TestDRIVE
SK
OD
AF
ABIA
SPOR
TQU
ITE
like t
he
Fa
bia
Sport
1.9TDI.There y
ou
go
-I s
aid
it.Ikno
w
Skodais
not
apart
icularly
X-factor
brand.
But
being t
he
previous
owner
of
ajet
red
SkodaF
elicia,
I8217vealways
warmed t
o t
he
no-nonsensebadge.
But
perhaps
Ilike t
his
new
offering
not
necessarily
for
the r
easons
it
is
meant
tobel
iked.
It8217s
anicel
ittle
car
and
looks
the
business
too
.It
just
doesn8217
t
deliver
what
it
says
on t
he t
in
in
my
opinion,c
oming u
p s
hort
on
the
8216sport
8217!
Its
spoiler
look
and s
unset
glass
cert
ainly
gavei
t
enough
of
a s
port
y
appearance,b
ut
tod
rivei
t
didn8217
t
quiteh
ave t
he
puncho
fa s
port
s
car.
The
Fa
biaS
port
has
relatively
good
handling
and
pretty
pointed
steering.
But
its
pick-upi
s
wherei
t
needs
ab
it
of
a...
pick u
p.
The t
orque
just
wasn8217
t
quite s
harpe
nough.
When
the
foot
went
do
wn t
here w
asn8217
t
the
pulling
po
wer
I w
as
hoping
for.
It
was
ho
wever
ac
omfort
able,
solid,reassur
ing
driveand
import
antly,in t
hesed
ays
of
ever-
rising
fuel
prices,it8217s
extremely
economical t
oo
.The
1.9-litred
iesel
averages
57.6mpg
and
emits
129g/km
of
CO2
whichi
nanyone8217
s
books
is
impressive.
On t
he
motorw
ay
it
holds
its
own
witha r
easonable s
peed
att
ain
ed
.
Around t
ownh
owever
it
just
didn8217
t
pull
away
as
you8217d
expect.The
Fa
bia
Sport
is
a v
ehicle t
hat
makes
the
driver
workh
arder
withm
oreg
ear
change r
equirements
tok
eep t
hings
mo
ving
quickly
and
fluidly.
It
is
sur
prisingly
room
y
for
a
super-mini s
izecar.Ab
it
like t
he
Ta
rdis
8211as
you
climbin t
he
car
seems
too
pen
...
and
open.
This
is
import
ant
for
the
longer
driveand
rear
seat
room s
pace w
as
fine.
Ona t
rip
do
wn t
oWa
rwickshire w
e
held
our
owno
n t
he
motorw
ay
and
as
I8217vealready
pointed
out
econom
y
is
utterly
impressive.
There w
as
enough
room
for
our
small
family
tr
ip
and
child
car
seats
fit
into t
he
back
comfort
ably.But
should
a s
port
s
car
be r
emembered
for
miles
to t
he
gallon
and r
oom
I w
onder8230?
That8217s
why
Ifeel t
he
genuine
sport
y
car
lo
ver
will
probably
not
leap
at
the
chance t
ol
ook
at
this
as
ab
ona
fide
option.
The
Fa
biaS
port
has
16inchallo
ys,
ac
heeky
rear
boot
spoiler,a
nd
a w
ide
chrome-tipped
exhaust,a
nd
inside,
the s
port
ing t
heme
continues
witha
three-spoke
leather
steering w
heel.
It
looks
amillion
miles
from
my
ru
sty
red
Felicia!
Internally
too t
he
dashboardi
s
basicc
ompared w
itho
ther
sport
y
models.Idon8217
t
mind t
his
and
quite
like t
he
appealo
fm
inimalist
functionality
,b
ut
again y
our
sport
s
car
lo
ver
who
can8217
t
do w
ithout
chrome,lights
and
beeps
will
bea t
ad
disappointed.
My
1.9-litred
iesel
delivered
just
105bhp
and
perhaps
not
ane
ye-
ca
tchi
ng t
ime
from s
tandstill t
o
62mph
of
10.8 s
econds.Again
it
does
make y
ou
wonder
why
the s
port
t
agi
s
in
voked.
The
look
and
driveo
f t
his
car
gave
me t
he
distinct
feeling t
hat
this
model
might
beaholding
one,in
anticipation
of t
he
long
awaited v
RS.
Safety-wise w
e w
erei
ng
ood
hands;
withe
lectronicb
rake
enhancements,including
ABS,
electronicb
rakeforced
istr
ibution
and
adual-stage
Brake
Assist
for
emergency
stops,a
ll s
tandard.
Also,
all
Fa
bias
have r
emotecentrall
ocking
withd
eadlocks
and
ani
mmobiliser.
There8217
s
alot
tol
ike
about
this
car
8211
econom
y,looks,safety
,room
and
comfort
all
come u
ph
igh.
But
it8217s
under
the
bonnet
that
it
perhaps
under
performs.
The v
ehicle
Idrove w
ould s
et
you
back 163
13,155.
9679
Peter
Boothd
oes
freelance
motoring r
eviews
.Tocontact
him,
email t
akethetest@live.co.
uk.ICAN
AS
KO
DA
REALL
Y
BE
SPOR
TY?
PETER
BO
OTH
FI
ND
SO
UT8220
8221It
didn8217
t
quiteh
ave
the
puncho
f
a s
port
s
car
0-62
mph:
10.8s
Max
speed
mph:
118
Max
power
(bhp@ r
pm):
105/4,000
Max
torque(
Nm@ r
pm):
240/1,800
Combmpg:
57.6
CO2
g/km:
129
Price: 163
13,155VIT
ALST
AT
S
60CI
TY
LI
VI
NG
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