Used Skoda Fabia 2007 - 2014 review

There are few cars small cars that offer as much space as the Skoda Fabia; it can seat four adults in comfort and five at a push, with rear head and leg room particularly generous.

It also has a large, square boot that will easily swallow a pushchair or a large suitcase. Meanwhile, a couple of hooks and storage compartments add to the practicality.

The rear seats will fold flat to offer even more space, although you do have to flip the bases up first and there’s a slight lip between the folded seats and the boot floor.

Instead, it’s the interior finish that lets the side down. While everything feels very solid, the dashboard is a sea of hard, grey plastic; many rivals feel classier.

The Fabia is an easy car to drive, with light controls and suspension that will smooth over all but the worst road surfaces. And yet the Fabia grips well in corners and doesn’t suffer from much body roll.

Just don’t go thinking that the Fabia will be as fun as a Ford Fiesta, because it’s slower to respond to you turning the steering wheel and you get little feedback.

Prices for this second-generation Fabia start from £1500 for a 1.2-litre petrol model that has covered less than 100,000 miles, and go up to about £10,500 for a late-plate, top-of-the-range vRS.

A 2014 1.2-litre TSI SE with 84bhp and less than 20,000 miles on the clock will cost less than £8,000 from a franchised Skoda dealer.

In 2010, the Skoda Fabia was facelifted, with the update not only bringing styling tweaks, but also more efficient engines.

The most frugal of these is the 1.2 TDI Greenline diesel, which returned an impressive 83.1mpg in official tests, while the 1.6-litre managed 67.3mpg.

As for the petrols, the 1.2 TSI engines averaged more than 50mpg, and the turbocharged 1.4-litre unit in the vRS hot hatch topped 45mpg, although our True MPG test showed that 36mpg is more realistic in real-world conditions.

Whichever Fabia you choose, other bills will be small; the Greenline is free to tax, and even the vRS will cost only £145 a year.

Insuring the Fabia won’t break the bank either, with insurance groups ranging from group 3 for the lesser-powered of the two 1.2 petrols in base trim, up to group 27 for the vRS.

The cheapest 1.2-litre petrol models feel underpowered, so it’s worth spending a bit more to get the 84bhp version.

This will suit most people best, but if you cover a lot of miles it’s worth considering a diesel, with the 1.6-litre the pick because it will return up to 65mpg on the motorway.

We wouldn’t bother with the vRS; while it’s faster than lesser Fabias, it isn't a lot more fun, so there are better alternatives from other manufacturers.

All Fabias come with a manual gearbox, however, a smooth-shifting seven-speed DSG automatic was introduced as an option in 2010.

Our favourite used Skoda Fabia: 1.2-litre TSI SE

It might not have the space on offer in the Fabia, but the Ford Fiesta is deservedly a huge seller because it’s great to drive and cheap to service and repair. It's available with either three or five doors and a wealth of trim and engine options, while the hot ST version puts the Fabia vRS to shame.

The VW Polo and the Fabia use the same chassis, but the Polo has a more upmarket feel – and costs more to buy. While it’s not as practical as the Fabia, it still has plenty of space in the front and rear and a good-sized boot.

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