As was said previously in this thread top gear has moved into the 'if you haven't got a aston' mindset. They don't live in the real world or have to drive to work at 6 in the morning on ****ty roads. The rest of us mear mortals do and don't want to live in a clio so back breakingly bad on the A and B roads to be totally undrivable or a polo gti so expensive it'll never see a return.

Give me a cheap 180 bhp pocket rocket any day and if top gear don't like well thats tough! (if Jeremy is reading this i'll have a DBS In dark grey please! )

Haven't read the review yet but where the review was done is the exact road i took my VRS down in July...twice!! It is a great road but hardly a road to test a car on as you can barely get above 20mph. The pic on the bottom of page 130 is the very same pic i have of my car minus the snow! Will have to try and dig it out!

Keep an eye out for the new road test between the new fabia VRS vs citroen ds3 vs vw polo gti in the up coming autoexpress... got the heads up from my cousin (james disdale) who works and might have taken out the test and review.

Evo have the Fabia VRS up against the Lancia Integrale this month...the old car was a little quicker round the Palmer autodromes west circuit...but only because of the cold slimey weather...they admit that in the dry it could be the VRS on top. Amazing to think of it up agaist such a legend of a car....even more amazing to think that at the £15700 RRP it's over 5K cheaper than the 'Grale was when it was released!!!

I was a little negative about the DSG box when I first got the car. Now 1400 miles in I've found out how to drive round my issues (the slight lag) using S mode & the stick in tiptronic...paddles when you've just got to hang on.

I took the Octy VRS for a rather quick blast today...it feels very heavy & dull after the Fabia VRS...my wife & I now argue who gets the cheaper car...and that says something!

Edited 28 January, 201115 yr by VRS Doug VX

TOP GEAR MAGAZINE REVIEW

A terrible review 100% shot down in flames!!!,a true thrashing started well until the DSG came up in this car a massive mistake,should never have put this gearbox in a icon!they even said that the clio fast hatch was a better option,that how bad it was took the vrs around a 300 mile around cumbria's roads,they loved the old vrs (diesel:yes:)the wriitings on the wall now they have to bring out the diesel version now but first audi will get it then seat then skoda!,absolute hammering c'mon VAG group get a gearbox strong enough to take the grunt of this engine,cart in front of the horse they did, this new vrs should have "fashioned a gearbox out of granite they must"(sound a bit like that green guy from starwars),this will sting vw.

I am glad i bought the elegance now,I would have plummed for the VRS but wifey said no!!!!,thats why I married her,she's always right.

Hmmm indeed. Mr Seboni you are a wag, and no wife footballer mean I don’t.

Worry you not about your age, as I am your elder so I am, and potter about at (one hundred and) 30mph so I do. Worry you not about your capacities cubic no more, but horsey powers is the thing.

Sure I am that your elegance is a splendid machine. The one I drove was lovely so it was. But then I got in a VRS DSG and LOL so we did OMG. Missus and I swapped a look so did we did yes, we knew what had to happen next. Love her for thinking the same, but biker chick petrol head she is yes. Fight over keys now yes yes.

Clunk, click, OMG, aaaaargh, LOL every trip.

Use the force so we do, pedal to metal do we deffo.

Love and hugs, Yoda Latte.

P.S. when in deep hole, calmness, peace, meditate and dig ye not no more. Remember your training. Hmm, yes.

Keep an eye out for the new road test between the new fabia VRS vs citroen ds3 vs vw polo gti in the up coming autoexpress... got the heads up from my cousin (james disdale) who works and might have taken out the test and review.

is it the DS3 or the DS3 racing? as theres some difference between them

DS3R vs polo GTI Vs Cooper S Vs Corsa VXR Vs Clio RS

No sure about DS3 or DS3 racing sorry

Yoda has spoken

Top Gear magazine isnt a proper car magazine in the same way the Top Gear show isnt a proper car show. I remember the days that Chris Goffey and co used to actually review cars that ordinary people like you and I would consider buying; there was none of this ridiculous droping cars out of the sky, blowing things up, turning **** bangers into amphbious vehicles or driving Bugatti Veyrons across Europe trying to beat a plane all at the expense of the licence fee payer. I think the best thing they could do with the show is get rid of Clarkson and Hammond, keep James May as he is interesting and get him doing some proper motoring journalism, I expect deep down he'd like the same thing.

Enough of the rant but I frankly dont care what TG say about it or any other car for that matter. Autocar and a number of other reputable motoring mags have given the car very good (if perhaps not blinding) reviews. I think its all in the eye of the beholder. If you like it enough to test drive it and you like how it drives then thats all that matters. Ultimately its a rebodied Polo GTi thats extremely well built, well equiped and much cheaper and thats why people (including myself) want one.

