Skoda Fabia

Our verdict

The Skoda Fabia Hatchback is cleanly styled, well made, quiet-running and sweet if unexciting to drive. An entirely logical choice, and possibly more dependable than the French supermini default. Owners absolutely adore them, and their dealers come to that –see the Top Gear survey.

Comfort

A strong point. There's plenty of space in that upright body. The ride is supple and the tyres and suspension quiet. The engines are well-insulated. The seats are supportive and the driving position adjusts to fit anyone, from dumpling-fed Czech farmer to size-zero British learner.

Performance

The base engine is a 60bhp 1.2, with an 0-62 time of ‘eventually'. But the same motor can be had in a 70bhp four-valve version and is sweet-revving and enough fun that you won't notice how slowly you're going until you try to overtake a milk float. There are 1.4 petrols and diesels, and the 1.6 petrol and 1.9 diesel are lively enough for most supermini tastes. But there's no hot-hatch vRS yet.

Cool

It shows you don't quite do the normal thing. It shows you're straight-thinking not ditsy or fashion-led. It's also good-looking in a chilly, northern way. Does any of that make it cool? Not terribly, but it's by no means an embarrassment.

Quality

Proven reliable and durable. As for interior quality, the stuff you touch and feel, the first Fabia was a real leader in this department, but others have now caught up while this second generation hasn't pushed on fast enough. It's still close to the front through.

Handling

Actually quite good. Which is just as well given that in a Fabia with the slower engines, if you slow down for a corner you'll never get the speed back. The steering has a slight layer of sog to give that ‘big-car' feel, but behind that it's quite lively. Grip isn't exactly hot-hatch-level though.

Practicality

Comes only as a five-door, which is the most practical supermini configuration. Decent boot. Good interior space in a reasonably compact overall length is handy for urban kerbside parking. Lots of interior storage options.

Running costs

There's a low-carbon Greenline version to keep fuel and tax right down. Depreciation is low, unlike for many ‘bargain' brands. But then Skodas aren't really sold at bargain prices any longer. Service intervals 10,000 miles, a long way for a supermini, and three-year/60k warranty too.