Fabia RS reviewed in Irish Times

So it's like going out with a lovely girl, who is rotten looking but she doesn't mind going to cheap restaurants, where as her best friend is also lovely but is much better looking and will only go to expensive restaurants :pac:

Or you could try and hook up with one of their mothers for no strings attached fun and save a fortune on restaurants (ie buy an 02 Octavia vRS) :cool:

Ardennes1944

i was tempted to buy an older fabia vrs and just looked up the insurance for one there. 1800 with axa....then looked up what it would be for my current 1.4 astra and its 2300....how does that work!?

Deutschlandfürimmer7

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

i was tempted to buy an older fabia vrs and just looked up the insurance for one there. 1800 with axa....then looked up what it would be for my current 1.4 astra and its 2300....how does that work!?

F knows, but I'd sooner drive a vRS fabia than an astra

fletch

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

i was tempted to buy an older fabia vrs and just looked up the insurance for one there. 1800 with axa....then looked up what it would be for my current 1.4 astra and its 2300....how does that work!?

It's got a lot to do with the typical age profile that drive normal Fabia's....
Work this one out...I rang for a quote going from a 130bhp '04 Fabia vRS worth about €3-4k to a 180bhp '11 Fabia vRS worth approx €23k and my insurance is going down by €75??? (They must just be factoring in the engine size which is only 1.4)

Anan1

RoverJames wrote: »

So it's like going out with a lovely girl, who is rotten looking but she doesn't mind going to cheap restaurants, where as her best friend is also lovely but is much better looking and will only go to expensive restaurants :pac:

Can I bring the good-looking one to the expensive restauraunt in the Fabia?

listermint

RoverJames wrote: »

So it's like going out with a lovely girl, who is rotten looking but she doesn't mind going to cheap restaurants, where as her best friend is also lovely but is much better looking and will only go to expensive restaurants :pac:

Or you could try and hook up with one of their mothers for no strings attached fun and save a fortune on restaurants (ie buy an 02 Octavia vRS) :cool:

Id have to go with the looker, Id be kicking myself everymorning rolling over to it. Sure its only money

Anan1

listermint wrote: »

Id have to go with the looker, Id be kicking myself everymorning rolling over to it. Sure its only money

+1000, just not with cars.;)

listermint

Anan1 wrote: »

+1000, just not with cars.;)

Agreed!

As i said im not into badges but an ugly car is an ugly car.


To put it in clearer terms, The girl can be from Tallaght, Finglas or Blanch or wherever is associated with so called working class and i wouldnt care , if she is a looker.

Equally the girl that has money from dublin 4 or sandycove wont get my attention if she has terrible lines.

I think that makes my point clearer...


as mud

Mr Benevolent

I doubt many people will buy the Fabia RS for its looks. Impressive performance, lowish tax and DSG box ticks the boxes for me, I don't care about the looks. Actually I just started a job after 18 months on the dole, I wonder...

Matt Simis

Confab wrote: »

I doubt many people will buy the Fabia RS for its looks. Impressive performance, lowish tax and DSG box ticks the boxes for me, I don't care about the looks. Actually I just started a job after 18 months on the dole, I wonder...

Sounds exactly like a Polo GTi, which VW ubiquity aside, does look better:

fletch

Matt Simis wrote: »

Sounds exactly like a Polo GTi, which VW ubiquity aside, does look better:

I might just have bought a Fabia vRS but I've no problem admitting that the Polo is a better looking car...although whether or not its worth >€5k extra I don't think so and it's not officially imported into Ireland (see my response from VW when I enquiried a couple of months ago about one)
"Unfortunately we do not sell the Polo GTI in Ireland. Due to a number of factors, the GTI version of the Polo was deemed at present; unsuitable for the Irish market. Currently there are no plans to launch the Polo GTI here or in the imitate future. Market conditions and demand are continuously monitored and sometime in the future it may be decided that the Polo GTI does have potential in the Irish market and may then be introduced"

bladebrew

is the new polo gti being sold in ireland?

i thought i had heard it wasnt even available here


question answered by fletch, cheers!

Mr Benevolent

5K extra? Feck VW so. I bet Skoda have a better warranty too.

listermint

Anyway, il take my money and buy an older sexier car.

E46 M3 for instance. job done.

Mr Benevolent

fletch wrote: »

I might just have bought a Fabia vRS but I've no problem admitting that the Polo is a better looking car...although whether or not its worth >€5k extra I don't think so

Did you get the DSG? If so, what's it like?

fletch

Confab wrote: »

Did you get the DSG? If so, what's it like?

It only comes with DSG so yes ....still awaiting delivery so can't really comment until I've put up a few miles

EPM

Had a spin in one as a passenger a couple of weeks back.

Very cool little car, rocket to go.

You getting a black roof?

fletch

EPM wrote: »

You getting a black roof?

Decided not to in the end for fear that the whole painting the roof a different colour might be a fad and make the car look very dated in a couple of years.

