I thought as a guide to those who are looking to buy the Fabia, that i write a post specifically about bad point's of ownership / driving etc of the Fabia, and for me the vRS. There are so many good things said i think a few bad points need to be found somewhere

a) - Tyres. I have heard mixed reports but the stock tyres [bridgestones] are very noisy, reasonable grip in the wet but very soft side walls and screechy in hot weather. Can't wait to change them.

- The suspension. it is very good for pottering, and you do get a sense of it being a slightly hot hatch, but when pushed the handling drops off - a lot. High speed stability is also slightly dodgy and can begin a continuous roll. This also means the car pitches under heavy braking, and gets worse if you need to turn, which you shouldn't do in theory, but doesn't give you a lot of room for error.

c) - Brakes. Standard brakes are very good, they do the job time after time without any fade, but hard braking is effective if you can control the soft suspension lurching all over the place. The only thing is the soft spongy feel you have constantly - very vague indeed.

d) - The seats. everyone knows about the light colour, but the actual material is pretty low rent and i now have a sort of ripped passenger seat, and it is <2 months old. However they are one of the best seats for comfort and hold etc.

e) - Sound proofing. Lacking in a big way for me. It is the road noise i can hear the most, rather than outside noise (cars people etc). You get used to it after a while but on some road surfaces it is deafening !!

Other than that, the car is supurb with tidy handling, great driving position, superb steering, safe, comfortable, economical and almost fast, dar i say - lol.

Hope this helps

Andy

Dont totally agree with some of them points but it's always good to hear others views.

I guess most of the points depend on what car you have come from and what you are expecting

i find its actually tyre noise not down to sound proofing. the car is soundproofed very well imho. also on some roads its always going to be noisy broaken surfaces etc

seats i think the seat cloth is of very high quality imho

Well said, Sir!

I haven't had time to be really picky, still in the "Wow, it really is pretty damn fine" mode. The only thing I've noticed is the back end getting a little squirraly under heavy braking - common feeling?

My tyres are Continental and don't seem excessively noisy - but I may have just been lucky on the limited surfaces I've been on recently

Seats were Supaguarded for

I suppose one thing is people will realise i am very picky, so to those that take an interest but aren't too bothered, the car should be 100% perfect.

P.S I came out of a 1996 Volvo 850 T5 CD - a reasonable handling and massivly under braked car !

The only thing I've noticed is the back end getting a little squirraly under heavy braking - common feeling?

Yup it's down to the car being nose-heavy to start with and then under braking, all the weight shifting away from the back of the car. To solve it, get some bags of cement for the boot, or uprate the springs with stiffer ones

Chris

In regards to section e). When i drove my car from nottingham to wales for the first time, i remember my ears were ringing, and no for the smarty pants out there i didnt crank up my ICE to the full.

It kept doing this for the next few times when i did long distance. Short distance not noticeable. I know it isn't me cos Ive drove 1-2hrs drives many times with my previous car and not had the same effect. But after getting skoda for the first time i drove - ringing ears.

Anyone had this problem b4? Not much now as my ears have gotten use to it:D

cant say that the noise is that loud even with the strut brace fitted on rough motorway surfaces it's not what I would call loud. Try it in a classic mini

If you have ringing in the ears I'd get it looked at if I was you :P

I thought as a guide to those who are looking to buy the Fabia' date=' that i write a post specifically about bad point's of ownership / driving etc of the Fabia, and for me the vRS. There are so many good things said i think a few bad points need to be found somewhere

a) - Tyres. I have heard mixed reports but the stock tyres [bridgestones'] are very noisy, reasonable grip in the wet but very soft side walls and screechy in hot weather. Can't wait to change them.

