Is there nothing that cannot be toughened up with a good dose of plastic cladding - just look at the Rover 25 Streetwise. How cool was that?
Anyway, here's the latest Fabia dib dib dib variant, which true to form is basically a
Fabia Estate with some new plastic panelling around the bottom. And, because it's a 'new' car and we're showing you it now, you've probably already guessed it'll be at
Geneva.
According to Skoda, it has 'emotional dimensions', whatever they are - though that said, the Rover 25 Streetwise did make us cry a little bit, so maybe it's something to do with gluing incongruous plastic onto cars.
However, the changes don't stop there. The new Scout gets a slightly different bumper, silver roof rails and unique alloy wheels. It'll be powered by a choice of two petrol or two diesel engines: 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol options and 1.4- and 1.9-litre turbodiesels, with power outputs of 85, 105, 80 and 105bhp respectively. Fuel economy ranges from 40.9mpg up to 61.4mpg, with all units mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
There are no mechanical changes over the standard Fabia - no raised ride height, no 4x4 drivetrain, nothing. It's available in May.
Mark Nichol - 19 Feb 2009