Skoda Fabia Hatchback test drive since 2010 Hatchback

Three small differences

March 8 is close to close. But you will still have time to give your beloved the most profitable supermini.
  
With a focus Duma
Class B cars are still considered female. It seems that it will pass even a year or two, this anachronism will also become obsolete. In the meantime, we follow the occasion of public opinion and mass consciousness. In the spring, it's time to choose a city baby for yourself, for a friend. But there is one catch. It is called Russian focus.
 
Now you can buy a decent equipped golf-class model for less than 13 thousand dollars. More recently, they asked so much (and received it!) For a supermini car below. Why pay more if you can take a car more prestigious for the same money?
 
Then let's set the task as follows: finding super -cheaper than 12 thousand, with a purebred origin, acceptable dynamics and good equipment. Is it possible at once, and even for earthly money?
  
Three are called to the platform. Skoda-Fabia The leader of the domestic market of Supermini, Opel-Kors, who began his career in Russia for the repose, but recently rapidly gaining fans, and Fiat Punto, the sale of which in our country can be called just ahov.
 
Little dog to old age puppy?
It is curious that such a difference in popularity can be explained by anything, but not different image of these machines. After all, Skoda to a certain extent interferes with its socialist past, Fiat Zhigulevsky inheritance, and Opel is inexplicable neglect that our compatriots nourish this brand, considering it the least prestigious of the great German four.
 
As for little dogs, do not tell the owners of Beijes, Yorkshire terriers and Mexican crested dogs about this saying. You can’t get the trouble. After all, these tailed impaired are almost like brand new Lada, and they are acting even worse than used, but we were distracted. It seems that the assertion that in Russia and in a penny they do not put cars less than nine are a thing of the past. And how not to respect such supermini as Fabia? In the end, the Skoda shortly chose only 5 cm. The existing nonsense! But it is not a shame to go to such a premiere to the Bolshoi Theater, at least at the reception in Baldchug.
 
And what is worse than Fiat or Opel? They, like Skoda, of course, are not from the nobles, we will leave the role of gentlemen to the new mini and Mercedes A-class so, a little bourgeoisie. But not the proletarians. The owner, and even more so the owner of such a car, is it difficult to suspect of a bad taste is that so little?
  
But I am not noisy like a little, like one -story
Of course, this is a matter of taste, but personally, I have the design of small cars that causes the greatest sympathy. A large all -terrain vehicle and in the absence of a style attracts attention at least its size. The creators of Supermini have more complicated the task. Firstly, make the baby stand out in the crowd of trucks, buses and trams. And secondly, to maintain a proprietary personality and at the same time like everyone. Perhaps the designers of Skoda and Opel perfectly coped with the second part of the task, but the first did not work out too much ...
 
     

Modern and lady each in their own way of Opel is playful-rounded, Skoda is strictly straight-up, both of the vehicles seem pretty, but no more. The monumental chrome-made grille of the Fabia radiator can cause an ironic smile, and the original lumberry lamps on the rear racks of the Corsa are clearly not enough for the title of beauty queen.
 
Punto noticeably more fun. The appearance of the fiat is not just not annoying, but makes the heart beat rapidly. The dashing slanting under the punching on the side decorates the car, like a man of a man, sculpturally flooded rear stop-signals resemble ancient frescoes, pretty and cunning physiognomy falls in love with itself. Beautiful wretch! High sports notes are heard even in the form of bumpers. The only missing detail in this architectural ensemble is alloy wheels. Well, this is a profit. What prevented the puntika from dialing the highest score? Maybe slightly excessive filability. After all, not everyone's thorns are likely.
 
