Scoobedoo

I've driven both of these cars, the Golf being 3 years old with 55k on the clock and the Fabia VRS with 11miles (new).

The Golf seemed to have more go throughout the range but the Fabia did not.

Has anyone else found a difference (in engine performance) between the two. I understood they both had the same engines or maybe I'm wrong?


Thanks

MBK

Was the golf standard? A Revo remap or similar might have been responsible for the extra urge in the Golf. You are right they have the same engine/gearbox so I would have said (from SEAT 130/150 diesel experience) that the Fab should have felt quicker if both were standard...

mw2655

the golf has loosened up, with regular milage, the vrs is still brand new.

the vrs will be quicker in the long run being lighter.

Scoobedoo

yep, it did feel tight - hopefully that was the reason.

Anyhow, it's too late now as I've put the order in on one (Fabia VRS) yesterday . Gave up looking for a decent second hand Golf TDi as they'd all been abused in some form (body work repairs etc).

Manage to swing ESP, Cruise control and Metallic Black Paint for the same OTR price which I thought was a good deal despite mr Skoda saying the best they could do was 5% off.

Not quite the same attractiveness of the scoob but certanly good VFM.

Scoobedoo

no idea on that mate, the Golf was a one owner jobby and looked standard all round, no mention of upgrades by the dealer. (surely they'd mention if it was chipped to make it more desirable?)

MBK

Unfortunately they would probably not tell you it had been upgraded as this tends to lower the value rather than raise it - no warranty for a start.

It has been known for dealers to remap demonstrators and forget to mention this to customers!

Have fun with the Fab they are great cars for the cash and 50+mpg too...

logiclee

The PD engines need a few thousand miles on them to loosen up, some owners even saying 10k miles+ before they got full performance.

Cheers
Lee

John57

Cars always need a good few thousand miles to loosen up - three examples for you.

I had an S2000 with 10K on the clock and was left for dead by one with 50K ...... he made mine look like it was in need of a service but I now mine was the same as others with similar miles as I drove 2 before buying mine.

I had an S14 200SX at 9K miles ..... I bought it because I liked it but felt at the time it was a bit slow. Two years later at 30K it was a different beast and constantly amazed me at just how quick it felt in the mid range where previously it had struggled.

I drive diesel BMW's at work ..... 530d's. The new shape is supposedly 7.1 to 62 .... the old shape 8.3 to 62. A 2 year old car; the old shape with 35K on the clock was noticeably quicker in a straight line to 70mph than the new shape which only had 7K on it. There was nothing wrong with either car - both went well but it just shows how mileage does affect the performance of a car.

I think the Fabia VRs is a good car and you have made a good choice ! If I needed a small hatch that would be my choice all things considered. The Golf was clearly run in - the Fabia would be as tight as a tight thing at 11 miles ......

Scoobedoo

thanks folks,

as you might have guessed I have been a ex-scooby owner but decided to change for a bit, something a bit more econimical due to excessive mileage I'm doing.

Looking forward to the experience... just need to remember to use Diesel instead of the other fuel!

brickboy

Give it some beans from the off, no need to use full throttle but don't be afraid to exercise it up top 3.5K, helps it run in quick!

Petem95

You've made a good choice. As nice as the Golf is, the little Fabia should be quicker and more economical being the smaller and ligher car.

Also residual values for those Fabia vRS's are almost unrealistically good. Better than the Golf TDi even, so a financially sensible purchase as well!

Reffro

The Fabia is quicker, I can conclusively say. I had a run against a Golf 130 in my Fabia at Santa Pod, and was noticeably quicker, pulling 2 car lengths out of it in the 1/4 mile. Not much in real terms on the road, but still faster.

Fabioso

I just switched the maps over on my Fabia vRS now the weathers getting warmer, boy I'd forgotten what a difference it makes! Watch that rev counter needle fly!

Bring on the dry surfaces!!