Okay, I'm probably going to be getting a new car soon.

My aim is to chop in both the Mazda which is worth 8-9k and my vRS which is worth 3500-4k.

So my maximum budget will be around 13k.

I'd rather have a small car as I don't need a big one really, and I'd like to get one that is as new as poss.

I know I could get a lower spec one new for that money but I don't want to sacrifice a fun, quick (ish) drive

either so I'd sooner have a used but sportier model.

I am interested in a Mark 2 Fabia vRS primarily as they can be had for this sort of money

with low miles and reasonably new. And will hopefully have the 'zing' that I want my car to have.

But I've never driven one and this may all change after a test drive. I'd prefer to stay Skoda though.

I also fancy a BMW 1 series hatchback, just like the look of 'em...

Any other suggestions

Take a drive of a mk2 vRS.

I did the other week, you know what....It wasn't as good as I was hoping. Yes it was definitely much quicker than my mk1, and DSG was great when in traffic, but as brilliant as DSG is, I just didn't feel involved in making it go quick.

I'd rather drive something slower that feels quicker than it is.

I also fancy a BMW 1 series hatchback, just like the look of 'em...

Any other suggestions

No no no no!!!!!!!!!!

If you have any sort of winter

If you need ant practical space

If your drive on anything but smooth motorways and want any comfort in your driving (with m sport suspension)

If you don't have shares in a tyre company

If you value your licence ( cos it comes as standard with wee man that pops up on your shoulder and say BOOt ME)

Can't say I agree with softscoop having actually owned a MK1 vRS and now a MK2 vRS. It is an involving drive, just a lot different to what you are used to in a manual, punchy diesel.

I suggest a lenghty test drive to satisfy your thirst and if it doesn't - try the Monte Carlo as its still manual.

Edited 20 April, 201214 yr by Ad Lav

Do not get any BMW!!!

Can't say I agree with softscoop having actually owned a MK1 vRS and now a MK2 vRS. It is an involving drive, just a lot different to what you are used to in a manual, punchy diesel.

I suggest a lenghty test drive to satisfy your thirst and if it doesn't - try the Monte Carlo as its still manual.

I will be driving Sharkrider's car on some of the Prague trip, so that'll give me more of a chance to get used to it. Maybe that'll change my opinion, but for now I like my manual gearbox

Yep - I too thought the same but now I wouldn't go back!

Interesting feedback so far.

I'll be booking a test drive of a mark2 just as soon as my time is more plentiful.

Do you think they'll lend me one for a couple of hours or will it be a round the block job?

Not all BMW's are bad. I really liked my e39 5 series tourings. The 530d remapped was brilliant. I had the SE version. I covered about 100,000 miles in them. I also has the 523i touring.

Do not touch an MSport version if you value ride comfort. I had a 535d MSport for 3 weeks. Awesome performance, but back breaking suspension, 275/35 run flat tyres at the back and 235/35 at the front.

When I test drove the Fabia vRS mk2 I could not stop laughing, but I wanted the higher driving position, so went for the Yeti instead.

You could pick up an early 1.2tsi Yeti for similar money I think. It is a cracking engine, and I believe can now be remapped as well.

Sent from somewhere over the rainbow.

Thing is Gary, like most things, it all comes down to personal taste. As you know, one person's awesome is another person's appalling. For me, as a Felicia then Fabia owner. I was majorly disappointed when the Mk2 Furby was launched. Even so, I was quite excited to drive the vRS version. Matt Bodycombe & myself did a back to back test drive of it & the Alfa 1.4 Guiletta & the Yeti. For me, even tho the Fabia was marginally more powerful & massively cheaper it was not the obvious choice. The Alfa was much more involving & appealing to drive, sounded & felt much more sporty/involving to drive. Poor quality interior but that was to be expected tbh. For me the vRS doesn't address any of the issues I have with the Mk2. Namely, you can't get the seat to go particularly low, so you feel like you're sitting on it rather than in it (aka MGF). The dashboard is lame & boring with a bit of a low rent feel & the car has the air of one that was never intended to have any sporting aspirations. while there is no doubt that Prodrive have done an awesome job with mating the DSG electronics of the excellent gearbox to the amazing engine. It's just not involving enough to drive. Rather like playing a driving video game whilst sitting in a comfy armchair. The Monte Carlo proves that it is possible to make a Mk2 look good, I think they look awesome in Red & Black but Skoda really missed a trick with vRS. Indeed, the Yeti felt more entertaining to drive to me & you can certainly get the seat to sit lower in the car than the vRS. An awesome car in my opinion!

Like I say, everything is down to personal taste & it isn't my intention to upset any Mk2 vRS owners with my opinions & personal observations. For me the most enjoyable car I drove on that day was Matt's outstanding unmodified Mk1 vRS Fabia. An honest car with plenty of character, power & economy that handles pretty damn well!

It is a hard choice and I do love my Mk2 Estate but there are other options. What is worth looking at is the new Suzuki Swift Sport which is in budget. My brother has the one before it and it's great fun. It does need a 6th gear but the new one has this and a bit more power

Take a drive of a mk2 vRS.

I did the other week, you know what....It wasn't as good as I was hoping. Yes it was definitely much quicker than my mk1, and DSG was great when in traffic, but as brilliant as DSG is, I just didn't feel involved in making it go quick.

I'd rather drive something slower that feels quicker than it is.

you just need time with it Sam I felt the same after the test drive... now I would NEVER go back to a manual..

after you have driven mine at the prague run, for an extended length of time, and you have learned to use the paddles correctly, I garuntee you'll change your mind

Take a drive of a mk2 vRS.

I did the other week, you know what....It wasn't as good as I was hoping. Yes it was definitely much quicker than my mk1, and DSG was great when in traffic, but as brilliant as DSG is, I just didn't feel involved in making it go quick.

