Driven - Skoda Fabia 130: the grown up hot hatch?

Price as tested: £31,545 | On sale: now

A few years ago, you were spoiled for choice if you were in the market for a small hot hatch. But with stricter emission laws and falling demand, cars like the brilliant Ford Fiesta ST and Hyundai i20N have stopped being produced altogether, while less hardcore options like the Suzuki Swift Sport and Volkswagen Up GTI have disappeared from sale too.

There are still a couple of compact hot hatches you can buy new - the Volkswagen Polo GTI and MINI Cooper S spring to mind, while there’s also the pricey Toyota GR Yaris if you can get hold of one. Otherwise there’s not much else unless you want a non-electric hot hatch. Which brings us in a roundabout way to the new Skoda Fabia 130.  

The thing to stress here is that the Skoda Fabia 130 is not a hot hatch and thus a direct replacement to the Fabia vRS, but then it’s not pretending to be either. You need to think of it as more of a warm hatch. It’s at this point that you might be thinking that the ‘130’ bit in the name means it's only got 130PS, but you’d be wrong. It’s actually packing a much more useful 177PS from its 1.5-litre engine. So why the ‘130’ then? The 130 is actually a nod to Skoda celebrating its 130th anniversary, with the Fabia 130 a bit of a birthday present to itself.

 

Skoda hasn’t just slapped a load of 130 badges on a standard Fabia and left it at that, though. Its engineers have managed to increase power by 27PS over the standard 150PS 1.5-litre available in other Fabias. They’ve done this with a few clever hardware and software tweaks, with optimised components including the intake plenum, vibration damper and rocker arms, all helping the engine handle the higher output.

The result is a 0-62mph time of 7.4 seconds, which is only 0.6 seconds quicker than a standard car. Perhaps more interestingly, and granted things have moved on in the last 10 years or so, but the new Fabia 130 is only a smidge slower than the last Fabia vRS that disappeared in 2014, which would hit 62mph in 7.4 seconds. It might come as no surprise to discover it has a seven-speed DSG gearbox, as well – as we’ve seen with the latest Octavia vRS (and Golf GTI for that matter), there’s no option of a manual gearbox.

The engine’s been uprated, then, but what else has been done to the Skoda Fabia 130 to make it stand out from the rest of the range? Compared to a more basic spec Fabia, it sits on some neat ‘Libra’ (and slightly vRS-looking) 18-inch alloy wheels. These don’t appear to be unique to the 130 - they can be specced as an option on the posh Fabia Monte Carlo. And like the Monte Carlo version, the 130 sits 15mm lower than the standard car. You’ll naturally find a decent smattering of 130 badges dotted around the body, while there’s a chunky front splitter and rear spoiler. And, fun fact, it’s the only Fabia you’ll find with visible exhaust pipes, with two on show.  

There have been a few changes inside, also. The most noticeable upgrade is the nicely bolstered sports seats up front, and you’ll also find some carbon-effect trim around the dashboard (à la Octavia vRS), but that’s about it. Compared to something like a MINI Cooper S, the interior looks a little dated and perhaps won’t impress your friends as much, but with plenty of buttons and switches within easy reach, it’s a doddle to use. Lovely stuff.

On the road, the Fabia 130 is nicely balanced and pretty comfy too. It’s not going to put a smile on your face like a proper hot hatch would, but it’s still really satisfying to drive quickly on a twisty B-road. And you’ll get to your destination without wanting to see a chiropractor, as you would in some more focused hot hatches. That’s going to be the appeal for a lot of potential buyers of the Skoda Fabia 130.  

While we’d like to think we’re just going to be bombing round country roads all the time, the reality is that the Fabia 130 will be doing the weekly shop, the school run and longer motorway jaunts, which is where it edges it over punchier rivals. It means it should be that bit easier to live with day in, day out, while the 50mpg plus combined fuel economy will only make it more appealing. 

With emission restrictions and a growing EV hot hatch sector, it would have been easy for Skoda not to bother with the Fabia 130, but it’s a really likeable car. There’s a ‘but’ coming though. While the £3000 premium over the Fabia Monte Carlo doesn’t sound too bad, at a fiver under £30,000 before options, that’s pretty chunky money. Especially when you realise it’s only around £1500 less than the more powerful VW Polo GTI, and actually a little bit more than a MINI Cooper S. 

Engine:	4-cylinder 1.5-litre
Power:	177PS
0-62mph:	7.4 seconds