Skoda set out to make its new Fabia more visually appealing without sacrificing practicality. Exterior designer Dalibor Pantucek tells Autocar how it was done.
What have you tried to achieve with the new Fabia’s design?
“We have applied the design DNA seen on the Vision C concept. The Fabia has to be fresh, simple and have a very strong character. It should also be timeless – we’re not looking for any unnecessary decoration that could date. We need a combination of emotion and practicality. It has to remain functional and to have a big luggage compartment, lots of space and still be a family orientated brand.”
What are the key design elements that give the car its character?
“We want to bring more muscle to the package and give the car more of an attractive presence on the road. One of the main features is the shoulder line, which has an undercut, something that comes from Vision C. It gives the car a more dynamic look. The nose is another key element; we developed side lines on the bonnet that bring a little bit more muscle and stretch the appearance of the car.”
How important is this current trend for reduction in car design?
“We always try to reduce details to minimum, to give the car a fresh, modern, timeless design. We’re always joking that we’re not designing the Christmas tree, which is full of decoration but then thrown away in January. We have to think about how the car will look on the road in ten years. The car should be super-simple, but with smart little touches to bring some life and emotion.”
Skodas have a reputation for practicality, but how do to marry this with appealing design?
“The car should be super-simple, but with smart little touches to bring some life and emotion. It needs strong character and perfect proportions. Achieving all of this is super-challenging for us. An example can be found on the rear bumper: we want to keep the design super simple without disturbing anything, so you’ll see that there is a very gentle indication of a diffuser, but it is in body colour as opposed to black as it is on some other cars. When cars have a black diffuser, it is often because the design is bottom-heavy and they need to put something in to break it up. The design of this car is so well balanced that we can afford to not have it.”
What are the main influences behind Skoda design?
“Our main inspiration is Czech Bohemia crystal. We try to give the car something special that we can be proud of; it’s not like some global design. The theme is influencing the sharp edges and precise lines; the front and rear lights in particular are inspired by it.”
How important are the customer personalisation options to the new Fabia?
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Golf Mk I
Fabia
Not everyone want a spotty faced oiks idea of a car with o-60 of minus three seconds and a four hundred mile an hour top speed.
The vast majority of Autocar readers are more grown up than that.
I shall certainly buy the estate version when it becomes available.
The build quality will be top notch, customer satisfaction with Skoda is better than Audi or BMW. The engineering is at least as good and the prices far less. Well done Skoda
It's not ageless, simply dull
The big problem is that, in the Dacia era, the Fabia is not particularly cheap. Are the VW Group doing a Tesco and falling victims to pride?