Skoda's zesty new Fabia bolder, smarter - Drivesouth
Petr Skutina has been Skoda's in-factory liaison with the New Zealand distributor for only two years, but already he's made the long trip here from Bohemia on three occasions. The go-getter Kiwi drive to keep raising the sales and stature of Skoda is one the factory appreciates, he said during the media launch for the latest Fabia small hatchback, because it synchs neatly with the brand's wider ambitions. The Volkswagen Group's entry brand is on a high at the moment, having struck a record one million car sales globally in 2014. It is now setting out to reach 1. 5 million sales a year by 2020. The core models driving this next target are sports... These will include the next-generation Yeti and a large seven-seater based on the platform used by the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7, both due in 2017, plus, rumour has it, a small sub-Yeti proposition. The Fabia carries a 1. 2-litre turbo-petrol in two states of tune, a modest starter for the entry five-speed manual and a meatier version for more expensive models with a seven-speed direct shift automatic. The DSGs are candidates for Dynamic Sport and Colour Sport packages, each costing $2000. The first adds metal pedals, sports seats, a sports steering wheel, sports suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels (replacing entry 16s) to the tech package. Source: www.drivesouth.co.nz
