Skoda Fabia test drive since 2007 -

Unisex in the big city

Once they were bought reluctantly, considering it inferior. Now they are torn off with your hands! The city cars were first appreciated by the girls, and for some time and representatives of the stronger sex. Arguments for and against were looking for Mikhail Gzovsky. Photo: Konstantin Yakubov.
What clothes to choose for the city? Comfortable, sports cut? They will not understand at work. Business suit? It’s not too comfortable and I want to pull off the tie from the neck. So we rush between solidity and convenience.
This applies not only to clothes, but also to cars. And everything begins when we see a beautiful thing
AT THE DISPLAY WINDOW
He quickly wins the audience. Look: there is something in it from the mini! A tightly shot down, self-confident on the wheel placed in the corners, Suzuki-Svift rolls around the city, concentrated on itself. Whether the matter is Mazda, a real fashionista! A look stops at such: an envious female assesses the makeup headlights, enthusiastic male slides into the bends of the figure.
Let Fabia not mislead you with a feminine name: in Skoda you feel the masculine principle. If you look closely, you might think that Swift and Fabia are relatives.
And what's good inside? Swift hospitably opens huge front doors: sitting down! The ingenuous chair will not have to move back and forth for a long time and play with the tilt of the back, sit down quickly. Do not even experience difficulties with talling 190 cm. Another hint of belonging to the men's club? This thought is reinforced by the design of the salon: perhaps too ascetic and deprived of a hint of playfulness.
Mazda antipopodes Suzuki. Having opened the door, you get into a female salon: playing the front panel, an window of a liquid crystal display. Having looked closely, I find other stylistic directions. A convenient steering wheel - with a round hub of sports, and the gear lever taken to the console is spied on mini -wenes. The image turned out to be memorable and cheerful!
Well, Skoda for fans of the German lifestyle. The perfect order on perfect roads, the ideal organization of movement. Boring? Perhaps rationally! Fabia in the Sport configuration is fully consistent with the above principles. The seat should, first of all, hold, and not demonstrate softness. Devices are required to inform, which means that there are no experiments with location and design.
The discreet interior of Skoda again forces parallels with Suzuki. But the Czech car treats you with great attention. The rectangular jaw of the console with an audio system and climate control is functionally flawless, steering wheel switches and light control are clear, like a multiplication table. Have you decided with the style? Then
Choose the size
It is as difficult to evaluate the car on the move as the convenience of winter boots. Only after a couple of days you will gladly understand that you will not get wet, stepping into a puddle, or with irritation, state: the shoes are too heavy.
Having drove several tens of kilometers to Suzuki, you note the spacious both in front and behind the salon. The rear doors open a large opening, the central tunnel does not interfere with the average passenger, the supply above the heads is solid. A little more, and Swift would have received the highest rating for passenger places, but on the next bump, one of the colleagues sitting behind his colleagues felt the sedelic of a hard seat frame. Maybe it is better to Mazda with her more energy -intensive sofa, even though the salon presses three in the shoulders?
The Czech car in spaciousness is only slightly inferior to the Suzuki, but everything spoils the hump by the central tunnel, completely repelling the hunt for the three of them. The margin of knees is decent, but what if tall passengers rest on the lower part of the front seat? Having gathered a consultation, they decided: Suzuki leader.
Skoda is instantly recouped in another discipline. She has the most spacious trunk, and a full -size wheel is laid under the floor. The only pickup will need a few extra seconds to lay out the rear seat: they will go to dismantle the headrests. In Mazda, the backs are leaning back in one appointment. But the luggles in the kopeckoy will fit less, and to load it is not so convenient to narrow the opening. Here it is, the secret of the spaciousness in the back seat of the Suzuki pantry here is very small, 20 and 56 liters less than in Mazda and Skoda. It remains to decide what is more important: the rear passengers or a place for purchases? If here the priorities are placed, it's time to the mirror
In the fitting room
Propaganda great power, it is able to make people believe in anything. Robotized mechanical gearboxes are a good example. The convenience of the machine in combination with a low fuel consumption! Advertising screams, and we believe, we believe we have learned to ride a robot! Recently, they proudly told me in the representative office of one of the companies. From the lines close to the manufacturer, you will hear such revelations infrequently.
The robotic box of Suzuki brought the expected disappointment. The gap between the driver and the robot is very great. The swift box is far from the worst of the semiautomatic devices, but still, when accelerating to the floor, it makes you nod on each switch. On some models, you can smooth the nod, a little release of the gas pedal (it is this recipe that firms unraveled!). Such a number does not pass from Suzuki, he holds the transmission with perseverance, continuing to promote the motor even in economical mode. Theoretically, you can switch to manual control, but why then buy a car with such a transmission?
