Friday 13th September 2013

Skoda axes Fabia vRS

Poor sales mean the vRS won't be replaced, but will it be missed?

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In the same week that Hyundai has announced a WRC-influenced road car, Skoda has confirmed its junior hot hatch is no more; as of next year, there will no longer be a Fabia vRS.

Okay, calling the Fabia vRS a rally-influenced road car may be stretching it a bit with just 180hp, but it did provide a tangible link between Skoda's road cars and a successful rally campaign. The Fabia S2000 took the IRC Manufacturers' title for Skoda in three consecutive years from 2010-2012, in which time Juho Hanninen took a Drivers' championship also.

Is the Skoda badge still an image issue?

However, the car will be pulled with Skoda citing poor sales. But given the supermini hot hatch class has witnessed a resurgence in 2013 with the Fiesta ST, Clio 200 and 208 GTI triumvirate, surely now is the time to start planning a rival? There will inevitably be another Polo GTI and Ibiza Cupra, but then perhaps that's part of the problem as well as the solution; the cars are currently too similar and Skoda has lost out.

At present, they all use 180hp 1.4-litre twincharged engines and seven-speed DSG 'boxes. They aren't totally identical but, at £16,915, the Fabia is £1,660 less than the Ibiza and a hefty £2,020 less than the Polo.

And if that isn't enough of a bargain, how about a 63-plated car for £14,000? The entry point for current-shape vRS Fabias is around £9K, as demonstrated by this 10-plate Rallye Green car.

Moreover, no discussion of fast Fabias would be complete without mentioning the first generation, diesel-only car. Unique in a market of Mini Coopers and Ford SportKas, it attracted quite a following thanks to its subtle looks, huge torque and easily tweaked engine. This 2006 silver vRS looks great at £4K.

 

[Trikster]

Was a big fan of the original one, ran one as a snotter a couple of years ago and it was great fun.

The new one though just looked wrong (imho) - didn't appear to be one thing or another and without a USP like the original being a diesel I think it lost it's market

The Octavia vRS is still going strong (current daily driver) but wondering if they might get bitten again given the price of the new one...

[Chickentonight]

Well if it's too similar to the polo and the ibiza, why not just make the next one a diesel VRS?

[IanV12]

Shame
should have kept it unique like the original, a wolf in sheeps clothing

[HorneyMX5]

I'm surprised at the poor sales comment as I see more of these on teh roads than I do Polo GTIs or Ibizaa.

[wab172uk]

Was talking to a Skoda dealer earlier this year, when sorting out a couple company cars. Funnily enough he was talking about the Fabia vRS.

Since they made it a 1.4 and gave it an Auto only gearbox, sales fell through the floor.

Just goes to show that not everyone wants a Auto gearbox !!!

[Robmarriott]

IanV12 said:

Shame
should have kept it unique like the original, a wolf in sheeps clothing

Yep, all 130bhp of wolfness.

[angry jock]

Chickentonight said:

Well if it's too similar to the polo and the ibiza, why not just make the next one a diesel VRS?

UK was the only market that really took to the diesel though and they won't make a car for one market. I think they are making a massive mistake in not replacing it however I think that this is a decision that was made by Wolfsburg and not Mlada Boleslav.

[David87]

IanV12 said:

Shame
should have kept it unique like the original, a wolf in sheeps clothing

Indeed. It needed to be a TDI.

[P4ROT]

As others have said- if the next one was a diesel then it would probably sell.

[750turbo]

I am dissapoint

[seismic22]

I dont care about the badge but compared to the polo and ibiza its pretty fugly. If the price stayed the same and the looks got better then I'd buy one.

[RenesisEvo]

Robmarriott said:

IanV12 said:

Shame
should have kept it unique like the original, a wolf in sheeps clothing

Yep, all 130bhp of wolfness.

