GIVING us another tantalising glimpse of the new fourth generation ŠKODA Fabia, its makers say it presents a striking design, with bigger interior, increased comfort and, thanks to advanced safety and assistance systems, even greater levels of safety.

Since its premiere in 1999, the Fabia has been uniting ŠKODA’s brand values. It combines great levels of active and passive safety with a generously sized interior and excellent value for money. It also offers compact exterior dimensions, efficient powertrains and numerous Simply Clever features.

The new interior design of the ŠKODA Fabia enhances the small car’s feeling of spaciousness even further. The symmetrical instrument panel with its central, free-standing display, and the horizontal, differently coloured decorative strips (depending on the trim line), emphasise the width of the interior. Furthermore, the Virtual Cockpit is making its Fabia debut.

The new ŠKODA Fabia offers a choice of five efficient petrol engines. With this, ŠKODA has not only increased the number of different engines compared to the predecessor, but the range of power outputs – from 65 PS to 150 PS – is also significantly wider than before. All five engines are from Volkswagen Group’s new EVO generation and, for the most part, makes the new Fabia up to 10 per cent more economical than its predecessor.

The range of engines available for the new ŠKODA Fabia includes two multipoint injection (MPI) petrol engines and three TSIs with direct injection. The new entry-level engine is a 1.0 MPI with three cylinders and an output of 65 PS and fitted with a new manual five-speed gearbox, which is also used in the variant featuring the second MPI engine. This generates an output of 80 PS.

The two EVO-generation three-cylinder 1.0 TSI engines feature an innovative plasma coating. The cylinder liners have been powder-coated with a thin layer measuring just 150 μm (0.15 mm). This reduces internal friction, which lowers fuel consumption, emissions and, by better distribution and dissipation of heat in the combustion chamber, the thermal load on the engine. The 1.0 TSI producing 95 PS comes with a manual five-speed gearbox, while the more powerful 1.0 TSI delivering 110 PS is coupled with a manual six-speed gearbox. The 1.0 TSI with a power output of 110 PS can also be equipped with a seven‑speed DSG as an option.

With the change to the fourth-generation model, the ŠKODA Fabia is now also available with a new top-of-the-range engine. The 1.5 TSI produces 150 PS from its four cylinders and is combined with a seven-speed DSG as standard.

Full UK information on the new model to be confirmed later in the year.