I'm currently doing about 20k a year in the fab and about the same in a Focus at the moment' date=' so I know what I'm talking about, and the Fab leaves it dead on handling.

[/quote']

Someone agrees with me!

:woohoo:

not going what i've read going on the fact i owned a focus that was lightly mod'd(wheels, springs, **** back box and filter) a know how that car handled, better than any other car i have owned or driven.

the focus you are comparing it to is a low spec cruiser not a sporty version, try either driving an ST or a mod'd focus for comaprison against your fabia. its the only fair way

Someone agrees with me!

:woohoo:

:orb_not_w :orb_party

Sorry couldnt resist

the focus you are comparing it to is a low spec cruiser not a sporty version, try either driving an ST or a mod'd focus for comaprison against your fabia. its the only fair way

Interestingly, one thing that I really liked about the Mondeo was that even the "luxo-cruiser" Ghia X spec ones handled really well with minimum body roll and plenty of grip and steering feel. Must wangle a drive in one of the sporty ones at some point to see how they compare!

Chris

the focus you are comparing it to is a low spec cruiser not a sporty version, try either driving an ST or a mod'd focus for comaprison against your fabia. its the only fair way

You did say 'the Focus (Especially the ST170)' - not 'The ST170' - I'd assume they're significantly better.

My point is that when the motoring press get on a bandwagon (helped along by several hundred freebies leaving the factory every year destined for journo's) they all seem to agree that car x is great, when it isn't necessarily. The Focus is a prime example - in lower specs (which are still pretty pricey for what you get) they're not that good at all.

Handling in most modern cars is academic anyway, like I'm always spouting on here, before modding the car, mod your driving - it'll knock much more off those times and costs much less -

i agree with parts of that steve but part of what i was trying to point out was the difference in spec, drive an SDi fabia classic and compare that to the focus not you vRS as that is a totally unfair comparison in favour of the skoda.

i agree about the lower focus not being awesome but then again asstandard my focus had high soft suspension and 175/75/14's(i think) so it isn't going to be the best handeling car. but once i lowered and stiffenedit and stuck some 215/40/17's on it the handeling was transformed and was pretty awesome.

my brother(andypandypoos on here) has a 1.8 zetec 3 door with lowering springs and its a lovely car to drive spiritidly, admitidly gets completely blown away by my car for power but is a much better and more fun car to drive, i'd say it handles better than mine on KW coilovers too :(

all confused again now, although i don't listen to clarkson as such he's usually brutally honest when something sucks, but in his Times review of the vRS he said he was expecting it to handle like crap but in fact it handles extremely well.

I'm just gonna forget about it, test drive one and see lol

I'm just gonna forget about it' date=' test drive one and see lol[/quote']

Probably the best way

Put it this way though, it does handle better than you expect for a car with a big lump of pig iron up front...

I have to say I pretty much agree with your full Review Paul spot on.

I put an old picture of my wee baby below (And my first Skoda in the background.lol)

I've only driven a FabvRS for about half an hour, but it was enough to make me trade in my CTR for one. The CTR has very firm suspension. On wet days with the OEM Bridgestone Potenzas it's easier to get sideways than with a RWD car To be honest I think it's too hard for the state of our roads (well in Scotland anyway so assuming most of UK similar). If you hit slight bumps as you're cornering you feel it skip towards the side of the road :eek: Don't get me wrong though... it's an amazing car to drive, but standard setup probably better for tracks than B roads.

Now back to my test drive. It was only half an hour and I didn't want to give the salesman a brown-pants moment as he seemed like a nice chap but even coming from a rock-hard CTR I wouldn't describe the FabvRS as a soft wallowing beast. Yeah a bit of body-roll that I'm not used to, but I thought it felt rather composed actually. If anything I felt it aborbed and gripped corners in a more reassuring way than my CTR. I was horrendously aware of the big heavy lump under the bonnet as I started her up and pulled away but after that I pretty much forgot.

I just hope once I start learning her and pushing a bit harder I don't get disappointed, but I'm confident I won't

As others have said, go for a test drive and see how *you* feel she handles.

I will say that I could drive the vRS at surprising speeds on rough roads, because of the compliance in its suspension. There was a little too much body roll, and the actual sensations it gave you were not quite as intense as most hot hatches, but compared to most run of the mill cars it is quite composed and has plenty of grip and little drama to speak of.

One thing that did disappoint me with the Fabia in the end was when you wanted a good thrash, the diesel engine just is not that good for this; i feel it rewards more with a more relaxed driving style, where it was more satisfying when driven in this way. Also it was a bit quiet...

All that being said, if you are in the market for a small "grand tourer" that is effortless to drive, refined, comfortable, relatively quick and is pretty good fun all the same, then it does not disappoint - i drove 20k miles in mine, and to be fair, enjoyed every minute.

pbirket v.bad review very one sided. geta furby. try and beat it with a car that cost only

pbirket v.bad review very one sided. geta furby. try and beat it with a car that cost only

pbirket v.bad review very one sided. geta furby. try and beat it with a car that cost only

pbirket v.bad review very one sided. geta furby. try and beat it with a car that cost only

isn't it nice when new kids come in and look at the history of people before bitching and whining

hang on........................he didn't..........................:thumbdwn: pillock

paul had a Fabia vRS for a while and loved it, then got back to the roots of the hot hatch and re-discovered what fun driving was when he got his mk2 gti but the thing was a nightmare for breaking down, he then swapped it for a clio 182 and has the best of both worlds a reliability of a modern car with the lightweight revvy fun of a n/a sporty petrol engine.

try to engage brain before the mouth next time :nono:

I have to agree with you Bengie!

