chiark

I suggest trying a 330d with a remap... OK, it's apples and oranges but you did generalise . Besides, you can get a 330d for the 10k mark now...

Fabioso

I don't quite know what is being discussed here because no-one I know has any illusion that the vRS is a giant killer. I'm not quite sure why Rabid has such a problem with the car but it seems he does. I disagree that its not fun, but then may be I dont have high expectations

I swear on the motorway in-gear my remapped fabia would not be far behind at all my Integra to well over 100. Yeah its a one trick pony, been on many jaunts around the M25 that are like Silverstone ?

I spend 90% of my time on motorways, yeah so for what it does it does it well. I worked out the other day the money I have lost through depreciation and its stunning.

The Fabia is my everyday car so as a runaround it does the job and then some. No-one is trying to pretend its a super hatch but remapped its definitely punching above its expected weight.

Thats all i have to say on the matter, its pointless trying to convince people who love petrol and cornering

Rabid

I presume you read all the bad things and didn't bother with the good stuff I had to say about the VRS? I haven't any problem with Furbys, we owned one and used it to the maximum.
In case you missed it the thread title is "Revo'd Fabia VRS vs The world". Although I'm sure the thread starter isn't deluded a lot of Fabia VRS owners are, like the one I talked about at the top of the thread. Seem to think they are in some kind of giant slaying hot hatch legend rather than a lardy oil burning supermini with a decent punchy engine (at lower speeds).

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yep, the thread title was intended to be a bit tongue in cheek having lurked on Briskoda (specifically the Fabia bit), good bunch and knowledgeable but there does seem to be a collective opinion that the Fabia is perhaps faster than it actually is.

That Said, one kept up with me in my Saab quite well in a similar way that I can keep up fairly well with Cooper S's and Type R's, sub 200 bhp its all a bit confusing, proper stuff starts at 250 bhp imho.

Fabioso

yawn, and the next statement is .................?

Rabid

My Fabia is a giant killer.......... it can beat a n/a Mini Cooper round a track.......but it gets beat by a 1.6KA.......and I get cheap road tax and 53mpg........it only loses a few K in depreciation you know!............my clutch melted..........in gear torque............real world...........30-70......etc etc etc.

brickboy

I was flicking through a 1973 issue of Motor Sport the other day, and there was an article which highlighted just how far diesels have come.

There was a test of a Merc 250D diesel, 2.5 litre, non-turbo. The figures were:

60bhp / 130 lb-ft of torque

Average of 35mpg

0-60mph in 26.5 seconds

Top speed of 89mph

and best of all -- the "cylinder pre-heaters" must be used for 30 seconds before trying to start the engine at ambient temperatures below 4 celsius

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

'0-60mph in 26.5 seconds'

Plant foot fully down, Jump out, nip into newsagent, grab a paper and jump back in before its going quicker than a jog.

Duck_Pond

Funny how different people's perceptions are though. For example, this morning, I was down at API dropping off my Scooby for a service etc. Friendly bunch, and I got nattering to the bloke who booked me in, while waiting for a lift back into town.

When I mentioned that I have a vRS Fabia, his first comment was "They're remarkably quick for a diesel, aren't they?"

This is coming from someone involved with highly tuned Scoobies, but used to work at a Skoda garage when the vRS first came out.

And after trundling down the motorway (getting a marvellous 25mpg) in the scooby earlier, I have to admit, the Furby is faster between 60 and 80 in the top 2 gears than the scooby is. But it's all down to surprise, and being in the right gear. If the scooby was in 3rd at 60, it'd obliterate the Skoda.

Maybe I'm just getting old...

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Its kind of cool that diesel superminis now rate highly enough to get performance car owners a bit worried, must be nice having both for an objective comparison !

Have the job offer sat next to me here so at some point soon I will get organized and get one.

vindaloo

I agree with Rabid more or less.

Standard, Fabia VRS isn't the best drive in the world. I got mine after my Citroen AX GT got splattered and the handling was less than sporty in comparison. No tautness and worrying characteristics if you pushed on in a corner...

Solution for me was to fit Eibach springs and dampers. Much transformed the handling.

For safe road driving, the brakes are adequate but I'll agree, don't like too much abuse.

