you explained yourself better that time. although still a poor choice of words, as gutless to me means its got nothing low in the rev range, whereas i disagree, from 1800 onwards there is plenty of power.

i know one thing, i spanked a volvo s60 T5 a few days ago, and he was trying... could be a poor driver but he couldnt keep up in the acceleration stakes...

you explained yourself better that time. although still a poor choice of words, as gutless to me means its got nothing low in the rev range, whereas i disagree, from 1800 onwards there is plenty of power.

i know one thing, i spanked a volvo s60 T5 a few days ago, and he was trying... could be a poor driver but he couldnt keep up in the acceleration stakes...

Really, good effort if you did. Never been in the S60T5 but the old 850T5, except possibly for launch, was a fair bit quicker than my Fab although that was a while ago. I know the T5 is more powerful and a wee bit lighter than my 530. Again, its like comparing apples and oranges!

Isn't the less powerful T5 unit in the ST though, as as said previously that and the Fab just don't compare!

Really, good effort if you did. Never been in the S60T5 but the old 850T5, except possibly for launch, was a fair bit quicker than my Fab although that was a while ago. I know the T5 is more powerful and a wee bit lighter than my 530. Again, its like comparing apples and oranges!

Isn't the less powerful T5 unit in the ST though, as as said previously that and the Fab just don't compare!

Just been looking up some specs for various cars. I think the above may prove my point that the DSG allows you to launch much much better than a manual as it is an autobox. As said, if it wasn't my clutch and gearbox I think I could out drag 0-60 a Fab; since it is mine I don't want to see.

One of the unsung advantages of DSG IMHO. Mechanical sympathy is built in.

T5 is only around 225hp and weighs about 1700kg. the S60R is 300hp

Revising some facts : The 5 cylinder turbo-engine in the Focus ST is the same as the one in Volco C30/S40/V50.

The S60/V70 has a T5 aswell, producin between 250-260 bhp.

The S60R is indeed 300 bhp and got 6 gears compared to the others 5, but if the S60/V70 T5 and the S60R is software-tuned it ends out on exactly the same bhp.

The reason? It's the same engine making the S60R slower when it's up in speed due to all the extra-weight!

The old T5 is at 225 bhp while the T5R is at 250 bhp.

Although the older T5 seems to boast as much power as the new ones, the older ones lack alot in the low-regions which is kinda odd... Since it's a 5-cylinder machine at around 2.5 liters.

Spanking a S60 T5? From 0 no doubt about it, but from 62 mph / 100 kph the torque and horsepower it got should be able to keep you behind.

Good effort from you and less good effort from the Volvo-driver (bet he was an old guy with an ugly hat... all volvo-drivers got ugly hats!).

Hope this have been off some use for someone atleast!

Revising some facts : The 5 cylinder turbo-engine in the Focus ST is the same as the one in Volco C30/S40/V50.

The S60/V70 has a T5 aswell, producin between 250-260 bhp.

The S60R is indeed 300 bhp and got 6 gears compared to the others 5, but if the S60/V70 T5 and the S60R is software-tuned it ends out on exactly the same bhp.

The reason? It's the same engine making the S60R slower when it's up in speed due to all the extra-weight!

The old T5 is at 225 bhp while the T5R is at 250 bhp.

Although the older T5 seems to boast as much power as the new ones, the older ones lack alot in the low-regions which is kinda odd... Since it's a 5-cylinder machine at around 2.5 liters.

Spanking a S60 T5? From 0 no doubt about it, but from 62 mph / 100 kph the torque and horsepower it got should be able to keep you behind.

Good effort from you and less good effort from the Volvo-driver (bet he was an old guy with an ugly hat... all volvo-drivers got ugly hats!).

Hope this have been off some use for someone atleast!

yep, if we had kept going he probably would have caught me and overtaken me over legal speeds...

and he wasnt old, actually a 20 year old guy, strange car for his age but... each to their own.

yep, if we had kept going he probably would have caught me and overtaken me over legal speeds...

and he wasnt old, actually a 20 year old guy, strange car for his age but... each to their own.

