Have I Got The Name Right?
by Malcolm Baylis (29 Dec 99)

Classic. Comfort. Elegance. It can only be Skoda. Pardon me? Skoda?

Yes, three trim levels which really do spell Skoda, in particular the supermini Fabia which goes on sale here next year. For a car manufacturer that has a history of ridicule longer than some have actually been in business, the Fabia is setting new standards.

Until 1997, the Felicia was Skoda's only model of real merit, and ground-breaking for the Czech Republic manufacturer. In six years the company's sales more than doubled, while this year sales have again increased, especially following the launch of the upmarket Octavia.

Surprisingly, most of the sales have been in central and western Europe, while the cars have proved less popular in eastern Europe where Skoda once dominated.

This could be because since joining the Volkswagen group it is not only the specification of the models that has risen. Prices have shot up, too. Skoda is no longer the cheapo car. The sales pitch today is not the price but definitely the quality, with company chiefs confident that quality will eventually see off the public's jibes that still, sadly, accompany the Skoda name.

Fabia is an all-new class of car for Skoda. It is longer and wider than the Felicia, and also stands taller. It was designed to be more compact, yet at the same time more spacious.

Volkswagen designed and built the platform for the Fabia (it is to be used by other VW family members, including Seat and Audi) but Skoda is responsible for the hat - the five-door body - and is producing the car on a specially-built production line.

To match the new car, and the thinking behind it, Skoda's marketing men have abandoned the LX, GLX and SLX that used to identify trim levels. Instead they have gone for Classic, Comfort and Elegance (something akin to the specification identification used by Mercedes-Benz), the view being that customers can adapt to this sort of labelling more readily.

When testing the Fabia, look out for the so-called comfort measurement, the headroom and the luggage area, because they are all good. There's plenty of legroom front and back, and that extra 33 millimetres of height over the Felicia makes a great deal of difference, too.

Engines offered from launch will be a 68bhp 1.4-litre, and a more powerful 100bhp, matched to the Classic/Comfort and Comfort/Elegance trim levels respectively. Put to the test, the 100bhp engine certainly carried the car well, while the 68bhp needed a lot of gear action.

Later in the year there will be a one-litre petrol engine producing 50bhp to go with the Classic trim, and two 1.9-litre diesels: a 64bhp for Classic and Comfort models, and a 98bhp unit for Comfort and Elegance trims.

Prices have still to be finalised, but Skoda chiefs reckon on £8,000 to £12,000 to cover the range. The Fabia will be offered with Skoda's usual three years/45,000 miles service and maintenance package, a three-year unlimited mileage mechanical warranty, the same for paintwork, and a ten-year anti-rust warranty.

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