Simply Fabialous – Good Things Come in Not so Very Small Packages

It looks like you can truly have your cake and eat it too when it comes to cars, as the new Škoda Fabia Combi ticks nearly all of the boxes. Launching in Ireland on February 9^th, the big sister to the Fabia hatchback had already started to win us over from the minute we opened the boot. Inside, the controls are sleek, user-friendly and functional, the steering is light and the 1.2 engine version is a nippy car that crosses the dual functions of both family and city driving. Keeping the best bits of its predecessor, the new Fabia Combi has even more to offer – not just in absolutely enormous boot space – and is a glossier, sleeker more grown-up version of what came before. It also has the added benefit of plenty of seat adjustment in the driver’s seat and the option of an integrated GPS system. Our only complaint with the car came in a very basic form, in that the arm rest fitted in some of the models gets in the way of gear changes and handbrake use, but that’s minor compared to the comfort of the interior, particularly for the price. Getting down to the real nitty gritty, the Fabia Combi is extremely pocket-friendly. Cost effective to run and coming in at an extremely reasonable €15,495 for the 1.0 litre model, it's hard to find a reason not to recommend it. The Fabia Combi is also a perfect fit for back seat passengers, with plenty of room to spread out and some handy extra storage spots throughout which, as themselves put it, is ‘simply clever’. There’s not much to compare it with for value for money, space, and all round fun driving and with plenty of choice between engine size, gear options and added extras, it’s almost like a gift that keeps on giving. “The dramatic new styling of the Fabia Combi has not reduced but increased the room and functionality of the car, something Škoda customers have always valued,” said Hugh Delaney, Product Manager, Škoda Ireland. “The Combi offers so much in space and has the same styling as the hatch and I think we will see a great deal of our old model hatch customers buying a Fabia Combi for the first time.”