Skoda Fabia vRS review
by David Finlay (21 July 2010)
Although the name is unchanged, the new Skoda Fabia vRS bears no resemblance whatever to the previous one, and not just because it's based on a different bodyshell. Mechanically, the vRS is now almost exactly the same thing as the already introduced
SEAT Ibiza Cupra and the forthcoming Volkswagen Polo GTI.
Gone, then, are the 128bhp 1.9-litre turbo diesel engine and the manual gearbox, to be replaced - as in the Ibiza and Polo - by a 1.4-litre supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine mated to the VW Group's seven-speed twin-clutch semi-automatic transmission, with XDS (an approximate electronic equivalent of a limited slip differential) ready to step in if traction becomes a concern.
As you might expect, the Fabia and Ibiza feel very similar, and the Polo is unlikely to be much different. The jewel in the crown of all three cars is that engine, which not only produces a maximum of 178bhp but also provides every bit as much power as you need almost regardless of how many revs are on the clock. Having seven gears is all very nice, but the vRS would no doubt perform very nearly as well if there were just four.
On the road, there isn't much to choose between the Skoda and the SEAT. Both have surprisingly high levels of ride comfort (any jittering on dodgy road surfaces being the result of low-profile tyres rather than over-firm suspension) and both feel very secure through the bends. The most noticeable difference is that the Fabia's steering is slightly firmer and gives you a better idea of how the tyres are reacting to the tarmac. The Ibiza feels like an arcade game by comparison.
I've driven both cars on test tracks (this feature explains what the Ibiza is like), but in this case comparisons are going to be difficult. Skoda picked a less impressive venue for its media exercise than SEAT did, and insisted on having instructors sitting in the press car at all times, which is the sort of thing that rather cramps one's style.
Still, I did learn that the vRS behaves very well at trackday speeds, and becomes bedevilled with understeer if you start pushing harder. Which is fine. This isn't a race car, after all.
As with the Ibiza Cupra, the DSG can sometimes refuse to change down a gear when you want it to because it doesn't realise how hard you're braking and is worried that it might cause the engine to explode. This can mean that you have to make two requests for it to shift ratio when your concentration should be devoted to other matters, and frankly that's a bit of a pain.
Like the on-the-limit understeer, though, this is something you're only going to have to deal with if you are hammering round a circuit. I would rather have a manual gearbox for track use, but on the road DSG is excellent.
Key figures for the Fabia and Ibiza are of course very similar. Both manufacturers quote similar 0-62mph times (7.3 seconds in the case of the Skoda) and CO2 emissions (149g/km), and identical top speed (140mph) and combined fuel economy (44.1mpg). If the Polo doesn't come within a gnat's eyelash of these stats I shall have my hat for breakfast.
So far, then, it looks as if only brand loyalty or something equally frivolous would make you choose the Skoda over its close relatives. Ah, but there's more to it than that. For a start, the Fabia is significantly cheaper than the Ibiza, at £15,700, and let's face it, Volkswagen will be charging a substantially higher amount than that for the Polo. (That's a guess, but I won't revise it unless I hear that Hell has been chosen as the venue for the Winter Olympics.)
On top of that, the Fabia is the only one of the three to be offered in estate form. I haven't driven such a machine yet, but its performance figures are almost identical (the top speed is actually 1mph higher, probably because of superior air flow at the rear) and although it probably won't handle quite as well as the hatchback it's unlikely to be far off.
The price of the estate is £16,495 - still comfortably sub-SEAT - and for that you get a maximum possible 1460 litres of luggage space, which is nothing less than extraordinary for a hot hatch. Or hot small estate. You know what I mean.
I never liked the old Fabia vRS. It was impressive in a straight line, but I thought the handling of an early car I drove was dismal (a later one was slightly better, though Skoda denied having changed anything). The new vRS is faster, and a delight to drive in all circumstances. I wouldn't have thanked you for the old model if you'd given it to me as a present, but I could easily imagine living with this one.
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