Skoda Fabia

The one they don’t believe is a Skoda, or is that old joke ad wearing a bit thin? Again a case where the cousin car is larger and to some eyes better looking (we think the saloon is a bit porkpie hat) than the VW Polo on which it is based. Build quality is excellent, though we have some reservations about how the material in the seats stands up to stains and rough treatment. But there’s no gainsaying the pleasant character of the car, and there’s a quite amazing number of permutations when you take on board the three spec levels of Classic, Comfort and Elegance, the hatch, saloon and estate guises, and the variants of the 1.4-litre and 2-litre petrol engines and the 1.9-litre normal and turboed diesels. A modern motoring success story. Stars: 3.5

SKODA PRICES

Skoda on a roll with the Fabia (Nov 00) - Tony Conlon

Never mind a flash TT; try a Skoda for size! (Oct 00) - Tony Conlon

Skoda Octavia

In its second generation, this Golf-underpinned car predated the Bora and Toledo cousins (and the Audi A3) and is now beginning to show its age, though it still represents more car for the money. More of the rear room is in the boot than in the passenger area, which makes it a great car for carrying luggage and rep samples, or a vet’s medicine chest. Again, there’s a wide range of engines and specification levels, with the 150bhp 1.8T Elegance being perhaps the best value for a car that has some interesting performance also (but is overshadowed by relation SEAT Leon 20vT Sport which has the same price - the equivalent 1.8T RS 20v is something more expensive). There’s also a Combi estate variant with the same range of engines. Stars: 3.5/4