// Words by Wideopen’s Pete Scullion
// Images by Pete and Skoda
// The 2015 Skoda Fabia Combi launch – straight from Nice, France.
It was with open eyes and an open mind that I flew out to Nice to test the new Skoda Fabia Combi (estate to you and me). Bike journos usually aren’t the ones to be invited to press launches for new cars, and in all honesty, I don’t know what to look for beyond the obvious in a car.
Thankfully what I do know is how a car can accept the humble bicycle. How well, or badly, the car takes our precious luggage often determines whether or not it meets our requirements. Naturally price, economy and the usual factors trim the list of potential automobiles, but it is the way in which a car takes one or more bikes and the holdall of smelly gear that makes or breaks it. I have taken my bike with me to view cars in the past to make sure it will fit.
Skoda are far from merely dipping their toes into cycling, however. Anybody who watches the Tour de France will no doubt have seen their Octavias supporting every team bar perhaps Rupert Murdoch’s lot.
“Skoda did in fact start its life as a bicycle manufacturer in the heady days of the late 19th Century, before moving onto motorbikes”
Apart from being the official car provider for Le Tour for the last decade, Skoda did in fact start its life as a bicycle manufacturer in the heady days of the late 19th Century, before moving onto motorbikes and cars. Upon arriving in Nice, it was immediately obvious that bikes still run thick in Skoda’s blood.
Having been the owner of two Fabia estates in the past, I know full well that they can fit a considerable amount of men and materiel. My first car took myself and two passengers plus 3 bikes and all the kit to 10 at Kirroughtree without complaint, and with the new Fabia Combi offering a now class-leading 1395 litres of boot space with the rear seats down, things were looking good. Having also owned a petrol and a diesel Fabia, I knew that when floating around the 100hp output, torque is king. Small output diesels rarely achieve their full horsepower output until very late in the rev range, while torque is ample from the off.
“the new Fabia Combi offering a now class-leading 1395 litres of boot space with the rear seats down”
Our first test was the new 1.2 TSI petrol, from the airport to our lunch stop high above Nice. While it is daft how much power Skoda have eked out of this tiny unit that offered a very smooth delivery, it needed some encouragement to get going.
After lunch, we opted to try out the new 1.4 TDI version. Almost a cool two thousand pounds more expensive than it’s equivalent output petrol, it might put a few people off, but the driving experience is far better, on top of lower VED and better fuel economy, the latter pushing passed a claimed 80mpg. It was also reassuring to notice that the diesel no longer suffers the front-heavy penalty of the necessary steel block, both cars handling identically along the twisting mountain roads of the Riviera. If I was spending my money, it would be on one of the diesels.
What had my attention from the beginning though, as I mentioned above, was the Fabia Combi’s ability to swallow bikes. I heard word of an internal bike carrier that I would get to test the following day prior to flying home. Luckily, I managed to corner the chap responsible for all the interior design and specifications over a night cap in the hotel bar. It is always great to meet someone who is passionate about their work and believes in their product, without sounding like they’re reading buzz words from a corporate mission statement.
“What had my attention from the beginning was the Fabia Combi’s ability to swallow bikes”
What was made clear is that Skoda are investing in cycling far beyond a simple marketing relationship. Head to their branch in Cambridge for a service and you will be offered one of Skoda’s courtesy bikes should you wish to move under you own steam. This scheme is planned to be rolled out to more cycling-friendly cities as the year goes on. It’s good to see a car manufacturer actively getting people on bikes in place of a car, rather than simply supporting existing cycling teams and events.
So, to bike capacity. The new Fabia estate sports a larger boot than my older model, one that could take ‘3 and 3’ with ease. With options available for snug-fitting plastic rubber boot liners should you want to slide the bike into the boot fully built or with a wheel off, the upholstery won’t get completely ruined. Roof rails, bars and roof racks are also available for the Fabia, should you want to keep the whopping 590 litre boot free for other stuff, like friends. A detachable towbar is also available. It’s ability to be removed not altering it’s load capacity, so all those with an existing towbar rack won’t be disappointed.
It is the internal bike carrier than took my interest from the off, however. Many people, notably Hurricane, have spent countless hours trying to perfect a universal front axle-based bike carrier. Should you only be taking yourself and one passenger plus bikes, this has to be up there potentially before other options are included. Happily taking two road bikes sat side-by-side along one side of the car, leaving ample room for more bikes, you’re also left with a fairly clear rear view.
The car I saw had two fairly large 29” hardtail mountain bikes internally. This configuration required the bikes to be arranged diagonally across the car but still left ample room for kit bags. Possibly the most important facets of this setup is the single point of contact between bike and upholstery, while simultaneously keeping the front wheels clamped safely again the frame where only rubber contacts metal. Granted all the bikes I saw had QR front wheels, but I was assured that the system will work well with through-axle designs as well. We look forward to having a car on test to really put the bike carrier through its paces.
Skoda Fabia Combi from £12,460 OTR.
Bike Carrier w/ Variable Boot Floor £264 (fitted).
Boot liners from £28.
