EV, PHEV, HEV, SUV. You could be forgiven for thinking these initials are foremost in vehicle buyers’ minds as they consider their next purchase. Look at the best selling models not only in the UK but Europe-wide and the story broadens with non-electric small hatchbacks (and crossovers) still doing brisk business.
The Dacia Sandero beat all comers in 2024 to be European number one, followed by the Renault Clio and VW Golf. Naturally, electrification features in the powertrain options for many models in the top ten, the fourth placed Tesla Model Y being just one example. There were also two Toyotas, the Yaris Cross and Yaris being especially popular in hybrid form.
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Škoda outsold Audi in 2024 Europe-wide
Series Hybrid vehicles aside, MHEVs and even just low-weight, non-complex cars such as the Sandero clearly have great appeal to a vast number of people. More than 268,000 to be exact in the case of the best-selling Dacia. Škoda too is having such great success with the Fabia that the brand overtook Audi as the Volkswagen Group’s number two marque in Europe. Further, it fourth placed overall in 2024 behind BMW, Toyota and VW itself.
Fabia sales rocketed by 29% to 106,337 units Europe-wide in 2024 (source: JATO Dynamics) and the brand’s regional tally reached 766,510 passenger vehicles (EU-EFTA-UK), a year-on-year rise of 13 per cent. The UK accounted for more than a tenth of that number, Škoda deliveries rising by 12 percent compared to 2023, ending the year at 78,601. The little hatchback enters 2025 seemingly more in demand than ever, even as Škoda adds yet more SUVs such as the Elroq. So why do buyers love it so much?
Simplicity of design, in almost every way, is surely one of the main reasons why Fabia generation four seems to go from strength to strength. The line-up is simple, with just a few trim levels and engines, pricing being as relatively low as the car’s fuel consumption and emissions.
Right-sized and appealingly priced
Available since the end of 2021 in its current generation, the four-metre long hatchback has been a stalwart of the brand’s line-up for more than a quarter of a century. Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland the UK are its best markets, the latest car having great appeal to all demographics from first-time owners to retirees who might be downsizing.
Škoda, unlike VW and Audi, now largely eschews diesel engines, and to an extent, electrification for certain of its cars. It’s not that customers don’t want hybrids or EVs, more that price, low running costs and uncomplicated technology are priorities.
The no-nonsense appeal starts the moment you unlock the Fabia, with a refreshing absence of chiming, beeping and fancy light dances in the gauges cluster. The door handle has a firm and precise action, every piece of plastic you see and come into contact with feels long-lasting and not every control has to be activated via a touchscreen.
New EVO2 engine
I have tested the Fabia with the Volkswagen Group’s own seven-speed dual clutch transmission before but until now the six-speed manual had eluded me. In this case it comes linked to an 85 kW (116 PS) and 200 Nm three-cylinder turbocharged engine, capacity being just less than one litre. It averaged in excess of 70 mpg, even improving upon the amazingly low consumption of the old engine and DSG.
Both engine and gearbox are manufactured by Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav, the car itself also being produced there. The company recently noted that it built some 575,000 vehicles within the main plant of its home city during 2024. That total includes not just the Fabia but the Scala, Octavia, Kamiq, Enyaq and Enyaq Coupé.
Production of the small hatchback will continue until 2030, company CEO Klaus Zellmer stating in October 2024 that its life will be extended from 2027 “until the end of the decade”. This allows Škoda to hedge its bets with regards to electrification in the B segment (the Fabia is 4.1 m long), the assumption being that uptake of EVs in the size class should have greatly increased by then.
How good might it still be in 2030?
Knowing that Fabia IV will be around for almost a decade makes you cast an eye over it with the question of just how competitive it can hope to be in five years’ time. Dynamically, it’s far from the sharpest though that’s not to say the handling is in any way soggy. Light steering is what a typical owner will prefer while the springs and dampers are tuned for a soft ride.
Performance is decent, zero to sixty mph taking ten seconds and it’s a relaxed motorway cruiser. If more get up and go is desired, there’s a 110 kW (150 PS) and 250 Nm four-cylinder engine. Škoda badges this 1.5 TSI and it gets a DSG as standard but really, the 1.0 TSI is perfectly fine for the typical Fabia owner.
In the UK, trim levels are SE Comfort, Colour Edition, SE L and Monte Carlo with the range tweaked in 2024 to include Traffic sign recognition, Wireless Smartlink and Care Connect (3-year subscription) as new standard equipment. At the same time, what had been an 81 kW 1.0-litre engine was replaced by the as-tested 85 kW EVO 2 unit of the same capacity.
Success looks set to continue
The fact that many hundreds of thousands of Europeans chose to buy uncomplicated small hatchbacks such as the Dacia Sandero and Škoda Fabia in 2024 speaks volumes. Some of the surge in sales was due to microchips shortages in 2023 but even so, affordable B segment hatchbacks are a very large sweet spot in the market.
It also seems that while ever rising numbers in many countries are choosing an EV or an HEV, low-cost compact cars have many years of life left in them yet. And the Fabia is one of the best available.
Pricing for the Škoda Fabia starts at GBP20,295 (SE Edition) rising to GBP23,350 (Monte Carlo Edition).
