RE: Skoda axes Fabia vRS
Discussion
My son has just bought a '55 reg red one from a Skoda dealer. Hardly a mark on it... His has the full vRS leather interior which imo is much nicer than the cloth twin tone one as shown in the ad for the silver one. Insurance group is nice and low as well and with a years dealer warranty it will hopefully be hassle free motoring....
I think it's a shame Skoda have canned it as I think in manual diesel form it has a lot going for it.
I think it's a shame Skoda have canned it as I think in manual diesel form it has a lot going for it.
Yep, it was the fact it wasn't a diesel that killed it.
The original was a good little car that would easily do 55mpg. The missus had a new one in '04 and after 70k liked it so much, chopped it on for an '07 LE. It's still going strong.
When the new one came out, and the LE was in for a service they tried to get her to trade-in for the new one. Nice enough car, but to go from high-50s MPG to something in the 20s (which a friend of ours gets) is a big jump.
The original was a good little car that would easily do 55mpg. The missus had a new one in '04 and after 70k liked it so much, chopped it on for an '07 LE. It's still going strong.
When the new one came out, and the LE was in for a service they tried to get her to trade-in for the new one. Nice enough car, but to go from high-50s MPG to something in the 20s (which a friend of ours gets) is a big jump.
ked the new one up. I bought one precisely because I wanted an auto gearbox - I spend way too much time crawling in traffic, and my wife prefers them for the times she drives. I can understand that I'm a pretty small part of the market though - and I'd have bought an estate if I could have had one quickly, as it was I got a nicely specced ex-demo hatch nearly 2 years ago. Have put over 30k miles on it since.
They're a brilliant city car, for people that don't want wheezy little petrol engines, or have to listen to a diesel clatter away. Nice and narrow for squeezing through gaps (almost identical to the Up/Citigo), under 4m long for easy street parking, but with a 300 litre boot and enough space for 4 adults comfortably. Usual VAG feel to the switchgear and dash, all that lets it down really is the hard plastic door casings and handles and the unlined gloveboxes (I lined mine with self-adhesive neoprene).
Not the last word in driving excitement, but it's fun enough for the few times I'm not in London or on a motorway. I did take it on track once and it wasn't great - unswitchable ESP seemed to think the car was about to crash and kept braking wheels to reel it in - was OK when staying smooth inside the limits though.
It's biggest competition was really from another Fabia model - the much cheaper, more economical, easier to insure, arguably better looking Monte Carlo. I can see why younger people particularly would just go for that.
I'm hoping for some kind of cheaper, better specced run-out special like they did with the Octavia vRS Blacklines - I'd be quite tempted to order an estate version then.
I did consider things like the Golf GTI (with DSG) but I don't need the space or a VW badge and it does 90% of what that does at rather less than 90% of the running costs.
They're a brilliant city car, for people that don't want wheezy little petrol engines, or have to listen to a diesel clatter away. Nice and narrow for squeezing through gaps (almost identical to the Up/Citigo), under 4m long for easy street parking, but with a 300 litre boot and enough space for 4 adults comfortably. Usual VAG feel to the switchgear and dash, all that lets it down really is the hard plastic door casings and handles and the unlined gloveboxes (I lined mine with self-adhesive neoprene).
Not the last word in driving excitement, but it's fun enough for the few times I'm not in London or on a motorway. I did take it on track once and it wasn't great - unswitchable ESP seemed to think the car was about to crash and kept braking wheels to reel it in - was OK when staying smooth inside the limits though.
It's biggest competition was really from another Fabia model - the much cheaper, more economical, easier to insure, arguably better looking Monte Carlo. I can see why younger people particularly would just go for that.
I'm hoping for some kind of cheaper, better specced run-out special like they did with the Octavia vRS Blacklines - I'd be quite tempted to order an estate version then.
I did consider things like the Golf GTI (with DSG) but I don't need the space or a VW badge and it does 90% of what that does at rather less than 90% of the running costs.
Shame, as I thought it was a pretty decent looking car. Loved the adverts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhfEGKc7PLQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE-jgcstqIg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhfEGKc7PLQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE-jgcstqIg
I'm not surprised at it being pulled.
The first Gen was not a pretty car, but the beefed up bumpers, the bigger nice looking wheels made it great and steling the idea off SEAT of a warm diesel lump in a small car meant it was a popular car with tight wads, sorry commuters. It had differentiation in the market place and apart from the Mad a as abat Ibiza Cupra TDi ( a real genuine hot hatch) it had no competition.
Yet when they went petrol they lost that niche.
But to top it off they entered a bigger arena with one ugly mumma of a car. They used the silly green as the advertising car and to be honest it was so marmite . However a red VRS with black wheels and black roof is a lot easier on the eye.
