Skoda Fabia 130 (2026 – ) review

The 130 is based on the existing 1.5-litre Fabia, only with a modest lift in power. Equipped with a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission, it means the punchy little Skoda is not too hard on fuel – we managed to see more than 40mpg from it on a steady motorway cruise, which feels a good return for a hot hatch of this sort. It also has the same CO2 output as the Fabia Monte Carlo with the less powerful version of the same engine, so there’s no real penalty incurred from a running-costs perspective when stepping up to the 130 beyond the (significantly) higher purchase price.

This generation of the Skoda Fabia has a solid reputation for reliability, and there’s nothing in the 130 that should spoil that. Generally Fabia owners report high satisfaction with both the manufacturer and the model of car itself, while the Fabia 130 uses tried-and-trusted hardware that should ensure dependability, despite its racy appearance. The three-year warranty is nothing special, but you can extend this to four or five years at relatively modest cost if you feel the need.

The current Skoda Fabia on which this 130 is based picked up a full five-star Euro NCAP safety rating when it was assessed in 2021, with high scores in each of the four disciplines that make up the assessment. As the top-of-the-range trim level it comes with all the driver assistance systems available on the Fabia as standard, including the automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping required by regulation. You still need to pay extra for the likes of adaptive cruise control capable of bringing the car to a halt in stop-start traffic, more sophisticated lane-keeping and a Safety Package with additional knee airbag for the driver and side airbags in the rear cabin – the latter an important consideration if you’re going to use your Fabia 130 as a family car. The base Fabia’s budget positioning also means it lacks useful safety aids like blind-spot alerts, though the compact size and decent visibility mean this isn’t a deal-breaker.

To make the Fabia 130 feel sportier than others in the range, Skoda’s engineers have lowered and stiffened the suspension and adjusted the steering feel. And yet, somehow, the 130 is as comfortable and enjoyable to travel in as any other Fabia. There’s a little bit more noise from the tyres at times but it’s never unbearable, and for all the sportiness the Fabia doesn’t ride speed bumps and lumpy urban roads too harshly while the extra poise is welcome at higher speeds, be that on motorways or twisty roads. Combine that with the wonderfully supportive and sporty bucket-style seats and for all its focus on thrills the Fabia 130 is a car you’ll be happy racking up miles in.

Externally, the Fabia 130 is set apart from the rest of the range by various model-specific trim parts, including black-coloured front splitter, grille, mirror housings, wheels and even roof. You’ll also notice the prominent spoiler attached to the rear edge of the latter. Inside, a gorgeous set of bucket seats with distinctive striped upholstery enliven a cabin that also gets lots of perforated leather, contrast stitching and even carbon-fibre-effect trim to lift things, yet Skoda also preserves all the practicality and useful space you’d expect of a Fabia.

With only a modest power increase over the existing 1.5-litre versions of the Fabia this is more a ‘warm’ hatchback than truly hot one. Despite this, the 130 is still the fastest production Fabia we’ve yet seen. The fact it is relatively light means it makes the most of every last horsepower available as well, the driving experience as sweet as it is entertaining. If it weren’t so close in price to the distantly related and more powerful Volkswagen Polo GTI with its lusty 2.0-litre engine, then we’d be rating the Fabia 130 even more highly here.