Furnished rooms
The interior of the car is continuing its appearance. It is not surprising that Skoda is an example of impeccable taste and conquest restraint inside. By design, she, like a monastic cassock, is not a single grip, nor a hint of frivolity. But the quality of manufacture! Imagine, there was a place even for chromium. Yes, yes, the Eleganes equipment implies chrome tsatski! But even without this slightly children's coquetry, is the earrings of a five -year -old fashionista? Skoda looks convincing. The plastic on the panel is soft not only in appearance, but also to the touch. Isn't the fit of details impressive? And ergonomics? Everything reads perfectly, everything is greatly grouped, everything is at hand. Sit in the back? No problem. We have repeatedly said that in this component Fabia even beats Octavia. So again they repeated
 
   
Fabia salon is a high class in everything: from the materials of the torpedo and seats to jewelry fitting panels
   
You may not feel a shkoda gloss in the corsa, but you will not have to blush for the quality of the assembly quality
   
Punto combines a bright individual interior design with practicality and convenience. Sorry, a cramped back row pumped up
 

The only budget detail in the entire salon is a cheap strap of trunk closing. But sometimes Skoda’s salon looks like an apartment in which they had just finished renovation: they laid parquet, pushed chic wallpaper, laid out expensive tiles, but they have not yet brought furniture. There are a lot of bashful plugs in the beard, the standard place under the radio scares the thieves with a depressing void. Black holes, of course, can be filled with useful and not very bellows, only the price of the car will go far beyond the limits of the minimum of $ 12 thousand set.
 
       
It is impossible to confuse the salons of Skoda, Opel and Fiat, even if you mentally remove branded emblems from the lamb

Corsa is much more democratic. Here they did without chrome dishes, but there are more pies on the plate. The assembly, by the way, is also on top, and in the room in the rear seat, Opel looks even more preferable. So you can reproach only a little banal design. A typical apartment, if you like, a public reception. But not the author’s interior.
 
       
All three quarters of switch appliances were pleased with excellent readability

And I will ask fans of stunning exotic to Fiat. This apartment is something between a magician shop and a carnival in Rio. But the most amazing in the crazy riot of buttons, drawers, deflectors, pockets, as in any chaos, has its own logic. There are no complaints about managing the air conditioning, you generally steer music with one finger, the cup holders on hand, the glove compartment is very roomy, the review is excellent. Of course, not everyone will like the supercharginal door handles, but the roller roller roller cranes. But the seat with a long pillow, helpful, but not too hard side support and four -band adjustment simply fell in love. At the back, however, in the puntika is more doubtful than in Corses and Fabia, half a bell, but you can live. Sadly famous Italian assembly? No traces. The only thing in an unheated car somewhere in the area of \u200b\u200bthe front racks whistles a cricket. Well, with whom it doesn’t ...
 
     
 

Less means better
Typically, basic motors for supermini natural consumptions. On a 50-horsepower liter of Fabia, it is good to send only for death. By and large, the minimum acceptable for Skoda should be 68-horsepower one and four. Although he is generally neither fish nor meat: a modest volume, archaic structure of only two valves per cylinder, and even strangled ecology for the sake of. In a word, sitting behind the wheel, you quickly understand here we will not let us eat. And exactly it's just a motor for calm movement in space. Not brisk below, not joyful upstairs. Yes, and not very economical. The character of Fabia would have approached the Volkswagenovsky 75-horsepower 1.4 liters, so if you do not bite chickens.
 

The 68-horsepower 1.4-liter engine is perhaps optimal for Fabia in price/quality ratio

Imagine how Fiat and Opel were pleasantly surprised against this background! For nothing that the working volume of their engines is more modestly 1.2 liters, but there is much more sense from them. A 80-horsepower puntik is still a clockwork toy: turned the key, and it rushed. After the first kilometers, you just fall in love with a fiatic. Only a little more gas at the start and more carefully with an incredibly short clutch pedal, its working move is two times less than Fabia and a funny trip is provided. The 16-valve motor does not buzz, does not burst, does not feel sick and not even lucky, but runs merrily, dashingly, with a breeze. Usually, it is customary to say to justify the weak motor, they say, for the city there is enough Fabia, Au! But the Punto engine will fit for the highway.
 
A 1.2-liter Opelian ecotek is also a bait. For fiat, he may not be stolen, but he will not put his master flawed. Quite adequate acceleration. However, our Corsa was also equipped with a semi -automatic gearbox of Iseronik, which is interesting in itself.
    
Winter recipe
Operation instructions for Opel reads: leaving the car in the parking lot, transfer the lever of Isetronics to position N (neutral) and tighten the handbrake. However, in winter, such parking can lead to freezing of the rear brakes. To avoid an unpleasant surprise, do it as follows: having parked, transfer Isetronics into manual mode, turn on the 1st gear and turn the engine. And the car will not roll, and the brakes will not grab.