Oh and dare we mention DSG. Great car to drive but its still that option of a manual that people want. For me it was as if they made the car for one particular person and forgot the wider audience. Oh and it did not stand out as spicy hatch, which is a real shame as they had the rally car project they could borrowed styling cues from, but chose not to. Oh hang on they did, they released a monte carlo 1.2 68bhp version that looked like the VRS, seen that before at Vaxhall.
Lets hope they get the mk1 design book out when they do the mk3 VRS and give us something Skoda, ie not dictated by VAg as to what the car should be. I mea whoever thought having a rebadged unit from 3 brands which was exactly the same was going to work. Esepcially when the VW polo was so much more of a car from a n ownership and depreciation point of view.
Shame though, as like i said, the VRS mk2 is really a great drive, would make a great everyday drivers car with that box and the torque, just not special enough to be an only car for petrolheads.
The first Gen was not a pretty car, but the beefed up bumpers, the bigger nice looking wheels made it great and steling the idea off SEAT of a warm diesel lump in a small car meant it was a popular car with tight wads, sorry commuters. It had differentiation in the market place and apart from the Mad a as abat Ibiza Cupra TDi ( a real genuine hot hatch) it had no competition.
Yet when they went petrol they lost that niche.
But to top it off they entered a bigger arena with one ugly mumma of a car. They used the silly green as the advertising car and to be honest it was so marmite . However a red VRS with black wheels and black roof is a lot easier on the eye.
Oh and dare we mention DSG. Great car to drive but its still that option of a manual that people want. For me it was as if they made the car for one particular person and forgot the wider audience. Oh and it did not stand out as spicy hatch, which is a real shame as they had the rally car project they could borrowed styling cues from, but chose not to. Oh hang on they did, they released a monte carlo 1.2 68bhp version that looked like the VRS, seen that before at Vaxhall.
Lets hope they get the mk1 design book out when they do the mk3 VRS and give us something Skoda, ie not dictated by VAg as to what the car should be. I mea whoever thought having a rebadged unit from 3 brands which was exactly the same was going to work. Esepcially when the VW polo was so much more of a car from a n ownership and depreciation point of view.
Shame though, as like i said, the VRS mk2 is really a great drive, would make a great everyday drivers car with that box and the torque, just not special enough to be an only car for petrolheads.
The original was brilliant. We have an 06 one which has been in the family since new and is now my good ladies mode of transport. It's a basic, honest hatch with the same engine as used in an Audi A6.
I love it's honesty.
I love the way you can exit a corner on an epic crest of torque if you get the right gear
I love how it pulls from 30 to 50 as quickly as my 740i.
My mum loved hers, so much so that they couldn't find a single sub £20,000 car new today which they preferred to the dear old Fabi. I get the feeling that we'll end up keeping it until it dies, which is probably never.
I love it's honesty.
I love the way you can exit a corner on an epic crest of torque if you get the right gear
I love how it pulls from 30 to 50 as quickly as my 740i.
My mum loved hers, so much so that they couldn't find a single sub £20,000 car new today which they preferred to the dear old Fabi. I get the feeling that we'll end up keeping it until it dies, which is probably never.
Not sure about prices of Fabia vRS globally, but at domestic market it is even more expensive than the Polo GTI.
Fabia vRS: 504,900 CZK
Clio RS 1,6T: 564,900 CZK
Clio RS 2,0 was about 550,000 CZK
Polo GTI: 497,900 CZK
Ibiza Cupra: 449,900 CZK
Fiesta ST: 429,990 CZK
Swift Sport 379,900 CZK
That pricing could never work. With manual gearbox a price tag could have been more reasonable. And even die hard Škoda fans would be mad to not buy Octavia vRS instead for 619,900 CZK.
Fabia vRS: 504,900 CZK
Clio RS 1,6T: 564,900 CZK
Clio RS 2,0 was about 550,000 CZK
Polo GTI: 497,900 CZK
Ibiza Cupra: 449,900 CZK
Fiesta ST: 429,990 CZK
Swift Sport 379,900 CZK
That pricing could never work. With manual gearbox a price tag could have been more reasonable. And even die hard Škoda fans would be mad to not buy Octavia vRS instead for 619,900 CZK.
I think the styling works against it - it's definitely more last generation than current generation hot hatch. having said that, I looked at and love the grey vRS Monte Carlo I recently saw in a Skoda showroom (but it's still very staid). I also noted they had what must have been a couple of ex-Skoda vRS estates outside which look even worse and with a sloping rear, don't offer much more than the hatch.
forzaminardi said:
I liked the original very much - enough to come close to getting one a couple of times - but the 'new' model might be a good drive but just looks awkward and blobby.
+1! I actually went to test drive the original as was v tempted. But I'm not in the least surprised with the mkII, it's utterly hideousness. I thought it was a daewoo when I first saw one, what on earth were they thinking?!?There is absolutely a market for the Fabia VRS, but one based on a Fabia platform that wasn't designed by an angry mole. Also keep your stupid DSG and make it a manual with both diesel & petrol variants available as per the Octavia please Skoda..
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