If Skoda hadn't been running the no vat offer

What other cars would you have looked at?

I was looking at the fiesta (but had a bad experience with ford), the polo (but it was a tad overpriced and you dont get the latest engines without being top of the range), also looked at the suzuki swift (nice car in fact) and the clio (but not a fan of french cars!)

You?

We looked at the Suzuki swift. Renault clio. Hyundi i20. I'm really pleased with the Monte It really is exceptional value for money. Bet you can't wait for yours Adam

We looked at the Suzuki swift. Renault clio. Hyundi i20. I'm really pleased with the Monte It really is exceptional value for money. Bet you can't wait for yours Adam

Just a tad excited !

You will love it. Only sorry me cameras broke so i couldn't post any pics :'(

I looked at Ibiza,Polo, i20, Jazz and Note.

I look at the fiesta, mrs didnt like the interior as it is small, Fabia like the fitting and finish but the shape was not to our liking, Like the polo but can only get the old 1.4 engine with dsg, The seat ibiza interior let it down, toyota yaris new shape coming next year, end up ordering the octavia

Only other car I thought about was the Seat Ibiza Cupra as I had a MK5 anyway and loved how it looked. They couldn't do a deal anywhere near as good as the Fabia

We looked at the new Fiesta, Fiat Evo Punto, Citreon C3 and the Pug****e 207.

same as above, looked at the Ibiza cupra as i had a 1.6 mk5 ibiza, they wouldnt do anywhere near as good a deal as skoda!

We already had a Fabia Sport..so we didnt look anywhere

Looked at the new Polo - not enough headroom and Vw dealer was too up himself.

Looked at the Jazz and was seriously tempted but felt like an oap.

The wildcard was the Nissan Cube. Had just been discontinued in the UK and whilst they had been selling for 15,000 pounds they were selling off ex demos with less than a thousand miles for 8,000 pounds. Had very good reviews and if it hadn't been for the Fabia I would be in one now.

The wildcard was the Nissan Cube. Had just been discontinued in the UK and whilst they had been selling for 15,000 pounds they were selling off ex demos with less than a thousand miles for 8,000 pounds. Had very good reviews and if it hadn't been for the Fabia I would be in one now.

Really? Somebody round my way has one of these and everytime I look at it I can't help thinking it must be like driving a brick! Was it any good?

already add a Mk1 fabia vRS - so didn't look anywhere.

Wasn't really looking to buy a new vRS but took one for a test drive out just to be nosey....

Looked at a few too.

Polo, too small and too expensive for nothing more than a badge.

Ibiza too small, had to spec it up too much too, becomes too much for a seat.

Audi A1, purely too expensive.

Fiat punto Evo, didn't like the interior.

Looked at a few second hand bmw 1series, also felt cramped and insurance was far more than my fabia.

So impressed with the Yeti I didn't look anywhere else.

But I was aware I couldn't get a car for the price anywhere with such amazing fuel economy, as it was going to be a busines purchase. So it ticked all the boxes.

We originally started looking at something like an Ibiza 1.9TDi Sport or a Polo 1.9TDi Sport (130bhp) on about a 55 plate.

Then SEAT advertised the Ibiza Copa with all the extras and the 0% finance... so we went to look at one of those. While we were looking we researched into the SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive version, and compared that to a 1.6tdi to see how it drove. I was impressed by the plucky 1.2TDi, but not impressed by the Ibiza handling and cheap-ness of the interior.

So I popped along to VW to enquire about a Polo Bluemotion. The salesman outright wouldn't sell us one. He didn't want to know what we wanted, he just wanted to sell us a 2007 1.4tdi Polo.

On passing, I popped into Bickerton Skoda in Hillsborough to see what Skoda had to offer on the 'Eco' front as I knew the Ibiza, Polo and Fabia all used the same platform. The sales guy introduced us to the Greenline II, but said I couldn't look at one or drive one as there was a 20 week wait :(

I then set about finding a dealer that had one in stock to drive to compare it to the Ibiza that we'd already test driven.

I rang DM Keith in Wakefield, they responded in the same way as the VW salesman... they weren't interested in selling me a Greenline II, they wanted to sell me something out of their stock. So I rang DM Keith in Leeds. They had one in, confirmed it was available for test that afternoon so we went and drove it. I liked the car, and the salesman was a great guy, so we agreed a deal. Just had to soak up the 22 week estimated waiting list!

