New Fabia toughens up

By Jack Rix

20th February 2009

This scout really is prepared for anything! Skoda has released official pictures of the rugged new Fabia Scout – a downsized rival to the Audi A4 allroad and Saab 9-3X. And all three of these beefed-up estate cars will break cover at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Fabia features a host of exterior changes to give it more functional appeal, including a reshaped bumper and plastic cladding round the arches and side sills, plus silver roof rails.

Inside, the utilitarian touches continue, with unique interior trim, stainless steel pedals with heavy-duty, anti-slip rubber inserts and Scout badging on the tailgate and floor mats. In addition, there are 16 or 17-inch lightweight alloys, plus unique foglamps and tinted windows.

Despite its tough off-road stance, the Fabia Scout retains the standard front-wheel-drive layout of the regular estate. There are 85bhp 1.4-litre and 105bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines, plus an 80bhp 1.4-litre diesel – capable of 61.4mpg – and a more powerful 105bhp 1.9 TDI returning 57.7mpg.

The Scout goes on sale here in May. More details about it, plus Skoda’s other Geneva star – the Yeti – will follow when the show opens its doors next week.

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