Interesting review of the vRS in Auto Express which just landed on my door mat. They quite like it. But it's not until you flick further on and read the Leon Cupra R / Megane 250 / Mazda 3 MPS reviews that things get curious.

They recorded a 0-60 time on the vRS of 6.9 seconds, compared to 6.8 / 7.0 / 7.1 for the Cupra R / Megane / Mazda.

Then 6.6s 30-70mph compared to 5.9 / 6.3 / 6.1.

30-50mph in 3rd was 2.9s compared to 2.9 / 2.7 / 3.1

50 -70mph in 5th was 5.7s compared to 5.4 / 4.9 / 5.0

I'm more than a little surprised!! It would seem that apart from lacking a bit of grunt, the vRS would not disgrace itself against bigger cars costing up to £9k more.

I would guess that in real life the DSG would make the 0-60 much easier in the Fabia.

I think like the older vRS this could well be a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm looking forward to a test drive.

Edited 21 July, 201015 yr by PeteVRS

them 30-50 times in third seam good. would have thought that with the new vrs being a petrol the old vrs would stll have the edge in real world driving.

in gear times are pointless though, who cares how fast it goes in 3rd at that speed.... your going to be ringing its neck in second lol

i must be gettin old.... i like the ease of just floorin it in gear. all this droppin it to second... na.. ill stick to my diesel thankyou. lol

What was the in gear performance of the old vRS? I know it did 0-60 in 9.6 secs.

i must be gettin old.... i like the ease of just floorin it in gear. all this droppin it to second... na.. ill stick to my diesel thankyou. lol

your not mate am 21 and i see is as a pointless exercise to comment on 0-60 when you really do 30-50, 50-70 etc...

i must be gettin old.... i like the ease of just floorin it in gear. all this droppin it to second... na.. ill stick to my diesel thankyou. lol

But in a new vRS you can just floor it, if it needs to drop to second it will do it for you!

New one might have less torque than the Mk1 but it does have an extra gear and an instant shifting box. Together with a lighter and better sorted chassis I would have thought the new one would be a good deal quicker in the real world than the old one.

What was the in gear performance of the old vRS? I know it did 0-60 in 9.6 secs.

To answer the question, there is a thread on Fabia I section about it.

Acording to Wikapedia:

The in gear acceleration times are 50-70 mph in 5.6 seconds, quicker than BMW's 330i which takes 6.0 seconds. 20-40 mph in 2.4 seconds is as quick as the Lotus Elise 111R.

I've just looked at Autocar report (Oct 04) and when they tested a 'standard' vRS

0-60 = 7.2

0-100 = 23.8

20-70 (in 4th) = 19.0

30-50 (in 3rd) = 3.6

30-70 (thro' Gears) = 7.6

50-70 (in 6th) = 11.2 secs

Edited 22 July, 201015 yr by Jim H

Interesting review of the vRS in Auto Express which just landed on my door mat. They quite like it. But it's not until you flick further on and read the Leon Cupra R / Megane 250 / Mazda 3 MPS reviews that things get curious.

They recorded a 0-60 time on the vRS of 6.9 seconds, compared to 6.8 / 7.0 / 7.1 for the Cupra R / Megane / Mazda.

Then 6.6s 30-70mph compared to 5.9 / 6.3 / 6.1.

30-50mph in 3rd was 2.9s compared to 2.9 / 2.7 / 3.1

50 -70mph in 5th was 5.7s compared to 5.4 / 4.9 / 5.0

I'm more than a little surprised!! It would seem that apart from lacking a bit of grunt, the vRS would not disgrace itself against bigger cars costing up to £9k more.

I would guess that in real life the DSG would make the 0-60 much easier in the Fabia.

I think like the older vRS this could well be a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm looking forward to a test drive.

There is something amiss with the figures for the more expensive cars. Other tests on the Mazda have 0 - 60 times (not 0 - 62 ) of about 5.8 s to 6.5 s. For all three, the manufactures' times are lower and are also lower in tests.

