2004 Skoda Fabia vRS from UK and Ireland - Comments

The Skoda vRS diesel is not a hot hatch in 2005/6, hot hatches now produce 150+ BHP and do 140+ mph and 0-60 in <7seconds. Cars like the Clio 182, Leon Cupra R petrol model, Golf GTi, Astra VXR, Focus ST etc etc.

The Fabia is a warm hatch only, like the Fiesta ST150, Mini Cooper and 206 GTi 140.

Have a look at the Ford Puma 2002 review if you want to see a very similar debate, or the 1988 Vauxhall Carlton 1.8i review for a flight of pure fantasy!

OK, hands up, so the vRS isn't a hot hatch. Amazing - Skoda never actually claimed it was one...

It's 0-60 time is limited by the chassis' ability to get the torque on to the road, but in the mid range it feels great. Most ordinary drivers haven't the skill to utilise 160+ bhp in a petrol front-drive car.

What makes it a good car to drive is the simple fact that you don't have to rev the nuts off it to get some useful throttle response. This makes it easy to drive... which is what most drivers really need.

My previous car was a BMW 530i V8 (1993, did 120K miles in it, then it blew up) - on paper a faster car, but the Skoda *feels* faster on the road.

OK, it's not the same animal, but I actually enjoy driving the Skoda more.

So, do you pay £12K and get insurance group 9 and 45 mpg, or 35K and insurance group 17 with 18 mpg?

I don't find this too hard to answer, and I've nearly paid off my mortgage with the difference in running costs :-)

When the weather is warm, almost any bike 250cc+ is more fun than almost any car, but I don't think that most of the t***ers posting on here have the balls to use one properly.

Fabia vrs covers 0-60mph in 9.8sec and 0-100mph in 31sec. tested by autocar. Very poor power to weight ratio. Skoda claims 9.7sec to 60mph, so the above figures seem about right.

On the 0-60 times, I agree with the chap with the bmw. The car cannot actually get all the power on the road till well above 30mph, so the power to weight debate is pointless.

The car gives an enormous shove in the back when you hit the throttle, even in standard guise (mine is tuned to 175 bhp, and is so understated it's like a stealth bomber for Mercs). Forget 0-60, use one to go overtaking with that enormous torque. Mine is as fast as 911 Turbo 30-80. It's superb fun, and that's what is important.

Like the guy before, I've owned two big BMWs and this car is just better, feels quicker, and puts a big smile on your face. Those that have driven one and had the pleasure of owning one, you can see the passion in what they say, so please don't tell me what a poor car this is by stating 0-60 times, get out of your chair, drive one, then tell me it's rubbish - but you will have to tell me how it's rubbish, cos after owning one for 6 months, I can't. Its the best compromise between speed, comfort, fun, economy and practicality on the market, let alone sub £12,000

The skoda reference of 9.7 seconds 0-60 is with a fully laden car with 4 passengers. If you read up on this, Skoda actually do this for this car to keep the insurance company's off their backs of their FAB VRS.

So take out 4 passengers and lugagge, what do you get? Hmm a faster 0 - 60 mph time. Also the car is truly a great car, and the best value car there is so far.

It's not a hot hatch, but it's no slouch. Will easily keep up with lots of hot hatches due to its torque in day to day driving (not traffic light grand prix). Not capable like hot hatches in the bends, due to the weight in the front. It's more like a Grand Tourer than hot hatch. Which in my opinion is good, because it removes all the disadvantages of a hot hatch.

I have had vRS 130 from new, have done 19,000 miles, spent not a penny on it. 55.8 mpg without trying, very quick, very cheap. Would I buy another Skoda? Yes I would

Well after reading all these comments I felt I HAD to say my piece...

I now own a 95 WRX Impreza and even though it ballistic quick and rally pedigree blah blah I'm sick of thinking it will give up the ghost on me one day.. plus the insurance cost.. and don't even get me started on the MPG.

