What to look for when buying a Skoda Fabia VRS

[TW]Fox;11237628 said:
This suprises me greatly. Even if you dislike BMW you'd have to concede the build quality on a 2001 3 Series is going to be better than that of a Skoda Octavia. I mean, it's like me and Golfs - I'm not a fan but I'd never try and say things about them which are simply untrue.
Click to expand...

I don't like the interior all that much, standard equipment is ok (stereo is AWFUL). I also don't find the driving position great, and lack of feel of what the car is doing.

It's just my opinion, I'm not slating bmw's as a whole- at the end of the day it's pretty much a base model :)

Personally I find the octavia much more rewarding to drive and then cabin is simply a nicer place to be, then again the vRS is the octavias flagship model where as the bmw is not.
 
A 2001 320i has a brilliant engine - 2.2 litre Straight Six developing 170bhp and taking it to 60 in not an awful lot less than the time the vRS takes to do so. Ok, it's not loaded with kit (But neither is a vRS) but it's a pretty solid feeling, well built car.

And a lack of feel? Really? Thats odd becuase BMW are reknowned for their steering feel and the Mk4 Golf platform... is not.
 
[TW]Fox;11237658 said:
A 2001 320i has a brilliant engine - 2.2 litre Straight Six developing 170bhp and taking it to 60 in not an awful lot less than the time the vRS takes to do so. Ok, it's not loaded with kit (But neither is a vRS) but it's a pretty solid feeling, well built car.

And a lack of feel? Really? Thats odd becuase BMW are reknowned for their steering feel and the Mk4 Golf platform... is not.
Click to expand...

Remember mine is remapped with some other mods :)

The vRS has pretty poor kit as standard, infact climate control is pretty much the only "bonus". That's not what i'm getting at though.

Again, this is a direct comparision between two cars that I have both driven today (On a regular basis). Sorry if this doesn't match your experience but unfortunatly it's mine.

I'm sure some of the higher models would be 'ansome though.

Not a big fan of the accelerator pedal either!! Also the gear changes are a bit clunky, apparently this is normal as it has a different type of clutch to most cars... this is what Dad said anyhow but he never listens properly :D
 
[TW]Fox;11237713 said:
Thats fine, it just seems your experience is at odds with most other peoples :)
Click to expand...

Maybe I just have a very good vrs and my dad has a very poor bmw? :D

Again, you forget its personal preference. The best reviewers in the world could love it... but if I don't- I don't? :cool:
 
Small cars are usually fun to drive. They might be imperfect, they might be noisy or occasionally tinny, but fun and perky is usually something they do well.

But the Skoda Fabia must be one of the few modern cars are utterly and completely devoid of any character. This car was conceived, designed, and manufactured with the complete absence of any character or soul. And to add insult to injury, its looks like an uglier square box with a cheap and nasty interior that wouldn't look out of place in a 1970s Cortina.
 
Last edited:
Once you drive trucks, you realise just how poorly put together cars are. ;):D

Still, BMW > VW in most areas, especially build quality & driving experience.
 
[TW]Fox;11237175 said:
Look for a clattery diesel engine with not much power. Look for a Skoda Fabia interior. Look for an owners forum who thinks its the next best thing to a Porsche 911 Turbo. Then look elsewhere.

Although 5695 sounds like a good deal.
Click to expand...

The seats are way to big in these cars. It looks like some one has tried to lever a 3 peice suite into a mini
 
Not a lot of love for the vRS in this thread!

To be fair I've enjoyed mine, its got enough torque to put a smile on my face (bare in mind I went from a 1.3 Fiesta). The handling is far from perfect, its got a heavy lump in the front and tends to roll around more than it should. Its great for boring stuff like MPG, 60mpg (on the trip comp) is easy from a motorway run.

As for problems to look for when buying, someone has already mentioned the suspension bushes. If they have to be replaced you can use some SEAT ones (from the Ibiza Cupra PD160 I think) which are solid and don't suffer from the problems of the originals. If you can view it after a rain shower (or can spray the car with a hose!) check along the bottom of the doors as the seals have a tendency to go, mine went back to Skoda twice to have them sorted.

I think I've probably become a bit bored of mine, so after I've moved house its either a remap or something totally new.
 
Having owned a Fabia vRS for 6 months I can say the following about it:

+ Decent engine with plenty of pull (although noisy and rough compared to more modern diesel engines)
+ Reasonably composed handling - understeers a lot thanks to the lump of pig iron sat over the front wheels
+ Decent(ish) spec
+ Comfortable seats - although not that supportive for people of a smaller stature
+ Decent fuel economy
+ Can be made quicker relatively cheaply

- Horrendous torque steer - especially in the wet - Not helped by the dimwitted slow traction control which let the wheels slip and then deceided to put the reins on the power at the point where the car started to grip
- Standard suspension I found was too soft
- Interior is rather erm bland and the standard stereo is rubbish (looks cheap to)
- Badge still has a stigma on it.

I think that fairly sums up my experiences from the vRS. I must say from a personal perspective I loved my little fuzzball, it was fun to drive and good looking in an odd way however it does have its flaws.

I would highly reccomend test driving one before making a decision.
 
Yeah but Fox its quicker than a Ferrari in 3rd from 40 to 40.5 mph :D ;)

Owen has kind of summed up the good and bad points. Don't pay over the odds for one they really are not all that special.
 
Just an update regarding the car:

Went to have a look at it but sadly a few things let it down. I know they need to be well looked after and all was well and good up until 30,000 miles @ Dec '06 where it had 3 stamps in the service book. Then after that there was only receipts for tyres, 2 discs and pads throughout 2007. Then it had an MOT at Oct '07 and this was recorded at 68,000 miles - 38,000 miles in 9-10 months!! Something very strange and a mis here. There was about 5 random fuses inside the little box infront of the gearstick :confused: Other than that, the car drove well and the performance...well, impressive to say the least! I know it was cheap and the salesman offered to get everything sorted that needed doing such as the cracked grill, broken trim on the mirror, the worn front tyres which were bald on the inside :eek:

My heart said buy it, buy it, buy it but my brain said leave it and a better one will come along which has a full service history and nothing to hide.

Thanks again for all the comments, help and advice. After driving this, I'm 100% decided that I'd like one and will be now keeping an eye out for one coming up that ticks all the boxes, even it brings a slightly higher premium it'll give better peace of mind.
 
No service history = avoid. The VAG PDs use special oil (referred to as 505.01 spec) so if some backstreet garage has been sticking generic crap in for 40k then it's bad news.
 
MagicBoy said:
No service history = avoid. The VAG PDs use special oil (referred to as 505.01 spec) so if some backstreet garage has been sticking generic crap in for 40k then it's bad news.
Click to expand...


That was my fear and for that there was simply nothing that could correct that. He even had the cheek to say "Not been funny or anything but they'll be other people who are interested in the car who won't be as picky with the service history" ...at that point I was like what the ****!! Well if thats the case, I'll be off then...:o Pathetic attitude really but still managed to have a good poke around one with my mate who's a mechanic and also got an unaccompanied test drive ;) So not a complete loss at the end of the day. The search continues...
 
I've not experienced loads of torque steer in my vRS before. Occasionaly, but nothing ever too bad.

Good luck with the next one Beat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom