Auto Express "Greatest Drives 2004" - Fabia vRS voted better than BMW Z4 3.0!

[waynef]

Hi,

I was reading my new copy of Auto Express (Special Issue 812 | 23 June 2004) today and noticed that they had a head-to-head of the "Greatest Drives of 2004". The cars tested, of which one was a silver Fabia vRS, were all driven by professionals and readers alike. The object was to pitch 2003's winner, the MINI Cooper S Works, against this years best cars. Here are the scores on the doors:

..1st - Nissan 350Z

..2nd - Porsche 911 GT3 RS

..3rd - MINI Cooper S Works

..4th - Arial Atom 160

..5th - Noble M400

..6th - BMW 330 Cd

..7th - Mazda RX-8

..8th - Ferrari 360 CS

..9th - Lotus Exige

.10th - Subaru Impreza WR1

.11th - Caterham R500 Evo

.12th - BMW M3 CSL

.13th - Mitsubishi Lancer FQ-330

.14th - Honda Civic Type R

.15th - Skoda Fabia vRS

.16th - BMW Z4 3.0

.17th - RenaultSport Clio 182

.18th - TVR T350T

.19th - MG ZT 260

.20th - Smart Roadster Brabus

.21st - Vauxhall Monaro

.22nd - Audi S4 Cabriolet

.23rd - RenaultSport Megane RS

.24th - Jaguar XK8

.25th - Chrysler Crossfire

Of the Fabia vRS it got awarded:

***** Road rating

***** Track rating

***** Value rating

At the risk of infringing copyright rules, it came out very well indeed.

(Just like we all knew... )

[Josip]

wow nice hehe

[TonyMcA]

... and in a freaky coincidence, my first tussle in my brand new Furbie vRS today was with ... a colleague from work in his Z4 3.0!

Just a low speed cross town overtake, but I think when my turbo spun up it surprised him!

It's probably worth pointing out that he's not the cliched BMW driver, and we'd had an amiable discussion about their respective advantages earlier.

T.

P.S. Wayne - thanks are due, as you're the reason I found this site. I typed "Fabia vRS" into Google after I'd ordered mine a couple of weeks ago and found some of your Mini baiting discussion over on mini2.com, directing people here. Having subsequently read of your Cooper S woes, I'm glad that I've always found Mini salespeople sufficiently unfriendly - so I've never had to sample their after sales service!

[MonkeyHanger]

Having just read the same article, the BMW beats the Fabia in the road & track ratings (4 & 3 stars respectively) and only loses out in the value rating (3 stars), which given the price is hardly a surprise.

Not quite the beating some would have us believe, is it

[waynef]

Having just read the same article' date=' the BMW beats the Fabia in the road & track ratings (4 & 3 stars respectively) and only loses out in the value rating (3 stars), which given the price is hardly a surprise.

Not quite the beating some would have us believe, is it [/quote']

Very good point.

But when you consider that those maybe points that customers would consider cars by, it might make more sense. No matter, if you were in the market-place for a 2-seater open-top sports car you wouldn't be looking for a Fabia vRS. Better to comparing against it's peers I feel.

On an abbreviated list, I'd see it more like this:

..1st - MINI Cooper S Works

..2nd - Honda Civic Type R

..3rd - Skoda Fabia vRS

..4th - RenaultSport Clio 182

..5th - RenaultSport Megane RS

And still the Fabia vRS shows a decent set of results.

All said, I'd have any of these cars with the exception of the Chrysler Crossfire, Jaguar XK8 and the Arial Atom 160 as they aren't for me. They're all appeal to me in very different ways.

Wish me luck saving my £'s for the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. It's a definate first on my shopping list!

[Stimps]

I think it was a Z4 that myself, Rooboy and JaneC encountered on the M40 a while ago...

:)

[waynef]

P.S. Wayne - thanks are due, as you're the reason I found this site. I typed "Fabia vRS" into Google after I'd ordered mine a couple of weeks ago and found some of your Mini baiting discussion over on mini2.com, directing people here. Having subsequently read of your Cooper S woes, I'm glad that I've always found Mini salespeople sufficiently unfriendly - so I've never had to sample their after sales service!

