Skoda Fabia Estate (2015-2021) Review

For anyone keen on plastering a smile across your chops at the mere prospect of a gnarly country road, the Skoda Fabia Estate is not going to be your go-to car. While a same-era Ford Fiesta or Renault Clio will deliver the thrills, the Skoda gets on with delivering the goods thanks to it's huge load area.

This is where the Skoda Fabia Estate excels and why you will buy it. Whether you need to carry the family dog in palatial comfort, pack all the kids’ holiday gear or just cart about plenty of stuff, this Skoda has you sorted.

It was also very good at covering long distances thanks to good refinement and comfort, though we’d steer clear of the least powerful engines to make the drive easier on your ears. Seat comfort is another plus point, and even if the cabin materials look a bit plain, they are hard wearing.

As a wagon many will cover big mileages in, the diesel-engined Skoda Fabia Estate made a lot of sense when available. 

Wisely, Skoda didn't offer the 60PS 1.0 MPI non-turbo engine in the Estate as it would be too sluggish when loaded up. That left you to choose from the 1.0-litre MPI 75PS unit, either of the 1.0-litre TSI options with 95PS or 110PS, the 110PS 1.2 TSI (which comes with the DSG automatic only), or on earlier cars, a 1.4-litre TDI in 105PS or 90PS. Our preference is the 110PS 1.0-litre TSI petrol as it gives you more in reserve when driving on the motorway.

There were five trims to select from when buying a Skoda Fabia Estate. We’d skip the S as it’s missing some kit we reckon is essential nowadays and head for the SE, which had air conditioning, rear parking sensors and roof rails. Or, if you want something plusher, the SE L had climate control, keyless ignition, and sat-nav with its 6.5-inch infotainment screen.

The Dacia Logan MCV was the Fabia Estate's contender. With engines and running gear lifted from Renault, the Logan MCV was decent to drive but nowhere near as refined as the Skoda and not as refined on longer trips. The Logan has since been dropped, but the Dacia Jogger's the next best thing. It has a decent boot and seven seats. 

There's also the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports, Ford Focus Estate and the electric MG 5. 

For other alternatives, you’ll need to look to the used market such as the practical but not as roomy SEAT Ibiza ST. Others include Skoda's own Rapid Spaceback.

The black cabin wasn't unremittingly bleak, there was some variation in the tones and textures of the materials. You could also have the central band across the dash in a lighter colour to help break up the darkness, while the Monte Carlo version had some splashes of colour in its seat fabric to brighten things up.

Such a sombre approach would be tough to accept if it wasn’t for the Skoda’s excellent build quality. As we’ve come to expect from the Czech manufacturer, it may not do flash, but it does solid very well. A few touches of colour or chrome would've made the Skoda Fabia’s interior a more welcoming environment, but it was robustly built.

This also applies to the boot space, where the carpet and finish majored on function over form.

Every Skoda Fabia Estate came with Skoda’s 6.5-inch infotainment touchscreen. In the base S model, the simpler Swing radio with the two rotary buttons felt flimsy. However, the shortcut buttons on either side of the display worked precisely and took you to the required menu easily.

The system came with DAB radio, Bluetooth, and USB and SD card ports. This was upgraded in the SE guise with Skoda’s Smartlink+, making accessing apps easier via your smartphone. It also lets you access music through Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Choosing the SE Drive or higher trim versions of the Skoda Fabia Estate meant an Amundsen version of the infotainment. It came with sat-nav included and one year’s internet access. It was an easy system to grasp, thanks to clear menus and big onscreen icons. It may not have been as whizz-bang regarding features, but we’d take the Skoda’s ease of use every time.

With the tailgate swung open, you had a large, wide opening to access the boot through, and the load sill was a good deal lower than in most small estates from the same era. Inside, there was 530 litres of carrying capacity.

On either side of the main load floor were storage cubbies set into the space between the rear of the car and the wheel arches. They were ideal for keeping smaller items that would otherwise rattle around freely in the boot. Skoda also supplied its simple plastic holder, which slotted into the side of the boot wall to keep bottles upright.

The floor had a shelf you could use to vary the height of the cargo base. In its higher position, it created a space underneath to stash valuable items. It also created a flush floor with the back seats; when tumbled forward, this expanded to 1395 litres. They split 60/40, too.

Rear occupants had lots of head, leg, and shoulder space. Three children could fit across the bench, each with a three-point seat belt. Skoda also fitted ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outer pews, which had great access through the wide-opening back doors, rounding off the Skoda Fabia Estate’s excellent credentials as a practical wagon.

The Skoda Fabia Estate dimensions are 4257mm long, 1958mm wide and 1467mm tall.

The basic 1.0-litre non-turbocharged MPI engine offered 75PS, and although willing, it struggled outside of town driving or if you decided to load up with passengers or luggage. We'd skip it unless you're looking for the cheapest Skoda Fabia Estate possible.

