Fast But Flawed
by Ross Finlay (22 Dec 03)

One of my Five Favourite Cars of 2002 was the Skoda Fabia Elegance TDI estate. The odd thing is that I prefer it to the latest 128bhp Fabia vRS TDI hatchback, despite the latter car’s much stronger performance.

Our launch report praised the vRS’s acceleration, powertrain and easy motorway cruising, but was very unhappy about its suspension set-up as far as both sports handling and ride quality were concerned. Now, after a longer drive on home ground, it still seems clear that a re-work of the suspension and probably higher profile tyres would make a massive difference to this car at very little, if any, extra cost at the factory.

The vRS - and Skoda must be quite pleased that Ford moaned about its use of RS badging on the Octavia, because vRS does have a certain individual something - certainly looks the business. People glance at it as just another Fabia, then do a double-take at that much meaner front air dam with its fog lamps and multiplicity of extra air intakes, the rear tailgate spoiler, the lower stance and the sportier 16" alloy wheels.

You can’t fault the performance. For a 1.9-litre turbo diesel engine, a power output of nearly 130bhp and 228lb/ft of torque at 1900rpm are very strong figures. As well as managing the 0-62mph sprint in under 10.0 seconds, the vRS just bullets up hills.

Watch The Gearing

On the other hand, you have to be careful not to let this six-speed machine bog down with the engine revs too low, and it’s better to get down the box in slow-moving traffic. As with a number of other Volkswagen Group cars, there’s little point in trying to slap the gear changes through super-quickly. Better to give the lever movement and clutch take-up a little extra time so that the upward changes go through smoothly. Once into sixth, the vRS settles into a very leisurely cruising gait, with an indicated 70mph matching just 1800rpm on the rev counter.

Inside, there’s plenty of headroom, which provides for better rear cabin space than the distance between the seats might suggest. The instruments are sportier than the ones in the other Fabias, upholstery is in two-tone fabric, and I’d agree with the people mentioned in our launch report that something more expensive-looking than standard Fabia trim would be appreciated.

On the other hand (making three altogether), it has to be borne in mind that Skoda is offering this quick machine at under £12,000, and there’s a limit to how much extra stuff can be included in the specification.

No Hiding The Diesel

In most off-motorway situations you’re always aware that this is a diesel, and a fair amount of road noise comes up through the tyres and suspension. In this way the whole car sometimes feels that the different elements in it are a bit of a mis-match.

On the other . . . Well no, not again . . . Adjusting the seat height in the way I was advised by a seating specialist at a long-ago launch run by another company, I got a very comfortable position at the leather-rimmed wheel, sitting higher than I usually prefer.

The vRS treats lumpy road surfaces by being lumpy right back, which can get rather wearing, and as said previously I’m sure it would benefit in handling and ride quality from just a few alterations to the suspension and tyre specifications.

Fuel consumption? Well, thanks to the diesel engine and that high sixth gear the Fabia has an extra urban rating of more than 67mpg. But people who buy cars with vRS badging want more than excellent economy and the strong straight-line performance this one certainly offers. Bends and bumps have to be coped with adequately too.

Price: £11,990
Capacity: 1896cc
Power: 128bhp
0-62mph: 9.6 seconds
Maximum speed: 127mph
Economy: 67.3mpg extra urban, 55.4mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 138g/km
Insurance: Group 9
Skoda figures.

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