Very much missing the point by quoting hp for the original vRS - that car was all about the torque, being a diesel and everything. It's a shame the gearing meant the 0-60 time of the mk1 looked unimpressive compared to its rivals of the time (you had to grab 3rd).

How are sales of the Polo/Ibiza - are the poor sales purely the badge, or related to the DSG-TSI combination (liability)?

[C.A.R.]

Robmarriott said:

Yep, all 130bhp of wolfness.

Quite, but being a diesel it wasn't about the powaaa at all, was it? For its' class it was a very quick car and is still quite brisk IMO.

I think the new one looks bloody awful, so gawdy, available in some vomit-inducing colour combinations and it doesn't do 'subtle' any more. Black wheels look chavvy and most seem to have them, white roof screems Cooper (despite other manufacturers' following suit) and the overall proportions of the car let it down too - it's like a small MPV rather than a 'hot hatch'.

[Crow555]

RenesisEvo said:

Very much missing the point by quoting hp for the original vRS - that car was all about the torque, being a diesel and everything. It's a shame the gearing meant the 0-60 time of the mk1 looked unimpressive compared to its rivals of the time (you had to grab 3rd).

How are sales of the Polo/Ibiza - are the poor sales purely the badge, or related to the DSG-TSI combination (liability)?

Indeed. If I remember rightly, it had around the same amount of torque as a Subaru Impreza WRX. At least, that's what Parkers quotes.

HorneyMX5 said:

I'm surprised at the poor sales comment as I see more of these on teh roads than I do Polo GTIs or Ibizaa.

Skoda have released a Monte Carlo edition of the Fabia which looks very similar to the vRS so it might be some of those too.

I remember hearing about oil consumption issues with the 1.4 twincharged engine, something the Polo GTi and Ibiza FR also suffered from. That and the auto/semi-auto only options can't have helped its chances.

[Roma101]

I can't comment on how it drives, but looks wise, whenever I have seen one, (IMO) it just looks wrong. It is not a single feature of the car that looks wrong, like is the case on other cars (like naff headlights). It is the proportions of the whole car - almost like it is three different cars joined together and then "photo-shopped". Also, as has been said above, it looks like an MPV that has shrunk in the wash, not a hot hatch.

[graham22]

2 off putting things for your average new Skoda small car buyer - auto only and not diesel. Simple.

Look how many Monte-Carlo spec ones have been sold, it can't be a styling issue. Surely Skoda's answer is to sell the VRS with the 2.0 140hp diesel as in the Ibiza.

My other half has a Fabia 1.9 TDI Sport, would like a VRS but not keen on the auto box and always feel buying a petrol Skoda would be financial suicide as far as resale is concerned.

[CatScan]

I have one; red vRS estate. Between an American wife who didn't want a manual and me not fitting very well in more stylishly roofed options it was the solution.
Gets places quickly, subtle looks, 40+ mpg when you're good and sillily large boot for a small car, there's a lot going for it.
The oil consumption's been an issue but mine's been fixed now. Think they missed a trick not selling it with a manual too; if they could have knocked £1500 off the (regularly discounted)£16k-ish list price it started on we'd have seen an awful lot of them about.

[Oddball RS]

They look old fashioned and gawky, and they are an auto only small car, where's the great surprise?

[CrowCrow00]

750turbo said:

I am dissapoint

Me too, I thought these sold well. I'd rather the fast Ibiza was canned than the Fabia.

[Doodles19]

Whilst I admire any manufacturer that makes hot versions of anything. They really did miss the mark with this one. The styling just looks as if the car is uncomfortable with itself, the proportions for a sporty version are just all wrong. Looks far too top heavy etc.

On paper, the 1.4tsi and dsg combo should have been good. I think a lot of people would have been put off by gambling on getting a car without the oil consumption issues.

I'm sure it was a decent and capable car. It just couldn't have been more bland if it tried.

Although, after slating it. I'm fairly sure that a large chunk of this cars bland-ness was because of the constraints made by VAG.

Just a bit of a shame really.