2022 Skoda Fabia detailed: Toyota Yaris, Mazda 2 and MG3 rival scores updated tech and more practicality

Skoda has uncovered its fourth-generation Fabia light car, which will hit Australian showrooms in early 2022 in hatchback form, with the wagon expected to follow soon after.

Based on Volkswagen Group’s MQB-A0 platform (shared with the current VW Polo), the 2022 Fabia has grown in every aspect except height, measuring 4108mm long (+110mm), 1780mm wide (+48mm), 1460mm tall (-7mm) and with a 2565mm wheelbase (+94mm).

As a result, boot space in hatchback has increased 50 litres to 380L, while folding the rear seats will balloon that figure to 1190L, making the new Fabia more practical than larger cars like the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3.

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A wagon body style will also be made available, but details and dimensions are yet to be revealed.

Overseas, five engines are available for the Fabia with outputs ranging from 48kW to 110kW, with a mix of manual and automatic options that drive the front wheels.

Given the current Fabia range, which comes with either a 70kW/150Nm (manual) or 81kW/200Nm (automatic) 1.0-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine, expect to see a similar line-up when the new car arrives Down Under.

Topping the model overseas is a 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, which is paired exclusively to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, but given the powertrain is also featured in the Scala, there might be too much overlap in the local Skoda range.

Distinguishing the new Fabia apart from the old is an evolution of its current design language, featuring slimmer headlines and new front grille to fit it amongst the Skoda stable alongside the new Octavia, Scala and Kamiq.

Inside, the 2022 Fabia boasts an all-digital instrument cluster that measure 10.25 inches, while a 9.2-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto support handles multimedia duties, at least in higher-spec grades.

Lower tier variants are fitted with a 3.5-inch driver display and analogue instrumentation, with 6.5- and 8.0-inch multimedia screens also available.

Safety systems have also been boosted in new-generation form, with the Fabia equipped with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control, driver attention along, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and speed sign recognition.

Features offered include a wireless smartphone charger, dual-zone climate control and a heated steering wheel, but pricing and specification is yet to be confirmed for Australia.

For reference, the current Fabia range kicks off at $18,390 before on-road costs for the 70TSI manual hatchback, and extends to $26,090 for the 81TSI Monte Carlo wagon.