Was the Skoda Felicia really 'fooling the world' as some claim?

Skoda Felicia is an intriguing story about it supposedly changing the way people viewed Skoda as a brand. For years, Skoda had been a laughing stock, especially in Western markets, and it needed a game changer. The first Skoda developed under Volkswagen ownership was the Felicia, launched in 1994. But it took over much of Skoda's own engineering and borrowed some VW parts. Reliability, build quality and value for money were the things that Skoda have never been known for, but the car was praised for these things. This improved sales and started to change public opinion. Was the Felicia really "fooling" people, or was it just a damn good car that helped Skoda get out of the hole?