SPY PICS: New Skoda Fabia surfaces

Skoda's first all-new Fabia in 15 years has been spied testing for the first time, five months before its world debut at the Paris motor show and more than a year prior to its Australian release in the second half of 2015.

Snapped here by Automedia undergoing testing on city roads close to the Nürburgring circuit, the redesigned five-door hatchback wears a more contemporary bodyshell with clear links to both the current Fabia and Skoda's new Rapid Spaceback.

New design cues include a higher shoulder line, sharper C-post, wider grille, Rapid-inspired head- and tail-lights and a stylish new tailgate with integrated roof spoiler.

Underneath, the third-generation Fabia will be the first model to ride on a new shortened version of the Volkswagen Golf's MQB platform, dubbed MQB-A, which will also underpin the next VW Polo, SEAT Ibiza and Audi A1.

Expect the next Fabia to be larger than the current model, which measures four metres long and about 1640mm wide, liberating more cabin and boot space (the existing Fabia can swallow up to 1180 litres).

As we reported two weeks ago, both five-door hatchback and wagon versions of the Czech brand’s global light-car will again be sold here, but any potential sedan version has been ruled out for Australia and there will be no Polo GTI-rivalling RS performance versions next time round.

Instead, Skoda will concentrate on top-spec Monte Carlo editions as seen in the current range, base pricing for which was reduced from $18,990 to $15,990 in late March, to position it below the new Rapid Spaceback (from $18,990) and Octavia (from $21,690).

The MkIII Fabia should bring the same new engines and electronic architecture as Volkswagen's facelifted Polo, which arrives here in August.

Like the 2014 Polo, the 2015 Fabia should also score a new electric power steering system, although MacPherson strut front and torsion-beam rear suspension units should remain.

The new Fabia could also adopt other 2014 Polo upgrades, including a colour touch-screen infotainment system and higher-quality interior materials, although it’s unlikely to receive newly available Polo equipment like LED headlights, radar cruise control, two-stage suspension damping or perhaps even a reversing camera and satellite-navigation.

Nor, like other Skoda models, is the next Fabia expected to come with the Volkswagen Group’s latest fuel-saving functions like idle-stop and regenerative braking, or advanced driver safety aids including automatic low-speed emergency braking, post-collision automatic braking and drowsy driver alert.

However, the new Fabia's engine choices should closely resemble those of the upcoming Polo, which will be fitted in Europe with a 1.4-litre turbo-diesel and 66kW/160Nm and 81kW/175Nm versions of the existing 1.2-litre 77TSI turbo-four.

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