Could you elaborate on the better to drive please?

To be honest I think you need to go and drive a Golf 150pd and a Fabia vRS and see which you prefer.

To be honest I think you need to go and drive a Golf 150pd and a Fabia vRS and see which you prefer.

I've owned a Fabia vRS, but there aren't any PD150s locally for me to test drive unfortunately.

I've driven a MK1 Octavia vRS which I thought was great so i assume it will be similar to that?

Yeah, but the Golf will have a shorter wheelbase.

Read some reviews of the Mk4 Golf, was widely stated as being one of the best interiors VW have done.

As above, test a Golf somewhere!

Don't know how much your looking at spending, but what about something like this?

Auto Trader UK - VOLKSWAGEN Golf 2.0 GT TDi 4MOTION

having driven the inlaws Golf PD150 back to back with my Fabia i'd still stick with my Fabia (just)

The ride in the Golf is so much better - soft and friendly taking out small bumps and smoothing the big ones, but still handling ok when pushing on althoguh that may be down to the ESP

The build quality is also better with it being much quieter and the interior although very black is a very nice place to be as Babs says, and a central arm rest :drool:

Finally even though its down on on power and up on wieght over my Jabba'd Fabia it doesn't feel that much slower in everyday use.

If you like wafting along 90% of the time and enjoy flat out back road blasts the other 10% then buy a Golf - if its a 50/50 split but another Fabia - if it's 10% waft and 90% blast get yourself an Elise!

LHutchin, where abouts are you located?

Better built, more space, more refined, better to drive and it's got 20bhp more

To add on to that as well, am not sure why people are saying the handling will be better in the fabia over the golf, the golf is alittle bit bigger. But in relation to which one has better handling I would say the golf! The Vrs has stupid amounts of body roll, and ive found understeer to be a real issue. If you want optimal handling like most people do you have to invest in a good suspesion set up. Thats why most people here do it to there vrs's. Also if you do intend to modify the cars. IMO a golf with some nice performance mods and chassis mods will be alot more desirable to resale than a vrs. That and you have a bigger turbo to start off with.....

My negative with the golf is around me there is loads of cars that have been modified by barry boys, all taking the badges off. Some going so far as fitting an R32 bodykit on a 1.6! Yep I Kid you not! But then ive noticed a few chavs getting into vrs's probs because there a cheap to run and insure hot hatch. So i dont think you can really win. But at the moment the golf ticks most of the barry boy boxes :thumbdwn: Shame cos when they are played with they can look devastingly cool!

Saw a few pikey's in vRS's at Awesome last week!

If it was me (and I actually wanted a diesel )... I would get the Golf and put an R32 kit on it I love the way the R32 looks.

Of course, you'd have to upgrade the power, too. A lot!

To add on to that as well, am not sure why people are saying the handling will be better in the fabia over the golf, the golf is alittle bit bigger. But in relation to which one has better handling I would say the golf!

I think handling is very much a personal thing and each person looks for different things which is probably to be expected with the majority of buyers not understanding vehicle dynamics (myself included). Imho, it's best to drive both and make your own mind up as you'll have to live with the car if you buy it

Chris

Don't know how much your looking at spending, but what about something like this?

Auto Trader UK - VOLKSWAGEN Golf 2.0 GT TDi 4MOTION

Thanks but I really was looking at a MK4.

LHutchin, where abouts are you located?

Central Essex

if it's 10% waft and 90% blast get yourself an Elise!

Hoping to get an Exige S as a weekend toy:thumbup:

It might be worth posting on the uk-mkivs forum to see if any local members can take you out for a spin in a standard 150pd. If you were closer to me I would have taken you for a drive in mine etc.

Hoping to get an Exige S as a weekend toy:thumbup:

I'm available to look after it during the week if you want!

I've read elsewhere that the 150bhp Pd engine is not as reliable as the 130Pd but the Golf is a very nice motor. However the Fabia is a more desirable car IMHO.

Exige S as a weekend toy: lucky you!

A Czech shopping cart vs a German family hatch... and the shopping cart is more "desirable"?

It would have sold more elsewhere if it was!

A Czech shopping cart vs a German family hatch... and the shopping cart is more "desirable"?

It would have sold more elsewhere if it was!

You've really got it in for the Fabia, havn't you?

To a lot of people the MK4, and indeed the MK3 Golf, have a stigma of being the "fat" Golfs which made the MK1 and MK2 turn in their grave.

No, I quite like the Fabia - almost bought another one, in fact. Even had a factory order in for a Mk2 untill my work dried up. I enjoyed the vRS, loved the seats, hated the diesel!

I am, however, not disillusioned into making the Fabia more than what it is.

