Ignoring price.

Why should someone choose the vRS over, say the Ibiza Cupra or the Citreon DS3 Sport etc etc?

Ibiza is a bit plasticy inside, ride is firmer, looks are personal choice.

DS3 is, well, a Citroen - enough said.

vRS is better built than the above, cheapers, looks better and its a Skoda

If you can wait a few days I can give you a definitive comparison of a DS3 vs Fabia vRS as my wife is collecting her new DS3 tomorrow...

Its generally agreed that the Vrs is a better all round package than the cupra, and by all accounts the dsg suits the vrs better. Other than that its all down to image. Plus the Fabia is the only one with 5 doors. Nothing wrong with the d-sport, but it doesn't have the explosive delivery of the tsi, more of a warm hatch. Nice car though.

alot of journalists place the Fabia vRS between the DS3 and clioRS in terms of performance.

DS3 looks great, much better than the vRS in fact, but i still wouldnt buy one as the build quality and standard features are superior in the fabia. Also alot more room in the fabia

Personally i think the Fabia VRS looks far better than the DS3, yes i may be a bit biased but i really think it does look better. To much going on on the DS3 & looks a bit messy where as the Fabia has nice clean lines and in the flesh does it for me .

Only my opinion though

Very nice up to date interior in the ds3, mind. And forget about the old Citroen build quality, they've seriously upped their game. Not to Skoda standards though.

Citoren.... enough said, Seat is nice enough, but we were less than impressed by the local dealer!! Skoda were brilliant, car is great, love it, great drive, great performance, looks, build quality so on and so on, and so on.......

Well given both of the DS3's in the show room when I looked at them had broken drivers seats I'm not so convinced on citrons build quality.

I think the cupra looks nicer but it's just feels to harsh for the crap roads we have in this country these days not that the vrs enjoys them either.

I have a Mk1 Ibiza FR and I've only had it 6 weeks... now it's going.

That should say it all. Not to say that it is a bad car, not by any stretch.

But:

1. It is NOISY. Road noise is incredible

2. While the handling is good, the suspension is VERY hard, and the ride, consequently, is poor.

3. It does go rather nicely though - 1.9 TDI pushing out 130bhp

4. SEAT take FOREVER to get parts. The car I've bought has apparently been waiting for an aerial + base since JANUARY. I broke a wheel bearing in a previous Ibiza FR - that took over A MONTH to be repaired (though in the meantime I put 2K on a courtesy car... LOL)

5. Dealers are very nice though, but still prefer Skoda.

the 0-60 times are similar between the fabia and ds3 even though the ds3 has 30bhp less power.

i was tempted by a DS3 as they are much more funky and stylish than a Vrs but ultimately decided against it as even though i am a single 22yr old bloke i just prefer the space, practicality and room the fabia offers and handles nearly as well as the DS3.

it's a shame they overpriced the DS3 Racing by about £1500 otherwise i would have bitten there hands off for one after the test drive, think ford focus St but the size of a Clio 200 and your about there but it just felt better than them.

The Citroen is a very good little car and well priced too but the Ibiza..... nah i just couldn't bring myself to live with the ride and the 'boyracer' image

Im sure if you posed this question on either Seat or citroen forums they

would probably have the same attitude, saying things like richie does about citroen

"Citoren.... enough said, Seat is nice enough, but we were less than impressed by the local dealer!! Skoda were brilliant, car is great, love it, great drive, great performance, looks, build quality so on and so on, and so on....... "

change that to "Skoda..... enough said,

i think both the DS3 and Fabia vRS are a bit different to ur typical hot hatchery and i like that they stand out over things like Clio and megane RS, civic type R, VXR corsa and astrsa and even the ibiza and Leon Cupra... they all have a 'boyracer' image but the Citroen and Skoda don't(not whilst the young-uns can't afford them anyways) i think i mean people like myself?!?

Edited 30 April, 201115 yr by Sonner

DS3 and Citroen aren't bad but:

• 3 MPG less than vRS
• Only 3 doors
• 1 VED bracket higher
• Slightly less torque/bhp
• Less of a mod/support community
• vRS is essentially Audi/VW parts underneath so you know you're getting reliability. Citroen have upped their game so fair enough.
• No VAT free deal makes it more expensive by £2000 (appreciate you said ignore that)
• More of a garage/dealership network for VW/Audi. For Skoda, you get the JD Power Index #1 manufacturer for 2 straight years.
• DS3 isn't DSG. Some people will like that, some people will want to stick with DSG now. I'm the latter.

Those are just quick comparisons in the vRS' favour.