Grasping the short -lived lever of the Mazdovsky box, he breathed a sigh of relief. The programs are turned on unmistakably, the adhesion pedal is moderately short, therefore, even provocatively rapid transitions upwards do not cause synchronizers. Great transmission!
But Skoda is not a mistake. The box has longer strokes, but this does not interfere with the desired transmission. But there may be problems with the start: the inclusion of the clutch is excessively stretched, the engine does not immediately react to the gas pedal and is not ready to move off idle revolutions.
The best in the nomination was Mazda-2: it has not only the most powerful, but also the most elastic engine, ready for promotion to a limiter and for craving on the bottoms.
Living in a big city means to inevitably fall into stressful situations. Suzuki withstands them with honor: he does not seek to seem to be a sports score, but willingly enters the turn, confidently holds the trajectory and obediently reacts to the correction of the steering wheel. The most pleasant thing is that the car does not seek to get out of control, getting on uneven asphalt. Even considering that there is no stabilization system on Swift, it will not frighten an unexpected maneuver. What, alas, cannot be said about Mazda.
The koroshka, to a certain limit, behaves almost exemplary, but behind the facet of standard modes goes into a deep skid. An experienced driver is able to straighten the situation with a traction, but the rest is not easier from this! What are the reasons for this behavior inappropriate tires, the absence of a reptile stability stabilizer? I will not say for sure. There is no ESP on the test car. Probably, electronics would be able to renounce the arrogant kopeck piece. However, if you put controllability at the forefront, you can force the car to obey without putting on an electronic collar. The creators of Fabia managed this!
Skoda demonstrates a hint of insufficient rotation, but try to make her break into the skid! With the stabilization system turned on, the behavior practically does not change: electronics allows you to go actively and even allow gliding, pulling only at the last moment.
Three cars appeared very different before us. More male Fabia, sophisticated mazda and universal Suzuki. To everyone according to needs
Suzuki Swift
The debutant of the car dealership in Paris 2004. In Russia, they have been sold since 2005
Gasoline engine 1.3 l (92 hp)
Gearboxes 5-speed mechanical and robotic.
Configuration of 6 types.
The price in Russia is 407 000452 000 rub.
+ Spaciousness on the front and rear seats, understandable controllability.
- A modest trunk, thoughtful robotic box.
General assessment 7.9
Reliable control and restrained in design car. But time takes its own against the backdrop of contemporaries is perceived too modest.
Mazda 2
The new generation was represented in Europe in March 2007. In Russia since the spring of 2008.
Gasoline engine 1.5 l (103 hp)
Gearboxes 5-speed mechanical, 4-speed automatic.
Configuration Energy, Sport.
The price of basic versions in Russia is 424 000549 000 rub.
+ Excellent accelerated dynamics, a clear drive of a manual gearbox, a memorable design.
- The noise from the tires in the back of the cabin, a tendency to drift.
General assessment 8.1
Bright appearance and light controls allow you to close your eyes to not very good behavior on the vihi of the machine without a stabilization system.
Skoda Fabia
The second generation debuted on the salon in Geneva 2007. A few months later, the combi station wagon was shown.
Gasoline engines 1.2; 1.4; 1.6 l (69; 86; 105 hp).
Gearboxes 5-speed mechanical, 6-speed automatic.
Classic, Ambiente, Sport, Elegance configuration.
The price of basic versions in Russia is 343,000574,000 rubles.
+ Good accelerated dynamics, excellent brakes, confident behavior in the bend, comfortable front seats, the most spacious trunk.
- limited space for the legs of the rear passengers, a gone gas pedal.
General assessment 8.4
Restrained in appearance and internally, the machine conquers the driver with verified handling and ergonomics.
Border passions
Life in the city determines the characteristic injuries of the car. Almost the main enemy when parking borders, especially sprinkled with snow. So before buying it is worth paying attention not only to the size of the road clearance, but also to the overhang of the car, especially the front. To damage plastic on Mazda and Suzuki is very easy about the curb with a height of 170 mm. Skoda looks preferable: 210 mm to an elastic plastic skirt, which is trimmed with the edge of the bumper.
Mikhail Gzovsky: Different forces are capable of pumping a pendulum in favor of one of the cars. Dry calculation whisper: Suzuki; Driving experience will tell you: Skoda. But it will be difficult for them to defeat love at first sight
Mikhail Gzovsky
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"