Superminis might not sound ideal for a police car, but that didn’t stop Skoda from unveiling a specially prepared fourth-generation Fabia for the UK police. The model is the latest addition in Skoda’s emergency service vehicle fleet, next to the Kodiaq vRS, the fully electric Enyaq iV, and other models.
Skoda says that the Fabia has been a part
of police fleets since the first generation, and describes the latest model as
“the ideal beat car for police forces across the UK, whether on city streets or
country lanes”. Indeed, the new Fabia is larger, safer, and better equipped
compared to its predecessors so we guess that the officers will enjoy it.
Moreover, it is available with four petrol engines with outputs from 79 hp to 148 hp for the most powerful 1.5 TSI unit. In the latter, power
is sent to the front axle through a 7-speed DSG transmission allowing a 0-100
km/h acceleration in 8 seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h.
The police car conversion included the
blue and yellow livery, a roof-mounted lighting unit, additional flashing LEDs
on the grille and bumper, plus a siren. Inside, Skoda has integrated the
emergency services communication platform in the 9.2-inch touchscreen of the
infotainment, while the driver will also have access to the 10.25-inch Virtual
Cockpit digital instrument cluster. The company also highlighted the
segment-leading 380 liters of boot space that can grow up to
1,190 lt with the rear seats folded “allowing room for
everything police officers require to perform their vital work once they arrive
on scene”. Finally, the Fabia is safe enough for the police to drive as proven
by the five-star EuroNCAP rating, the nine airbags, and the available ADAS.
Skoda is offering bespoke conversions for
emergency service fleets, offering the conversion, breakdown recovery,
servicing, maintenance, and repairs into a single package.