2004 Skoda Fabia vRS review from UK and Ireland

The car was faultless for the time I had it, apart from a slight rattle from one of the speakers that the dealer fixed free of charge.

The Skoda Fabia vRS is without a doubt the best all round hatchback you can own. I've owned a GTI as well as more sedate motorway cruisers, and the Skoda beats them on all fronts. I bought the car from a main Skoda dealer for a bargain £8500 with only 16000 miles on it! The car was as new, and looked fantastic with the large alloys, black magic metallic paint, and the green brake calipers.

Over the course of owning the car, I did a lot of very brisk motorway driving, as well as flat out thrashing round the country roads (this eventually ended up with my causing the death of this fantastic car - RIP).

In all situations this car was a perfect, almost unbelievable match of economy and performance. The car is blisteringly fast. Concentrate on the torque figures (310Nm - same as a Porsche Cayenne) rather than the BHP (130-137), as to get the most out of the car, you only need to use the mid range revs. In the torque band you are thrown into your seat, and will remain stuck there right up to 130mph easily. It will not go faster than this, but it gets there really easily and quickly, regardless of wind, hills etc. Even at 130mph, you still are only at 3000rpm, so quiet and still frugal!! (Get it chipped though and apparently 150mph and even better MPG is assured!)

So meanwhile, unlike a petrol equivelant, you can do this while still sitting at 45MPG. On the country roads, driving the car on its limit, it still won't go below 40mpg. On my daily Glasgow to Edinburgh comutte I could also average 60mpg, and as a test I once got 75MPG!!!

The car handles well, but does understeer if too much is speed carried into a corner, but if slow in, you can really catapult it out at a ridiculous rate.

I loved this car as the torque was so usable and it really went like a rocket, until I had a little mistake and put it head on into a Mazda 6. Very silly and now I can't afford another one. (Must add that in a head on collision at 40mph, I was fine and the car wasn't too bad, cabin intact, car even started!) Hopefully next year I will be able to own another, as it is the best car I have ever owned.