DS3 and Citroen aren't bad but:

• 3 MPG less than vRS
• Only 3 doors
• 1 VED bracket higher
• Slightly less torque/bhp
• Less of a mod/support community
• vRS is essentially Audi/VW parts underneath so you know you're getting reliability. Citroen have upped their game so fair enough.
• No VAT free deal makes it more expensive by £2000 (appreciate you said ignore that)
• More of a garage/dealership network for VW/Audi. For Skoda, you get the JD Power Index #1 manufacturer for 2 straight years.
• DS3 isn't DSG. Some people will like that, some people will want to stick with DSG now. I'm the latter.

Those are just quick comparisons in the vRS' favour.

Spot on

Very fair comparison. We picked up my wife's DS3 this morning - and I have to say for a 1.6 naturally aspirated 120bhp engine it has plenty of poke in it. Won't be anywhere near as practical as the vRS but I can see my wife will have a lot of fun with it - and that's why she wanted it.

The vRS, particularly the estate, blends *plenty* of performance with stacks of practicality - so we have a perfect combination of cars!

the 0-60 times are similar between the fabia and ds3 even though the ds3 has 30bhp less power.

i was tempted by a DS3 as they are much more funky and stylish than a Vrs but ultimately decided against it as even though i am a single 22yr old bloke i just prefer the space, practicality and room the fabia offers and handles nearly as well as the DS3.

it's a shame they overpriced the DS3 Racing by about £1500 otherwise i would have bitten there hands off for one after the test drive, think ford focus St but the size of a Clio 200 and your about there but it just felt better than them.

The Citroen is a very good little car and well priced too but the Ibiza..... nah i just couldn't bring myself to live with the ride and the 'boyracer' image

Evo tested the DS3 "Racing" and it was slower to 60 (7.3) than the Polo Gti(7.1)..and hence probably the Fabia(not in the test) Don't see how the standard DS3 can be as quick if it has 60hp less than the racing version and 30 less than the Fabia ??

Must weigh alot less. vRS weighs 1300kg?

Very fair comparison. We picked up my wife's DS3 this morning - and I have to say for a 1.6 naturally aspirated 120bhp engine it has plenty of poke in it. Won't be anywhere near as practical as the vRS but I can see my wife will have a lot of fun with it - and that's why he wanted it.

The vRS, particularly the estate, blends *plenty* of performance with stacks of practicality - so we have a perfect combination of cars!

Nice one. Put a review up in the auto tests section if she lets you play around with it long enough . Be interested to hear what its like.

Don't get me wrong, if I was a traditionalist (wanted a manual) and wanted 'a more involved driving experience' (whatever the hell that is), I'd have the DS3. Seems like a good alternative and looks better than the vRS. Just falls behind in 1 or 2 key areas for me.

Must weigh alot less. vRS weighs 1300kg?

DS3 = 1165kg

vRS = 1243kg

That's a man sized adult less. So quite a bit.

flip the question round...

Why shouldn't you buy the vRS over the rest?

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/citroen/ds3-hatchback/1-6-thp-150-dsport-3dr/compare/58451?newOrUsed=New&makeId=8063&modelId=31326&editionId=31331&makeId1=22922&modelId1=22923&editionId1=23085&makeId2=22381&modelId2=22574&editionId2=22791

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/citroen/ds3-hatchback/1-6-thp-150-dsport-3dr/compare/58451?newOrUsed=New&makeId=8063&modelId=31326&editionId=31331&makeId1=22922&modelId1=22923&editionId1=23085&makeId2=25321&modelId2=26122&editionId2=36846

http://www.whatcar.com/Review/EditionCompare?newOrUsed=New&makeId=22922&modelId=22923&editionId=34039&makeId1=29021&modelId1=29090&editionId1=35181&makeId2=22381&modelId2=22574&editionId2=34843

This is what I compare - nothing comes close to the Fabia vRS Estate in terms or price, power or practicality!

Because I want to pay lots more money for nothing? (looking at you, SEAT and VW)

Im surprised there is so much Seat hate here.

Reading those what car is very informative, couple of thing's I've not thought about yet which I should look at.

See, to me I cannot choose between the vRS Cupra or the DS3. They're all amazing cars. I love the look of the cupra and dont mind the "boy racer" image as tbh the car would be in for a remap and one of those Varex exhausts. Loud and noisey to quieter than stock in a touch of a button..

Argh its so hard to choose!!

I think I need to decide if I can get away with 3 doors, or if I need the practicality of the skoda provides with 5. Another thing is the used market for fabia's is very limited. Not a suprise since the waiting list is so long, which puts me off.

Having owned two Ibiza FR's all I can say is... Ride quality. Poor.