Northern Group Car of the Year 2022: Skoda Fabia Wins Small Car Category
The 2022 Skoda Fabia has taken the honours in the Northern Group of Motoring Writers’ Car of the Year voting for the Small Car category, entering it into the final six for our the Car of the Year award.
First introduced in September 2021, the new Fabia is larger than its predecessor as — like its group siblings which already made the switch — it has now moved onto the new MQB supermini platform.
Longer and wider than before, and with an extra 9cm between the wheels, the Fabia now boasts class-leading interior room which includes a 380-litre boot.
Skoda has also filled the Fabia with fancy technology, including standard LED headlights. However it’s also more fuel efficient too despite putting on a few pounds, thanks to a low drag coefficient. That all helped it beat the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Aygo X in our voting.
The Northern Group’s Fred Manby, meetings and membership secretary and part of the 13-member judging panel at our driving day, explained why the Fabia was our Small Car category winner:
It is a tough pick in the small, four-metre class — you could buy any and be a happy driver. Skoda’s Fabia was our pick of the newcomers; it has grown up, with a punkish face and lower entry price than the rivals, and moves with refinement and composure.
Skoda supplied a Fabia, in 1.0TSI, 95PS (93hp) Comfort SE trim, for the driving day near Skipton, allowing the judges to evaluate it alongside our other category winners to determine the Group’s Car of the Year.
With the ballot kept secret, the overall winner will be revealed at the SMMT Test Day North, and the winning manufacturer’s press office will take home the coveted “Arthur” award.
