Skoda Fabia Hatchback test drive since 2010 Hatchback

Marriage of convenience

HAPPINESS IS NOT IN MONEY. And not even in their quantity. Happy is the one who always has enough money. Including the purchase of Fiat Punto or Skoda Fabia.
The car is chosen as a bride - so that beautiful and rich, but true and unpretentious. Electric package-focus, modern outfit, ease of maintenance and low price. Agree, such requirements do not always marry each other, and perhaps a Korean matchmaker can help in such a delicate business. Meanwhile, most Europeans have made their choice for a long time: the car should be moderately comfortable with small dimensions, safe and economical. When we have European prices for gasoline, and the number of cars per capita will become in megacities similar to similar indicators of Europe, our consumer will no longer divide cars into male and female and reflect on how to bypass the new engines on the volume of more than two liters. It was then that the time will come Fiat Punto and Skoda Fabia.
Blonde or brunette? Outwardly, Punto is a typical representative of the Mediterranean: cheerful colors of the bodies, frivolous moldings-layers, peace-loving optics, huge windows-a sort of aquarium on wheels. Thanks to small overhangs, it looks much more impressive than it really is. And among the dirty gray Moscow snowdrifts, this car is a clear stranger-his place under the bright southern sun, in the interior of white rocks and an evergreen shrub. By the way, the previous Punto was more cosmopolitan, and this explains its deafening success in Europe - more than 3 million cars were sold.
In the guise of Fabia, a heavy Austro-German imperial genius is felt: predatory headlights, a grilled radiator, an abundance of chromium. However, for the Skoda concern, this is already a handwriting: Octavia, created on the basis of Golf, externally claims almost to the representative class; Fabia, for which VW Polo served, is also trying to look more solid than it really is. By the way, it really is. The platform is a platform, but Fabia is more than Polo both in dimensions and in the wheelbase. This shows the policy of the Volkswagen concern, which actively raises the image of the Czech brand, aim mainly to the Western European market, and not to the east. If there they buy a Czech car, then for 60 percent. From German components.
Fun or strict? Inside the same picture. PUNTO has a bunch of designer twists: circles-ellipses of the panels of devices, ventilation deflectors, door handles. PPP switching handle The size of a ball for a pool. The steering wheel is almost in the hand with a thickness. On the dashboard - as many as three deep troughs, even the tongue does not turn to say that for the little things, they are so voluminous. In that, in front of the passenger, you can successfully marin the barbecue for summer gatherings.
In Fabia, everything is quite gloomy - an absolutely smooth torpedo made of gray plastic, strict devices. The gearbox handle is small and angular, like the handle of a folding umbrella. Against this background, the upholstery of seats with drawings of dancing men looks strange - is this a hint of youth?
In the sense of amenities, both cars are similar as twins-brothers. No frills, except in Punto there are front windows. The rest is exclusively manual labor, which, as you know, is ennobled. Standard audio training and heating the rear window. Yes, even in Fabia there is an adjustable steering column and tachometer. In Punto, the instrument panel is simple as on Ford T, a huge speedometer and fuel pointer. In both cars there is a pillow for the driver.
Fat or thin? If we compare the comfort of two cars, then the idea comes to mind that Fiat is addressed primarily to the driver and one front passenger, which is logical-according to statistics, two-thirds of all European cars are carried by no more than one or two people. The back of the seat does not end at the level of the shoulder blades, but quite comfortably works out the entire length of your body. You can move close to the rear shop, so there is enough space even for the longest legs. Only three headrests of the posterior seat embarrass - a clear attempt to pass the desired for the real one.
Fabia, as befits an Eastern European limousine, often stuffed to the eyeballs, tries to take care of all passengers-let the driver squeeze his legs in a tarakanya, but no one will feel the deprived space behind. The difference of a couple of centimeters in width is also quite noticeable. In Punto you can relax and even attach the elbow on the windowsill of the driver's door. In Fabia, you can freely be located only in the summer, when a T -shirt or a light shirt is on the body. The winter jacket is already cramped.
Living or steppe? The character is to match nationality. Punto starts easily. It briskly accelerates in the first or second gear, but then the ardor passes. When driving at a city speed of 50-60 km/h, the rise to the overpass or departure from the tunnel turns into a real assault. The car frankly does not pull in the fourth gear, and in order to maintain cruising speed, you have to switch to the third or to the second - depending on the steepness of the slope.
And Fabia is the first car in which they felt newcomers at the wheel. Since they could not move the first time - the engine was elementary, without reacting to the weak work of the gas pedal. The second time I had to press almost to the stop - the engine howled, the tachometer arrow jerked to 4 thousand revolutions and only then Fabia deigns to go. But in second gear, the engine suffocated quite quickly - the motor roars, the car does not drive. It seems that the Czech gearbox does not go very much with German nodes.
When braking, both cars behave - they stall instantly, it is worth gloating a little on the blonde in the neighboring BMW. Yes, the elasticity of the engine makes you want more.
Nervous or calm? Fabia and Punto have almost the same pendants and their characteristics. Fabia was constructed, and in the new Punto Italians worked the rear on the principle ago to the future. It is executed according to the simplest scheme - longitudinal levers and a beam. Like in front -wheel drive basses. In the sense of durability, this is a plus, in the sense of comfort - a minus. Firstly, Punto is noted on almost every bump of the road. He can be said to not even miss a metal ruble lost by a running pedestrian - all this painfully responds to the spine of the driver and passengers. And along an empty trunk, an echo of the suspension is constantly walking - it is great annoying the driver in the absence of a tape recorder in the car.
Fabia swallows the irregularities of the road a little better, but still harsh. However, this is not bad. The Czech car keeps the road a little better than Punto, even in rather risky turns. By the way, by some miracle, our Fabia was equipped with a contrasting system. At least the corresponding indicator lit up on the dashboard at the time of the engine starts.
Yes, we ourselves will be brought up! We specifically drew attention to the simplest configurations of Fabia and Punto. These cars guarantee the owner the main thing - freedom of movement. Everything else is secondary, but quite achievable for additional money.
Fabia is available in three modifications: Classic, Comfort and Elegance. The level of comfort increases in proportion to the price - ABS, a course of course stability, air conditioning, electric mirrors, and so on, almost without imagination limits, appear. Including the cooling system in a large glove compartment and in a small one from the driver. There would be a desire to invest a lot of money in a small car.
One of the authors had to ride Punto in Spain. There were ABS, the second airbag, air conditioning and the so -called steering wheel heavier. This system allows you to forcibly establish force on the steering wheel in the modes of the city and highway. In Europe, they love and appreciate comfort.
The appearance of the most empty versions in our country does not mean that this notorious comfort is alien to us. It’s just that, according to an established Russian habit, many are ready to bypass a minimum, counting on a bright future. And when it comes, we will be happy to buy small cars with great opportunities.
Text Dmitry Gronsky, Nikolai Kachurin, photo Alexey Ilyin

 

Source: "Autopilot"