I've very recently test drove the VRS and was VERY impressed. The overall package you get for the money and what it gives you back is in my opinion untouched with most other cars.

OK so first gear is pretty much just there to get the ball rolling and to be honest the clutch is so tight and decent it seems effortless so 2nd come in no time then it starts to pull like a train and never stops. I was pretty impressed by the handling to with it being hard ish, but not in the least uncomfortable. The brakes were great and the interior was smart with the white and black and chrome. I will be slightly tuning mine as I think the car has a lot more to give, but I will also be concentrating on the suspension and loosing that slight roll it has.

By the way here's a brief list of the cars I've owned..

J reg AXGT

MK4 Astra SRI

Y reg 106 GTI

V reg Audi A3 Turbo

L reg WRX

MK2 Golf GTI 16V

N reg BMW 323i coupe

and now my M reg WRX... I have driven MANY inc 172's etc and owned a few more too.

So I know what I'm talking about. They are probably one of the most underrated cars out there and that will do me just fine :)

Bought a Fabia vrs last month, and have been interested in the 0-60 mph debate. Some of you have said that it's slower than the 9.6 seconds, and others, 'faster'. One person who left a comment said that you should take a stopwatch with you to test its acceleration to 60 for yourself. I eventually decided to take up this challenge. I managed 0-60 in 8.8 seconds (without any re-mapping etc). The best way to manage the gears seemed to be 0-20 in 1st, 20-42 in 2nd, and 42-60 in 3rd. Is there a better way of using the gears to get a quicker time?

I have a vrs just love it when you cane pull away from cars with no effort really want to get remapped so it becomes a warmer hatch. but for 12k no one can match skodas warranty well done skoda.

Just purchased an ex-demo vRS for £9995 for one very simple reason. Once it had been to JabbaSport and acquired an extra 55bhp for less than £500 it is unmatched for performance/economy at the price.

Add an Eibach suspension kit and uprated rear ARB for another few hundred quid and it starts to look even better as a driving tool for high mileage motoring. With 180 odd bhp it almost gets under 7 seconds to 60 (7.2 on my VBox) and it pulls like a train mid-gear. Ultimately there's no disguising the engine weight, but the suspension mods go a long way towards reducing the inevitable understeer, and it's very quick - in the dry at least. Can you buy/upgrade any other 56 reg 5 seater for this money that will do this?

You might want to put TT brakes on it as well, otherwise you might not be alive to use that power for long.

I have tested a Fabia vrs from 0-60 and am happy to say that it made it in 8.6.

My celica 190 eats the fabia vrs. never mind a good mid range pull a sudden surge of power between 6000-8000 revs is what you want. nearly 70 in 2nd gear and 90 in 3rd.

'My celica 190 eats the fabia vrs. never mind a good mid range pull a sudden surge of power between 6000-8000 revs is what you want. nearly 70 in 2nd gear and 90 in 3rd.'

Yes, but costs about 4-5K more. And while you'd be lucky to get 20mpg at 6000-8000 revs, the vrs will still be getting about 40mpg at 2000-3000.

If you spent 4-5K on a vrs, you'd blow a Celica 190 away on any road.

No, I don't think it would keep up with a Celica, even if you did spend that. Rolling start 40 in 2nd gear, it's every bit as fast as a Civic Type T as it is rolling start at 65 in 3rd. The only reason the Celicas 0-60 time is only 7.2 is because of how slow it is below 6000 rpm, which hinders it in a traffic light drag race in first gear, but every day driving i.e. rolling starts, in its zone, it's very fast.

And by the way, I've had a quote of £520 + vat for an engine remap and a few other tweeks to stop it from becoming unreliable. This would make the second cam lift up at 3000rpm instead of 6000rpm, and they have estimated that will take it to 240 bhp, maybe more. And you would have to be completely insane to buy a Fabia vRS and then spend 4-5k tuning the engine. There are so many better things in the world to spend that kind of money on.