Skoda Fabia

Skoda gave us its first indication of the new Fabia's design direction at the Geneva show earlier this year. There, its new city car's lines were upscaled to fit the VisionC coupé concept, memorable as much for its nuclear green paint job as its sharpened surfaces.

As a result, the third-generation Fabia's design springs few surprises. It shares a similar DRG to the larger Rapid and Octavia models, including the chrome-edged grille and more technical, sharper-edged headlights. The hood has gained more prominent creases at its edges to emphasize the fact that this new model is a useful 90mm wider than before.

Given the wider VW Group's preoccupation with 'emotional' and 'sporty' designs, it's no surprise to see the Fabia steered in this direction. This seems particularly evident with the tornado line's section that deepens as it runs between the fenders, giving a muscular shoulder, and the sharp upkick at the base of the C-pillar that tightens up the old car's hockey-stick-shaped curve.

Horizontal lines dominate at the rear and are closely integrated with the design of the tail-lamps, bolstering the perception of precision and solidity that you'd expect from the VW Group's value-focused brand.

However, to ensure it keeps that value tag, the Fabia uses an upgraded version of the outgoing model's platform. For that reason, despite the increase in width and a 30mm-drop in overall height, the Fabia doesn't entirely appear to have shaken off the top-heavy look of its predecessor, although we'll be able to judge that – and the car's as-yet unrevealed interior – for ourselves at the Paris motor show this October.

Skoda Fabia gallery >

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