Come by Sweden then, SAAB 9000 / 900 / 9-5 / 9-3 and Volvo 2/7/940/850/S70/S and V40/S60/V70 are all subject for tuning.

Cheap tuningbits here in Sweden, easy to get spareparts and usually very reliable along with the fact that the Swedish cars got some great seats made it hard for me to separate from my old 9000...

But after all, a new 9-3 in my spec would have set me back around 27k £ and still would have been slower then the Fabia made that car... not so interesting.

Once again, comparing apples to oranges but this was the choice that I had.

The reasons for buying the Fabia was many:

Offered more bang per buck then the Mini, 500, Polo, Ibiza and A1.

Was the most spacious off the lot (my dad was impressed that he actually FITTED in the back-seat!).

The engine's sound. I just love the supercharger-whine!

The flappy-paddles gearbox.

And the funky stuling! Did I mention I ordered it in green/black x)?

The only thing that was a minus with it was it was alot slower then my old car, but after some tweaks and mods it's getting along nicely.

Sure, it's not there yet... But I have faith in the green booger!

Regardless of whats been said above thats negative about the Fabia vRS, lets get back to the fact that this thing offers about as much bang per buck of anything available at this price.

We wanted a cheap supermini estate car, to be able to get something that will do 60 in probably a little less than 7 seconds on a good run and a little over 140 for £15k still astounds me now. I also thought there would be a catch (that it would drive like a sack of **** or end up being poorly constructed) but its not the case.

Anyway I've had a MK5 Golf GTI for a while and I can categorically say the Fabia is every bit as quick, probably barely no slower than a MK6 in the right hands, thats impressive for the money. Think being a powerful and relatively light car would keep an E39 530i honest too.

Regardless of whats been said above thats negative about the Fabia vRS, lets get back to the fact that this thing offers about as much bang per buck of anything available at this price.

We wanted a cheap supermini estate car, to be able to get something that will do 60 in probably a little less than 7 seconds on a good run and a little over 140 for £15k still astounds me now. I also thought there would be a catch (that it would drive like a sack of **** or end up being poorly constructed) but its not the case.

Anyway I've had a MK5 Golf GTI for a while and I can categorically say the Fabia is every bit as quick, probably barely no slower than a MK6 in the right hands, thats impressive for the money. Think being a powerful and relatively light car would keep an E39 530i honest too.

Well said pipsyp. Coming from someone with experience of more powerful machinery nearly putting full stop to me, i'm reading a lot of talk in this thread about power but i've yet to read how this is best exploited on public roads. The vRS has more than enough poke for today's 50 limit B roads and camera infested highways.

If i wanted mega performance i'd go down the Caterham route. It's not all about bhp.

OI! Thread hijackers! Jog on :p This is a 'What other cars did you look at' thread! *Stamps feet*

Edited 9 June, 201115 yr by adamc260

Well said pipsyp. Coming from someone with experience of more powerful machinery nearly putting full stop to me, i'm reading a lot of talk in this thread about power but i've yet to read how this is best exploited on public roads. The vRS has more than enough poke for today's 50 limit B roads and camera infested highways.

If i wanted mega performance i'd go down the Caterham route. It's not all about bhp.

Cheers mate, I think the vRS is plenty lairy enough, easy to drive (too) quickly without even trying. No disrespect to anyone who has tuned theirs but I think its unnecessary; not convinced the chassis and brakes and particularly the gearbox would cope that well with 200+ps, XDS works pretty well but you can tell it really wants to torque-steer everywhere with its standard 180ps; you'd need to spend a fair bit of money on it; not just a remap to make the most of the extra power.