This is not a machine gun in the full sense, but a mechanical box in which the driver is only the process of choosing programs to wise with clutch is entrusted to the computer. Did we like Isetronics? In general, yes. Of course, there is no smooth switching of a full -fledged machine. With active driving in fully automatic mode, Isetronics work, perhaps, you feel rudely shocks, as if the programs are switched by yesterday's graduate of a driving school. But with a calm style of driving jerks, no jerks are not observed.
 
The same picture is manual. If you increase the gears without removing the legs from the gas, be prepared for easy amazing. But when switching for a moment, remove the leg from the accelerator pedal, I used to do it very quickly and all the type is. But how convenient it is to slow down two light swaying with the engine, and with the fourth Car has already switched to the second. For a beginner, just a find! There is no question about standing in traffic jams. Appetizing and price. $ 550, three times less than for a full -fledged automatic. Do you guess why the Corsa buyers vote in Russia for their money -know? Of course, for Isetronics.

Mal, yes
We repeat, it is a pity that the 75-horsepower Volkswagen engine is openly expensive for Fabia. Indeed, with such a motor, the possibilities of the Skoda chassis would be revealed to a greater extent. Its manageability in no case can be called sports, but probably academically correct, verified, predictable. A harsh chassis kills any buildup in the bud. In turns, Fabia shows close to neutral rotation. And all that prevents this car from calling this car, a slightly empty steering wheel, but a motor without a fee. Typically female version.
 
Corsa, by the way, is controlled no worse. A hard body, an elastic suspension, a well -tuned steering wheel, this Opel is by no means a profan in turns. In the same way as Skoda, the car does not float on the waves, allowing you to keep high speed on the highway. But a more painful and powerful engine allows not only to go, but when you wish, a little frolic.
 
On Punto, in general, I want to throw all things away and just leave to ride. Only the low energy intensity of the suspension was alert. And the rest of the song! Firstly, the most sharp steering wheel is here, and secondly, responsive to the orders of the chassis driver, which perfectly complements the combat character of the motor. Not supermini, but hot, well, let it be a warm hatchback. The main thing is that at the limit the fiat does not scare the driver too sharp, such as Peugeot 206, reactions. Yes, Punto does not force you to go aggressively. Forget about the cool engine and about the capabilities of the chassis, switch the two-band Dwal drive steering to the City mode and now relax even in the most terrible traffic to you will be calm and comfortable, like at home on the sofa.
 
Little Mercedes
The horseman motor can hide the deposits of a car for the driver in Skoda, but he, of course, is not able to spoil the impression of the comfort of the car. Where to begin? From the fact that Fabia has the best super -insulation among all supermini? Inside, she, like a little Mercedes-Benz. Or maybe it is better to sing the praises of the suspension? It is wonderful energy -intensive, if it is harsh, it is moderately so much that the driver does not leave confidence: even if we catch a hole, it's okay. Is it worth it to throw off half a bell for this? On the contrary, I would add.
 
But it is not a sin to learn to learn the suspension from colleagues from Mlada-Boblyava to learn how to learn the fiat. If Punto copes with minor irregularities, then more serious flaws are transferred to the body. In addition, there is a suspicion that, having yawned even a shallow hole, you can break through the suspension. A pinch of stiffness here would clearly not hurt. Maybe just install a package for bad roads?
 
After all, this is what they did on Opel. And Corsa now copes with the hueks, rivers, and crayfish are no worse than homegrown Zhiguli. Yes, it’s a bit harsh, but on the stabilizers stabilizers saved on an unscheduled replacement of stabilizers, you can buy a mother -in -law souvenir. Life will sparkle with new colors.
  
Safety from your pocket
If the inevitability of the Euroncap crash tests is known to the creators of the machine in advance this is very good. It is not surprising that all three superminations held on to have been great when they were beaten with their muzzle on a pillar, receiving 4 stars. Yes, only for safety in all three machines will have to be paid separately. Indeed, in the database, only Cors has a driver’s pillow. Would you like side eirbegs and inflatable curtains? Bring your money. The same story, for example, with ABS. Opel, however, boasts of a pedal knot folding when hit. However, as all the same European crash tests show, the vaunted PRS system does not always work effectively.

