Long-term test: Skoda Fabia 130

When our spy photographers first caught the Fabia 130 testing on the Nürburgring in late summer 2025, our minds were whirring as to what could power this sporty new Skoda hatchback. The turbocharged 2.0-litre EA888 engine from Volkswagen Polo GTI (detuned from the version in the Golf GTI) seemed like a good bet, given that the Polo and Fabia sit on the same MQB A0 platform.

What we didn’t expect was Skoda tuning the EA211 1.5-litre unit from the standard Fabia. Among the bespoke parts are hardened rocker arm pins, new air pipes and a more heat-resistant intake manifold, plus heat-resistant plastics, a chunkier vibration damper and changes to the engine’s ECU to provide additional boost from the variable-turbine-geometry turbocharger. 

It sounds pretty involved, but the result is a mere 174bhp rather than the standard engine’s 148bhp. The torque output is the same, at 250Nm, for a 0-62mph time of 7.4 seconds – 0.6 quicker than the next-fastest Fabia. On paper at least, the pay-off for what must have been some costly development work seems to be minimal.

The Fabia 130 has a seven-speed DSG auto gearbox, which is excellent in its own right and gets bespoke mapping for quicker shifts, but it’s a shame there’s no manual option. 

We’ll delve more deeply into how the Fabia 130 drives in the coming months, but at first glance the Skoda appears to be a mildly sportier version of the marque’s humble supermini, rather than what I was hoping for: something more than the sum of its parts.

*Insurance quote for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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