If you ask someone how many cars they’ve owned throughout the years, or ask them to name every car they’ve owned, chances are they wont be able to remember.
Cars, to most, are simply an appliance. A machine set to complete the task of getting people from A to B, with varying amounts of creature comforts along the way. So its not surprising that some of these appliances get forgotten along the way. I mean, can you remember your favourite washing machine?
Ask someone about their first car though? That’s a different story.
My first car was a black 2001 Skoda Fabia, It was the single biggest purchase I has ever made in my life, right up until I bought the insurance. I have so many fond memories of this car, the nostalgia and happiness that car brought a 17-year-old me, priceless.
So what made this car so special? Honestly, not much...The Skoda Fabia is, and has been the Czech companies main hatchback for 20 years, after succeeding the previous small hatch, the Skoda Felicia. Its popularity came because it was a reliable German engineered car (under the guise of VW) without the German badge or price. Something that (within reason) still holds up to this day.
The Fabia in question was in “Classic” trim which equated to “not much as standard at all”. It held a naturally aspirated 1.4 litre cylinder engine under it’s bonnet sending 68 plucky horses through a 5 speed gearbox, shunting the car to it’s 101mph top speed. The power was on the low side but was more than enough to shift the small car with a throaty warble from the 4 pot. What you didn’t get in power you did get in economy, a 39 mpg average meant just under 400 miles from its reasonable sized 45 litre tank.
The naturally aspirated engine meant that there was no lag when developing a lead foot. It was happy being revved to squeeze every last bit of power it had to give. Shifting through the gears was nothing special, the long throw felt positive but didn’t give much more than the confidence of the gear that you were in.
The basic interior gave you cloth seats with what has to be one of the worst design patterns I’ve ever seen. The steering wheel was basic with no controls, and the FM stereo (with tape player) did exactly what it said on the tin, and exactly no more.
The inside was more than spacious enough to carry four adults in comfort and rear seat passengers didn’t have to sacrifice headroom with the high ceiling. The boot was again very spacious, offering 260l of space, only beaten by its VW brother of the time, the Polo.
Comfort was pretty good for a small hatchback, with reasonable sound deadening inside and comfortable springs that helped the car float over the lumps and bumps of British roads. They did raise the car pretty far off the ground which gave a high centre of gravity and made the car a little wallowy in the corners.
Smaller cars tend to go for a lighter steering setup giving easier use in a city environment while sacrificing overall feedback, luckily this car didn’t suffer the same fate. While the steering wasn’t in any way class leading, it had a comfortable amount of weight and inspired confidence through the corners. This was appreciated especially when driving the car close to it’s cornering limit (which wasn’t difficult to get to if left on the original 14” steel wheels and eco-friendly tyres.
The exterior had a basic but inoffensive design, something that proved to stand the test of time as they decided to hark back to it in the Fabia’s third iteration. The signature grille up front and “C” chape rear lights are staple designs of Skoda’s and make this otherwise basic look easy to recognise.
In terms of reliability, it had its fair share of mishaps but never anything too catastrophic. The engine was a hardy lump that needed minimal maintenance and worked without fault, most of the time. The one oversight was with the timing chain having no tensioner, meaning that wear and tear would rear its head more often. Fortunately it isn’t a difficult fix.
The common VW expansion tank issues were something that plagued this car, but again, a simple swap of the bottle took mere minutes. My main issue came in the form of a temperamental immobiliser occasionally bricking the car, something that reared its head late into my ownership and one that I was never able to 100% fix. To say I owned this car just over three years, I would say this was a fairly short list, so can confidently say that it was pretty reliable.
Overall this car didn’t have much in the way of luxury, comfort, gadgets or performance, but It’s safe to say that by the end of my time with this car and the many memories and experienced I gained along the way. It definitely had a soul. I would highly recommend one as an affordable/first car for anyone in the market. Maybe go for the comfort or elegance trim levels as they offer a few more creature comforts.
Comments