News: Skoda finds its design mojo with new Fabia
Model heralds new breed of “emotional” Skodas
SKODA HAS released images of the new Fabia ahead of the model’s public unveiling at the Paris motor show in October.
According to its designer, the model, expected to cost from £10,000 and riding on a larger platform that will boost cabin and boot space, is the first of a new breed of Skoda to trade functional design for more expressive lines.
Talking about the new car, Jozef Kabaň said the time was right for Skoda to go back to its roots and build more design-led models.
“Skoda has a tradition of building design-oriented cars which are full of emotion, such as the legendary Popular Monte Carlo in the 1930s,” he said. “We have demonstrated with the Skoda VisionC design study [below] how Skoda is able to combine great functionality with an expressive, emotional and more sharply defined design. Now is the right time to create a stronger connection between the functionality of our cars, and an expressive and emotional design.”
In pursuit of a more expressive shape, Kabaň says the new Fabia is flatter and wider than before to give it a fuller stance on the road. In addition, it has sharp edges, clear lines and, in a nod to the Czech tradition of glass art, crystalline design elements.
Kabaň also revealed that the Fabia will offer a higher degree of personalisation with the availability in the range of a so-called “colour concept” model allowing customers to select the colour of the roof, wheel rims and exterior mirrors.
Meanwhile, the interior will feature up to 10 “Simply Clever” systems including, for the first time in a Skoda, MirrorLink technology that can connect a smartphone to the vehicle.
The new Fabia is expected to be powered by a choice of 1-litre three-cylinder or 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engines, and a 1.4-litre diesel. Skoda claims it will be up to 17% more economical than the outgoing car.
