Skoda Fabia Select 2025 Review

Price is the headline act here. It’s what will attract more buyers to the quirky Volkswagen Group brand who couldn’t afford the highly specified Monte Carlo. And from the get-go, $32,390 plus on-road costs (ORCs) for the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select is already looking far more agreeable.

However, make sure to keep an eye out for drive-away deals. Previously, Skoda has run with $31,990 drive away, but from now until June 30, 2025, you can pick up a Fabia Select for $29,990 – no more to pay.

If you don’t want to go the whole hog, Skoda Choice also allows you to opt for $79 weekly payments via Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) at 6.99 per cent per annum with a 20 per cent deposit, 60-month term and 15,000km limit. At the end of your loan term, you can either trade the Fabia Select in, return it or keep it by paying the agreed value left owing.

It’s another way of doing things and it makes the Select enticing, especially for those who were considering something like the hybrid-only Toyota Yaris.

There are cheaper hybrid options like the MG MG3 and the Suzuki Swift, while the MINI Cooper and under-the-skin-twin Volkswagen Polo are viable, more premium options.

Skoda’s impressive seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty applies with a year of roadside assistance. Servicing is a bog standard 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first), while capped-price servicing for seven years will set you back $3650. That averages out to a rather expensive $521 per visit.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the aero-efficient plastic wheel-cover sections are visually challenging. Especially given they’re disguising 16-inch alloy wheels, not steelies.

However, the rest of the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select is attractively designed with a paired-back, Euro-chic flavour you don’t often find in the light hatch segment. This aesthetic is helped with LED headlights, fog lights and taillights.

To justify the price, there’s value-adding in terms of specification. The Select gains keyless entry with pushbutton start, heated and power-folding door mirrors, auto-dimming rear-view mirror as well as auto headlights and wipers.

No, you won’t find leather or electronic adjustment for the seats, but the fabric is tactile and visually pleasing. There’s manual seat adjustment (including height and lumbar), while the steering wheel is clad in cow hide – a nice touch.

Oh, and there’s an A-pillar-mounted parking-ticket holder and an umbrella in the driver’s door. It’s a Skoda, after all.

Some might baulk at a lack of climate control, but it’s a simple approach. The same method is applied to the cost options, of which there is only one. It is $500 Velvet Red. Like our Moon White test car, Race Blue, Graphite Grey, Black Magic and Brilliant Silver add no additional expense.

The Fabia holds a five-star ANCAP safety rating (2021), which is based off Euro NCAP testing that included a left-hand-drive 1.0-litre variant. However, while this doesn’t officially cover the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select, it’s plausible to assume it would attract the same status.

The Select is fitted with six airbags, dual ISOFIX points and a trio of top tether anchorages in the back seat.

It gains a host of active safety tech like autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear AEB, lane departure warning, side assist/blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, cruise control and driver fatigue detection.

Notable omissions from that list are adaptive cruise control and road sign recognition. For the price, radar cruise control would be appreciated, while others might not miss the audible speed limit warnings. Aside from that, the safety tech’s calibration is decent.

You don’t expect sleek tech features in the light hatch segment, but that’s what the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select is packed with.

Yes, it isn’t the biggest infotainment display, but the 8.25-inch touchscreen proves size isn’t everything. It creates an upmarket feeling with crisp graphics and a logical menu structure. The Operating system is responsive enough (although, it could react to inputs faster) and the ergonomics are sound with physical dials.

The 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster (or Virtual Cockpit) is just as pleasing for an ‘entry-level’ model. There are even different themes and layouts to toggle through and configure. Yet, it would be nice to be able to use more of the trip computer within the cluster instead of having to delve into the central screen.

Other than that, the Select gains wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, DAB+ digital radio, voice recognition, USB-C ports and six-speaker audio. A wireless charging pad is a notable absence.

A lot of the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select’s charm comes from the thrummy three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. It has a willing and endearing attitude that adds to the overall experience – a rare win for a light hatch.

It’s a strong little unit, with its 85kW and 200Nm contradicting the 1.0-litre capacity. The torque figure, which is only 50Nm shy of the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol Monte Carlo, transforms the on-road experience as the Fabia pulls strongly without the need to extend the engine.

With a kerb weight of slightly more than 1200kg, the Select is more sprightly than expected.

The Fabia sends power to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. On the run the transmission provides swift shifts, yet it can be a jerky and hesitant at slow speeds – especially if you’re reversing on an incline. There aren’t any steering-wheel-mounted paddles, but you can change gears manually via the sequential-style shift gate.

Interestingly, even the Select gains driving modes (Eco, Normal, Sport and Individual). You can toggle through them using the button next to the gear lever or tap through them on screen. Just don’t expect to manipulate anything more than the drivetrain response or steering weight.

