving within the London congestion charging zone (with CO2 emissions of only 120g/km) this cost
concious vehicle could save you £1000s of pounds per annum as its one of only a handfiul of cars currently exempted!
Currently offered in four trim levels, Classic, Ambiente, Sport and Elegance each providing a good levels of standard equipment.
The Fabia was given a 4 star safety rating by Euro NCAP and each model comes with dual front and side airbags as standard, as well as ABS and electronic brakeforce distribution.
Every Skoda comes with a 2 year Unlimited Mileage Warranty, with a third year of warranty valid up to 60,000 miles, as well as a minimum 10 year anti-perforation warranty. Despite the brands top
ratings for Mechanical Quality in JD Powers 2006 industry report, for your peace of mind Skoda also provides 3 years roadside assistance (thought provokingly called Skoda Assistance) via RAC.
It is available 24 hours a day every day of the year and as it is vehicle based anyone driving your koda may take advantage of the service. All new vehicles supplied by kodaAuto in the UK are automatically entitled to koda Assistance both in the UK and when travelling in
Europe.
About the manufacturer
Skoda say they designed their cars to have a minimal impact on the environment at all stages of their lives from manufacturing stage, usage and ultimately at the end of the vehicles life. All engineers involved in the development process are given internal guidelines and extensive information as the basis for creating
recyclable products. In addition to avoiding the use of hazardous substances, Skoda are also increasingly using recycled materials as well as labelling materials of all applicable vehicle components with their material types, to aid identification and subsequent
recycling. Documentation is prepared and made available to recycling companies to ensure environmentally friendly recycling at the end of a vehicles life. Parent company, VW Group Uk, has
formed a partnership with Cartakeback.com to provide a Government approved national network of certified dismantling companies to receive and take care of the environmentally friendly recovery of used skodas.
A large range of used parts from vehicle repairs are taken back by Skoda every year and remanufactured on an industrial scale The remanufactured parts are sold across the world with a full manufacturers guarantee under the Genuine Parts scheme. Valuable metals like platinum and rhodium are extracted from old catalytic converters and used in ones. To further increase the economic recycling of end of life vehicles, koda has developed and tested the VW-SiCon process. This allows the shredder light fraction to be processed and put to optimal usage. The first large-
scale industrial plants to use the VW-SiCon process are being built or are in the planning stages. When operational Skoda believes a recovery target of 95% for end-of-life vehicles is attainable
Skoda has also been working on reducing servicing requirements. The servicing intervals for modern models are currently up to 50,000 km, with extended servicing intervals depending on the model and the usage of the vehicle. This means the disposal of old oil and other used parts is therefore much lower
Introduction of modern FSI and TDI engines as well as the automatic DSG® direct shift gearboxs are helping to reduce fuel consumption and emission levels. Skoda is also working to increase the longevity of its vehicles as longer a vehicle can be used, the less burden there is on the limited raw material resources of the plane. It should also give owners a financial gain as well!