Introduction to the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
It's been a while since we had a high-performance version of the Skoda Fabia, but now there's a fresh flagship for the Czech hatchback's range. Developed by Skoda's Technical Development, it's called the Fabia 130.
That name neatly references three separate details relating to the company, its history and the model itself. First of all, it is 130 years since Skoda started making cars back in 1895; secondly, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the legendary 130 RS rally car; and third, the new Fabia makes 177hp... which is 130kW.
Pros & cons of the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
Pros:
• Useful uplift in power
• Chassis feels lively and fun
• Exterior styling tweaks bring purpose
Cons:
• Limited build numbers, high price
• Skoda could've gone further with it
• No manual gearbox option
Exterior & design of the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
• Black exterior detailing and unique badging
• Sits 15mm lower than other Fabias
• Comes with 18-inch alloy wheels
Skoda has followed a well-trodden aesthetic path for sporty cars the world over, by rendering most of the Fabia 130's external details in high-gloss black.
This begins with the roof plus the A- and B-pillars, and by extension the chunky tailgate spoiler that sits at the top of the rear screen.
Moving further down the car, the radiator grille is black, the housings of the bi-LED headlights are black, the rear 'diffuser' area in the bumper is black, the 18-inch 'Libra' diamond-cut alloy wheels are... ah, smoked (a posh way of saying 'going towards black'), and then perhaps most obviously there's a black decal on the boot lid which sits either side of the licence plate.
That's a deliberate nod to the Fabia Rally2 cars, again subliminally linking the 130 to Skoda's motorsport efforts and strengthening the link to the 130 RS of 1975.
Beyond that, there are a few other distinguishing features. First of all, the 130 has a twin-exit exhaust pipe poking out of the left-hand side of the bumper. It also gets a 'Dark Chrome' Skoda badge on its bonnet, as well as red brake callipers peeping out from behind the 18s.
And then, just in case you've missed all the black detailing, there are special red-and-blue '130' decals - two of them are found on the front wings, while the third is positioned opposite the 'Fabia' badge at the back of the car to balance the logos.
It all adds up to a great-looking Skoda, which has a real sense of purpose about it as you walk up to the vehicle.
Dimensions of the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
Length: 4,137mm
Width: 1,780mm (mirrors folded)
Height: 1,458mm
Wheelbase: 2,549mm
Paint colours for the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
There are four colours for the Fabia 130, but if you choose one of them - Black Magic - then you obviously downplay the contrast effect that Skoda's stylists have gone for. Mind, if you prefer a 'murdered out' look, maybe Black Magic is the colour for you. For everyone else, choose from Velvet Red, Race Blue or, perhaps the standout finish, Moon White.
Interior, tech & comfort of the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
• Glorious bucket seats
• Five-stripe pattern on upholstery
• As spacious and practical as any Fabia
To lift the ambience of the fourth-gen Fabia's cabin to a higher level, Skoda fits sports seats with meatier side bolsters and integrated head restraints in the front, which are brilliant.
They're trimmed in a racy fabric with five stripes on them - two white and two grey, each flanking a central red band - and also feature white contrast stitching and carbon-effect trim.
Other model-specific details include a three-spoke multifunction sports steering wheel trimmed in perforated-leather, stainless-steel pedal covers, black aluminium '130' door sills, some carbon-effect leather fillets and silver decorative elements all throughout the cabin.
Getting comfortable in the driver's seat
The front seats in the Fabia 130 are manually adjustable, rather than electric, but you can still move the driver's chair up and down according to your height, while Skoda's sensible approach to ergonomics and visibility out of the car means that once you've found your preferred driving position, it'll feel thoroughly natural and comfortable to be sitting at the 130's wheel.
Infotainment and technology
The Skoda Fabia 130 comes with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 9.2-inch central infotainment touchscreen as standard, while items including a Canton uprated sound system and wireless smartphone charging are also on the menu.
While the interface in the Fabia isn't right at the cutting edge these days (newer Skoda models have glitzier systems than the 130), it still works well and there are plenty of physical buttons inside that makes operating the various systems feel like second nature after only a very short time of being in the car.
Practicality
Skodas are known for their practicality and the Fabia hatch, 130 or otherwise, is no exception to this rule.