Sure its not as dynamic as a Clio RS 200 but i'm not bothered, I don't want a Renault because i'd never be seen dead parting with my own money on a french car (well maybe a Citroen DS3 Racing.......but it would still fall to bits!).

TG is now a popularist comic with no serious content on 'cars' like the TV programme.

+1. JC admits that himself. Topic now irrelevant right? :wonder:

+1. JC admits that himself. Topic now irrelevant right? :wonder:

Agreed

Must admit the build quality of citron was appaling in my experiance. Both of the DS3's in the showroom had broken drivers seat and in one the boot wouldn't open. These are the showroom demo cars for gods sake.

Polo GTI was my origonal choice but fully speced out it had passed £20k eh No 20K for a polo. Not to mention it was a little short on head room

Ibiza same headroom issue as the Polo

Skoda £16-17k pre VAT and plenty of head room.

Picked up my VRS this a.m. and am still smiling. I traded in my old 07 SE against it. The only downside I have found to the DSG is the getting used to it. 200 miles later I am still knocking the lever into neutral / drive / sport when approaching a junction and the old left leg is doing all sorts of strange things. However I am sure that I will eventually get used to it. ( Others who have it work seem to have worked it out) How anybody can slag off the DSG without actually living with it is beyond me - I do a lot of miles with work and my initial feelings are that I am going to love this car. The bendy hill rising out of Wooton under Edge is a sheer joy in sport mode -the DSG is just so immediate compared with the old 6 speed and not having 3 ton of PD under the bonnet helps.

When it comes to light entertainment on a sunday eve J.C is the man. When it comes to buying a car I feel that a good test drive ( and the borrow of a chums A6 with DSG) and a convienient friend in the trade might be of slightly more value.

fully understand that, thats why you shouldnt believe everything you read, especially when its contradicting their own reviews

Could it not just be that two different journalists working for the same magazine had a different opinion of the car?

Must admit the build quality of citron was appaling in my experiance. Both of the DS3's in the showroom had broken drivers seat and in one the boot wouldn't open. These are the showroom demo cars for gods sake.

Polo GTI was my origonal choice but fully speced out it had passed £20k eh No 20K for a polo. Not to mention it was a little short on head room

Ibiza same headroom issue as the Polo

Skoda £16-17k pre VAT and plenty of head room.

Yeah I was being a bit rash to say i'd consider a DS3. From experience of having loads of French hire cars over the years i've vowed never to own one.

Agree the Polo GTi is probably one of the most ridiculously overpriced cars there is. A great little car but not 6K better than a vRS I'm certain.

We found the boot in the Polo to be smaller than the previous model in that it wasnt as deep. Was a big surprise. Also test drove an Ibiza FR 2.0 TDi, wasnt that quick and the boot was tiny on account of having a massive spare wheel in it (with no option to have a repair kit instead). Seriously hampered boot space compared to all other Ibiza hatch variants. Also didnt ride very well.

I also found the Ibiza to be too quirky, some of the Seat only switch gear (namely the climate control) was a bit tacky and some of the interior design and fit and finsh (door trims and pulls) was ill conceived. Fabia vRS felt much classier and more coherant as well as having the estate options we were looking for.

I wonder if DSG haters have spent much time getting used to it.

I found it much better after doing a few hundred miles as you got used to how it worked, pattern of changing gear and when etc...

I really like it now, but for the first 50 miles I hated it.

Interesting you say that, as I wasn't too keen either on my test drive. Yeah it changes very smoothly, but I kept catching it out. If you change gear for it, it doesn't

always drop back in to auto when you want it and you end up just revving, having to continue changing manually. I'm biased though I will admit, as I personally don't like automatics.

Speed / torque wise, it's brutally quick from zero, but my modified vRS feels quicker from about 25mph onwards. Car is really nice inside but for me, has too much tech in it to go wrong in the future - that combined with the frightening rate it was drinking petrol when driven spiritedly meant I couldn't justify the high cost I'm afraid. My verdict - the car is fantastic, just not aimed at what the original vRS owners bought. It will be bought by a different group of people this time around.

Edited 29 January, 201115 yr by Xleon

As a previous Fabia vRs Mk 1 owner, with ARB, Strut Brace, Cupra intake, AmD remap..I loved the car BUT it does not compare in any way to the new one

The Mk2 vRS actually goes round bends...The engine pulls for ever, the brakes are miles better, the gearbox is the 8th Wonder of the World...... and the build quality is better too.

To compare both cars, you need a diesel in the new vRS..possibly a 170 CR..But its not going to happen.