Looked at quite a few things, Seat Ibiza (too small not v well put together), Leon (too expensive and not very well put together), Ibiza ST (big enough but bland and not v well put together....see a theme developing here?!), VW Golf Match MK6 (Too expensive and not quite big enough), VW Polo (not big enough, too expensive for what you get otherwise v nice), used MK5 Golf GTi DSG (turned out to be a Dubai import, so whilst rather nice steered well clear).

Decided to give the Fabia Estate a look given the boot size being nigh on the same as the Ibiza ST and the VAT deal being available, initally considered a 1.2 TSi Elegance DSG then found out that the vRS had also been put on the VAT deal. On paper the vRS worked out cheaper than an Elegance with a bit of extra spec so went for the vRS.

Whilst the Fabia is knocking on a bit now its still a very good car and the facelift has increased its appeal no end. Nice to be getting latest VAG group tech in a hot hatch with a massive boot for £15k. There is nothing else out there that compares with the vRS estate.

One thing I've noticed because the Fabia is on the older plateform... Its A LOT!! roomier than the new polo and ibiza. I've also noticed that VW dealerships seem a bit 'snooty' almost like they think they're the Audi of the normal car brands (before you get into the premium/executive range).

I liked the car, and the salesman was a great guy, so we agreed a deal. Just had to soak up the 22 week estimated waiting list!

Trust me mate, it's worth it! And hopefully it'll turn up sooner than quotes too (mine did).

Edited 7 June, 201115 yr by Redline Greenline ii

Look at some/considered others

Fiat 500 Abarth - Too Small

Mazda 3 MPS - I liked it but to thirsty and deceided I had an RX8 so maybe change brand.

Golf GTI - 6 months old - at the end of the day too expensive

Audi A1 - liked it but too expensive.

Fiesta Zetec S - didnt like it

Focus ST (had one previously) - deceided the wait was too long for the New Model ST.

Renault Megane 250 - thought it was the best of the cars I considered and if finances allowed would have bought one but once specced up a bit it was circa £ 25 k which too much money.

With all said and done I bought the Fabia.

Overall the Fabia was the best of the lot and with all things considered and an abosulte steal at £ 15 K i paid (with VAT price after options was £ 18.5 k) so the best deal i have every had on a new car plus is VAG group build quality and decent hot hatch package - plus the wife liked it as long as I did not get it in green !

I looked at the Renault Clio RS200 Cup which was a riot to drive and imo it's the best hot hatch I've ever driven. But it being a Renault put me off and fuel consumption and the hard ride on carp roads. Also looked at second hand Golf GTI's, Mazda 3 MPS, Corsa VXR (awful, just awful) and the Octavia vRS. All of these are still a bit pricey and it made the vRS a no brainer. I was tempted to wait for the Suzuki Swift Sport since VW now has a share of it but it's still a while off yet and it probably won't have enough power even though it would handle really well.

Aye, I had in the back of me mind if Skoda p!ss me around too much I'll be walking over to Suzuki

Hi Redline Greenline

Nissan Cube was fun to drive, lots of equipment, lots more room but was thirsty and not as fun as the Fabia. However I was tempted as it is a seriously under rated car.

Hi Redline Greenline

Nissan Cube was fun to drive, lots of equipment, lots more room but was thirsty and not as fun as the Fabia. However I was tempted as it is a seriously under rated car.

I can imagine it was quite thirsty - I doesn't look the most aerodynamic of vehicles. Alright if you're carting the Pope along at 10 mph (my missus called it a pope-mobile) but after that I imagine you get some serious resistance. Great if you need the space though I'm sure. I was curious though so interesting to come across somebody who has driven one.

Answering the original question (sorry) I looked at the equivalents to the GL2 across the VAG group and it was a no-brainer on the price front. Also looked into the low-emissions Fiesa and other similar cars, but for me the price was too high and many of the so called "low-emissions" cars out there still have emissions ratings above 100g/km (Hyundai, for example, I believe) which factored into it. A bit of a different slant on things compared to the vRS owners...

Well I had a look at several cars

1. BMW 1 series

2. AUDI A1

3.VOLVO C30

But preferred the fabia