The 1.0-litre turbocharged TSI 95PS motor had a five-speed manual gearbox as its only transmission choice. It took 10.8 seconds to get from a standing start to 62mph if driven as hard as possible, which seemed acceptable on paper. This wasn't the case in reality. The 95PS engine always felt too slow, especially on the motorway.

Much of this came down to the five-speed gearbox asking the engine to be more flexible than it could offer. We also found the shift action of the five-speeder not quite as smooth and easy as the six-gear transmission used as the sole option for the 110PS turbo petrol.

Aside from the better gear change of the six-speeder, it had a better spread of ratios to provide the right one for any circumstance. Add in the extra power and low-down shove of the 110PS version of the three-cylinder engine, and it’s a winning combination for us.

This was borne out by acceleration figures that had the 110PS Skoda Fabia Estate going from 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds. That 1.1 second difference had an impact on how relaxed the Skoda Fabia Estate is when pulling out of junctions or joining faster flowing traffic. And given there was barely any detrimental effect on fuel economy or emissions choosing the more powerful engine, it is by far the most sensible choice in the Skoda Fabia Estate.

If you must have diesel then the more powerful 105PS 1.4-litre TDI is the one to go for, and although it's a little noisy in a car this small, it does offer lots of pulling power and impressive fuel consumption.

The three-cylinder engines didn't have the same smooth power delivery as the Ford Fiesta, but they were quiet at town speeds and cruising along multi-lane roads at the legal limit.

Working the engines harder resulted in gruffness and vocality. It was not an unbearable noise, but you felt vibrations through the steering wheel, pedals and gear lever.

The Skoda Fabia’s cabin was hushed from wind and road noise. Even with the roof rails fitted as standard to all but the S model, there was little whistle at high speeds.

Skoda was one of the few small estate makers to fit autonomous emergency braking as standard to its cars. Called Front Assist, it detected potential hazards in the road ahead and warned the driver via audio and visual alerts. If the driver didn't react, the car applied the brakes forcefully to bring it to a safe stop and minimise crash impact.

The Skoda Fabia Estate also came with twin front, side and curtain airbags as standard across the range, and three-point seat belts and headrests for four occupants, but you had to pay extra for the middle rear passenger. All models had two ISOFIX child seat mounts. There was also ESP stability and traction control, and ABS anti-lock brakes.

Euro NCAP tests awarded the Skoda Fabia a five-star mark, with 81 per cent scores for adult and child occupant safety. You could make the Skoda Fabia Estate even safer with Hill Hold Control to stop the car rolling back when pulling away on inclines and upgrading from drum brakes to discs at the rear.

Other optional safety equipment included the Driver Fatigue Assistant. Rear parking sensors were offered for the S but were standard on other models, while the SE Drive had front parking sensors included rather than being an option on the rest of the range.

The Skoda Fabia scored a solid 9.33 out of 10 for reliability in the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, which was decent but not exceptional given the typically high standards for Skoda vehicles of the same era.

Skoda recently scored fifth place out of 33 manufacturers in the most recent satisfaction index. 

The cheapest Skoda Fabia Estate to get cover for is the 95PS S model that falls into group 8. Take the same version with the 110PS engine, and it moves up to group 12.

The other 95PS trims of the Skoda Fabia Estate reside in group 9, while the 110PS-powered cars are in group 12, except the Monte Carlo, which pipped into group 13.

The Fabia Estate straddles two tax systems: pre- and post-2017. The 1.4 TDI emits just 101g/km, meaning pre-2017 cars will cost £20 per year. Cars registered after this date will default to new standard £195 per year rate. 

When launched in 2015, Skoda offered the Skoda Fabia Estate in S, SE and SE L trims. The S had 15-inch steel wheels, electrically adjusted and heated door mirrors and daytime running lights. Inside, it had black cloth upholstery, a 6.5-inch touchscreen with DAB radio, Bluetooth and a USB port.

The Skoda Fabia Estate SE had alloy wheels, roof rails finished in black, front fog lights, and rear parking sensors. The SE also featured a three-spoke steering wheel with remote buttons for the stereo. The infotainment gained six speakers and Smartlink+ for easy access to your phone and its apps. Just as vitally, you got air conditioning, an umbrella stored under the front passenger seat, and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.

The Skoda Fabia Estate Colour Edition was based on the SE but had 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, and roof and door mirror covers painted black, white or silver to contrast with the body colour.

Next was the Skoda Fabia Estate SE Drive with front parking sensors and special seat upholstery. It also had the Amundsen touchscreen navigation system and 12 months’ internet connection from new. The Skoda Fabia Estate SE L had different alloy wheels, cruise control, keyless ignition, and climate control. It also featured satin black cloth and suede covering the seats.

At the top of the range was the Skoda Fabia Estate Monte Carlo with its black-painted alloy wheels, Led rear lights, and sport steering wheel and front seats.