During the National Association of Police Fleet Managers Conference (NAPFM), Skoda brought along a diesel-powered Fabia that is ready to protect and serve.
Does this mean the Fabia has a bright future in UK law enforcement? Maybe it could, in certain ways, or perhaps as an emergency vehicle for fire & rescue services, medical emergencies and so on. This year though, Skoda thought to showcase the Fabia as a fully liveried police car.
Skoda was also reappointed as an approved Crown Commercial Services supplier with the new framework including ‘Lot 7’ emergency service vehicles.
As you know, the Fabia is a five-star Euro NCAP winner and comes with six airbags and an autonomous braking system (standard from SE). On display was a 1.4 TDI SE model with 90 PS – which would be expected to come very well with the rigors of “life on the street”.
You could also argue that with a 83.1 mpg (3.4 liters/100km) mixed fuel consumption figure, the Fabia 1.4 TDI could stay on patrol for over 800 miles (1,287 km) on a single tank. But that would be a “perfect world” argument.
Speaking at the NAPFM Conference, Skoda Emergency Services Technical Sales Manager, Steven Cowell said that “the Skoda Fabia is a reliable, robust and affordable vehicle loaded with technology, therefore ideal for use in the emergency services. Simply put, it’s the perfect combination of form and function. The size and versatility of the Fabia also lends itself well to inner city duty.”
While true, NAPFM customers still need to take the car for an extended test-drive – which they did, signing up for a 3 month test period with about 10 units of the Fabia 1.4 TDI SE 90PS model.
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