Hi guys,

I've been lurking for a few weeks, but only just got around to posting....Awesome forum from what I've seen/read so far.

I previously was a hardcore Jap Car fanatic for years (mainly with hondas), and had a well cherised CTR EK9. I then decided to get something slightly more refined and economical, and replaced the EK9 with a 07 Seat Ibiza 1.4tdi reference sport.

It was a nice comfy car with great mpg.

I have since sold the Ibiza, and will hopefully be getting a mk1 vrs in the near future. However I really like the Lean FR 150tdis also.

Has anyone owned them both? The VRS seems to tick all the boxes, however I'm slightly concerned about leg room inside etc....I found my Ibiza cramped at times, especially with 4 people inside. I'm guessing the ibiza is a similar size inside to the vrs??

On the other hand, the Leon is bigger but I've read that the stock FR suspension is quite firm/crashy in comparison to the vrs? I'm used to havin a firm ride after owning jdm cars with coilovers. However, I'm getting older now and don't would to be losing my fillings each time I take my car out:s.

I'm going to have a look at some soon to get a feel of them etc, but thought I would get some input from you guys before hand.

Thanks:)

D'j

Hi and welcome

I have actually not l

Hi and welcome aboard.

Welcome.

Think you can only compare Ibiza with fabia and polo.

Leon should be compared with golf and octavia.

Have you considered an octavia vrs in the diesel - 170bhp?

Oops damn phones lol

I have not long since changed from a leon cupra 150 tdi (which was just 6 mth off the FR title)to a fabia vrs .

Size

I have to say , yes it was bigger in the back and yes it definately has a far bigger boot.

Power

In terms of power and overall performance the fabia, in my opinion (and i loved the leon) beats it hands down. It easily has more power, likely due to size and weight. I bought my fabia originally mapped and had it put back to std for a while to get to know the car and even std it would accelerate harder than my std leon.

Economy

The leon would average at around low 40s to the gallon around town and high 40s on a run. The fabia high 40s to low 50s around town and upto high 50s low 60s on a run.

Overall

I must emphasise i did and still think the leon cupra/fr tdi is a brilliant car but i have to say that as much as i love the leon, the fabia vrs is s fsntastic all rounder. It puts a smile on ur face everytime you get in it. It has loads of power in std form and mapped up, it will give many high performance petrols a hell of a go if not outdo them, and all this whilst not spending your life in the fuel station.

Id choose the fabia. Its better on fuel and far more powerful in my opinion and i have recently changed from the leon and havent looked back.

Hope this helps.

Hi and welcome aboard.

Thanks mate:)

Welcome.

Think you can only compare Ibiza with fabia and polo.

Leon should be compared with golf and octavia.

Have you considered an octavia vrs in the diesel - 170bhp?

Hi, I have looked into them, but I'm not too keen on the shape really, in comparison to the Leon and VRS.

Cheers

Oops damn phones lol

I have not long since changed from a leon cupra 150 tdi (which was just 6 mth off the FR title)to a fabia vrs .

Size

I have to say , yes it was bigger in the back and yes it definately has a far bigger boot.

Power

In terms of power and overall performance the fabia, in my opinion (and i loved the leon) beats it hands down. It easily has more power, likely due to size and weight. I bought my fabia originally mapped and had it put back to std for a while to get to know the car and even std it would accelerate harder than my std leon.

Economy

The leon would average at around low 40s to the gallon around town and high 40s on a run. The fabia high 40s to low 50s around town and upto high 50s low 60s on a run.

Overall

I must emphasise i did and still think the leon cupra/fr tdi is a brilliant car but i have to say that as much as i love the leon, the fabia vrs is s fsntastic all rounder. It puts a smile on ur face everytime you get in it. It has loads of power in std form and mapped up, it will give many high performance petrols a hell of a go if not outdo them, and all this whilst not spending your life in the fuel station.

Id choose the fabia. Its better on fuel and far more powerful in my opinion and i have recently changed from the leon and havent looked back.

Hope this helps.

lol I was confused by your intial post.

Thanks a lot you're reply. I always thought the leon would have been quicker? Is the vrs faster because of the difference in weight?