*off to faint*

lLads, lads, let's be constructive.

The STANDARD vRS ( which I believe Paul had ) is a value - for - money compromise.

'Shove - in - the back' torque and comfy ride for 12k. Okay agreed?

Now get your lowering Eibach / Koni upgrade. Chuck it into corners and use the torque to power out. Okay so far?

Next, get a 'One - Click' ( or whateverremapamIbothered ). Drive it more like a petrol ( change up at 3500 + ) and you'll run out of road before you run out of puff. I drive through the Peak District every day without going through 1 set of lights or 1 roundabout or 1 speed camera. I don't know where you lot drive to form your opinions.......

If you've got a private Airfield, then maybe.........

Peace and love,

John.

l

Next' date=' get a 'One - Click' ( or whateverremapamIbothered ). Drive it [i']more[/i] like a petrol ( change up at 3500 + ) and you'll run out of road before you run out of puff. I drive through the Peak District every day without going through 1 set of lights or 1 roundabout or 1 speed camera. I don't know where you lot drive to form your opinions.......

.

What part of my review do you not agree with? Its not clear from your comment, but if you'd care to point it out, then I will try and justify it.

i was talking to the guy that was comtemplating getting a vrs. you all talked him out of it.

i didnt realise hand bags at 5 paces ever happened in here lol. calm down it's only a car at the end of the day.

in my opinion the fabia is far a better choice for anyone looking for a budget warm hatch and someone that does a lot of miles. I have a clio and it rattles and squeaks like no other car i have had. the depreciaition is shocking aswell. so i am deciding to buy a fabia because i see it to be a smart move.

and yes i did realise he had a fabia.

all too quick to sputter your words out before even realising what i had even typed.

also in MY opiniona comparison of 2 cars can only be achieved fairly if both cars were set out to be in the same market as each other, targeted towards the same sort of people and also built in the same era as each other.

any way thanks for your opinions.

i will engage brain next time. sorry to ruin your day's

also something to think about! how fast does the average person go round a windy, un even , bumpy road? because i think you would be very foolish to go round a corner at high speeds in this country due to the state of the roads.. also putting atleast 12k of car and occupants at risk. I don't think many smart people would.

all confused again now' date=' although i don't listen to clarkson as such he's usually brutally honest when something sucks, but in his Times review of the vRS he said he was expecting it to handle like crap but in fact it handles extremely well.

I'm just gonna forget about it, test drive one and see lol[/quote']

Re-Paul: Nothing at all, Paul.

I've not driven the Golf in question, it may well be the 'Mut's Nuts'. Just giving Mr Schtopper my opinion of the modability of the vRS, and what you get after a total outlay of about

john you speak like a smart bloke.

i think you hit the nail on the head with the comments on modding the fabia. also when comapring cars do we not take into account economy, insurance, build quality etc?

the fabia is a great all rounder that is very hard to beat for the money and cheap running costs.

most people drive sensibly on the roads and i'd like to think that the people on this forum drive sensibly too. too many kids in hot hatches (or think they are in hot hatches) on the roads today. too many people buying a car just to drive fast. If you want to drive fast then go on a track day or something. If they were as good at driving as they thought they were then they would drive for a living.

too many male drivers, drive with thier balls and not with there heads.

Right, firstly I know they arent quite targetted at the same audience, now I haven't re-read my review, so I can't quite remember exactly what I typed, but as far as I remember, i tried to be as unbiased as possible.

If you value comfort, ride quality, refinement and effortless pace, then the Furby is clearly a better choice. On a day to day basis, I'd choose it over the Golf. There was no denying the Golf was much more fun to drive however. If you dont believe me, try it, and try looking past the fact the Golf is a touch slower, and you'll see what I mean.

However, when it breaks every few weeks, then that gets tiresome. So feel lucky your car doesnt do that

You are of course, entitled to your opinion on the Clio. I certainly did not buy it for its germanic build quality, I bought it for driving thrills, and it delivers. And yes, I do drive fast. Why the hell would I buy a hot hatch if I didnt like driving fast. Why are you lot buying a vRS if you drive so sensibly all the time? Might as well just get a 1.4 TDI instead.

BTW you have not ruined my day, thanks for the concern though

I would hope nobody's set out to ruin anyone's day.

I for one certainly didn't knock your review, but felt it necessary to point out to a potential buyer that the inherent inadequacies of the Furby could be addressed for a small ( ish ) outlay.

In some ways it seems a bit bizzare to compare these two cars, as people with £12,500 to spend on a new car don't initially spring to mind as potential mkII Golf buyers (generally speaking).

For the 'driving' enthusiasts out there, I would say hone your driving skills, rather than worry too much on losing a second here and there due to your car's inadequate handling / acceleration / breaking performance........

or book yourself in for some driving instruction with Ellen MacArthur. :orb_lol:

John.

I for one certainly didn't knock your review' date=' but felt it necessary to point out to a potential buyer that the inherent inadequacies of the Furby could be addressed for a small ( ish ) outlay.[/quote']

This is true. However, it is also true to say that if you want a more driver focused car, then there are cars that come this way out of the box, that are not dramatically (if any) more expensive. Fiesta ST, Clio, Civic, etc...

And assuming you declare mods, the insurance for a modded Fabia may not be much less than a standard Fiesta or Clio.

Also, it is my opinion that a diesel is not the ideal basis for a driver focused car, but that is a topic for another thread :donsflameproofcoat:

In some ways it seems a bit bizzare to compare these two cars, as people with