Hot hatches, remember them? When was the last time you saw an XR3i, an Astra GTE, or a Renault 5 GT Turbo, on the road? Something that used litter nearly every suburban street, something so commonplace, seems now to be solely the reserve of owner’s club show stands, or auction site frenzies.
Volkswagen still make the Golf GTi, of course – would Wolfsburg really be the same without it? – and there’s Hyundai, with their bonkers-fast, all-electric, Ioniq 5N. You’ll need might deep pockets to buy either though – especially-so the £65,000+ Korean. When, or perhaps more accurately, why, did the swift shopping car become so expensive? Is it still possible to buy something – something that isn’t SUV shaped – that can carry five people, cope with the weekly shop and/or the tip-run, and still encourage you to drive the long way home afterwards purely for the hell of it, for under £30k?
Skoda think there is. Well, as long as you don’t tick any options boxes that is.
Now. Before we go on, I’m under no illusion that thirty-grand is by no means an inconsequential sum of money. But the fact remains you simply can’t buy a brand new internal combustion engine powered car in the UK anymore for less than £14,600, and you certainly won’t get any alloy wheels on it! I’m old enough to remember when that kind of money would’ve bought two new 1.6 Peugeot 205 GTis, and you’d have still had enough change to fill both of their tanks up with four star.
Anyway, as I was saying. For a fiver under thirty-grand, Skoda will sell you their new Fabia 130. It does 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds, has 176bhp, accommodates 5, comes with sports seats, lowered suspension, twin tailpipes, and a dimpled-leather wrapped steering wheel, is capable of 141mph, and it’ll do 50 mpg. I know what you’re thinking; where’s the catch?
On first encountering the Fabia 130 – incidentally, the name references Skoda’s 130th year anniversary, the legendary Skoda 130 RS rally car, and the Fabia 130’s 1.5 TSi engine’s power output in kilowatts – it’s actually quite difficult to find a catch. This is a very attractive looking little car. A black front splitter, rear spoiler and rear diffuser have been added to give the Fabia the all-important sporty look, and supposedly increase stability at speed, plus there’s a black roof, black A-pillars, a thick black stripe on the rear hatch, and some 130 stickers (not badges unfortunately) on the front wings, and on the sill plates. Red brake calipers also put in an appearance, but sadly both red stitching, and red seat belts are nowhere to be seen.
In fact, it’s all a bit dark inside the Fabia 130, You do get a the odd glimmer of aluminium trim, those hip-hugging aforementioned sports seats, and stainless steel pedals, but sparkly and shiney-wise that’s your lot. The good news however, is that the Fabia has proper buttons, switches, knobs and dials to control everything important, and an easy to use 9.2-inch touchscreen for everything else. The dashboard is digital, a highly configurable 10 inch driver’s display – still best left in traditional two dial layout in my humble opinion. And, Hoorah! There’s proper, old-fashioned, lever-operated handbrake.
Now, about those stainless steel pedals…. There are only two. The Fabia 130 is only available with a 7-speed DSG gearbox, and you have to pay extra if you want flappy-paddles. As lovely as the Fabia 130 is to drive, be it tootling along in town, or making up time across country, there’s a certain something missing. That certain something is the extra connection and involvement only a manual gearbox, in a car such as this, can offer. Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I don’t want to merely guide my hot-hatch: I want to drive it.
I genuinely liked the Fabia 130, it’s frugal, practical, nicely screwed together, it rides well, and although by today’s standards its power output means it’s more a warm hatch than it is a properly hot one, I’d happily make space on my driveway for it time and time again. But the fact remains I’d love it lot more if they made a manual one.
There’s a rumour that the Fabia 130 is the pre-cursor to a new, and much hoped-for, Fabia VRS. Skoda, if you’re reading this, and there is Fabia VRS somewhere amongst your future plans, hopefully, you know what to do.
Skoda Fabia 130
Engine: 1,498cc 16v inline 4 –Cyl petrol, turbo
Transmission: 7-Speed DSG auto, Front Wheel Drive
Combined Power: 176 bhp @ 5,750 – 6,000 rpm
Torque: 184lb ft @ 1500-3500rpm
0-62mph: 7.4 sec
Max Speed: 141 mph
MPG: 50.7 = 50.3 WLTP combined.
CO2: 126 – 127 g/km
Price: from £29,995 (as tested £31,750)
Many thanks to Clare at Skoda’s UK press office for the loan of the Fabia
@bird_liam
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