What is the vrs like with 2 people seated in the back?. Is it still comfortable? Reason being I spend alot of time with friends/family at the weekend going on road trips etc. I'm 6ft, and don't drive with my seat all the way back like snoop lol. But there was hardly any room to fit people in the back of my Ibiza.

Also, I see alot of vrs's for sale with 80k miles plus on the clock, but with full service history. Should I be concerned about buying a vrs with this sort of miles if it has fsh?? Is there anything major that will need freshening up or replacing with a high mileage car i.e. bushes, dampers etc??

Thanks again guys, and thanks for the warm welcome.

I take it that's 80000km not 80000miles?

Not even run, in don't worry about it, that engine should be good for at least 200000 miles, looked after properly.

You have FSH - spot on!

Thanks mate:)

Hi, I have looked into them, but I'm not too keen on the shape really, in comparison to the Leon and VRS.

Cheers

lol I was confused by your intial post.

Thanks a lot you're reply. I always thought the leon would have been quicker? Is the vrs faster because of the difference in weight?

What is the vrs like with 2 people seated in the back?. Is it still comfortable? Reason being I spend alot of time with friends/family at the weekend going on road trips etc. I'm 6ft, and don't drive with my seat all the way back like snoop lol. But there was hardly any room to fit people in the back of my Ibiza.

Also, I see alot of vrs's for sale with 80k miles plus on the clock, but with full service history. Should I be concerned about buying a vrs with this sort of miles if it has fsh?? Is there anything major that will need freshening up or replacing with a high mileage car i.e. bushes, dampers etc??

Thanks again guys, and thanks for the warm welcome.

Re mileage.

No the pd engines that are known throughout the vag range i.e 1.9 tdi engines, are a solid lump that has been used since , i believe the late 70,s ( i might stand corrected) in the very early vw diesels, just the later ones are modified heads and more modern components etc but still built around the same block.

I have had prob going on 20 odd vw tdi engined cars now and never had problems. All ranging from 50k upto nearly 200k . Believe it or not my mother once had a seat alhambra with 400 plus k on it (it was an ex airport car) lol .

Re space. They arent masses of room in the back if the seat is pushed back but i manage regularly with my 2 boys plus 2 adults and myself as driver lol and it does handle well in terms of no lift at front for steerin and no excessive body roll .

If ive missed anything just ask as i do ramble lol

Ou power . Yes the fabia is far lighter so even as str it is 130 its down to the power to weight ratio. Although the leon is 150 stock it is far heavier and less agile.

The fabia is much more go cart like and my plan over next couple of weeks is to put some coilovers on with front and rear strut braces going on at the same time. Just to stiffen the ride somewhat.

@ spinna - Sorry I meant 80,000 plus miles not km. Thats good to know about the mileage, as I was slightly hesitant at getting a car with this sort of mileage.

@ MarkC-VRS, no worries. As you've probably already guessed, I like to ramble too lol.

I've read that vw engines can cover 200k if looked after before, but 400k is really damn impresive.

Did you find the suspension hard on the Leon compared to the VRS?

Also what coilovers are you going for? Is there anything else you need to fit when fitting coilovers i.e. top mounts, new bushes etc? Also how much do decent fabia coilovers cost?

Cheers

@ spinna - Sorry I meant 80,000 plus miles not km. Thats good to know about the mileage, as I was slightly hesitant at getting a car with this sort of mileage.

@ MarkC-VRS, no worries. As you've probably already guessed, I like to ramble too lol.

I've read that vw engines can cover 200k if looked after before, but 400k is really damn impresive.

Did you find the suspension hard on the Leon compared to the VRS?

Also what coilovers are you going for? Is there anything else you need to fit when fitting coilovers i.e. top mounts, new bushes etc? Also how much do decent fabia coilovers cost?

Cheers

In my opinion and both sets of suspension were std . I didnt find them massively different. Yes the leon as stock did feel more planted and certainly more directionally responsive but wasnt uncomfortsble.

Im going for adjustable top mounts for the coil over set to allow camber adjust on mine as they are fixed on the fabias. Weitec are a common choice but more costly. I have heard people say ap and jom arent bad and they are like half the cost at around 150-200 depending on the supplier.

Re bushes .

I prefer to upgrade them as a rule of thumb if keeping the car yes. Especially bottom arm bushes as they are common

How much are adjustable topmounts? Are your coilovers just height adjustable or can you adjust the dampening too?