Skoda will do a 140 next year Ive heard..Bad decision, as it will be a lot slower than the 1.4 TSi but it will satisfy those that want a diesel and a clutch

Perhaps it should be called the Fabia dRS???

Edited 29 January, 201115 yr by ChrisRs

Interesting you say that, as I wasn't too keen either on my test drive. Yeah it changes very smoothly, but I kept catching it out. If you change gear for it, it doesn't

always drop back in to auto when you want it and you end up just revving, having to continue changing manually. I'm biased though I will admit, as I personally don't like automatics.

Speed / torque wise, it's brutally quick from zero, but my modified vRS feels quicker from about 25mph onwards. Car is really nice inside but for me, has too much tech in it to go wrong in the future - that combined with the frightening rate it was drinking petrol when driven spiritedly meant I couldn't justify the high cost I'm afraid. My verdict - the car is fantastic, just not aimed at what the original vRS owners bought. It will be bought by a different group of people this time around.

The trouble is the DSG haters are basing it on a 10min test drive. The gearbox needs to learn your driving style, this takes a good couple of hours/days of driving for it to get used to you and you to it! After a week in the lakes up and down big hills and narrow lanes my box was terrible changing up far too soon etc but within a couple of hours of being back on the open road it was back to normal.

I love the VRs...wonderful car...technically perfect. I personally like the DSG. But I see exactly where SEBONI is coming from. TG is pretty much rubbish, both the prog and mag in my opinion. The program in particular is for children I reckon, no offence meant to anyone on here who actually like to see cars dropped out of the sky! It can be entertaining of sorts! But I like to hear about how a real everyday car drives and goes. Give James May the reins and lose the other clowns I say. However, if a manual box was available it would shut up individuals like the TG reviewer and probably attract more customers. Many just don't like DSG regardless of how much they drive it and get used to it. Quite fancy it myself. And a diesel will be crucial too. VW's GTI Golf diesel sells well and is far superior in pick up on the in gear acceleration tests and indeed holds it's own very well in the straight line stuff too. I have driven it and was well impressed, ran rings around the 2.0ltr petrol GTI at the speeds I was allowed to drive at. And the petrol car only ever managed low 20's per gallon on my half day with it. Treated the same, the diesel managed over twice as much as the petrol version. And lets face it...the petrol gives very little real on road EXTRA performance. I'm sure it would be the same for the VRs diesel too, it would attract a lot more sales.

Did a Poll on GTI forum quite late last night about what guys thought of their DSG in their Golfs.

Post #17 mentions about how the DSG learns your driving style.

DSG Owners poll

Edited 29 January, 201115 yr by janner_Sy

Top Gear magazine isnt a proper car magazine in the same way the Top Gear show isnt a proper car show. I remember the days that Chris Goffey and co used to actually review cars that ordinary people like you and I would consider buying; there was none of this ridiculous droping cars out of the sky, blowing things up, turning **** bangers into amphbious vehicles or driving Bugatti Veyrons across Europe trying to beat a plane all at the expense of the licence fee payer. I think the best thing they could do with the show is get rid of Clarkson and Hammond, keep James May as he is interesting and get him doing some proper motoring journalism, I expect deep down he'd like the same thing.

Top Gear actually makes the BBC money rather than costing license payers money. It is one of the most popular shows in the world. Don't think you could say that if Chris Goffey and Quentin Wilson was still presenting it. There is really no need for that sort of factual programme any more with the wealth of information on the internet and in magazines.

I think Top Gear is a great Sunday evening entertainment programme and doesn't in anyway make itself out to be anything other than that.

As for Fifth Gear though, i gave up on that a long time ago....

you dont watch top gear for factual info, you watch it for the entertainment factor

you dont watch top gear for factual info, you watch it for the entertainment factor

Sorry guys I still personally think TG is crap. It was fun for the first couple of years but the format is just old hat now. Just airing my personal opinion, those that love it I'm pleased for them.

The trouble is the DSG haters are basing it on a 10min test drive. The gearbox needs to learn your driving style, this takes a good couple of hours/days of driving for it to get used to you and you to it! After a week in the lakes up and down big hills and narrow lanes my box was terrible changing up far too soon etc but within a couple of hours of being back on the open road it was back to normal.

Does the DSG monitor what the driver does and modify its behaviour accordingly? I was not aware of it.

Sorry guys I still personally think TG is crap. It was fun for the first couple of years but the format is just old hat now. Just airing my personal opinion, those that love it I'm pleased for them.

It might be but it's only for entertainment. As for JC, he spends £174k on his everyday car, so he's lost touch with a car in the £12-18k bracket. I'll still be watching tomorrow night though. As for Hammond and May, they can do good reviews if they want, they're just encouraged to be as daft as JC.