Atomic Pineapple

fletch wrote: »

Decided not to in the end for fear that the whole painting the roof a different colour might be a fad and make the car look very dated in a couple of years.

Forward thinking! I'd imagine you've called it right. It looks terrible with a black roof anyway.

Jalalabad

I Have 1, red with white roof and the dsg is a dream. Easy in traffic then when you get the chance open her up you can use the paddles. The fuel stats skoda give are [EMAIL="b@l****"]b**l****[/EMAIL] but then hot hatches are supposed to be good for the environment are they?:D
As for the polo 5k is conservative. Its 28500 in germany and i got my fabia new out of the box for 21300!! 7k in my pocket or a slightly better looking car with a tartan interior -:rolleyes: f*ck that!!

Anan1

I actually prefer the looks of the Skoda over the VW - they're both ugly, but the Fabia looks more honest.

fletch

Another review today in the Sun

fletch

Spotted another review in the Sunday Independent for anyone that's interested...http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/motoring/new-toy-made-me-boy-racer-2841909.html

"With surprising room, there's little dinky about the new Fabia RS, the fastest production car that Skoda has ever produced, says Campbell Spray

THERE'S something rather nice about being asked to test a small car that has a blue body and white roof. It's like being reduced to a Dinky-sized toy and I can run all around the carpet pretending to be a police car and frighten the dog, cats and my favourite teddy bear with its missing right eye.

So I regressed very fast when I approached the Skoda Fabia RS, which is powered by a 180BHP 1.4 TSI direct injection petrol engine and is the fastest production car the company has ever produced.

It accelerates to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds on the way to a top speed of 225km/h. This is very quick and my passenger, who interestingly had also been reduced even more to dinky size, complained of whiplash when we shot across the floor on the way to the toy cupboard and our afternoon tea.

But back to the real world. When the new Fabia came out a few years ago it was the first Skoda for some time -- both before and since -- with which I was less than impressed. It didn't quite look right and it only scored a very ordinary pass for its driveability.

Since then I have tended to shun the car, preferring to drive the impressive Yeti, incredibly competent Octavia and the very well-named and mightily big Superb. The Roomster is -- let us say -- interesting.

However, the Fabia RS has made me slightly reassess my critique. For although the basic model doesn't have all the gizmos, power and driving characteristicswith which the RS is loaded for its €22,890, it's still a roomy, well-built car. Nothing special, mind, but very adequate, and prices for the very basic model start at €12,535. However, there is also a Fabia Sportline model with some of the more superficial elements of the RS, as well as sports suspension, with prices starting at €14,610.

The performance of the RS itself is achieved thanks to dual-charging via a turbocharger and mechanically driven Super Charger. The transmission is equally advanced and uses the VW group's very well-tested seven-speed DSG twin-clutch automatic box which allows for extremely effective gear shifting in either automatic mode, which I preferred, or via paddle shifts located behind the steering wheel.

It was a lovely car to drive. responsive and with a very firm grip on the road. Perhaps too firm for some as you do feel that you become intimately connected to very abrasion on the road's surface. But go back to dream world, put these thoughts out of your mind and pretend you are gliding across the carpet.

The interior may not be sporty enough for some and the seats don't give enough leg support to smaller people even when not in the Dinky-mode. Yet it was good to be driving a petrol car again and I was happy with the consumption. Skoda claims that you can get a combined figure of 45.6mpg, but that is rather optimistic. However, emissions aren't that way off at 148g/km. This gives a road tax of €302 which is either double or treble every other Fabia.

Maybe the RS brought out the latent boy racer in me but I so enjoyed my time in it. The price is hard to beat as well.

A lot of fans of the previous Fabia RS aren't pleased that the firm has ditched the diesel engine which had more mid-range power but I rather liked the new version.

This diesel thing is too all consuming.

I was happy in Toytown. Now I need my afternoon nap."

johnos1984

fletch wrote: »

"With surprising room, there's little dinky about the new Fabia RS, the fastest production car that Skoda has ever produced, says Campbell Spray

Sorry I stopped reading at that point

fletch

johnos1984 wrote: »

Sorry I stopped reading at that point

That can't be a real name, shirley!?

johnos1984

fletch wrote: »

That can't be a real name, shirley!?

It's a real name belonging to a motoring journalist who just grinds my gears with poor excuses of car reviews

johnos1984

johnos1984 wrote: »

It's a real name belonging to a motoring journalist who just grinds my gears with poor excuses of car reviews

If the one above is anything to go by I see your point, utter drivel, you'd wonder did he actually drive the thing.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

If the one above is anything to go by I see your point, utter drivel, you'd wonder did he actually drive the thing.

I always wondered did he also. They really are poor reviews time and time again. Some weeks I used to think he resorted to the copy and paste function from other reviews/manufacturers website.

I now shudder and refuse to read something he has written as I know I'll be pissed off and none the wiser about the car when I'm done.