The selling features when it arrives in 12 weeks' time will be the streamlined design, huge boot, greater interior space and value for money.

Skoda believes that the new Fabia look will appeal to young drivers and that many of these will be female owners.

Young starter families are also being targeted because the expected entry price is in the Euro14,000 - Euro15,000 region.

The new model will have six airbags, an advanced front lighting system and, as one of the largest cars in its class, front and rear seat occupants will have more space thanks to the redesigned interior work and increase in overall dimensions.

The boot has a capacity of 300 litres, and that increases to 1,163 litres when the rear seats are folded down.

A number of safety improvements have also been introduced. New head airbags are now included as standard at the front and rear in top-spec models, while they are an option in others.

There are seven engines in the range - four petrol and three diesel. Petrol versions will consist of two three-cylinder 1.2-litre units of 60bhp and 70bhp capacity, plus 1.4-litre, 16valve 85bhp and 1.6-litre, 16 valve 105bhp units. Both three-cylinder petrol engines have increased performance while both the 1.2 engines have very low CO2 emissions of 140g and good economy of 5.9L/100km.

The diesel range begins with a 1.4-litre 70bhp and 80bhp version and a 1.9-litre engine with 105bhp output.

The 80bhp unit comes out on top for economy with Skoda claiming 4.6L/100km performance and a remarkably low 120g CO2 emission level.

Even the 1.9-litre 105bhp engine is very clean with a 129g emission level.

Optional equipment includes six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission, climatronic air conditioning, head airbags, and an MP3/iPod prepared audio system. New versions of the Fabia Estate are also planned.

First models to arrive here will be the 1.2-litre 60bhp and 70bhp versions and the 1.6-litre 105bhp petrol and 1.9-litre 105bhp diesel models.

Skoda sales manager here, Colin Sheridan, said that economy and green engines will be an important factor in the Fabia sales strategy. And he promised that the pricing structure would be extremely competitive.