Fabia 1 year Ownership review

Well, the car is already off the self and selling no more, but still couldn't resist to post my review after driven it for more than a year.

I bought Fabia 1.2 HTP Elegance model in Feb-2013. I was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the car, both interior and exterior looks stunning and every bit of the material is of very high quality. I was worried about the milage and ASC of infamous Skoda. Luckily both of my fears proved wrong till now (touch wood :)

 

Exterior

 Nuetral design which looks beautiful. Not too funky but elegant looking. Very good build quality and feels very solid. Doors gives a solid thud while closing. Gives a feeling of very safe car comparing to a Maruti/Hyndai.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Very beautiful and practical. Quality of every bit of peice is top notch. Seating position is higher (driver side seat is height adjustable) and gives a commanding view of the road. Seats are wide and well cuishoned which gives supreme comfort. Good quality audio system have six dedicated buttons for preset FM channels which is very convenient. Full featured MID, including current trip meter, distance to empty, average mileage, instant mileage, distance/time traveled, clock etc. 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 Enigne is adequately powered for sedate driving, but aggressive drivers would be disappointed. This car is built for smooth road and is best driven on highways where it can easily clock 100-120 kmph speed effortlessly. The car is heaving and takes some getting used to, to get maximum out of it. Gear box is butter smooth and quite addictive I must say :). Fuel economy is OK for such a heavy car. I am getting 14+ in city driving and 17.5+ on highway runs, which is good actually. 

Ride Quality & Handling

 Ride quality and handling on smooth roads is excellent, but not very comfirtable and just OK on bad roads due to stiff suspension setup. Ground clearance is great, never scrached its bottom even onces! High speed handling is great! Car feels solidly implanted on road and gives confidence.

Final Words

 Extremely satisfied. Comparing to other cars, I have personally driven Alto, WagonR, Swift, i10, Brio and have observed them thoroughly, the quality of this German is way ahead (Brio/i10/Swift felt like tin boxes comparing to this tank!) . Another very important observation that I would like to mention, it age very slowly and gracefully, 3 years old and still feels like new (not only interiors but overall mechanical's like clutch, break, which feels worn out within 6 months in a Maruti/Hyndai).

Things I love:

-Beautiful cabin lights (have dimming effect) comes on automatically, once ignition is turned off/car is unlocked and turns off once ignition is turned on or car is locked. very very handy, specially in basement parking where you always need it as it is amost dark.

-Power windows works even after switching off the ignition and pulling out the keys. very convenient really, otherwise you need to keep the car 'on' for operating power windows.

-Gear box is extremely smooth and long range ensures excellent city driving.

-Great turning radius is a boon(don't know about figures but feels much better than my other car Alto). taking u-turn even on narrow streets is a breeze.

-Glove box and Boot have lights which comes on/off automatically, when opened/closed. 

Areas of improvement  

-There is no provision to lock front doors from inside (Rear ones have child locks). My daughter have openned door few times, while the car was running!!! ...scarry I must say...

-fresh/inner air circulation mode switch (electronic in Fabia) behave somewhat in random manner. It always comes in fresh air mode, whenever car when ignition turns off and on. but sometimes, it remembers the last position.

 

Overall, if you are a sedate driver, love quality and are OK with slightly higher expenses on fuel/service then its the car for you. 

quality, comfort, pleasurable drivingfeels under powered if driven aggressively