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Skoda Fabia Geneva Debut Teased by Official Sketch

Skoda is planning to show a new or significantly refreshed Fabia model at the upcoming 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Here is their official sketch image, which should give us a pretty good idea of what's going on.
Skoda Fabia Geneva Debut Teased by Official Sketch 1 photo
Photo: Skoda
The problem is that it doesn't. We honestly expected Skoda to skip the facelift and just move the Fabia to the MQB A0 platform. But that's probably not the case.

It feels like the Fabia is always going to be stuck in the shadow of the VW Polo. The last one was too narrow and outdated. An all-new third-gen model came out in 2014. And while it was about 9cm wider than before, it was still basically using the track width and wheelbase the Polo brought in 2009. Well, technically, it's the PQ26 platform, so it's not the same, but millimeters say otherwise.

So basically, the Geneva debut is a decade-old format dressed up in the latest Skoda design and trimmed with new engines and tech? Odd, but not necessarily a bad idea.

The Czech automaker has this odd way of doing things that benefit a certain type of customer. By using slightly older VW technology, Skoda's cars are cheaper and usually more reliable.

The big news with this Fabia facelift is that it features full-LED headlights and taillights. No, not as standard, but we do have to agree that the sketch makes the supermini look like the Superb's young cousin.

There's also new sheet metal and bumpers. But the chances are that in the flesh, those hood creases and sporty fender flares aren't going to look as exciting.

Is it going to have a digital dash like the Polo? Surely not, as not even the Octavia has that. As far as the engines are concerned, we might see the introduction of the 1.4 TSI with 125 hp, which was recently featured on a limited-edition model.

The Fabia remains Skoda's third most popular car after the Octavia and Rapid. Last year, it sold 206,500 units, up 2.1% compared to 2016. In total, the third generation has accounted for over half a million deliveries already.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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