As for the rest of it, 130BHP (or 140) if you believe the corrected RR figures isn't going to punch much of a hole in the air at higher speeds. The car has an odd power delivery too. A dippiness in the power curve after 3Krpm. A remap can deal with that and give around 175bhp. No particular reason to up the torque massively either, other than it can be done... The so called "pikey" mods. appear to be worthwhile to improve flow through the i/c.

IMO it's a combination of lack of true power, gearing and aero. that make it less than speedy at higher MPHs.

J.

Duck_Pond

It's confusing at times... I think about taking the Skoda because I don't want to park the Scooby in a dodgy area, but then think "Hang on, the Skoda is worth twice as much as the Scooby!"

Summer is approaching though, so the Scooby will get more exercise

RobEvo5

iTrader: (9)

Jacko you thought about the golf 1.9TDI (130 or better still 150 variety).

Its a tried and tested lump, and we have the passats at work running these engines along with the golfs... Even in the passat they are impressive to drive for what they are. Torque is superb, and pulls really well.

Not a rocket ship but that comparing to a highly modded 2.5 scoob, they still put a smile on my face whenever I take them out on business. Haven't been in a Fabia but would guess the build quality is much better.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Rob, the Golf is very similar to the Fabia, in that it has he 130 bhp diesel lump and doesnt handle either, my brother in law has a 115 bhp one that I suspect may be for sale soon but its knocking on a bit (w reg but only 30k), most of the Golf's on Autotrader are high mileage and overpriced. Plus I like the anti statement of the Skoda badge, I love the fact that people know its just a VOlkswagen yet their fragile little ego's cannot cope with the Skoda badge.

Jamesemt

We've also got both (the Scoob being a blob eye).

It depends what you want from the car. If you get the Fabia in the right gear, at the right time, it can feel A LOT faster than the scoob...Other times the Scoob feels quicker.

I think that's more to do with the gear ratios of the Fabia - looking for a gap approaching a roundabout, crawling in 2nd before nailing it is fantastic (and a lot bigger thrill than the Scoob).

I think it depends just how 'hardcore' a driver you are.
I've noticed that I don't seem to push the Scoob around quite as much as I used to (first set of tyres lasted 8k miles...) - prefering to try and straighten off any corners when on back roads, so the handling is less of an issue.

The Scoob feels so much more stable at high speed - but I don't get up into 3 figures anymore. Wet weather grip in the Fab is laughable.

I've been having the 'should I get rid, shouldn't I' debate for quite a while (12 months) as I never really use the Scoob much these days - the vRS is always easiest to jump in, and leave anywhere without worry. In comparison, the Scoob is 29 months old and has never been parked in a supermarket car park...not to mention the double fuel economy (is the Scoob driving experience really worth twice the Furby's?).

The only reason I haven't got rid, is the fact that I only do 5 miles a day to work, and can use the Fabia some of the time as I work a lot of shifts... and the prospect of losing £10k in depreciation on the Scoob in just over 2 years is very difficult to stomach.

I must also add that knowing how to use the engine is fundamental to the Skoda - absolutely no point hanging onto the revs above 3k.

So, it really boils down to just how much you push a car on the road. Don't you sometimes find that the lower power the car, the more fun it is driving it to death?

Oh and our standard, owned from brand new vRS with 15k miles has clutch slip

Jamesemt

I had a Golf GT TDI 130 (MKIV) before the Scoob - the torque kick in the Golf felt even stronger than the Skoda - maybe something to do with the golf being heavier and pitching a lot more?

Duck_Pond

Glad to see someone else has the same dilemma of should I, shouldn't I? when thinking about the Scooby

The two are somewhat chalk and cheese. The Skoda is understated and quiet... whereas the Scooby is loud and well, loud

Horses for courses... no point trying to rag the Skoda through the lanes, when the Scooby is sooo much more fun and able. Equally no point cruising along a motorway in the Scooby doing 20mpg and getting a headache off of the exhaust, when the Skoda does 60mpg and is quiet.

Spankathon

Never been near a vRS on the road, but a guy in a TDi Golf tried it on last night (I assume the red 'D' and 'I' is the 130) and it wasn't quick, at all, I nearly ran into the back of it a couple of times.... so if this is what the vRS is like then you can keep the tractor !!!!

