Skoda retailers across the UK are preparing for a busy weekend, with the launch of the new Fabia.

Many car dealers are also using the launch to showcase its new showrooms, which provide more space to display the Skoda range and also better facilities for its customers.

The new Fabia is the third generation of Skoda’s popular small car, with more than 250,000 sales in the UK since the first generation went on sale 15 years ago.

Available in five-door hatch and (from March) estate forms, the new Fabia is more spacious and more efficient than its predecessor.

The Fabia has already been crowned the What Car? Car of the Year 2015, with the magazine calling it ‘a superb small car that’s practical, well equipped and cheap to run’.

European car safety organisation Euro NCAP has also called the Fabia the safest car in its class – its five-star safety rating being helped by safety features including six airbags and front assist with city emergency braking (which are standard from SE specification).

Check out our gallery of the model, here.