And yes, the Mk3 and and Mk4 have that stigma due to VW releasing p*ss-poor "sporty" versions, namely the 8v GTI's. Neither should have worn the badge! The Mk4 even has "Highline" on it's boot factory sticker, showing exactly the model it is. The Mk3 16v and VR6 are well-loved, as are the Mk4 20vT GTI, 4Motion and R32. Sure, they do weigh more, due to increase in safety and features, but so has every car? Compare the Pug 205 GTI 1-9 to the current 207 and you might draw the same conclusion.

No, I quite like the Fabia - almost bought another one, in fact. Even had a factory order in for a Mk2 untill my work dried up. I enjoyed the vRS, loved the seats, hated the diesel!

I am, however, not disillusioned into making the Fabia more than what it is.

And yes, the Mk3 and and Mk4 have that stigma due to VW releasing p*ss-poor "sporty" versions, namely the 8v GTI's. Neither should have worn the badge! The Mk4 even has "Highline" on it's boot factory sticker, showing exactly the model it is. The Mk3 16v and VR6 are well-loved, as are the Mk4 20vT GTI, 4Motion and R32. Sure, they do weigh more, due to increase in safety and features, but so has every car? Compare the Pug 205 GTI 1-9 to the current 207 and you might draw the same conclusion.

And you are quite right not to do so. However, the Golf GT TDI cannot be described as "sporty" either. Certainly no more than the Fabia can.

As far as I can see the only advantage of the Golf is the space and badge.

Just save some money if you need the space and buy a Leon, much better car really.

There's the debate then whether any diesel can be described as sporty, but that's a different matter! The Fabia vRS and Golf GT TDI were both marketed as "sporty diesels".

The advantages the Golf have are more tactile, and not quantifiable. You can't "measure" the way the interior feels, or the way the car feels. Yes, more space, more power, more torque, better residuals (due to badge) you can measure.

I've recommended the Golf mostly on its unquantifiable qualities, and as such, the OP should go and test one and them come to a decision.

A lot of Skoda owners - myself included - are guilty of being anti-VW hirearchy, in that we will state that our cars "are just like a VW, but cheaper", and will then continue to slate the upper-reaches of that hirarchy as "just a badge". While the majority of this may be true when bought new, the differences and the distinction will grow smaller as the cars get older. And you can certainly feel the difference between the Skoda/Seat quality and the VW/Audi quality.

Fabia vRS was circa £12,000 when new, the Golf was circa £18,000!

If safety is a concern when choosing a car, the Golf 150pd and 130pd come with ESP as standard from about May 2002 onwards (UK spec not imports). ESP is only an option on the Leon 150pd and Fabia vRS, ESP allegedly reduces fatal accidents by 50%:

ESP Science Explained

The ESP and the interior were the main factors for buying the Golf over the Leon in my case, after an ESP equipped hire car saved my bacon on a greasy spanish roundabout.

If safety is a concern when choosing a car, the Golf 150pd and 130pd come with ESP as standard from about May 2002 onwards (UK spec not imports). ESP is only an option on the Leon 150pd and Fabia vRS, ESP allegedly reduces fatal accidents by 50%:

ESP Science Explained

The ESP and the interior were the main factors for buying the Golf over the Leon in my case, after an ESP equipped hire car saved my bacon on a greasy spanish roundabout.

Thats a very good reason to buy the Golf over the Leon and the Fabia.

Before i bought my Leon i owned a Pug 307, and that had ESP as standard. It saved me from a nasty smash on an icy patch one day, and without it i dread to think what could have happened. I was a bit gutted to find out my Leon never had it, and i would have paid extra for it had the salesman not got his facts wrong, and led me to beleive it was standard on them.

Thankfully i never needed it on the leon, and touchwood haven't needed it on my Fabia either.

Babs compare the value retention of he VRS with the Golf and the VRS wins from an economic standpoint alone. You may not like them but there are plenty who do. The dealer who did my turbo has a waiting list of people to call when a Fabia VRS comes in. The Fabia is the more desirable car in terms of people wanting them.

Golfs mark fours are looking a bit dated now as well IMHO.

Babs compare the value retention of he VRS with the Golf and the VRS wins from an economic standpoint alone. You may not like them but there are plenty who do. The dealer who did my turbo has a waiting list of people to call when a Fabia VRS comes in. .

Where is your dealer?

I'm thinking of selling mine on at the moment..

Babs compare the value retention of he VRS with the Golf and the VRS wins from an economic standpoint alone. You may not like them but there are plenty who do. The dealer who did my turbo has a waiting list of people to call when a Fabia VRS comes in. The Fabia is the more desirable car in terms of people wanting them.

Golfs mark fours are looking a bit dated now as well IMHO.

Read my post - I said I liked the Fabia, just not the diesel

And my point was to relate the cost new when comparing details which are unquantifiable.

Mate of mine had a 130hp Mk4 and a 150hp Mk4. He said he preferred the 130, it was just nicer to drive.

Work mate was also looking for a 150 Anniversary but was put off by the silly money that was being asked. Picked up a 130 instead.