We are testing the Skoda Fabia 2022 for the first time. It was a car that we liked with its driving dynamics and new technologies.
The world belongs to the SUV and without electric drive there is no longer a state to be made anyway – if the supposed experts are sketching the car market of the future, this is for conventional small cars as for the new Skoda Fabia 2022, which is ready for a first test drive, runs out of space.
But since they did the math without a Skoda. Despite all prophecies of doom, the Czechs are launching the new Fabia in September at prices starting at 13,990 euros (as of August 2021) and want to prove that the small car can also be found after almost five million copies in three generations and a good two decades still has a great future. You can take that literally with Fabia.
Because with the change to the modular transverse matrix from the VW Group, he is getting a lot out of the glue, adding around nine centimeters in the wheelbase and almost eleven centimeters in length. The result is dimensions that have so far been known mainly from the Golf class: 2.56 meters of wheelbase and 4.11 meters of length guarantee solid space, also in the rear and a trunk, which breaks all class records.
With 330 liters, the Fabia was already a really big one among the little ones, but it now holds another 50 liters more and thus actually catches up with the current generation of Golf. But that is not enough for Skoda: As one of the last of its kind, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 will soon be available again as a station wagon.
There are also more than 40 details from the “Simply Clever” section in the new Skoda Fabia 2022 – including a few new solutions such as the credit card and pen holder in the center console. The ambiance also takes a huge leap, as the first impression on the first test drive confirms. In the cockpit there are digital instruments, next to them a large touchscreen lures you into the depths of the infotainment and the materials are terrifyingly elegant: even a VW Golf looks upright and cheap when you compare it to the Fabia, which has been spruced up for the top version.
However, this climb is hardly available for free: Although Skoda has a basic price of 13,990 euros (as of August 2021) with a Spartan entry-level model, the Fabia can be reduced to 23 without extras and options. Drive up to 390 euros and thus proves a new size in this discipline as well. The new format not only creates space, but it also creates peace while driving – the larger wheelbase and the plus in track width make the Fabia noticeably more relaxed and adult. Dynamics are perhaps better off at Seat or Ford, especially since the Skoda steering is anything but sharp or pointed. But when it comes to relaxed, dignified travel, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 is the first choice among the small cars – and in this discipline, too, it knocks loudly on the door to the compact class.
And if you like it a little tighter, you can also lower it by 15 millimeters, just like a bad-road chassis with 15 millimeters more ground clearance. but also calmness while driving – the larger wheelbase and the plus in the track width make the Fabia noticeably more relaxed and adult. Dynamics are perhaps better off at Seat or Ford, especially since the Skoda steering is anything but sharp or pointed. But when it comes to relaxed, dignified travel, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 is the first choice among the small cars – and in this discipline, too, it knocks loudly on the door to the compact class.
And if you like it a little tighter, you can also lower it by 15 millimeters, just like a bad-road chassis with 15 millimeters more ground clearance. but also quiet when driving – the larger wheelbase and the plus in the track width make the Fabia noticeably more relaxed and adult. Dynamics are perhaps better off at Seat or Ford, especially since the Skoda steering is anything but sharp or pointed. But when it comes to relaxed, dignified travel, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 is the first choice among the small cars – and in this discipline, too, it knocks loudly on the door to the compact class. And if you like it a bit tighter, you can also lower it by 15 millimeters, just like a bad-road chassis with 15 millimeters more ground clearance. especially since the Skoda steering is anything but sharp or pointed.
But when it comes to relaxed, dignified travel, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 is the first choice among the small cars – and in this discipline, too, it knocks loudly on the door to the compact class. And if you like it a little tighter, you can also lower it by 15 millimeters, just like a bad-road chassis with 15 millimeters more ground clearance. especially since the Skoda steering is anything but sharp or pointed. But when it comes to relaxed, dignified travel, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 is the first choice among the small cars – and in this discipline, too, it knocks loudly on the door to the compact class. And if you like it a bit tighter, you can also lower it by 15 millimeters, just like a bad-road chassis with 15 millimeters more ground clearance.
Skoda Fabia 2022 Engine
While dimensions, appearance, and ambiance are a small revolution, under the hood of the new Skoda Fabia 2022 there is only evolution – because the three-cylinder engines were already in the predecessor, although the vacuum cleaner is now in the economical Atkinson cycle and the turbo in the Miller cycle to run. It starts with a 1.0-liter MPI with 65 or 80 PS, above it ranks the 1.0-liter TSI with 95 or 110 PS and at the top is a 1.5-liter TSI with 150 PS brings.
The weakest Fabia treats itself to a tenacious 15.9 seconds to 100 km / h and trundles over the motorway at 172 km / h. The top model not only manages the sprint in 8.0 seconds on the first test drive and is also at home in the left lane at 225 km / h. Skoda has curbed the thirst of the Fabia, the consumption has been reduced to values solidly below five liters and, as a result, the tank has even shrunk from 45 to 40 liters.
In addition to the optimized engines, this is primarily made possible by aerodynamics. The sleeker shape as well as a blind behind the radiator, new wheels, and more paneling on the underbody reduce the drag coefficient from 0.32 to 0.28 and make the new Skoda Fabia 2022 the class winner in the wind tunnel.
FOR THE TIME BEING WITHOUT ELECTRIFICATION
Five petrol engines, a manual switch, and a double-clutch – that’s not bad for a small car like the new Skoda Fabia 2022. But isn’t there something missing? Yes! There will no longer be diesel and there will be no electrification yet. One technology has survived and the other is too expensive to date.
The Czechs can only imagine an electric motor in the Fabia for the facelift in a good three years, and then probably only as an electric starter-generator and micro-hybrid. And instead of an SUV, the new Skoda Fabia 2022 will at best be a Scout version of the station wagon. So it should take a while before Skoda adheres to the prognoses of the supposed experts.
