If you’ve owned a Fabia vRS before, this new one will
come as a surprise. Not only is it petrol powered where the previous car
had a diesel motor. It also has a DSG gearbox – which can be left to
pick its own gears but also gives the option for you to choose them by
nudging paddles fitted just behind the wheel rim.
Its engine is an amazing thing, pushing out 180bhp from just 1.4-litres. A supercharged spins up to boost its low-revs urge but then a turbocharger takes over as engine speeds build.
So what’s it like to drive? Cracking. It’s agile and quick off the mark, feeling every bit as quick as its acceleration figures suggest. It’s noisy once that little motor gets going but that suits the nature of the car.
It’s an interesting piece of kit, the motor, made as it is to keep emissions output low and fuel economy good. It’ll also be fitted to an upcoming version of Audi’s new small car, the A1 and can also be found in Seat’s Ibiza Bocanegra. In that car it was disappointing – not raw enough and held back by its lack of a manual gearchange.
But here it’s just right, fizzing along at a fair crack and making the best of the Fabia’s considerable talents as a responsive driver-slanted car. And having the DSG gives the vRS two personalities: quick and feisty when you pick the shift points via the paddles, but laidback and friendly whenever you’re content to let the gearbox do the work.
It’s
a good mix, especially when the car’s so comfortable and well set up.
The ride’s an accomplished blend of firmness and smoothness that’s quite
something when you consider this car’s low-pro tyres.
And the car itself looks sharp: wearing all the right racey add-ons but classy and understated inside. The slabby dash is workaday in the way you’d expect of a Skoda but the car’s well equipped. There are six airbags and a full suite of driver aids that even includes a hill holder to keep steady on inclines, a tyre pressure monitor, air conditioning and LED daytime running lights.
All this comes in a cabin that’s on the roomy side, while the Fabia’s boot is a good size and is practically shaped, too.
But if there’s not enough room here, Skoda also sells an estate version of the vRS.
It’s also strong value. While at the price Skoda isn’t quite giving them away, they’re cheaper than equivalents from other Volkswagen-owned brands but, to our minds, always as good and at times better.
Should you buy one? For some, the idea of a performance hatchback without a manual gearbox will raise an objection too far. But if that’s not you, the vRS has everything going for it.
Its engine is an amazing thing, pushing out 180bhp from just 1.4-litres. A supercharged spins up to boost its low-revs urge but then a turbocharger takes over as engine speeds build.
So what’s it like to drive? Cracking. It’s agile and quick off the mark, feeling every bit as quick as its acceleration figures suggest. It’s noisy once that little motor gets going but that suits the nature of the car.
It’s an interesting piece of kit, the motor, made as it is to keep emissions output low and fuel economy good. It’ll also be fitted to an upcoming version of Audi’s new small car, the A1 and can also be found in Seat’s Ibiza Bocanegra. In that car it was disappointing – not raw enough and held back by its lack of a manual gearchange.
But here it’s just right, fizzing along at a fair crack and making the best of the Fabia’s considerable talents as a responsive driver-slanted car. And having the DSG gives the vRS two personalities: quick and feisty when you pick the shift points via the paddles, but laidback and friendly whenever you’re content to let the gearbox do the work.
It’s
a good mix, especially when the car’s so comfortable and well set up.
The ride’s an accomplished blend of firmness and smoothness that’s quite
something when you consider this car’s low-pro tyres.And the car itself looks sharp: wearing all the right racey add-ons but classy and understated inside. The slabby dash is workaday in the way you’d expect of a Skoda but the car’s well equipped. There are six airbags and a full suite of driver aids that even includes a hill holder to keep steady on inclines, a tyre pressure monitor, air conditioning and LED daytime running lights.
All this comes in a cabin that’s on the roomy side, while the Fabia’s boot is a good size and is practically shaped, too.But if there’s not enough room here, Skoda also sells an estate version of the vRS.
It’s also strong value. While at the price Skoda isn’t quite giving them away, they’re cheaper than equivalents from other Volkswagen-owned brands but, to our minds, always as good and at times better.
Should you buy one? For some, the idea of a performance hatchback without a manual gearbox will raise an objection too far. But if that’s not you, the vRS has everything going for it.
- Engines1.4 petrol 4cyl, supercharged and turbocharged
- Power!80bhp
- 0-60 mph7.3secs
- Economy45.6mpg
- CO2g/km148
- Insurance groups
- EuroNCAP
- Airbags6
- Seats5
Source : Motors.co.uk
It’s
a car that’s all about driving, the more so if you go for the Roadster
as we have here. This drops its cloth roof quickly at the press of a
switch and it folds away tidily. Because of the space needed for the
roof when stowed the cabin is even cosier and strictly a two-seater. If
you’re fat or very tall, it could be a squeeze. And the boot’s tiny,
marred by a high lip over which you’ll need to drag your bags. On the
lid there’s a quaint set of instructions explaining how to fit a golf
bag into the space available.
Spark
it up and it feels meaty to drive – steering, brakes and throttle have a
satisfying weight. Here, we’re sampling the auto version, which picks
between its seven ratios by itself or lets you do it using paddle shifts
behind the wheel – just as a racing pro might use. It’s a good system
that sits well in the car. Diehards will favour the car’s six speed
manual gearshift, fitted with a clever electronic aid that blips the
throttle for perfect downshifts. At town speeds those big alloys and
skinny-sided tyres crash across potholes but at least the deeply padded
seats filter the worst of the shocks.
There’s
a family look that comes across from its big brother, the latest X5,
but from some angles it resembles a 1-series, albeit one that’s scoffed
plenty of pies.
The
car has stop-start – come to a halt in traffic, apply the handbrake and
set the gears to neutral and it’ll still the engine, saving fuel and
cutting emissions. BMW was early to adopt the system (which has now
spread so that most makes have it) and their know-how shows: it’s the
most reliable we’ve tested. Once you need to move, dip the clutch and
the engine’s running before you’ve finished selecting gear – though here
it does so reliably, but with a slight cough ‘n’ splutter. For the car
that it is, exhaust emissions are low and a test economy on 43.4mpg sits
well with the ‘official’ 55.3mpg. There are smaller aqnd bigger diesels
in the range but, as yet, no petrol-engined models.
As
the weather starts to heat up and we take more day trips in our car, so
the risk of theft and break-ins can increase. Although the lighter
evenings mean a smaller likelihood of thieves breaking into your car
during the evening, it’s still important to be vigilant. Why not answer
some of the questions below and see how well your car is protected?
Remember
the days when in-car entertainment meant listening to your dad’s old
Neil Diamond tapes endlessly until they overheated? Or playing number
plate games and never-ending rounds of I Spy? Luckily those days are
over thanks to the huge range of in-car entertainment systems that come
as an added option in lots of luxury models. And if you haven’t got a
luxury make or model of car, then you can still enjoy your journey with a
selection of portable DVD and MP3 players. Here’s our guide to the best
used cars for in-car entertainment.