Points on I
Unfortunately, the level of trust in society has not grown to such an extent that oral money can be injected. And if so, let's sit down for the calculators. It is then that it turns out why, with all the advantages of Punto, Little Fiat is not yet popular in Russia. Dealers complain about the absence of a version with an automaton of such modifications, by the way, they will get to the show rooms for this spring, but the matter is also in price. It was then that Puntik pumped up. The basic equipment of the car is very generous air conditioning, driver's eirbeg, fog -tank, corrector and headlight washer, heated seats, immobilizer and rudder of the steering wheel Dyul Drive, but only all this is worth it. For a five -door they ask $ 12,600, a three -door body for five hundred cu cheaper. Dzi-y-yu! Incorrect answer, transition. Because the Punto, let it be talented, but still supermini, climbs into the territory of the Russian focus. It is a pity that fiat dealers decide too much for buyers. However, perhaps the situation will change with the advent of less powerful 60-horsepower punto on our market.

     

 
Lands of mirrors are extremely uncomfortable

The switching button for the dual-band steel-drive steering wheel amplifier

Road computer control keys and electronic clock
  
Magnificent seats with a long pillow and unobtrusive side support

Radio tape recorder from Blaupunct pleases the tuner with a good technique

Not the best solution of the windows button on the front panel
  
Contrast blue decoration adorns the interior

For an additional fee, the musical system can be supplemented with a subwoofer in the trunk

The original door opening handle will not like everyone
 

Fabia, although not without difficulty, fulfilled the norm of the TRP. Skoda with a 68-horsepower engine in an acceptable configuration and this will be comfortable with the addition of air conditioning for about $ 11,600. The eleance version of the eleance, which includes mandatory cast discs and the chrome decoration of the salon, is already $ 12,300. Perhaps this is perhaps too much.
    
 


Such gaping voids do not paint a car at a price of over $ 12,000

Anti -loner visors cover the space above the rear view mirror
  
A bilateral seal around the entire perimeter of the door reliably protects the salon from dirt

The lever-pump adjusting pillow height is very convenient

Chrome insert of the gearbox lever business card configuration eleans
 

Corses look more profitable. For a top version, comfort is asked only $ 11 190. Indeed, the price includes 2 airbags, air conditioning, electric windows, electric drive and heating mirrors, a central locking lock, a separately folded sofa back and even a decent radio. Moreover, before the borderline 12 thousand you can order cast discs or four additional eirbeg or, more important, very practical Isetronics.
    
 


The simplest but good radio tape recorder will cost $ 150

Finding a common language with a gearbox is really easy
 
Nice trifle hook for outerwear

Boxing under a pack of cigarettes to the left of the driver
 

Corsa can save even even more. Say, BASE equipment supplemented by air conditioning and electric windows will not exceed $ 10,200. Such an offer is still to look.
 

 
We decided:
Punto is a small sports shell hidden in the back of the city supermini. Cute, swift, nimble, mischievous. I don’t know what a wonderful floor thinks about this, but the Puntik from the trinity of the applicants is most sympathetic. Here are just roads, bitch. It was the uncompetitive price and expensive additional equipment that did not allow Fiat to fight for the victory. And the average score 4 sent the Italian prankster at least for an honorable, but still third place.
 
Skoda-Fabia could not arouse as much vivid impressions as the Italian motor is not the same! But in the nomination, the most solid small car Fabia has no equal. Presentability, expensive and spacious interior, magnificent sound insulation. These are all the advantages, and very fat. Minuses? Not too convincing the ratio of price, basic equipment and not at all cheap options. Maybe this is why the sales of FABIA are a total rating of 4.5 stalled?
 
But he gains a corsa of Corsic 4.5. And it is not surprising, because modern, well -equipped, spacious and quite full -fledged in sled qualities, the car is sold for quite earthly money. That is why, even paying tribute to the gloomy nature of the fiat and the representativeness of Skoda, Cors remains the most profitable acquisition. With what we congratulate her!
 
Mikhail Medvedev, photo Maxim Goncharov
 
 

Source: Magazine "Limousine" [03/03]