The Volkswagen Polo and the Peugeot 208 are both in the top 10 best-selling cars in the Netherlands. Skoda would like to join that list with the new Fabia – the largest and most spacious Skoda Fabia ever. Here are 4 reasons why it might work.
We are dealing with the Skoda Fabia. It has only now been fitted with the MQB A0 platform, while the Volkswagen Polo and Seat Ibiza have been benefiting from it since 2017. In fact, both models recently received a facelift because they had been on the market for four years. Now we are curious what it is better to buy: a brand new Fabia or a renewed Polo.
This article is based on an extensive comparison test in Auto Review 1/2022. The Peugeot 208 also participates in this, as an alternative to the practical Czech or sober German. We’ll ignore him online.
Reason 1: you have more legroom in the Skoda Fabia
The new Fabia is bigger, wider and higher than the Polo. Skoda’s newcomer is therefore the most spacious car. In the front you have more freedom of movement and passengers in the rear do not believe that they are in a B-segment car, because the legroom is spacious and the width at shoulder height makes the occupants of the competition jealous.
Reason 2: Fabia trunk is the same size as Golf’s
The trunk of the Volkswagen Polo is adequate. It has a volume of 351 to 1125 liters, but the new Fabia brings a gun to a knife fight, because its luggage space is just as big as that of the Volkswagen Golf, namely 380 liters. If you fold down the backrest of the rear seat, you can take 1190 liters with you.
Would you like to receive an overview of the most important car news of that week on Friday afternoon?
Enter your email address.
Reason 3: The Skoda Fabia is more economical than the Polo
The Fabia 1.0 TSI with 95 hp consumes in practice: 5.6 l/100 km (1 to 17.9). Oddly enough, the technically closely related Polo 1.0 TSI is a gulp thirstier. It consumes 6.0 l/100 km, which equates to 1 to 16.7.
Reason 4: The Skoda Fabia is cheaper – Volkswagen is fooling you
The price list of the new Fabia starts above the magical price limit of 20 grand. The 1.0 TSI costs 20,390 euros. You can do business with Volkswagen for 19,990 euros, but don’t fall for it. Then you get the ultimate entry-level: the turbo-less 1.0 MPI with 80 hp. The Polo 1.0 TSI in our test has a base price of 22,390 euros and is therefore more than two thousand euros more expensive than the Fabia.
In terms of fixed costs, the Fabia also has an edge. His maintenance costs are slightly lower, as is the motor vehicle tax. The Skoda is also the cheapest in business lease and private lease.
Conclusion
We cannot ensure that the Skoda Fabia becomes more popular than the Volkswagen Polo. Although it wouldn’t surprise us, because the newcomer from the Czech Republic offers a lot of space, mature driving characteristics and a friendly price tag. It offers such a solid overall package that it beats the technically closely related Volkswagen Polo.
Do you want to know how the Peugeot 208 performs? Curious how the Volkswagen Polo hits back? Read the full test in Auto Review 1/2022. Buy it in the supermarket or online in our webshop.