Skoda Fabia review

Skoda has tried for a bit of interior flair with the Fabia, but it all comes off a bit like your dad in trainers. There’s Fabia branding along the instrument binnacle that feels out of place for its brashness, design details around the air vents that look like they should do something but don’t, and strange floating grab handles. Even the S K O D A badging on the steering wheel is OTT.

There’s also a strip of ‘look at me’ stitched fabric and coloured plastic that spans the middle of the dashboard – its job seems to be to distract from iffier materials elsewhere. There’s some clever interior touches (such as different sized cupholders) and a giant touchscreen. What more could you want in a modern runabout?

Well, space for taller drivers. The Fabia lacks the steering reach adjustment of rivals like the Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris so lankier owners will have to sit closer to the pedals than ideal. Still, that'll liberate some space in the cramped rear quarters, as Skoda robbed rear seat space to offer a class-leading boot.

Skoda claims the Fabia’s boot is the largest in the segment at 380 litres – way more than you'll get in a Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta – and it’s certainly roomy back there. Seats down you’ve 1,190 litres to play with.

There are a variety of cubbies and storage bins around the cabin (15 in total, if you’re counting), none of which are particularly envelope-pushing in terms of size. That is, until you get to the details, which Skoda is probably better at than any other manufacturer.

Yes, but what about the ice scraper?

Someone at the company has counted 42 of its ‘Simply Clever’ solutions in the latest Fabia, with four of them making their debut on the car. Old favourites include the ice scraper in the fuel flap (complete with tyre tread depth gauge) and the umbrella hidden in the door.

The new features include an elastic loop in the storage area in front of the gearstick that will hold your pen. That’s next to a little clip to hold your car park ticket. You can get a removable cupholder between the front seats (not sure what the point of that one is) and rear passengers have the option of a removable box in the transmission tunnel for squirrelling away small items. That’s before we’ve even got started on the wealth of elasticated fun you can have in the boot.

The heated windscreen and wheel are welcome options that have trickled down from larger cars, as well as the 10.25in digital instrument panel and LED ambient lighting. The spring 2024 update also means base-spec models now get an 8in digital display in place of the previous analogue unit. This has sporty red-motif graphics in the Fabia 130.

Do we need to talk about the infotainment?

It always comes round to the touchscreen when you’re talking about a Volkswagen Group product these days. The infotainment screen starts out at 8.25in as standard, onto the top spec 9.2in unit. In that last one gesture control becomes standard and you can spec a digital voice assistant – Laura – who speaks 15 languages. You’d think she could have got herself a better job with skills like that.

We’ve tried out both screens, and the good news here is that they mostly avoid the pitfalls of other VW Group products. There are buttons for all the things you’d like buttons for (i.e. air con), and the touchscreen itself is responsive and useful. You turn the air con on by twisting the temperature knob, but to change the fan speed you have to press the menu button and finish your business on the screen. Perhaps Skoda is assuming we’re all auto people.

We did have a couple of issues – on one early test drive the screen was irritatingly creaky along bumpy roads, as though it wasn’t tightly secured in place. The infotainment system also refused to fire up one occasion, requiring a couple of restarts of the engine to come back to life. Minor gripes in the grand scheme of things, however. Later Fabias we've driven since had no such issues. And the wealth of buttons for heating, infotainment control and mirror adjustment is refreshing in this day and age.

The two-spoke steering wheel is a pleasantly sculptural affair, with buttons to cover off your audio and cruise control whims. It's a common sense car, and we appreciate that.