Skoda Fabia Petrol 1.2 MPI review

I recently did test drive the Ambiente model of the 1200cc petrol. Wanted to share the following

Things i liked about this car :

- Great driving comfort that it provides for both driver and front/ back passengers
- Features like seat height adjustment and steering telescope/ tilting
- Good steering, U can park easily in tight corners also
- Build of the car. Forget the outside world when you close the doors, you will get to know with the classic skoda THUD
- neat dashboard with good design (interiors are like some 10lac+ cars
- great music quality (both CD, iPod and Radio)
- remote entry key chain
- pre-tensed seat belts: you won't feel anything even putting them for long time
- one touch power windows and central locking
- distinct horn and thud sound closing doors

- parking assist comes very handy when u will need it the most.

- the climate controlled glove box is a wow on long drives when u would want to keep your chilled beer along.

Good things:
- need not bother to explicitly shut A/C when shutting down the engine
- remote controlled rear-view mirrors
- climatic a/c: set a/c to required temperature and it is maintained there
- very quiet a/c blower at speeds 1 and 2
- digital tachometer and fuel indicator
- nice engine hum while driving

- every other accessory the car manufacturers brand to sell their machine you will find it on fabia. great go ahead.

Myths:
- low clearance: You have to be just as careful as you would be with any other car.
- low pickup: No problem here too. Car runs good in all gears. You cannot always do 20 kpmh in 4th gear but that is there for every car. Actually if you dont have to brake, it does not mind coming down to low speeds at high gears.

Bad things:
- Now here is where the pain starts. And for this i can go on and on. The dealers here in Bangalore, i had a face off with vinayak motors who were generous enough to provide me a test drive and everything was so rosy till the date i decided to cancel my booking. No sense of professionalism i could sense for m still waiting for my booking amount to be in my hand. Thats a skoda style.- only front speakers + tweeters. No back side speakers even in Ambiente.
- high cost of spares (e.g. clutch plate is 12K)
- higher than average cost of maintenance (needs synthetic lubes)

- Salesman does not pick calls when i try to get updates
- After sales service is pathetic, thats what i have learnt till date from various forums and experiences.So what these dealers have done is made a crap off a German marvel. Even being so good a technology the A.S.S. concerns keep the buyers away. I hope Volkswagen people are listening.

Summary:
- great luxury and driving comfort, nothing comes close to it.
- mileage is 11-12 kmpl with a/c and considerable 2-3rd gear driving (traffic reasons)
- engine performance is ok in the city
- holds tight to the road
- great steering: easy to park in tight corners also

Overall a thumbs up for Skoda Fabia. Cheers!!!

Updates : New models of fabia are rumored to be launched at the 2010 auto expo in january. Keeping fingers crossed.