Jamesemt

I think you will find that the badges don't add up - was probably a 110...

Rabid

Not a surprise and neither are the comments following it, seriously so many Fabia VRS owners think their cars are rocket ships and having covered thousands of miles in a REVO'd one I can categorically state they aren't- honestly.
It might feel fast when you get the whack of torque but while you are making yet another gear change the higher power petrol cars are gaining on you. What the Fabia is good at is embarrassing such cars in the meat of it's power range, by the time they realise what's going on you've booted it upto a speed that will allow you to keep your licence and then it's game over, unless they think exceeding the speed limit by a huge margin is worth it to prove their point.
The price/power ratio of the Fabia is one of the best, no doubt about it but it doesn't half make me chuckle when you read some of the dreamers comments over on briskoda. Kind of reminds me of "I beat a 911" threads on here........

vindaloo

IMO the main advantage is the instant grunt. I suppose this applies to most modern diesels to an extent. You can go from 55MPG to maximum thrust by merely pushing the throttle pedal. In the Impreza, I have to chose between cruise (off boost, lower revs than ideal) or "prepare to warp" which is louder and busier.

I've done a few unscientific test between the two cars. Fabia goes instantly, then tails off gently, Impreza goes with a bit of a shoeing, then goes again if I really floor it. Ultimately, the Impreza's acceleration is far better but going from cruise to fast is easier and more instant in the Fabia.

J.

Duck_Pond

Depends how old and what specced 911 it is The late 1970s ones aren't that quick in SC form, but age ain't got anything to do with it, if you encounter say a 1973 lightweight RS Carrera.

I've pulled away from a 911 in my scooby... and also been embarrassed by a diesel Saab on the motorway.

I suppose the comments show a general lack of knowledge about how fast some cars really are. If you know how quick cars are, you don't tend to try to brag about pulling away or keeping up with one, when anyone who does know can shoot you down in flames.

Still, where would these sort of forums be, without the amusement of "I beat a Ferrari when pedalling my mountain bike" threads?

matchmaker

Fabias are built like a house brick - cd of 0.33. By comparison the Octavia vRS has a cd of 0.28

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

'I beat a Ferrari when pedalling my mountain bike" threads?'

Sounds like my thread of a few years back where I had a bit of fun with a Diablo (not the guy who posts on here, a car) with a woman driving it, I was in a MK2 Golf GTI, great fun and no I didnt beat it.

Fabioso

Rabid, you really have a bee in your bonnet about this topic I really fail to understand why you are going on and on about the same thing. I haven't seen much evidence of many vRS owners thinking their car is "as you put it a rocket ship". Why you care is beyond me ? If all of their statements are so far out of the ball park why are you continuing to go over all this again and again ?

Old Chinese proverb :

"Man with 9 inch dick prefer shower cubicle............"

Rabid

errrr it would be because I've owned a Fabia and this is a discussion forum. The repetition was in reply to your comment.

beeftech

He obviously wernt trying! 320D's are ugly slow and almost twice the price of a vRS, Oh yeah and they're a BMW! And no I don't think my vRS can beat most things, But I know it can muller 320D's, seems most BMW drivers don't like there *** being handed to them by a skoda LOL!

They are not slow either, Think a 125Mph GPS verified is pretty quick don't you? on my local test track mind you

matchmaker

You might have noticed, however, that Octavia vRS owners don't seen to share that opinion

Fabioso

Yep I thought so.............

Echo

I've had my vRS for just over a week and have covered over 2,000 miles already, it's saved me a mint. I like the way that I can just buzz along with no hassles doing the speed I want, no one wanting to race etc. My average mpg is 48.5 with mixed driving.

I will never get rid of the Scoob though, it's in another class. The vRS is a perfect day to day car that nips around well and is cheap to run, insure, fix etc. I was finding at 45k miles a year the Scoob was madness. I really don't see the point of people trying to map them as the car's not really a handler, our old Sport was way better.

I would strongly recommend the vRS as an enjoyable daily driver that's pretty well put together but it is in no way a patch on my Scoob for enjoyment and performance in all respects

Mike