I couldn't care less if it was gold plated, in mine and many others opinions, it's not nice enough looking for the extra 6k

I've been in the A1 and yes, it's nice enough inside but the point is hardly any of their owners read motor mags or care less about the A1 having a newer platform than the VRS. It's an Audi, that's all that matters.

Apart from the price ? You tell me then. What exactly adds up to 6k on that car ?

P.S - Try to avoid saying 'it's an Audi'

The badge

It's made of unobtainium

no its plated in unobtainium could you imagine the price of it was made of solid unobtainium :no:

I love having a Skoda. Its the ultimate insult to someones ego when you scream past them on a trackday. Between this one and the last vRS, i have had so many chancers attempt to 'embarass' me and failed miserably. Makes my day.

No one likes being beaten by a Skoda, especially a 1.4 Skoda

This! Was a big reason as why I bought one plus the savings. Plus there's plenty of potential there too and for no much money you can make it faster, handle better, brake better and for a lot less than an Audi.

The badge

It's made of unobtainium

(Thanks to a friend on SCN)

Edited 27 January, 201214 yr by VRS-Powered

I'm still amazed by anti-Skoda snobbery.

I have a friend who lives in Notting Hill. He was looking at an A1 to replace his Smart 4 (It's seviced by Merc....so don't tell him he should have bought the cheaper better Colt!) :wonder: I mentioned that the VRS was in many respects fundamentaly the same car to the A1, but he told me his wife would never have a Skoda.

Anyway, then they decided to replace their ageing BMW 5 series touring & his wife had her eyes on a Mini Countryman. He asked me to check them out & I unfortunately had to send back a few reviews of it getting beaten by a Yeti...sadly, as the Yeti was 1/ A Skoda & 2/ A bit too cheap they rejected it.

He then phoned me up last week to say that they've finaly decided that £27 was too much to pay on a Mini & have bought a Volvo XC 90 which was only 6K more.

I couldn't really understand the desire for a car of that size in London (no garage or drive)...if I have to venture inside the M25 I nab the wife's Fabia VRS as I find the Octy VRS too big.

I just think that for the £33K he could have had both a new Fabia VRS & a Yeti...I'm sure they'd both have enjoyed navigating London a lot more in either of those cars than the XC90...then again...at least they don't have the shame of a 'Skoda' badge!

..And they probably wouldn't have had them keyed on the first night! Ouch. :'(

I get badge snobbery of my mate in his wait for it...... Vauxhall corsa albeit its an atric vxr but the skody still destroys it, well in a straight line anyway much to his displeasure hence the endless excuses as to being beat of a skoda : )

The last Audi i owned was a Coupe Quattro LWB.

Since then Audi have lost their way and diluted the Quattro name.

Now you are paying for a badge and a very shiney dealership.

The last Audi i owned was a Coupe Quattro LWB.

Since then Audi have lost their way and diluted the Quattro name.

Now you are paying for a badge and a very shiney dealership.

+1

Fire up the Quattro and smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.

Dealer Servicing costs on an Audi are considerably dearer than skoda.

Unobtanium costs lots to maintain.

The last Audi i owned was a Coupe Quattro LWB.

I had one as well. 2.2litre 5 cylinder rumble ..... pops & bangs for free

Oh how I miss that car

I kind of like the anti Skoda snobbery and in some ways I am an inverse snob. I have a pretty good job and live in a comfortable area and get a perverse buzz out of the reactions of Premium car owning friends to our choice of family car. In some way I think it shows up ignorance on their part but live and let live.

I kind of like the anti Skoda snobbery and in some ways I am an inverse snob. I have a pretty good job and live in a comfortable area and get a perverse buzz out of the reactions of Premium car owning friends to our choice of family car. In some way I think it shows up ignorance on their part but live and let live.

Every person who has seen my car has commented on how nice it looks. Even the ones who have been in it have also commented on how smart the interior is.

I really don't care about the opinions of 'joe public' about Skoda. Most of it is pure ignorance.

Nearly all of the Motoring press tests of the Fabia VRS have been overall, very positive. That is my benchmark, if there is one.

I'm another great lover of the Anti-Skoda mob, I like that people think my cars "crap" and it's just a "cheap polo" etc... A friend thought his 1.4 liter Polo match would take my Fabia VRS because his was a VW and mine was a Skoda... That was somewhat amusing. And on the Audi front, I'd have an A1 if it was handed to me for free but I wouldn't buy one. As everyone else has said, the extra money just can't be justified. Everyone rants and raves about my Skoda, all my mates think it's cool as bits and another friend thought about trading his Astra VXR Racing edition in for a VRS because he could get nearly the same performance and use half the fuel!

Worth noting though that the A1 is actually a cheap car to own overall though, as the residuals are (predicted to be) really rather good. Especially the 1.2 SE.

At the end of the day, it's an 'premium' Audi and the Skoda is a more 'inferior' brand, so it's worth paying the extra if you can afford it and brand image is important to you. It's like buying sausage rolls from Marks and spensors and the same things from another supermarket own brand, i have a friend who works in a pie factory and they are the same but packaged differently.

Would people still buy the Skoda fabia vrs over the Audi a1 if money is no issue. a lot of people would probably buy the A1. For me, I'd buy the skoda and spend the extra on mods.

