When our spy photographers first caught the Fabia 130 testing on the Nürburgring in late summer 2025, our minds were whirring as to what could power this sporty new Skoda hatchback. The turbocharged 2.0-litre EA888 engine from Volkswagen Polo GTI (detuned from the version in the Golf GTI) seemed like a good bet, given that the Polo and Fabia sit on the same MQB A0 platform.

What we didn’t expect was Skoda tuning the EA211 1.5-litre unit from the standard Fabia. Among the bespoke parts are hardened rocker arm pins, new air pipes and a more heat-resistant intake manifold, plus heat-resistant plastics, a chunkier vibration damper and changes to the engine’s ECU to provide additional boost from the variable-turbine-geometry turbocharger. 

It sounds pretty involved, but the result is a mere 174bhp rather than the standard engine’s 148bhp. The torque output is the same, at 250Nm, for a 0-62mph time of 7.4 seconds – 0.6 quicker than the next-fastest Fabia. On paper at least, the pay-off for what must have been some costly development work seems to be minimal.

The Fabia 130 has a seven-speed DSG auto gearbox, which is excellent in its own right and gets bespoke mapping for quicker shifts, but it’s a shame there’s no manual option. 

We’ll delve more deeply into how the Fabia 130 drives in the coming months, but at first glance the Skoda appears to be a mildly sportier version of the marque’s humble supermini, rather than what I was hoping for: something more than the sum of its parts.

*Insurance quote for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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In contrast to the upper two dual-motor models, Comfort comes with a single, rear-mounted motor producing 308bhp. It derives its power from an 82.5kWh battery pack, and BYD quotes a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds. That ‘Blade’ battery is capable of up to 150kW charging speeds, which should get the battery from 10-80 per cent in around 32 minutes. Range is quoted at 300 miles.

But hold on a second. Aren’t high-end Chinese cars meant to be breaking the internet with their incredible charge speeds, performance and technology? A Volkswagen ID.5 isn’t just £10k cheaper, but it’ll also do an extra 45 miles on a charge and match the BYD for performance and top-up speeds. The flagship Ultimate model ups the range and charging to 329 miles and 230kW, but at £59,000 it’s hot on the heels of BMW’s new iX3 with its 500 miles and 400kW peak.

You sit high in the BYD’s driver’s seat, and the relatively low dashboard only accentuates this. The sloping roofline and tiny rear window don’t give it a particularly airy feeling – but the panoramic roof helps. 

Connectivity has its highs and lows. The screen is relatively fast to react and has no problem maintaining a solid wireless connection for Apple CarPlay. But simple tasks are buried in multiple menus. You can also rotate the screen in a typical BYD way, but I find this utterly pointless. 

We’ll go into more detail about how the Sealion drives and the sort of efficiency we’re getting over the course of the next few months, but at the moment it’s doing around 2.9 miles per kWh. This is less than what BYD quotes and is the result of largely urban driving so far, but that’s not such a bad number considering the recent cold weather.

The BYD will have to prove it’s worth the ambitious price tag by driving, cosseting and reassuring us to the levels we expect of its legacy-branded rivals that offer very similar, if not even better value. Only time will tell.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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