Skoda Fabia Comfort 1.4 16v 5dr

I thought I'd report on my time with a 2004 Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort automatic recently. I had the car for just over a week and in that time travelled over 750 miles. Let me firstly say that the jokes about Skoda are now well and truly over. They began to die out around 15 years ago when the Favorit was released - here was a modern(ish) front-wheel drive hatchback from the purveyors of the funny air-cooled cars with the engine in the back. While that first Favorit lacked a bit of polish (it was plagued with typical Eastern-European fit and finish), Skoda attracted the attention of VW who injected large amounts of cash. To begin with there wasn't much to ...  Read the complete review

Listen, I am NOT a petrolhead, so don't expect lengthy run-downs on how the car develops powerful low-end torque and so on... What I will say is IT'S ACE! Admittedly my previous car was a Citroën Visa Diesel, and so pretty much anything on four wheels would have represented a step up...but I have driven a lot of so-called "superminis", including the market-leading Polo (my fiancée has one), and the Fabia takes a lot of beating. OK, so everyone's first reaction is "OMIGOD IT'S A SKODA"...but thanks to a clever advertising campaign this is soon followed by "WOW IT'S A SKODA!", and then by ...  Read the complete review