Why buy a Volkswagen Polo?

New Skoda Fabia gets posher. Honey, I shrunk the Octavia Did Skoda’s designers just rescale an Octavia in Photoshop? Fabia’s MQB A0 platform has a longer wheelbase than its VW Polo and Seat Ibiza cousins, and is big enough to make the Scala look superfluous.

Eastern sophisticate

Digital dials, two-spoke wheel and a premium audio option are joined – for the first time on a Fabia – by in-door brollies. What is this, a Rolls- Royce? Czech heritage is marked by the flag engraved on the doors.

Swiss-army-knife utility

The long wheelbase benefits rear passengers and boot space, which is boosted to 380 litres – second in the class to the Renault Clio. Ice scraper, tyre-tread depth gauge and parking ticket holder are all still included.

Thrift and swift

There’s no electric variant, but mild hybrids will come later. At first, the choices are naturally-aspirated or turbocharged 1.0-litre triples, or a turbo 1.5-litre that isn’t available with either the Polo or the Ibiza.