Despite its traditional format, the Fabia estate offers more space and versatility than might be expected of an extended supermini. Its boot provides 480 litres of space with the seats up (that’s 54 litres more than before) and 1460 with them down (an increase of 235 litres); it can carry a payload of just over half a tonne.
The rear seat squabs fold forward to form a bulkhead behind the front seats, allowing the backrest to drop flat, although only after the head restraints have been removed.
There’s no significant load space below the boot floor, which is occupied by a spare wheel, but the overall load bay, seats up or down, is the biggest in this class and genuinely commodious.
Providing room for paraphernalia doesn’t stop at the boot; much thought has also gone into the provision of cubbyholes. So you get a centre console that’s designed to actually carry things, storage boxes under the front seats, twin gloveboxes, a sunglasses holder, and on this high-trim Fabia a fold-down centre armrest with a generous cubby within. Skoda has slipped up on the door bins, though; the front pair might hold bottles, but all four are ludicrously slender.
Space for occupants is also good, even if the cabin feels a little narrow, while the standard of finish and the aura of quality are above average for the class. It’s easy to get comfortable in the driver’s seat, especially as the wheel is adjustable for reach and rake, and all the controls are logical to use.
As well as that, the diesel engine offers plenty of scope for scoring well over 40mpg (although we recorded an average 35.5mpg), though its CO2 output of 129g/km puts it on the wrong side of the proposed London congestion charge threshold.
The Fabia’s residual values promise to be higher than the class average, although this second-generation version is not as keenly priced as the original, especially in ‘3’ trim.