Fabia 1.4L Petrol ... 26K Kilometers done.

[Aditya]

I guess the first thing most people asked me do when I wrote an introduction was to write a review about my Fabia. Looks like no one is interested in a review of the Pulsar 180 UG IV!!

I think I will have to break up the review into two parts … the first will be pure car – I don’t think I plan to say much wrong about it. The second will be about the Skoda part of it – some unparliamentarily language may escape me!!

The love affair I guess started in the previous edition of the Auto Expo in 2008, where the Fabia was displayed … there was this gorgeous car in red with a white roof that stopped me in my tracks, an activity which was previously mostly limited to the hostesses!! Got the details, prices and all, and barely managed to keep my drool off the vehicle.

Shortly after that, I shifted jobs, and my “car of choice” as indicated to the new employer was the Fabia … top end, 1.4 Lit Petrol, with the works … Sun Roof, Projector Lamps and all. It cost, with an MH registration and with the corporate registration pretty much close to 8 lacs, and I think there were quite a few people in the company who were sure that the new employee was bonkers for having gone for a hatch when many a good sedan was available at that price!!

Had to wait nearly 2 months for the car to be delivered, and my one gripe at that point of time was that the Red colour that I chose was not available with the black trim which I wanted … Red only came with the beige interiors. Am not a fan of seat covers, but the grime that does show on the light seat fabric comes off easily during the regular shampoo sessions that I lavished on the vehicle.

Since the purchase and delivery was handled by the company, I did not have any experience of the showroom or the delivery time and procedures or whatever … in fact the vehicle was delivered to the office, and I remember then that there was a decent amount of petrol in the tank … Pleasant surprise no. 1. Pleasant surprise numbers 2 and 3 was the fact that there was no prescribed run-in period, I could thrash the vehicle from day 1 … and the first service was due in only 10K km.

Proximity to the Mumbai Pune expressway and a lot of other ghat sections saw a lot of early morning high speed runs … It never gave an impression of excessive power, but always was there to play, if you were willing to play with the gears. It really comes into its own in the twisting mountain roads, when the prodigious grip and the low squat stance gives the vehicle a road holding that I had not experienced before. And with dual airbags, ABS and what not, you could be tempted to explore the limits.

The interiors are phenomenal … height adjustable seats, I agree you see a lot of those … but on both sides on a hatch? Lovely electric sun roof, cool controls and a deep deep instrument panel … wish it had auto aircon though. The indicator stalks on the wrong side (for us Indians!!) takes a bit of time to get used to, and the fiddly controls for the trip comp. will need that you actually read the owners manual!!

Mileage … Log book says 14.1 km after 26K of driving … it has been pretty constant … A/C on most of the time … and I would assume about 50% of those km are long trips … which predominantly see me trying to break the sound barrier!! Have managed an indicated top speed of 185 kmph on the eway, but since the spec sheet says that the top speed is 180, I am assuming either speedo error, or maybe a small downhill slope. To get decent slingshot overtaking, you need to work the gearbox a bit, the peak torque comes a bit high at 3800 rpm, but once you get into the groove, it is really great. That, coupled with amazing grip means you can enter into curves at a speed higher than, and exit faster than most other cars do.

One problem which I faced was getting a replacement for a tire that I managed to crack the sidewall of, that was achieved by going over a big sharp stone in the middle of the road just when I was overtaking a bus. 185/60 R14s are not very common, and I had to visit more than a few tire shops before I got a JK replacement … the originals are some European brand called Matador. Set me back a fair bit more than the typical tires too!!

The sound system that came as OE fitment is amazingly good. I had to fit rear speakers, but the pre-fitted front speakers are real good. The system display doubles us as a reversing display when you are backing up, so it provides a great (and pretty accurate) visual estimate of the distance you can go before you scratch your bumper.

OK …. Now for the gripes with the car … just one come to mind – It has a pretty low ground clearance … 146 mm, which means that you have to be very careful with speed breakers, there are those scattered all over the place!!

The service and the spare parts part of the story is a bit more morbid. I had actually to go back to the dealership twice past my initial visit to get them to rectify a niggling sound from the Instrument Panel … in an otherwise extremely quiet car, this was an irritant … finally had to get the blower replaced to rectify that. The spare-part for the same had to be ordered from the factory, and that meant a two week delay. In the process of replacing that, they managed to disconnect the blower direction selector, and I had to troop back to the dealership again to get that done right.

