It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that the Fabia is the rock upon which Skoda builds its church. Without this model, there would be no budget for vehicles like the wacky Roomster, the dashing Octavia and the faintly puzzling Superb. Launched in 2000, it was certainly a world apart from any compact car the Czech company had ever produced before. Designed by the stylist responsible for the Bentley Continental GT, this spacious supermini offered a simple recipe.

As well as being very well screwed together, it was also one of the longest cars in its class and had the interior space efficiency to capitalise on those extra inches. At the time, anything much larger would have strayed into the next class up - Golf, Astra and Focus family hatchback territory - so it had the supermini market pretty much taped, if space was a priority and you didn't have deep pockets. Since then, Renault's Clio has muscled in on this formula and Skoda has responded - and how. The latest Fabia moves the game to another level at prices starting from £8,090 in 1.2-litre petrol form.

As promising as the basic Fabia formula might seem, the notion of big car, small engine is rarely a recipe for fun. In this instance, it's remarkable what a difference 10bhp makes. The Fabia is actually offered with two 1.2-litre petrol engines. There's a 60bhp 6-valve unit (yes, this is a three cylinder engine) that should be avoided unless you're really cash-strapped or there's a 70bhp 12-valve engine that's significantly more satisfying. Where the 60bhp unit struggles when the car is loaded, the 70bhp has enough about it to carry the day. It'll get to 60mph in 14.4 seconds and hit a top speed of 102mph and while those aren't standout figures, there's an enthusiasm and honesty to this powerplant that is extremely rewarding. If you want the Estate model (that commands a premium of around £500 over the equivalent 5-door hatch), then you'll need to go for the 70bhp variant.

"If you can stretch to the punchier engine you've got the best budget supermini by quite a considerable margin"

The basic underpinnings, a MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear, haven't changed a great deal from the old Fabia but tuning to the damping means this car rides a good deal more smoothly. The steering wheel requires a bit of arm twirling lock-to-lock but it's a decently accurate helm and the gearchange is one of the best in its class.

The driving experience may be good but the design touches are, if anything, even better. It's easy to see where Skoda is going with their design language. If you've been paying attention to any of their show cars and concepts in the past few years, the shape of the Fabia will come as no great surprise. The front end mimics that of the Roomster mini-MPV while the rear end is a lot cleaner, offering a more conservative tack than the Roomster's weird kinked window line. In fact, the splayed shoulder line of this car and neatly sawn-off rear pillars aren't dissimilar to the Suzuki Swift. It's a very tidy styling job and serves to make the old Fabia look positively archaic.

It's a notably bigger car too, the subsequent growth of the family hatch in size giving this Fabia a bit more room to let its belt out and remain a fully fledged supermini. Skoda claim more rear knee and headroom than any rival, helped by the fact that the Fabia is 22mm longer and 47mm taller than the model it replaces. Boot capacity stands at an impressive 300 litres with the seats in place or a massive 1,163 litres when they're folded. For the Estate version, the figures are 480 litres and 1460 litres.

Despite the success of the Fabia, Skoda still recognise the limits of their badge equity - the upmarket Superb saloon taught them a key, and rather expensive, lesson here - and the Fabia is priced realistically while recognising the need to nudge the brand incrementally upmarket. Equipment levels were never the Fabia's strong point, Skoda relying instead on solid no-nonsense build quality. This time round there are items like electronically-controlled Climatronic air-conditioning and an MP3/iPod-compatible stereo but if you go to your Skoda dealer expecting to be granted a view of the state-of-the-art in small car electronics, you're likely to be disappointed. Unimpeachable build quality, on the other hand, you can take for granted.

You don't buy a 1.2-litre Skoda Fabia and then expect to be clouted by high running costs and initial impressions suggest that this will be one of the cheapest superminis to run on a long term basis. For a start Fabias have always held very firm when it comes to residual values, used buyers valuing the Volkswagen Group input and resolute build quality. Secondly, as this is the entry-level petrol engine family, insurance is very cheap.

Finally, there's economy. The 1.2-litre 16v model manages to return a figure in the region of 48mpg on the combined cycle which is something many small diesels would be proud of. Naturally this figure will take a dive if you load the vehicle up and are a little enthusiastic with the throttle but it's a very good base point given how big the Fabia body is. Rather surprisingly, the less powerful 60bhp 1.2-litre unit isn't markedly more economical.

The supermini market has changed beyond all recognition from when Skoda unleashed its original Fabia back in 2000. Twentieth-century designed superminis knew their place. They were small and savagely built down to a price as manufacturers didn't want them to cannibalise sales from the bigger family hatches which they viewed as their cash cows, to be protected at all costs. The Fabia changed the way we looked at superminis.

The latest model takes the old Fabia's strengths of space, solid build quality and minuscule running costs and improves on them. The 1.2-litre models are a mixed bag, with the 12v powerplant being a lot more appealing than the rather frenetic 6v engine, but if you can stretch to the punchier engine you've got the best budget supermini by quite a considerable margin. Expect certain manufacturers to be going back to their drawing boards when they analyse this.

TOP 5 FABIA DEALS

The results below show the top FABIA deals on buyacar

	Skoda Fabia 1.2 12V 1 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £145	Saving £865	Price £8,595
	Skoda Fabia 1.2 1 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £122	Saving £738	Price £7,452
	Skoda Fabia 1.2 12V 2 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £153	Saving £1,001	Price £8,889
	Skoda Fabia 1.2 12V Sport 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £173	Saving £1,112	Price £9,778
	Skoda Fabia 1.2 12V 1 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £135	Saving £809	Price £8,101

typical 13.68% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000