WOW! No pressure!

To be fair, the BMW dealership in question, Rydale Central BMW in Birmingham City Centre aren't all bad. Their Service desk people are all well mannered, well trained and well meaning. It's just a shame that they're surrounded by over-privileged, over-paid, head-strong, ****-sure sales and management that prefer to forget who they are serving in favour of their press. This renders the poor Service Section an inaffectual part of the organisation.

I've never seen or heard of a Skoda dealership like that though. I have only good words about my dealer, Autosales Skoda in Bilston (see review). They just can't do enough for their customers it seems. Such a breath of fresh air these days.

...and I am a real awkward customer too

[waynef]

I think it was a Z4 that myself' date=' Rooboy and JaneC encountered on the M40 a while ago...

:) [/quote']

I 'melted' a Audi A4 2.8 the other day. It just could not get away and I gained very rapidly, especially uphill.

I am absolutely certain that my standard MINI Cooper S's couldn't have done that - ever. And it would never have initiated a jaw-dropped, blinking, wide-eyed Audi-monster driver!

Thanks Skoda! Genius.

[pbirkett]

Am I the only one who thinks the Fabia vRS is quick, but not as quick as its sometimes made out to be by folks on here?

Still I've never had many proper races so I dont know really, but I just cant see it being as quick as a 2.8 litre Audi.

Having said that I did race my mate in his chipped Ibiza TDI 130 and stuck closer behind him than I felt I had any right to, but then he told me he was changing at 3,500 rpm and I was changing at 4k rpm and he was still pulling ahead!

Also, I think their 3-star rating for its road performance was not doing it justice, I dont have the magazine to hand, but I do remember thinking "how can that car be better for the road than the vRS".

[spinndrift]

0-110 is okay on my private driveway but the final 20ish mph takes an age to get through.

[geordiesteve]

Am I the only one who thinks the Fabia vRS is quick, but not as quick as its sometimes made out to be by folks on here?

totally agree with you there - lets all not get carried away. we've all bought a 'warm hatch' with a specialised subject in going up hills well !

the car is an absolute star in its own class but it'll never be up there with the civic type r, mini cooper s or more expensive performance saloons (straight -line speed or handling).

the exception to this would have to be the modded cars on this site -but then you arent comparing like for like.

lets just enjoy what we have - a surprisingly cracking little town runabout which is also good for the motorway but lets not fight above our weight !

[waynef]

I have to admit though ive also had a go with a 2.8 litre Audi and i kept up with it, i wasnt changing gear but he was, gotta love that torque

...need I say anymore. They were probably doing 15-20mpg at the same time too

I had a feeling that the hill would favour the vRS of the 2.8 and my thoughts were confirmed. He was agast (but not angry as I wasn't tailgating - that's criminal). Neither was it on Her Majesty's highways...

[waynef]

totally agree with you there - lets all not get carried away. we've all bought a 'warm hatch' with a specialised subject in going up hills well !

the car is an absolute star in its own class but it'll never be up there with the civic type r' date=' mini cooper s or more expensive performance saloons (straight -line speed or handling).

the exception to this would have to be the modded cars on this site -but then you arent comparing like for like.

lets just enjoy what we have - a surprisingly cracking little town runabout which is also good for the motorway but lets not fight above our weight ![/quote']

Agreed

[pbirkett]

the car is an absolute star in its own class but it'll never be up there with the civic type r, mini cooper s or more expensive performance saloons (straight -line speed or handling).

Damn right. I bought this car not because it was neccesarily the quickest, but because it was damn good fun for the money. I feel that for £12k, few cars, if any can combine the sense of fun you get in a Fab RS with the ease of living with from day to day.

So yes, its what I would describe as a warm hatch, although chipping it probably takes it to the hot hatch territory, but then by the time you have chipped it, upgraded the brakes and suspension (and maybe other parts), then you have a car which in reality, costs almost as much, if not just as much as what some of the hotter cars come out of the box.