Big door pockets, a sizeable glovebox, a covered cubby in the central tunnel area, the stowage area ahead of the gear lever (which incorporates the wireless charging pad) and three cupholders up front with a couple more in the fold-down rear armrest all add up to a practical passenger cabin.
Meanwhile, a 380-litre boot at the back is almost as big as that of a Volkswagen Golf. Remember, the Fabia is a class below the Golf; it's a rival to the Polo, not the bigger VW.
Performance of the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
• Up to 177hp from 1.5 TSI
• Quickest Fabia ever on sale
• Lively, engaging handling
As Skoda doesn't sell the 150hp version of the Fabia 1.5 TSI in Ireland in the first place, then there's a much bigger performance gap between the new 130 and the next model down the product line-up, which is the 115hp Monte Carlo.
So the new flagship is 2.3 seconds quicker to 100km/h from a standstill as a result, the 130 recording a 7.4-second time - and while we don't often refer to top speeds, which are all but irrelevant in this part of the world, the car's V-max of 228km/h is the reason Skoda says this is the fastest Fabia it has released to the world, because even the Mk1 and Mk2 Fabia RS models didn't go as quick as that flat out.
The company is quite keen to say, though, that this is not a simple 'reflash' of the ECU on the 1.5-litre TSI engine, to take peak power from 150hp previously to a new maximum of 177hp now.
Skoda says its Technical Development actually changed various parts in the engine, including the intake plenum, the vibration damper and the rocker arms, so that they could deal with the upgraded power.
Torque, however, is the same 250Nm as it would be on the 150hp TSI (limited by the DSG gearbox), although that's still 50Nm up on the 1.0-litre TSI engine's output.
Driving the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130 in Valencia
Skoda hasn't only given the Fabia 130 some additional power and fancy exterior graphics and then left it at that.
The company also fits 15mm-lower sports-tuned suspension, but even this has its own calibration to suit the bigger contact patches afforded to the 130 by the model-bespoke 18-inch wheels and tyres.
Furthermore, Skoda has beefed up the steering to suit the adapted Normal and Sport driving modes, while it also fits a new two-stage dynamic control system. The anti-slip regulation (ASR) can be turned off to completely deactivate traction control, while there's a halfway-house setting called 'ASR Sport + ESC Sport' which'll allow greater levels of wheel-slip before stepping in to intervene.
There's more. Even the seven-speed DSG transmission has higher shift points for faster acceleration, and it performs double-clutch downshifts in Sport mode so it's smoother as it transitions from gear to gear.
It even has modified braking logic so that 're-acceleration' is faster than it would otherwise be, although for all this DSG fanciness we bet a lot of you are wishing Skoda had just stuck a six-speed manual gearbox into the Fabia 130. We are.
Anyway, the company also says it has tuned the exhaust system to make sportier noises under acceleration, which is good news as the 1.5 TSI is not always the most tuneful of Volkswagen Group engines.
It's all modest yet worthwhile stuff that Skoda has carried out here, but the resulting dynamic experience is superb - as long as you temper your expectations accordingly.
The Fabia 130 is a warm hatch, not a hot one, and while Skoda's own 'RS' performance badging has never really graced anything which you'd call outright thrilling and raw, it's clear to see why the Czechian outfit didn't bring those two well-respected letters to the back of this new 177hp hatchback.
That said, we had an absolute blast in the Fabia 130, because it's an honest, straightforward,fun road car of a type we thought was dying out these days.
The engine isn't a sparkling jewel or anything, but crucially it's light, and that plays a big part in keeping the Fabia 130's overall kerb weight down to a very reasonable and trim 1.3 tonnes.
So it always feels decently swift, and perhaps more telling than the on-paper 0-100km/h time are the roll-on stats Skoda has released for the Fabia 130. It's not just 0.4 seconds quicker for the standing-start sprint than a 150hp DSG model, but 60-100km/h is done in 3.8 seconds (0.3 seconds quicker than the 150) and 80-120km/h can be completed in 4.8 seconds (as opposed to 5.3 seconds).
You definitely feel this added muscularity out on the road, because the Fabia pulls much more keenly for its 6,500rpm redline than it ever has before. It feels responsive and strong when you press the throttle, and even the DSG works well - although we couldn't really discern too much of a pleasing exhaust note; that's about the one area where the 130 doesn't feel like a step on from the Monte Carlo source material.