Cheers mate, I think the vRS is plenty lairy enough, easy to drive (too) quickly without even trying. No disrespect to anyone who has tuned theirs but I think its unnecessary; not convinced the chassis and brakes and particularly the gearbox would cope that well with 200+ps, XDS works pretty well but you can tell it really wants to torque-steer everywhere with its standard 180ps; you'd need to spend a fair bit of money on it; not just a remap to make the most of the extra power.

people said that exact same thing about the DSg6 gearbox when i came out. Just so happens its tronger than the manuals. the only failures have been the mechatronics issue which oisnt effected by performance as its electronic. Agree on the torque steer being pretty bad. My Octy with 280hp had no torque steer, the fabia does with 100hp less, shows the lower quality of the chassis IMO. IMO it also needs better dampers and a rear ARB to sort it out

But as you say, its the best £ for £ hot hatch by a long way.

people said that exact same thing about the DSg6 gearbox when i came out. Just so happens its tronger than the manuals. the only failures have been the mechatronics issue which oisnt effected by performance as its electronic. Agree on the torque steer being pretty bad. My Octy with 280hp had no torque steer, the fabia does with 100hp less, shows the lower quality of the chassis IMO. IMO it also needs better dampers and a rear ARB to sort it out

But as you say, its the best £ for £ hot hatch by a long way.

Yeah fair shout on the gearbox Janner, guess they are pretty tough. Was led to believe the 7 speed being a dry rather than wet clutch can only deal with so much torque though, thought too much power or a torque rich remap might cook the clutches. Is that true?

Yeah fair shout on the gearbox Janner, guess they are pretty tough. Was led to believe the 7 speed being a dry rather than wet clutch can only deal with so much torque though, thought too much power or a torque rich remap might cook the clutches. Is that true?

the main difference between the dry and wet boxes is that the wet could handle more heat as it was absorbed by the oil. The dry boxes dont have that oil, howver there are nuilt in safety features that limit the torque and in the event of the gearbox getting to hot it will go into a limp mode and limit the output until it cools down, so it wont disintegrate, it'll protect itself

the main difference between the dry and wet boxes is that the wet could handle more heat as it was absorbed by the oil. The dry boxes dont have that oil, howver there are nuilt in safety features that limit the torque and in the event of the gearbox getting to hot it will go into a limp mode and limit the output until it cools down, so it wont disintegrate, it'll protect itself

This is how I understood it too. There's nothing to say it can't take more power it just deals with the extra heat in a different way.

Fair shout but I wouldnt want my car going into limp home mode regularly just to get more power out of it, could be very frustrating. Appreciate a reputable tuner wouldnt leave you in this position but you get my point. I find my car comes up with the occasional funny ECU error now in its standard form with only a few hundred miles on the clock; personally wouldnt want to risk making it any more sensitive by running significantly more than standard power.

Audi A1, alfa Romeo mito, vw polo,

Citroen DS3 Dsport

Alfa Romeo MiTo

Seat Ibiza Cupra

Audi A1

Fiat 500 Abarth

Test drove the Citroen,Alfa and Abarth.

Other two didn't get beyond the showroom stage. Boot too small on the Audi. Nasty interior on the Cupra.

Mini Cooper S - To expensive

Corsa VXR - Poor build quality

New Ford Fiesta - Not enough poke or "special feeling"

Seat Leon FR TDI CR - Only available new and a bit overpriced for me

Honda Civic - Old engines, honda dealership never phoned back, didn't feel special

Mitsubishi Lancer - Terrible old diesel engines

Volvo C30 - Too expensive, engines not very efficient, not enough poke

Brief looks at the Mito. 200 Cup too expensive too run and live with.

Regardless of whats been said above thats negative about the Fabia vRS, lets get back to the fact that this thing offers about as much bang per buck of anything available at this price.

We wanted a cheap supermini estate car, to be able to get something that will do 60 in probably a little less than 7 seconds on a good run and a little over 140 for £15k still astounds me now. I also thought there would be a catch (that it would drive like a sack of **** or end up being poorly constructed) but its not the case.

Anyway I've had a MK5 Golf GTI for a while and I can categorically say the Fabia is every bit as quick, probably barely no slower than a MK6 in the right hands, thats impressive for the money. Think being a powerful and relatively light car would keep an E39 530i honest too.

Must agree the price was the thing that swayed me. I don't necessarily think the Fab is the best in the hot hatch range, but I just couldn't justify the mpg of the Focus ST (the one I wanted) and the price of the Megane; and for some reason the Clio, although great to drive, didn't really do it for me.

As for Swedish cars, you do seem to get a lot of bang for buck.

Anybody consider a Colt Ralliart?