Forget the badge and drive a Skoda
A small oil leak from the engine oil filler cap.
This car is quick and still does 50+ mpg.
Build quality puts VW models to shame.
The interior is bright, but the seats could be a bit more supportive when cornering quickly.
The suspension is a tad soft, but it makes up for it in the comfort department.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 25th November, 2005
Generally good
After a totally reliable 40,000 miles and following an uneventful trip home to London from Coventry I was pulling away from a set of traffic light on Whetstone High street when the engine seemed to explode. Having had the car towed to my Skoda dealer in Hertfordshire 29 days ago it still sits awaiting approval for a complete engine rplacement from Skoda. I had nothing, but praise for Skoda customer care until I had a problem and now a month on my car is no nearer to repair than the day it failed, would I recommend or by another Skoda?, probably not. You would be forgiven for thinking the car had been driven hard, but this couldn't be further from the truth. I travel great distances through work each year (typically over 50,000p/a) which adds up to very low maintenance costs as most travel is on the motorway. At the time of going wrong the car had just had it's first replacement set of front tyres (the backs are still like new) and no other parts.
The car is powerful and fun to drive.
Inside is comfortable and spacious with a solid quality feel.
The excessive travel and 'gasy' noise from the brake pedal before braking begins is annoying.
Ride is good, but handling a little soft when going round corners quickly.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 7th October, 2005
Best Value Performance Car on the Market
Nothing.
This must be the best value car on the market at present. It's astonishingly fast, reliable, looks good and is very cheap to run giving a regular 50MPG plus. The performance is addictive and I can't believe anyone wouldn't enjoy driving this car
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 27th August, 2005
Great big little car!
Rear Tweeter not working on delivery.
Open Petrol Filler Flap, Cable detached first day.
Front end (ARB) rattles over uneven roads, but dealer doesn't agree.
Very impressed at the build quality.
Impressive 3 cylinder petrol engine.
Capable of 50+mpg if you drive with a featherlight touch, but plummets to 35mpg if you gun it.
Handles well.
Top notch ride comfort for size of car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th August, 2005
2004 1.2 classic 12valve 64htp bought at 6months old and 400 miles. Faults:- brake switch failed, pipe to rear washer came adrift 3 times. Fuel consumption 38mpg average. Use the gearbox sensibly and it performs adequately well. Lovely car with top class finish and good luggage space. Would buy again.
Skoda should hold their heads high!
No problems to report after 6 months.
Skoda were generous enough to lend me a vRS overnight in an extended test drive. However, you don't need a whole night to know you'll want one of these if you're looking for a performance diesel.
I have owned my Fabia for 6 months now, and can safely say that I totally agree with the other positive reviews on this page.
Everyone who has been lucky enough to have a ride in the car has been stunned.
It's amazing that in this day and age, after several years of ownership from VW, that people still expect a poor car from Skoda. The funniest comment I get from people is "It's just a shame about the badge really isn't it!?". Err, 1. No not really, and 2. If it bothers you that much don't worry, because you won't be able to see it when it's 20 miles ahead of you!!
If I ever spend a better 12k than this, I'll be sure to let you all know.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 20th May, 2005
I agree with this review. The Fabia vRS is superb. It uses the same basic materials as the Polo GT 130 and the Seat Ibiza. It's thousands cheaper than the Polo with much the same equipment. Having driven an Ibiza 130, I can say that the Skoda engineers must be a talented lot, because it has all the virtues of the Ibiza (fast and frugal), without the vices (noisy, bumpy ride and not that well built).
My wife owns one and yes it is slow, doesn't handle that well, but is fine for a runabout. No way is it a hot hatch! Its barely a warm hatch.
With reference to the above comment, can I suggest you check under the bonnet of your ‘VRS’ for the correct engine (the end where the shopping doesn’t go)? It may be the case that the selling dealer saw you coming and sold you a dressed up 1.9SDi. Unfortunately this happens sometimes – after all, it’s easy to take advantage of the village idiot!
Depends what you are used to though, doesn't it?
You don't really know what the guy who said that is used to. I used to own a vRS and felt it was pretty quick at the time, I've got a Clio 182 now, and the Clio is much faster, but that doesn't make the vRS a bad car.
The vRS really needs a remap before it can be compared in performance terms to a proper hot hatch.
8th Oct 2005, 12:50
Poor sod that amount of mileage I hope he gets paid good mileage.