Skoda Fabia 2000 test drive - 2007 -

Conscious choice

The automatic gearbox, at least with us, is still perceived by some drivers as a completely unnecessary and at the same time also a very expensive blunt. But if, when choosing a used car, refusing an automatic transmission can be justified only by considerations of saving funds for maintenance and fears about his health, then with regard to new cars the issue of being or not to be resolved only with the help of a calculator.
 
If for a business class car such an option is sometimes provided in the basic configuration, then in this case, and today we test a relatively affordable small-scale car, the cost of an automatic gearbox is a significant percentage of the cost of the car itself. Therefore, such versions are bought, as a rule, only those who have already clearly placed all the priorities for themselves, and the presence of a machine gun for them, if not a vital necessity, is at least a conscious choice. And this means that such a buyer has already agreed in advance with a higher price and a noticeable deterioration in the dynamics. Well, let's try to evaluate the car through the eyes of just such a buyer, a passionate lover of machine guns ...
 
Actually, I personally, if I certainly need a car with an automatic transmission, would prefer six-, and even better-eight-cylid models: an automatic machine for some of them is best suited. But in this case, the need for such an option personally raises strong doubts, since Fabia with 1.4-liter engines is not famous for excellent accelerated dynamics. But during the test, which, by the way, just the next day after abundant snowfall, the machine quite proved its need for this car.
 
The average speed of movement around the city that day was approximately 12-20 km/h, and, frankly, if we had a machine with mechanics, I would probably quickly return the car to the car dealership. To engage in constant switching in traffic jams is not my favorite pastime. In this case, the presence of an automatic transmission was in handy. For two hours we traveled around the city, and each new mash no longer caused irritation. If you are not a racer and do not rush anywhere, then Fabia with an automaton is quite suitable for you. In ordinary city traffic modes, the machine does not annoy either thoughtfulness or jerking when switching. At least with three passengers on board the 75-horsepower Fabia seemed to us quite dynamic. Another thing is that it will be outside the city - to go on a protracted overtaking, and even on a car loaded under the eyeballs, probably not everyone will risk it. Anyway, if each time the gas pedal to the floor, Fabia will not look far from the best way: the engine at high speeds makes noise quite strongly, and the machine, if provoked, switches much sharper. It does not have a noticeable but noticeable effect on the dynamics of acceleration. You can try to switch manually, but it does not become easier from this, not in vain, because the 75-horsepower engine is offered only in combination with an automatic transmission. Now, if a 100-horsepower engine stood under the hood of this Fabia, the dynamics would be an order of magnitude higher, and so the acceleration is almost the same as the 60-horsepower version with mechanics. Although no, the car with a 60 -horsepower engine takes up to hundreds of 16.5 seconds, and the version with an automatic machine - 17.3 s. But given the nature of the car itself, such a dynamics is not at all annoyed, moreover, after a few kilometers, the driving style from Skoda Fabia already perceives for granted. The only thing that is very embarrassing: Skoda Fabia with an automatic transmission is already as a model of a higher class in the basic configuration.
 
Yes, the car turned out to be expensive, and it is the automatic to the lion's share of its price. But if you count, it turns out that in the end you pay extra not only for the presence of an automatic gearbox, but also for a whole package of additional equipment. Firstly, for the motor-as already mentioned, the 75-horsepower engine is offered only for this version. Secondly, for equipment - a modification of COMBI with an automaton is offered in versions of Comfort and Elegance. We had a comfortable machine on the test, which implies the presence of a whole package of equipment supplied already in the standard. This package includes: air pillow, immobilizer, adjustable steering column, radio training, a package for bad roads, hydroelectric power, a tachometer with digital clocks, a bumpers painted in the body color, an additional stopping system, an electric corrector of the headlights, an anti-pile filter in the heater of the cabin. In principle, this equipment is included in the list of standard equipment of almost all Skoda Fabia, supplied to our market, but specifically the Comfort combination involves the presence of several more options. Among them, the driver’s seat, the central lock, tinted glass and moldings, the on -board computer, the front windows, the front passenger air pillow and the external mirror color, the airbag, are adjustable in height. So if you calculate the cost of options, as well as additional LS, it turns out that for the machine itself you pay a purely symbolic amount.
 
By the way, approximately the same as our automatic Fabia, Fabia Combi is also in the Comfort version with a 1.9-liter 101-horsepower turbodiesel. And, as it seems to me, it will be much harmonious and more pleasant, even despite the lack of a machine gun. But if someone wanted to purchase a car with an automatic transmission, then other options no longer exist for him.
 
(+) High assembly quality, thoughtful ergonomics, a pleasant design of the COMBI version, a rather soft automatic transmission.
 
(-) mediocre dynamics, high price.
 
Text: Pavel Kozlovsky
 

Source: Auto -Gazeta / N 39 (342) dated 28.11.01