I've been looking for a Fabia VRS (mk2 tsi) for a couple of weeks as for around £10k they look a good buy.
I looked at 1 at the weekend but due to it having a lot of paint i walked away (140 mile round trip wasted) and didn't even drive it

Looking online tonight i stumbled upon the 2012my Suzuki Swift Sport - what a nice looking car - not fast but nippy, good standard spec and cheap to run.

I'm now in a dilema - which to choose?

Fabia plus points:
quick (for a standard small hatch)
practical (4 doors)
cheap to run

minus points:
looks weird
dsg only

Swift plus points:
nippy (quick enough for me)
looks good
cheap to run
lots of standard fit extras

minus points:
depreciation (will it lose a lot in 4-6 months)
build quality (japanese)

 

Swift as the vrs can be problematic. And the swift have an excellent chassis=fun

 

My mate has a 3.2 A3 S-line, DSG. He opted for DSG due to it being faster than the manual.

 

I've heard about the VRS having issues with oil useage and pistons but it'll be under warranty for another year - Skoda are now replacing engines (or at least bottom ends) under warranty.
Everyone seems to rate the dsg saying they prefer it to a manual - guess it'll be ok once i've got used to it?

Swift looks the sportier car, as mentioned the standard spec is a lot better - cruise, parking sensors, climate, keyless, bluetooth, etc - these are around £500 - £1k more than the VRS although a year newer

 

Swift sport
Boy has one now after the 350z
Awesome bit of kit 45 mpg and is rapid
Handleing rock hard
Very sporty ride
Impressed with build quality
Check out. Briskoda as there seems to be engine issues with the vrs at the moment
Old one diesel was a cracker though

 

Dsg is just a double clutch and has the next gear ready before change like an f1 car and there's no delay in changing unlike the usual paddle shifts, good quick gear change for racing and better 0-60 times as there's no delay, but otherwise you'd be driving it in auto tbh. And more to go wrong.
Just to give you an idea, not great for daily driving, as auto will be used and occasional paddle, I've driven a dsg and tbh I couldn't use it all the time but good for spirited drive

 

Definitely the Swift; I was impressed with the loaner one we had. Less so with the vRS I tested.

 

Mate had a Swift Sport for 3 years and didn't cost him a bean in repairs - utterly reliable and a great little car.

Not too many around either.
He put his up for sale and sold it within two days, a lot of people were after it and it almost descended into a bidding war!

 

Daughter has a 09 Swift Sport, cheap to service, never had any issues, very good handling, bit noisy at motorway speeds due to fairly low gearing, we searched for ages to get one without the stripes, although they come off, if they have been on from new you can see where they have been, especially on red cars.

 

The Ex as a Swift and it's been utterly reliable for the three years she's had it.

 

i had an ibiza cupra tsi ( same as vrs fabia ) and its a cracking engine and coupled with the dsg it is surprisingly fun. as has been mentioned vw have had some major trouble with oil usage, misfiring and blown engines. they do now have a renewed engine with uprated components so do a bit of ressarch on this. Think the engine code beginning with CAVE is the troubled one. On the other hand my best mate had a swift sport and in 6 years the only thing that went wrong was the esp module ( 1000 quid repair) so chopped it in for an occy vrs. Me personally it would be the swift as i hate the look of the fabias.

 

The wife is on her second Swift Sport - great little cars and a lot of fun to drive.

 

I like the Swift Sport. Get that !

 

Hmm - looks like everone prefers the Swift
Had a quick look round another VRS today and even though dealer told me last week it was "mint" in the 30sec walkaround i noticed = 3 kerbed alloys (the polished ones so can't touch them up), bonnet and n/s/f wing had such a big gap you could see the bolt heads on top of the wing and a big chip in the middle of the bonnet

Supposed to be looking at another VRS this saturday so i'll get a proper drive and decide if i like the dsg or hate it

Looking at Swifts last night - dealers are wanting almost new car prices for used cars?

 

you will love the dsg me thinks.........

 

Isnt the Cupra a 2.0 with 240bhp which is 60 odd more than the VRS, which I thought was a 1.4.
The Cupra R is the same as the S3 (260bhp) - definitely not a 1.4!

 

Fifth Gear over on Discovery Channel a couple of weeks ago did a vs test between a Swift Sport and a Renault Twingo 133. The Swift came out tops.

 

Well managed to work some figures out with a Suzuki dealer today on a 1 year old sport with 6000 miles in blue.
My 59 plate Clio 200 (every option except Recaros), 28000 miles, mint + £3k

Getting prices on the Clio from many dealers last month i was offered £7700 - £8000, this month it's gone down to £7300 - £7600

Gonna think about it tonight but i think i'll be picking the Swift up this weekend (540 mile round trip) - more i think about the VRS and the problems, the funny looks and the gearbox the more i decide against it

 

Remember to post some pics up when you get it. Right choice IMHO.

 

Definitely the Swift . Wife has had hers 2years now faultless car. Not the quickest but great fun on them country great drivers car

 

on about the ibiza cupra, not the leon cupra. Ibiza cupra is the same 1.4tsi engine and 7speed dsg as the fabia vrs and polo gti.

 

Dealer pics (car not cleaned)

 

Sorry, my mistake.

 

Nice one; that will serve you well!

 

Hope so - it's way over my initial budget
7000 miles, less than a year old so still has 2 years+ warranty, cheap tax, cheap insurance and more mpg than the Clio - has to be done

64th car so far - might find the right 1 one day?

 

While maybe the Twingo 133 may handle slightly better, I think the combo of good handling and a decent looking interior give the Swift Sport the edge as a daily driver.

That interior looks good for a small hatchback.

 

Should be adequate for me handling wise as i only commute so don't need a track focused car - prefer something more comfy these days

Interior does look nice (some hard plastics) and the standard spec is way better than any of its rivals - climate, bluetooth, mp3 input (never used an mp3), cruise, keyless entry, keyless ignition, push button starter, HIDs, electric folding mirrors, rear privacy glass, etc,etc
Only thing missing is sat-nav (optional extra though) - most of these things are options on other hot hatches

Just swapped insurance over today ready for sunday - cost an extra £9 from the Clio 200

 

My impression was; this is a Clio but properly screwed together. Just like a mk3 MR2 is an Elise that doesn't fall to bits.

 

Japanese reliability thrown in (i hope)

 

Well picked the swift up today after a 540 mile round trip 8.5 hours

driving Clio on CC at 70mph i was averaging 27mpg, on the return trip the Swift was doing more mph and averaging 49-50mpg

First impressions of the swift (230miles motorway, 10 miles A road) -
steering light,
clutch very light,
no rattles,
great mpg,
nippy enough (50-70 in 6th is quicker than i thought it'd be - great for motorways), quiet cabin (some road noise from the Contis).

Dislikes (so far)
stereo sound quality is a bit poor
button for switching display from mpg - trip - etc is push button on clocks not on end of stalk
parcel shelf doesn't lift up with tailgate
boot light pathetic (just fitted led which isn't much better due to position of light)
mirror casings are HUGE - mirror glass is small?
mirror switch is tacky (cheap and fiddly)

All in all for a first drive i am impressed - great specced car for the price, feels nicer to drive than a lot of other small hatches i've had