In association with MotorEasy
Car of the Year Awards 2021: Best estate car for value
While estates lack the fashionable status of SUVs, they’re more practical. But an estate also needs to be a pleasure to spend time in, and easy to live with beyond the simple virtue of space...
Skoda Fabia Estate 1.0 TSI 95 SE
The phrase ‘it’s all the car you’ll ever need’ is used flippantly and far too often, but here it is absolutely the case.
For a start, the Skoda Fabia Estate’s boot can hold up to 530 litres of stuff. That’s more than you’ll fit in a Volvo XC60 – a large SUV – even though the Fabia Estate is shorter and narrower than a Ford Focus. Provided you add the £120 variable boot floor, the load bay is flush with the load lip and rear seatbacks when they’re folded, making it versatile as well as spacious. The rear seats are roomy enough, too.
SE trim gets roof rails, 16in wheels, air-con, rear parking sensors and a 6.5in infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so it’s a pleasure to live with. The Fabia is good to drive, too, thanks to its willing engine and light, precise controls.
It wins here for the brilliant value it offers – cheap monthly finance deals and low running costs included. Yet it’s not ‘just’ a cheap estate; it’s a brilliantly versatile and likeable estate that just happens to be remarkably affordable.
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