Then there’s the offbeat sound of the three-cylinder engine. Some might find the acoustics a bit gruff but, for most, it adds a lot of character that’s generally missing in hatchbacks of this type. Overall, it’s another factor to make you smile.

The 2025 Skoda Fabia Select proves you don’t have to sacrifice power to gain ultimate economy. It doesn’t slurp fuel, yet it still offers perky performance when you need it.

Officially, the Select’s combined fuel consumption is 5.0L/100km – a figure that can’t quite match the hybrid competition but is more than competitive among its petrol-powered peers.

During our time with the Fabia, we achieved 5.6L/100km, which mainly included city, urban, highway and road-testing conditions. Not a bad result at all considering a large portion of the loop included spirited driving – more on that below.

A bugbear could be that the small 1.0-litre engine demands more expensive 95 RON fuel, while the 42L tank equates to an impressive average range of 840km (based on the ADR Combined cycle figure).

Much like the mechanical hardware, there’s something compelling about the way the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select goes about its business. There are a few smiles to be had.

It feels light on its feet and, despite wearing lower-grade Nexen tyres, the Select showcases high levels of grip. It’s even a bit of fun, with a relatively playful nature when you work with the softer suspension tune. Still, it doesn’t roll too much, nor does it lack composure on a twisty country road.

At slow city speeds the ride quality can err on the firm side – you’ll hear bigger hits, for sure. However, the Select is compliant, a sensation that only grows as the speed increases and the MacPherson strut/torsion beam suspension setup breathes with the road.

The steering is typical VW, in that it is naturally light. However, that doesn’t mean it’s without precision. It works well with the nature of the Fabia.

A blight on the dynamic package is the calibration of the brake pedal. The soft response at the top of the pedal’s travel is then met with an aggressive, grabby nature when the discs hit the pads. Although you’re never in doubt of their capability, it can be hard to come to a stop in a fluid motion.

The only other niggles are the fact the cruise control doesn’t hold your set speed down hills and its controls reside on the indicator stalk, instead of being housed within the multi-function steering wheel.

Overall, the Fabia has small-car verve with big-car composure. Its small footprint makes city life a breeze (including great vision), yet it doesn’t get bullied about on the open road. The Select feels far more solid than its dimensions would suggest.

Expect a lot, but don’t expect too much. Contrasting ideals, yet both are true with the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select.

The good side is that fit and finish is largely up to Volkswagen Group standards. In terms of design, it’s reserved and paired back, with only slight flair seen in the Fabia inscription on the instrument cluster’s flanks. With the cloth-covered dash and fabric seats there’s a perception of understated polish.

Yet, the inconspicuous styling approach could be seen as bland. Not to mention the ’90s-style manual AC dials, which are refreshing to some, but can be seen as fiddly to use if you enjoy precise temperature control. In a digital age, they’re resolutely analogue.

Simplicity is key, though. And while there might not be much in the way of soft-touch plastics, the cabin is easy to live with, which means more as a useful daily commuter. Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) is dealt with surprisingly well, with little tyre noise coming from the skinny 185-section Nexen tyres. There’s noticeable refinement.

It’s also important to remember that the Fabia Select is a light hatch in terms of roominess. Although, for a car that’s 4108mm long, 1780mm wide, 1459mm tall and with a wheelbase of 2564mm, interior space isn’t overtly lacking. Backseat passengers aren’t afforded capacious amounts of legroom, but it is a useable space for adults with headroom being decent.

Seating three abreast is a bridge too far, but two in the outboard rear seats is doable and the rear doors open wide for easier access. Rear-seat occupants gain air vents and phone/map pockets, which is a bonus, yet other amenities are rather light-on. It doesn’t have rear USB-C ports or a fold down centre arm rest with cup holders.

The Fabia kicks goals for cargo capacity. In fact, it shames some offerings from the class above. The boot delivers 380 litres of useable space, expanding to 1190L with the 60/40-split rear pews stowed. There’s no false floor to even out the load bay in this configuration, leaving a lip between the seats and boot floor. A space-saver spare is fitted, too.

If you have a penchant for European, but don’t have as many Euros to play with as you’d like, the 2025 Skoda Fabia Select presents a novel approach to the $30K hatchback. It still isn’t unequivocally cheap, but you can’t have champagne taste on a beer budget.

It represents better value than some of its competition, while receiving close to petrol-electric levels of fuel consumption. And compared to the Fabia Monte Carlo, the Select stands as a worthwhile choice if you don’t need all the bells and whistles. The charming three-cylinder engine is a bonus.

Ultimately, the addition of the Select is a positive for the Fabia range – especially if you snag a drive-away deal. Moreover, the Skoda Fabia proves that you don’t have to spend a heap of cash to own something with soul.

2025 Skoda Fabia Select at a glance:
Price: $32,390 plus on-road costs
Available: Now
Engine: 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 85kW/200Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 5.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 114g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five stars (2021)

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