Free services are not really free … the oil change puts you back 4.5K, and I always get my wheels balanced at an external agency, where I can see the job being done, otherwise that is another thou. I had replaced my wiper blades, that 1500 that I kissed goodbye to, and I sorely missed the Maruti spares prices then.

But all in all, it is a car I have fallen in love with, again and again. And when I am on a hill road, listening to ‘Life is a Highway”, I am kind of willing to wait a bit for my BMW M5!!

Hope I have piqued your interest with this … any questions, please shoot, will answer them the best I can!!

Fabia Rocks!!!

[RSM]

Great report aditya, but one important thing is missing, where are the pictures.. Please put all old & new pictures.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Am not a fan of seat covers.

Why? Any particular reason.

Originally Posted by Aditya

The interiors are phenomenal … height adjustable seats, I agree you see a lot of those … but on both sides on a hatch? Lovely electric sun roof, cool controls and a deep deep instrument panel.

Really these are excellent features.
Sedans comes cheaper than this, but those doesn't have any of these.

Originally Posted by Aditya

The indicator stalks on the wrong side (for us Indians!!) takes a bit of time to get used to.

Same with Punto. I think these cars have steering controls directly from Europe.

Originally Posted by Aditya

The sound system that came as OE fitment is amazingly good. I had to fit rear speakers, but the pre-fitted front speakers are real good.

So Fabia doesn't come with OE rear speakers. This is sad, it should have.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Fabia Rocks!!!

Yes it does.

[Akash]

What about skoda A.S.S.? I have heard lot of ills about it.
Anyways nice review. But do post some pics.

[Zinam]

Nice & detailed ownership report Aditya!

[Crazy cat]

Excellent report Aditya! Post some pics of your ride too.

No rear speakers in the 1.4 top end version?

[Aditya]

Thanks all for the appreciation.
Will work on the photos!!
Will reply to the specific queries too.


@RSM
Re the seat covers ... maybe just an idiosyncrasy, but fact is, unless you go crazy with the money and put in leather seat covers, nothing will match the original for looks.
You put on a decent seat cover, you end up sitting a bit higher, and maybe closer to the steering. At 6'1", I would like to avoid that.
We are allowed our whims, right?

@Akash.
Kind of touched upon the After sales part in my diatribe ... but any specific queries?

@ CrazyCat
No !! [:(]
But got some decent ones fitted, and now my neighbours are complaining!!

[RSM]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Kind of touched upon the After sales part in my diatribe ... but any specific queries?

I think skoda parts are costly, as you mentioned. How about its availability?
And fabia is the biggest car in hatchback, how is the interior space?

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by RSM

I think skoda parts are costly, as you mentioned. How about its availability?
And fabia is the biggest car in hatchback, how is the interior space?

Availability, save for the fast moving spares, is a problem. Like I mentioned, they needed to replace the blower unit, and it took some time for it to land up from the factory ... 10 days or so!!

The interior space for the front seat is amazingly good.
By the time you have adjusted the passenger seat to the rearmost, lowermost position, you are ready to sleep! There is an amazing amount of seat slide available, and even the Ht adjustment takes you over a large zone.

In the back seat, I really don't know!!
But three people sitting in the back is not very comfy, because the center tunnel is very high, so the center guy sits with his feet way up, or intruding into the side passenger's leg space.

[Umang]

Very well written report aditya, fabia is great car in terms of looks. do post some pics soon and hey we want to know about your experience with Skoda till now.

[Akash]

Glad to know you arent having any troubles with A.S.S. Its not good here at Nagpur.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by Akash

Glad to know you arent having any troubles with A.S.S. Its not good here at Nagpur.

They are not brilliant out here in Pune either!!

[RSM]

All A.S.S has some problems and some good things.
Overall Maruti and to some extend Hyundai, have very good reputaion.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by RSM

All A.S.S has some problems and some good things.
Overall Maruti and to some extend Hyundai, have very good reputaion.

Absolutely agree. Maruti has worked hard at CSI and all those touch factors which keep the customer happy, and that is why they have such loyalty in their customers.
Have not experienced Hyundai, so can't comment.

[Aditya]

Attaching a few photos of the Fab!!