- The suspension. it is very good for pottering, and you do get a sense of it being a slightly hot hatch, but when pushed the handling drops off - a lot. High speed stability is also slightly dodgy and can begin a continuous roll. This also means the car pitches under heavy braking, and gets worse if you need to turn, which you shouldn't do in theory, but doesn't give you a lot of room for error.

c) - Brakes. Standard brakes are very good, they do the job time after time without any fade, but hard braking is effective if you can control the soft suspension lurching all over the place. The only thing is the soft spongy feel you have constantly - very vague indeed.

d) - The seats. everyone knows about the light colour, but the actual material is pretty low rent and i now have a sort of ripped passenger seat, and it is <2 months old. However they are one of the best seats for comfort and hold etc.

e) - Sound proofing. Lacking in a big way for me. It is the road noise i can hear the most, rather than outside noise (cars people etc). You get used to it after a while but on some road surfaces it is deafening !!

Other than that, the car is supurb with tidy handling, great driving position, superb steering, safe, comfortable, economical and almost fast, dar i say - lol.

Hope this helps

Andy

a) Yes I agree that the standard tyres are not particularly grippy and squeal all too easily. I have the Michelin Premacy though. Getting P Neros soon.

Susupension is a fair compromise between ride and handling. I would like better body control but wouldnt want to spoil the ride. Looking at ARBs here. Strut brace gives better feel

c) Brakes are fine on the standard car, but dont inspire huge confidence. With a chipped car they probably need fluid change and better pads. Looking at all the options at the moment as undecided. I have found fitting rear wheel spacers has made the rear end better under braking.

d) Seats are supportive and comfy but need regular cleaning to keep them looking like new - although i keep forgetting myself TBH!

e) Soundproofing is fine imo. Maybe its the tyres as others have said.

If your seat is nearly ripped that should be a warrenty issue unless its been mistreated?

I changed my Michelin Pilot Primacy's for Toyo T1-R well before I needed to, mainly to reduce the tyre noise, which was getting on my wick.

I've never had a great deal of confidence in the brakes - will probably go for a 312 mm upgrade soon. So far my vRS has had new brake master cylinder, new servo, new brake light switch and is currently waiting for a new ABS controller. I think the brakes is one of the things they didn't get right when upgrading the Fabia to vRS spec.

The seat cloth was awful, but you can see what I did about that.

Compared to my previous Fabia TDI (built in 2000) my vRS doesn't feel quite as well put together - but then it is under greater stress.

As a package, it's still the best in it's class, though.

Soundproofing will be done on mine tomorrow

Tyres - not had trouble with them, seem grippy enough.

Brake-wise. They work fine, but I must admit the feedback is rubbish. Definitely considering a fluid upgrade and once the pads are due for replacement I will get those upgraded too.

Seats - nearly meant Mrs wouldnt let me buy the vRS. If/when I ever have enough cash I'll consider leather instead. Actually they haven't marked as yet, 3.5k on the clocks now.

Diamondbrite treat should help that

Fair points made though, and they are probably the worst bits.

I've not noticed it being unstable at speed, if you go >110 mph on UK motorways you are imho pushing your luck anyway but on a private track I didn't notice much trouble up to higher numbers. Avoiding massive potholes in the fast lane as well as tracks in the slow lane at those speeds becomes a little hairy, too hairy for my liking..

Soundproofing will be done on mine tomorrow

Tyres - not had trouble with them' date=' seem grippy enough.

Brake-wise. They work fine, but I must admit the feedback is rubbish. Definitely considering a fluid upgrade and once the pads are due for replacement I will get those upgraded too.

Seats - nearly meant Mrs wouldnt let me buy the vRS. If/when I ever have enough cash I'll consider leather instead. Actually they haven't marked as yet, 3.5k on the clocks now.

Diamondbrite treat should help that

Fair points made though, and they are probably the worst bits.

I've not noticed it being unstable at speed, if you go >110 mph on UK motorways you are imho pushing your luck anyway but on a private track I didn't notice much trouble up to higher numbers. Avoiding massive potholes in the fast lane as well as tracks in the slow lane at those speeds becomes a little hairy, too hairy for my liking..[/quote']

Just had a text from Steve who told me he is doing your car tomorrow. I'd quite like to see/hear the results and hope you give a good review! I travel to Woking quite frequently so maybe a quick meet wouldn't go a miss.