Also are there any other bushes you would suggest to replace along with the bottom arm bushes? I was reading up on the JOM coilovers yesterday.....they seem too good to be true....surely you get what you pay for??

Sorry for the showering of questions.....I've still got a lot to learn.

I think they are just height adjustable but dont quote me.

Awesome in manchester seem to always refer to the torque arm bushes and im sure i saw them advertising through here they do them for about £80 fitted there abouts. In short im not that up on overall bush upgrades as ive only really done the bottom arm ones as ive almost always come round to needing to so just gone for the upgraded ones as they are longer lasting.

Tbh ive not heard many negative reviews about jom coilovers more often quite the opposite actually again i think they are only height adjustable but prob best to check. I havent bought mine yet im prob in the same position as you in making my decision which to get.

Ah right I see. Keep me posted if you decide to get the joms. would love to get some feedback about them. I've paid £650 in the past for good quality coilovers. But tbh, their was simply way too much adjustability on them. I'd go as far as saying they were a little OTT for a daily driven car.

Ps - Do you have an aftermarket exhaust on your vrs? I've heard good things about piper, blue flame and Miltek

Ive only ever bought exhausts like that for bikes. For cars i go to a company called greenwoods who make them themselves and for a fraction of the cost yet brilliant performance . Just not stamped up as they are a manufacturer outright that specialise in custom designed exhausts. Even a mate of mine had them rip off the factory exhaust on his m5 to put one of their exhausts on lol

They sound pretty impressive. I'm guessing they let you decide on backbox styling and how you would like it to sound etc? How much would a custom exhaust be for a fabia roughly??

Yes they build them to your spec. The m5 one they put a more slash cut taper on the exhaust tips to keep it flush with the bumper.

I can get a price for you if you want. Btw where are you based? Im using my phone so cant c locations thats all.

I'm based in Manchester mate, so not too far from Halifax....Man, I'm planning mods for a car I don't even own yet lol...and I vowed to be sensible this time around and not get addicted to modding my next car.....I think that idea has gone straight out of the window after joining this forum lol.

Please could you get me a price on cat back and turbo back? I'm in no rush though:). I just want something which is slightly louder on idle over stock, farely quiet when cruising but opens up on boost (deep sounding tone)

I like the note of the second vrs in this clip

Cheers

I'm based in Manchester mate, so not too far from Halifax....Man, I'm planning mods for a car I don't even own yet lol...and I vowed to be sensible this time around and not get addicted to modding my next car.....I think that idea has gone straight out of the window after joining this forum lol.

Please could you get me a price on cat back and turbo back? I'm in no rush though:). I just want something which is slightly louder on idle over stock, farely quiet when cruising but opens up on boost (deep sounding tone)

I like the note of the second vrs in this clip

Cheers

They both sound well dont they.

You would get the wooshing noise by doing decat and removing the middle silencer id of thought. Ye no worrieds i will find out for you. I will modt likely get mine done too lol so when i do if you want yours doing i can let you know and if you want meet up with us and u can follow me on so u know where it is. Its only in rochdale.

They sure do....but the second one sounds slightly better imo.

Cool. Sounds like a plan:). Thanks again for all the info. Well appreciated

Your welcome mate. And ye i must agree it does have a nicer throaty sound to it.

If you decide on a vrs have you thought what amount ur allowing for one , i ll let you know you if i spot any whilst browsing.

Good question. I was thinking to spend around 4.5k initially. However, I've seen alot for sale recently that seem nice for below budget. I saw a red one with 80k miles on the clock iirc, fsh, cam belt change etc for £2800. However, it was in red...(Not too keen on them in red). I'm more swaying towards a black or lemon yellow one

They are a bit all over really for price. Mine is a black one and i must admit they are nice so long as they are maintained right by good polishing. I had a octy vrs in yellow and they do stand out. Down to personal preference mate. Some red ones do look **** hot though. Someone on here has one , not sure if its members cars . Have a look . I have never been over keen on red cars but the one i saw on here looked well.

Did it take you long to find a good one in black? Was your Octy Lemon yellow or Sprint yellow? Was it hard to keep clean, and was there any paint fade?

Yeah I've seen the odd red one when looking through old threads on here and they really look the nuts, especially lowered with black rims.