It's unarguably better in the corners, though, with an eagerness to get turned in that's most welcoming. It's a real shame, then, that Skoda didn't fit it with the XDS electronic diff-lock-mimicking system available in the wider group, because there are a few times out of tighter corners when you get quickly on the throttle where the traction light flashes at you if you're in the ASR+ESC Sport setting, and if you totally switch them off then just occasionally you get scruffy, frustrating wheelspin as you exit a curve.
But it's a laugh otherwise. Just a fast, breezy and nimble car, with great steering, nice balance and an approachability aand chuckability due to its lightness that's most refreshing in an age where electric hot hatches are pretty much 1.7 or 1.8 tonnes and above.
OK, it's a bit disingenuous of us to use the word 'hot' in this frame of reference, because the Fabia 130 is emphatically 'warm' rather than outright sizzling, yet there are so few true B-segment tearaways left these days that the Skoda still manages to feel special in the present-day compact hatchback segment.
The best news is that the 130 can still function as a Skoda Fabia. There's an underlying firmness to all that it does which speaks of its lower, firmer suspension and low-profile tyres on the 18-inch rims at each corner of the car, but the Fabia 130 remains comfortable, quiet and civilised on the move, making it an adept urban runaround and also a small car with a short wheelbase that, regardless of those drawbacks, excels on the motorway.
We loved driving it, even if our thoughts were constantly tinged with very minor considerations along the lines of 'this is brilliant, but we wish Skoda had done a bit more with it and been that touch more daring for a 2026 RS'.
Yeah, essentially, set a fair dynamic bar in your head for the Fabia 130 to clear and you'll adore what Skoda has done with this subtly underplayed performance model; but if you're coming here for out-and-out thrills, you might be disappointed.
Irish pricing and rivals to the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130
• 130 is only 1.5 TSI on sale
• Costs €5,435 more than any other Fabia
• Few direct rivals to 'warm' hatch formula
There are no other 1.5-litre Fabias on sale in Ireland, so the 130 slots in at the top of a range where the next car down the line, the 115hp 1.0 TSI Monte Carlo DSG, is €31,865. The price for the Fabia 130 is a chunky €37,300, which is a not-inconsiderable €5,435 difference.
In its defence, the Fabia comes with loads of kit as standard and the 130 will also be a limited-build model, so there's a degree of rarity baked into the Skoda's DNA which justifies the elevated ticket.
There are also so few full-on B-segment hot hatchbacks left these days, certainly ones fitted with internal-combustion engines, that the Fabia 130 now feels like the default choice for those looking for flyweight, fast and fizzy fun behind the wheel.
Servicing the Skoda Fabia 130
Skoda's servicing schedule for petrol cars is usually every 12 months or 16,000km, whichever comes sooner, so the Fabia 130 should fall into step with this arrangement. The company also offers fixed-price servicing plans that can work out cheaper.
Skoda Fabia 130 warranty
Skoda Ireland's new-car warranty is a three-year level of cover, with the first two years of the guarantee not subject to any distance limitations. For the final 12 months of the warranty, however, a distance cap does come into effect, but it's for a fairly lofty 150,000km, so the Skoda back-up is decent in the wider scheme of things.
Verdict - is the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130 worth buying?
As long as you don't get carried away and think the Skoda Fabia 130 is a reborn RS in disguise, nor do you hope it will be as raw and involving as some of the truly brilliant B-segment hot hatchbacks we've had to wave goodbye to in recent years then the 130 can be considered an excellent effort by Skoda.
It's undeniably sharper, swifter and more enjoyable than any other Fabia, while the interior and exterior styling gewgaws give the 130 a nice sense of presence and specialness that makes it a desirable car.
Yes, Skoda could have taken this idea and run further and faster with it, perhaps, but we're just glad that something as old-school in its performance-car approach as the Fabia 130 can still exist as we head into the latter half of the 2020s. This is a superb little hatchback if you like that sort of thing.
Want to know more about the 2026 Skoda Fabia 130?
If there's anything about the new Skoda Fabia 130 we've not covered, or you'd like help in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.
