Skoda has increased the size of the new Fabia small hatchback and expanded safety and comfort equipment, but it will not offer a hybrid version to keep down costs.
Skoda unveiled the Fabia online on Tuesday ahead of its sales launch in Europe in September. A station wagon version will follow later.
The fourth-generation Fabia moves to parent Volkswagen Group's MQB-A0 platform for the first time, allowing the car to be 110 mm longer than its predecessor at 4108 mm, creating extra room for passengers. The current Fabia, which debuted in 2014, uses VW Group's PQ35 platform.
The increased size gives the Fabia "more space than our competitors," Skoda CEO Thomas Schaefer said in statement.
The longer wheelbase at 2564 mm means the new Fabia is longer than Skoda's 1996 Octavia compact car.
Skoda has chosen not to electrify the Fabia range and will instead offer gasoline engines only. The reason given for not offering even a mild-hybrid version was to keep the price down.
"As a brand known for value for money, when you electrify you start to erode that because of increasing costs," a Skoda spokesman said.
Entry versions will start at around 14,000 euros, another Skoda spokesman said.
The Fabia will offer a three-cylinder non-turbocharged gasoline engine with two power outputs, and a three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline unit also with two power outputs.
The most powerful of the turbocharged engines has 110 hp and is available with the option of a 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox.
A larger 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine is available with 150 hp and a DSG gearbox as standard.
The lowest-emitting Fabia has CO2 emissions of 113 grams per km, Skoda said.
Technology now offered with the Fabia is similar to that of the larger Octavia and includes a new free-standing touchscreen in the central dashboard up to 9.2-inches in size.
Two smaller screens are offered in lower-spec cars. The top-spec Admundsen infotainment system includes gesture control.
A 10.25-inch "virtual cockpit" screen in front of the driver brings VW Group technology into the Fabia for the first time and offers a range of layouts.
Optional driving assistance technology includes Skoda’s Travel Assist for the first time, which links lane-keeping technology with adaptive cruise control and other functions such as sign recognition to control speed automatically.
The Fabia is also available with blind spot recognition and parking assistance which can take over the driver's steering work when parking.
Other features include heated steering wheel and heated windscreen options.
The Fabia's design is an update of the current model. The car has been given a more emotionally appealing design with details such as slimmer LED front lights and rear lights that extend onto the trunk lid.
The longer wheelbase also helped improve the car's appearance, Oliver Stefani, Skoda's head of design, said in the statement.
"Thanks to its new proportions, our entry-level model looks much more dynamic and grown-up," he said
The car is the most aerodynamic in its class, Skoda said, thanks to use of devices such as special plastic trims on the alloys and active cooling shutters in the lower front grille that close when not needed.
The Skoda Fabia was the No. 10-selling small car in Europe last year with a volume of 93,055, down 38 percent, according to figures from JATO Dynamics. It was Skoda's second-best-selling model last year after the Octavia.
Skoda said the Czech Republic was the Fabia's largest single market with 16,280 deliveries in 2020, ahead of Germany (16,054) and Poland (12,805).
The model will continue to be built in Skoda's Mlada Boleslav factory in the Czech Republic.