I said a while ago that I'd only ever buy Audi or VW if I couldn't get an engine in Skoda form. If Skoda ever got their hands on the 4.2 V8 or even the 5 pot from the TTRS I'd be very happy. Can't see that ever happening (before someone points it out) but I can dream

I said a while ago that I'd only ever buy Audi or VW if I couldn't get an engine in Skoda form. If Skoda ever got their hands on the 4.2 V8 or even the 5 pot from the TTRS I'd be very happy. Can't see that ever happening (before someone points it out) but I can dream

Awesome gti currently have a TTRS engine for sale

Worth noting though that the A1 is actually a cheap car to own overall though, as the residuals are (predicted to be) really rather good. Especially the 1.2 SE.

They were good at the start but because Audi sold more than expected they went down. CAP have been putting them down ever since. Get close to 50% on most now. FUnny that it's only comptetitor, Mini, has the best residuals of almost any car on the market. I think people at CAP all own Mini's tbh!

so it's cheaper to own, i.e you lose less money as stated above, than the vrs, even at £23k?

Edited 28 January, 201214 yr by fabia55

so it's cheaper to own, i.e you lose less money as stated above, than the vrs, even at £23k?

Exactly. Particularly from a company car perspective where residuals are taken into account. For example, A Mini Cooper Hatchback SD with Chili/Media/Sport pack has a residual of 68% after 30,000 miles and 3 years. Currently one of the highest on market. You'd never come close to that with an A1.

Fabia vRS after 30,000 miles and 3 years is a mere 42% according to the pricing Gods at CAP. Boca's and Polo GTI's dont fair much better :/

A1 engine, options etc are almost identical to Mini anyway. So owning an A1 over a Mini makes no sense right now.

Good thread. Buying into a brand is something other people do. Nothing wrong with the A1 and it won an award and so on but is way over priced. No wonder Germans have all the money. All I want is the smallest, cheapest (code for used) yet fastest car I can lay my hands on. Also, IMO cars should be all about go rather than show not the other way around. I felt the same when I had my 205 Gti in the 1980s (before kids) which was a used one and then the longish wait for 306 Gtis/Rallye (all used) and then recently the lovely little used Fabia. When I have the final say I always buy used cars and always those cars which tend to be small yet punch above their weight. I think the Peugeots were a bit better looking but go is certainly better than showing off a brand.

Edited 30 January, 201214 yr by Newera

Good thread. Buying into a brand is something other people do. Nothing wrong with the A1 and it won an award and so on but is way over priced. No wonder Germans have all the money. All I want is the smallest, cheapest (code for used) yet fastest car I can lay my hands on. Also, IMO cars should be all about go rather than show not the other way around. I felt the same when I had my 205 Gti in the 1980s (before kids) which was a used one and then the longish wait for 306 Gtis/Rallye (all used) and then recently the lovely little used Fabia. When I have the final say I always buy used cars and always those cars which tend to be small yet punch above their weight. I think the Peugeots were a bit better looking but go is certainly better than showing off a brand.

Agree on all points.

Package branding is not quite badge-engineering like this used to be applied 40 years ago, but a close cousin (Vanden Plas Allegro anyone?).

Its genius to be able to sell substantially the same engineering parts package in similar but slightly differing shells, to 4 different consumer groups created by brand marketing.

It's astonishing and slightly concerning how fervent some brand worshippers are.

I have a thoroughly brilliant and otherwise worthy apprentice who simply will not be seen without wearing a visible brand, and who would rather run a 15 year old BMW shed than a newer "lesser" brand for the same money. This is an intelligent human who comprehends complex engineering, but cannot see outside the brand marketeering consumer bubble that they grew up within.

The new T(F)SI engine with cylinder shut down sounds awesome with an improvement of over 6 mpg ie the combined fuel consumption of over 60mpg with a 1.4 TSI variant, hope it trickles down to Skoda soon.

Edited 31 January, 201214 yr by lol

Excellent thread. I came across it while looking for advice on whether to buy a Fabia vRS today or wait 6 months or more for a Polo GTI. There's not much between the 2 cars cost-wise in NZ and as a current Skoda Scout owner, I've got no badge snobbery issues at all. For me, it's 90% styling, 10% brand. The fairly boxy Fabia vRS just doesn't quite cut it when compared to the "baby Golf GTI" Polo GTI. If it did, I'd have no hesitation in buying the Fabia. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that in the Fabia range, residual values in NZ, where there is still a serious mistrust of the brand based on long outdated prejudices, will be lower than the VW. Skoda is still a small minority brand here (I prefer the term "exclusive" ).

So, unless any Fabia vRS fans want to try and convince me otherwise, I'll soon be ordering a Polo GTI to sit alongside my Skoda Scout.

"baby Golf GTI" Polo GTI.

And that I would say is the problem. It's TOO much like the Golf and not the better for it. It needed to be a bit more individual, not like the rip-off bit of black paint on the bumpers like the Ibiza Boca, but something to make it a bit more distinctive compared to the Golf.

I would say that is the advantage of the Fabia. Plus of course the vRS is available as an estate which the other aren't.

I still think the A1 is a massive rip-off personally, like Mini's, especially when it comes to options (although, how Skoda can charge getting on for double what VW does for reversing sensors I dont know!). But thats my opinion!

Edited 24 April, 201214 yr by Ross Chapman