AndyVRS. I totally agree with all of your comments, and I too, am very particular. I think the cloth however is of a decent quality, albeit very easy to snag!

I have a 2 rattles that are being sorted also.

After 2500 miles I believe there is no better package for the money, all the niggles that irritate me can be sorted. So I'm a happy bunny!

I'm hoping for a nice improvement - Steve seemed like a nice guy. Hopefully it will make the road noise a little less, it's hard to know till I've tried it though, heheee

Seem to recall the reviews are 'down' at the moment but I'll post a thread on it. I doubt there will be pics about it unfortunately though, as I'm gonna be at work :(

I'm hoping for a nice improvement - Steve seemed like a nice guy. Hopefully it will make the road noise a little less' date=' it's hard to know till I've tried it though, heheee

Seem to recall the reviews are 'down' at the moment but I'll post a thread on it. I doubt there will be pics about it unfortunately though, as I'm gonna be at work :([/quote']

Looking forward to reading the results. Shame we couldnt have organised a digital camera for some pics, even if Steve did it himself. Could drum up some business for him in the end I guess. I'm very tempted if the results are good.

Just out of interest how far is he travelling to do your car?

I agree with most of the comments.

I changed the tyres to p zeros and this has had a few effects on the car.

Braking is so much better as is general handling - I now have wey weather handling.

The level of road noise has increased and so has the light rear end under braking.

As for the seats I've not got a problem with the wear on them and I take two other guys to work each day. However they are a pain to keep clean - I usually wait until they shock me into cleaning them.

The seats are treated too and it is something I would never waste my money on again.

Well said, Sir!

I haven't had time to be really picky, still in the "Wow, it really is pretty damn fine" mode. The only thing I've noticed is the back end getting a little squirraly under heavy braking - common feeling?

My tyres are Continental and don't seem excessively noisy - but I may have just been lucky on the limited surfaces I've been on recently

Seats were Supaguarded for

He's come down from Oldham to Bracknell, but he had to pick up some bits in the area.

Not got a clue how many miles, will try to remember to ask him.

I've asked Steve to cut out a little 'flap' in the boot for the Skoda sticker as that's firmly stuck to the metal and the dealer needs that info. May be worth mentioning that to him if you get yours done.

Should post about the results this evening

:confused:

Don't think anyone has mentioned this before but...unless you have the seat in van driving position (which i never ever do) the sun visor seems pretty much useless.

BTW i'm 5ft 11, so don't make any wise cracks

I had a few rattles too, dealer sorted them. One in the drivers door caused by broken mirror adjustment switch.

OH YEAH! Just remembered, everyone hates the way they get a dirty bum! It is a pain in the **** really

Maybe a different spoiler could have solved problem?

Don't think anyone has mentioned this before but...unless you have the seat in van driving position (which i never ever do) the sun visor seems pretty much useless.

BTW i'm 5ft 11' date=' so don't make any wise cracks

I had a few rattles too, dealer sorted them. One in the drivers door caused by broken mirror adjustment switch.

OH YEAH! Just remembered, everyone hates the way they get a dirty bum! It is a pain in the **** really

Maybe a different spoiler could have solved problem?[/quote']

Van driving position?? :confused:

I just mean with the seat in the highest position it will go, like a van driver

Don't think anyone has mentioned this before but...unless you have the seat in van driving position (which i never ever do) the sun visor seems pretty much useless.

Never had a problem with the sun visor in mine unless the sun is really low and then no visor is going to help! I guess you could always raise the seat height if it's a problem

Chris

I just mean with the seat in the highest position it will go, like a van driver

I have the seat in the highest position, I'm 6-3" and find it the most comfortable for me,seat right back, steering wheel up as for as it will go, don't like sitting on the floor

Maybe i will try it tonight. Always had it quite low really, its nice feeling cocooned. Did always wonder why the roof was a good foot above my head though