Skoda Fabia vs VW Polo

It's a common comparison because car buyers realise the Fabia and Polo are built on the same platform and want to see if there's an advantage in one over the other in a search for the best small cars.

It's interesting that although there are over 30 small cars for sale in the UK they're built on little more than a dozen different platforms.

The VW Polo has always been the baby brother to the Golf which has grown from a small to medium size hatchback. However the Polo never seemed to have caught car buyers imagination in the same way the Golf did. The new model Polo with its stronger clean lines - like a Golf - has changed that.

The Polo can now join the Corsa, Clio, Mini, and 207 who amongst others enjoy great street cred' especially now the Polo line-up includes a GTi.

The Skoda Fabia has been cleverly marketed by VW as a value brand with amazing sales results. Today the Skoda is highly respected with extremely high levels of customer satisfaction. Like the Polo the Fabia has clean simple lines and like the Polo of the past it's been nothing to get excited about. It's a nice car run by nice polite motorists.

But again this image is about to change with Skoda advertising the Fabia vRS as a bad-boy racer in their amusing new TV ads.

So the Polo and Fabia seem very similar. It's the same story when you compare their entry prices and price range - the Polo GTi is more expensive. So the idea Skodas are cheap and VWs expensive could be just a marketing myth.

The Fabia and Polo also share virtually the same dimensions and almost identical range of engine options. This means they have close rankings or near identical figures for performance, emissions and fuel consumption figures which also means there's unlikely to be any difference on the road.

When considering the wide range of engine and trim options be aware of the changing car insurance groups as the table has widened to 1-50. Also when considering diesel engine options calculate at what to total mileage savings in fuel costs cover the extra you pay for a diesel car.

It makes you wonder why VW manufacture the two cars when they are so similar. It is possible to over-sell a car to the point they become so ubiquitous they're dismissed by buyers because everyone's got one. Some people have said that about Fords and Vauxhalls. I can remember the trade thinking the old 206 was over-sold and I think the Clio came close. Imagine the C1, 107 and Aygo being sold with the one badge. It wouldn't be half so successful.

The good news is when cars are so similar you can focus on what you personally like in driver comfort and style subject to being able to get the best deal.

You should get the feel of driver comfort for yourself rather than take notice of pundits who seem to compare bread-and-butter cars with their favourite Ferrari which they don't promise to be. Comfort or lack of it can be the major source of disatisfaction for a car owner so it's worth trusting your own feeling of ease and happiness.

We all have different tastes. Some cars are wonderfully quiet and smooth which some regard as lacking driver experience. Some drivers are very aware of a cars handling and stability whilst others may not notice or be concerned.

In surveys motorists deny being concerned with style but I can recall that in over four decades selling cars one of the first thing visitors would say is, 'I like the look of that,' or 'I don't like the look of that.'

Probably the only real difference between a Polo and Fabia is the look of them.

Regards
Ralph