19/07/2008 00:11. SOMETIMES, the smallest things can give you the biggest surprises.

Take the Skoda Fabia 1 1.2 with its comparatively diminutive engine, modest equipment and cost.

It's the entry level model to this value for money marque but you'd be hard pressed to think it skimped on refinement you normally find in much more expensive models.

The three-cylinder engine holds a clue when you start it up. There's a busy, eager note which rises with the power called up but keep it moving through the five-speed box and the fussiness dies down and cruising along main roads and motorways is comparatively relaxed.

You may have noticed from the technical panel that this engine size, 1,198cc, is the same as in the older four-cylinder Minis, and they earned a lot of praise and enthusiasm from sports... // CV5 Coventry Communities