I'd rather drive something slower that feels quicker than it is.

+1

just to add, if you remember my reviews from the beginning of my mark II vRS ownership, you may remember I was dissapoined. I totally understand the comment, of "I'd rather have a slower car, that I can 'drive'" ect..

the way I wrote it was, I used to drive my grande punto (essentially the mito mentioned above) at 110% , I used to be able to wring its neck to get the best out of it, and when I got the mark II vRS, I was dissapointed that I couldnt do this. I just felt that I couldn't drive it to its limits... part of this was learning to use the gearbox... i.e. being in the right gear at the right time ALWAYS, and using the paddles to acheive this, and this took time to learn... if you were in the wrong gear, and the box changed when you didnt want it to, it RUINED the drivivng experiance, and unsettled the car when you didnt expect it. getting the hang of the gearbox eliminates this... (note: I believe it should only be used in "auto" when you are feeling lazy, and not in a rush i.e driving to work)

it took me about 4,000 miles before I mastered it properly! now I will never look back.

the other thing was just the huge speed difference between the fiat and the vRS... It just took me a little time to re-adjust... now I can hang the mark II vRS around at 110% of its limits, just like I could the fiat I can really "drive" it! lol...

this is a hill climb we did recently (private road) listen to the gear changes if you will, and notice I'm always selecting the right gear before the corner, just as you would in a manual car...

its fun! (you can hear me laughing like a child..lol)

How about this little lot.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3828857.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3666059.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3536278.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3823574.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3582953.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3628614.htm

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201202440916972/sort/default/usedcars/price-from/10000/price-to/14000/model/350_z/make/nissan/page/5/quicksearch/true/postcode/bs312hw/radius/1500?logcode=p

Hmmm...

Anyone had any experience of these?

http://www.autotrade.../1500?logcode=p

Hmmm...

Anyone had any experience of these?

It's not what I'd call a small car. Dimensions are similar to an Octy.

Fun, but running costs would be noticably higher than a Fabia mkII VRS. Road tax alone is £460 per year...

http://www.autotrade.../1500?logcode=p

Hmmm...

Anyone had any experience of these?

I belive Stuart-J has one with a few more BHP than standard.

Would a BMW 123d be of interest? i know the 125d has just been launched but heard good things on the 123d's.

Or BMW 135i and stick two turbo's on it - aka 1M

I'd love one of those!

The noise is immense!

Would you swap for an Evo8? My mate has one that wants a Fabia vRS

If I'm honest, I'll do little mileage in it so it'll be a fun car more than

something I'll need to use every day. Not too fussed about running costs really.

I'm old enough and live in a nice enough area to keep insurance down,

I use my van for work and the SDI for going to Tescos or out for the evening etc

It's just something that's for weekend fun and special occasions.

I don't really want to start modding again, I'd rather have something thats fast

straight out of the box and with a little quirkiness so I don't get bored looking at it.

The MX5 is just not worth keeping for the 10 days a year I use it. And I've had the

vRS long enough to justify a change. I'm reluctant to chuck another 3-4k at the vRS

because for me to be 100% happy with it, we are talking a full respray, leather,

FMIC, and maybe a better turbo. Better to make it someone elses project I think.

I just don't think it's value for money spending more on my Furby.

If I buy a nearly new car, at least down the line it will be worth something next time

I change cars. A highly modified 2004 Fabia will make book price if that and by then I'll have sunk

best part of 10k on it. Still scouring Auto trader at the moment

I don't really want to start modding again, I'd rather have something thats fast

straight out of the box...

Blasphemer!

There is always a little room to mod anything.

My dad had a 120d SE facelift and it was a wonderful car, excellent drive and very punchy (177 bhp, 0-60 in about 7.6s I think). Styling is an acquired taste but the driving experience was flawless, as was the quality. Never got less than 50 mpg and occasionally would push 60. Downside is it's not that big in the back, there's a serious lack of storage in the cabin and they're common as muck. As others have said I would avoid the M Sport because they are very crashy, it was firm enough on the standard runflats. Speaking of runflats, the tyres are pricey, although you can fit normal rubber but of course if you do get a puncture, you're placing your trust in some tyre weld! Equipment levels are stingy on lower spec models too. And of course being RWD, you don't anywhere in snow unless you invest in some winter tyres or snow socks and a sand bag.

Edited 21 April, 201214 yr by ckyliu

This is an interesting thread as I was in a similar position. I had a look at the Fabia II vRS but like the posters further up found that the DSG, while quick and astonishing, just took the fun and involvement out of driving and made it too much like driving in a Playstation game, and compared to the MINI I've been using, fit and finish and handling fell short imho. To quote James May, it was missing "the fizz" for me which was a shame as on paper it looked promising.

Looked at quite a lot of other cars (Golf, A3, Focus, Auris (!), Astra, Civic, Ibiza, 1-Series) and fell in love with the 1-Series. It's the only car of the bunch that feels like it's been designed around the driver and the driving position, weight and feel of the controls, the excellent seats, the way it drives and the silky smooth engines are a winning combination. After looking round quite a few, I settled on a 120d M-Sport as it had the best balance of performance, economy and running costs, although the 130i was a real hoot with a very addictive sound track. I found the M-Sport ride quite comfortable, even on the 17" run flats, but I am comparing it to the Panda and Cooper both of which were a tad firm Also agree with the comment above about the wee man on the shoulder goading you to boot it, although in fairness he's been with me for a few cars now

As with everything, cars are very personal - let us know what you settle on

Chris

SWMBO has a 116i SE. The ride is perfectly fine. I think only the m-sports are rough.

But not that much space (2+2) and not many cubbies. She loves it though.

Snow is a no go without winter tred.