I don't think the new vRS feels especially fast, it just seems to generate speed at pretty high rate but because you can't really feel gearchanges and because it's a torquey little engine it feels like the rate of acceleration doesn't change and it just feels like one gentle seamless acceleration, you only really realise how fast it goes when you watch the speedo or sit in the passenger seat whilst whilst someone else drives enthuiastically.

I don't think the new vRS feels especially fast, it just seems to generate speed at pretty high rate but because you can't really feel gearchanges and because it's a torquey little engine it feels like the rate of acceleration doesn't change and it just feels like one gentle seamless acceleration, you only really realise how fast it goes when you watch the speedo or sit in the passenger seat whilst whilst someone else drives enthuiastically.

Well said - couldnt have put it better myself

Here's a write up from Honest John.

Honest John

Here's a write up from Honest John.

Honest John

looking at it, the sheer volume of hard grey plastic instide puts me off, they may have done a good job on the performance and exterior styling but they seem to have cut corners and budget in the cabin and boot areas

peter

looking at it, the sheer volume of hard grey plastic instide puts me off, they may have done a good job on the performance and exterior styling but they seem to have cut corners and budget in the cabin and boot areas

peter

Have you been inside a Mk1 Fabia?

the sheer volume of hard grey plastic inside puts me off, they may have done a good job on the performance and exterior styling but they seem to have cut corners and budget in the cabin and boot areas

This is exactly what attracts me to VW/Skoda - simple, functional, subdued appearance. Horses for courses (all 180 of them)

Have you been inside a Mk1 Fabia?

Yep, my wife's vRS SE's tactile points - leather seats compared to 90's Honda Civic upholstery, nice chrome effect rigid door release versus flimsy plastic handle, leather gearknob versus moulded plastic item- and fully lined boot are far superior to the mk II's. The mk II's interior is a step backwards IMHO. Looks like Skoda blew the budget on the gearbox/engine and had no cash left to spend on lifting the interior.

Have you been inside a Mk1 Fabia?

yep, wife has mk1 VRs, i have a roomster 2

in my perspective the inside if the mk2 VRs seems a step back

has some nice bits, like better dash layout, better seats etc but seems to have more hard plastic, less chrome and nice bits

peter

We agree to disagree then!!

There is something amiss with the figures for the more expensive cars. Other tests on the Mazda have 0 - 60 times (not 0 - 62 ) of about 5.8 s to 6.5 s. For all three, the manufactures' times are lower and are also lower in tests.

I agree.. My old MPS had some mental mid-range grunt.. considering its got a huge wad more torque than the 1.4tsi and weighs less than 100kg more...

Also: mid range is so much more relevent.. although maybe not so much "in gear" times - my mx5 isnt the fastest thing off the line (quoted at 8.2 0-60) but once you get into 2nd, if you want it to move it *will* move and is a good match to something with 200ish bhp.. its down to gearing though.. its very short and out of puff by 100mph though.. which suits me fine.

Have you been inside a Mk1 Fabia?

Yes. I am on my second - and I would now be on my third had it not been for the introduction of the Mk2. I agree with the previous couple of posts that the Mk2 is, overall, not an improvement. However, should my Mk1 expire, the Mk2 is at the top of my list.

I would like to ask a question of all who have responded to the 0-60 times etc.

Who actually rags their car to try & get these times ?

I dont.

We agree to disagree then!!

yep,

pitty they have not put the 2.0 tdi cr 170 in it from the yeti, that would be awesome i think or even the 2.0 tdi CR 140 with DSG

one question to allams

have they uprated the console bushes on the new VRS or are we going to see early failure of them as they struggle to cope

peter

What are console bushes?

What are console bushes?

Part of the front suspension support the rear of the track control arm

fit inside the circled housing (picture; Yeti TDI 140)

Regards,

TP

I know we are going off-topic, but the console bush is the big one at the rear of the front wishbone.

There is a guide to changing it here: Fabia wishbone bush replacement DIY Guide