I'd still say it deserved its award though, for £12k its an absolute steal of a car.

[geordiesteve]

following on from that - can anyone name a sub 12k car which has more as standard, more performance and as much space (for those of us with ankle-biters) all in one package?

must be uk sourced, new registration and have 5 doors.

i think that we have a 'niche' car which satisfies all of the above to a reasonable extent and i don't think theres much out there that does it all better for the money ( i wait to be corrected here !)

[waynef]

No. Our Fabia vRS's are all great - we made excellent choices - and we are clever people.

Group hug!

[fab16v]

I'd still say it deserved its award though, for £12k its an absolute steal of a car.

and for under 500 extra notes, you get to have a hatchback pushing over 180bhp and 300lb ft! Not bad at all for £12,500

[Dutch4x4]

On the value aspect - there seem to be many people catching on to the idea in the UK. On my 5 days in Britain I spotted loads of Fab vRSs, including three in three minutes while in Bognor.

Whereas here it's the opposite - it's too expensive hence I haven't seen one. Ever.

[Freakcrab]

following on from that - can anyone name a sub 12k car which has more as standard' date=' more performance and as much space (for those of us with ankle-biters) all in one package?

must be uk sourced, new registration and have 5 doors.

i think that we have a 'niche' car which satisfies all of the above to a reasonable extent and i don't think theres much out there that does it all better for the money ( i wait to be corrected here !)[/quote']

1.3 Turbo 127 bhp.

0-60 8.4 seconds.

5 doors.

15cm shorter than a fabia but a bit taller.

15" Alloys.

Air-con

CD player.

2 airbags and ABS etc.

Electric windows, remote CL.

11,500 ukp.

I like I challenge but it's the best I could do.

[Neo_VR]

I think the big point about the Fabia RS is the effort factor..(or lack of). in the recent drive in wales whilst colinD was leading in his octy... fair enuff he wasnt giving it full attack... but i never had to change out of 4th which was perfectly useable 30mph to over 100

i love accelerating on motorway sliproads... where midrange will cruch bigger "executive" cars

[Neo_VR]

1.3 Turbo 127 bhp.

0-60 8.4 seconds.

5 doors.

15cm shorter than a fabia but a bit taller.

15" Alloys.

Air-con

CD player.

2 airbags and ABS etc.

Electric windows' date=' remote CL.

11,500 ukp.

I like I challenge but it's the best I could do.

[/quote']

what is it?

[Neo_VR]

Go on what is it then?

my money is on the suzuki YRV turbo (based on the toyota yaris)

[Gwilo]

My first thoughts where "Yaris T Spirt", "Daihatsu YRV 4trak" "Suzuki Ignis Sport", but they have less doors and around 40bhp less.

I'm thinking there is no such car........ I even thought "CDTi Corsa", but thankfully, no.

EDIT: upon closer examination, Daihatsu have indeed sneaked a Turbo YRV in the range........oooohhh.......mmmmomma! But the mpg alone justifies the Furby..... and the Turbo is a....a......automatic....blurgh :P

[Freakcrab]

My first thoughts where "Yaris T Spirt"' date=' "Daihatsu YRV 4trak" "Suzuki Ignis Sport", but they have less doors and around 40bhp less.

I'm thinking there is no such car........ I even thought "CDTi Corsa", but thankfully, no.

EDIT: upon closer examination, Daihatsu have indeed sneaked a Turbo YRV in the range........oooohhh.......mmmmomma! But the mpg alone justifies the Furby..... and the Turbo is a....a......automatic....blurgh :P[/quote']

Well done. Your no-prize is winging it's way to you now.

The car is the stunning Daihatsu YRV Turbo. Complete with "F1 style" steering wheel gear changes (to an ordinary auto box).

The Ignis Sport was good but it's only a 3 door. But for 9 grand and a years insurance it's a bit of a bargain.

[robmawer]

The car is the stunning Daihatsu YRV Turbo. Complete with "F1 style" steering wheel gear changes (to an ordinary auto box).

Also comes with proper Recaro seats...

Rob.