http://www.autotrader.co.uk/CARS/news/news-centre/news-template.jsp?dbid=18395

Skoda's Fabia vRS, "designed to be the sportiest Fabia this side of the WRC", is fitted with the VW Group 130bhp 1.9 TDI PD diesel engine.

This gives it a top speed of 127mph and a 0-60mph time of 9.6 seconds, which makes it a warmish rather than hot hatch, but a maximum torque output of 310Nm (229 lb ft) will give plenty of pulling power to play with, and you can't argue with fuel economy of 55.4mpg. For company car buyers, carbon-dioxide emissions (and hence tax bandings) are a very reasonable 138g/km.

The vRS can be distinguished by a deeper front bumper with integrated spoiler, a rear tailgate-mounted spoiler, large rear bumper with air dam, 16-inch alloy wheels, suspension lowered by 15mm and a stainless steel exhaust tailpipe. Its cabin features black/grey sports seats with leather trimmings.

Standard equipment includes remote central locking, a single-slot CD player, driver and passenger airbags, air conditioning, an alarm and electric front windows. On sale in September, it will cost

Hmm, aircon instead of climate? single cd instead of multichanger? Manual rear windows? No side airbags?

Does not sound like the Skoda we are used to......

(like your location! I'm sure we didn't break 30mph all evening )

I think missing side airbags is forgivable, given the problems fitting them to sporty leather seats. I can even forgive the single disc CD player, but no climate control and manual windows...

Maybe they'll be optional extras?

It sounds rather like a VW spec car...

Rob.

Do you want it to go, or to be full of toys? I thought it was meant to be a sporty model ....

So why can't we have both? I want power *and* toys!

I don't know the tailpipe layout on the new car, but mine has twin exhaust, which I would like to be able to show off sometimes, but its hidden under the rear plastic thingy, and you can't see it unless you get down to the same level as the rear bumper. I only hope the vRS tailpipe is being routed out of the bumper for all to see in its glory (which I can't do without a major bendy pipe ( a la fab16v )

As for the rest of the equipment it does sound pretty standard to me. I personally dislike leather, so thats pleasing, I already have a single disc CD player. The alarm & r/c/l are the only things I don't have and would find useful, especially the r/c/l. Anyone know how much it would be to have a vRS style front bumper on the front of my car. I reckon it would be megabucks!

:cheers:

tailpipe on new car is an oval with two holes in it IIRC

We have that "want to have our cake and eat it" attitude in this country ... but then we complain that cars such as the Golf GTi don't have the bite that they used to - they're full of bl**dy electric motors slowing them down, that's why!!!

Then maybe I'm getting old.

I miss the "nimbleness" of my old citroens, but they were a touch fragile and I wouldn't go back to that level of spec again.

More toys \ weight, nothing that more power can't overcome

Problem is that it competes against things like the Ibiza - their Sport versions have climate, full leccy windows etc. We are used to Skoda being cheaper than Seat but they are very similar prices now :( I would still buy the Skoda on build quality but many would opt for the Seat on perceived image

Originally posted by ncarring in this post

Do you want it to go, or to be full of toys? I thought it was meant to be a sporty model ....

They managed it with the Octavia vRS, why not with the Fabia?

Gone are the days when a sporty car had to be bare bones.

Just playing devil's advocate :evil: I agree it has to compete with like models ... although personally I do find it sad that in a so called sporty model we have to worry about stuff like electric rear windows. How much of the time is it going to carry rear seat passengers?

Myself - Very rarely unless I'm designated driver (have to stay more sober) on a pi55 up around Devon somewhere. - rear leccy windows are almost totally not important to me. Its that bloomin' tailpipe/rear bumper set-up I'm quite interested in. Front spoiler too.

i want toys.. power is easy to add later...

I'm all for a "pure" version, but why the half measure? I would either want all the toys I can get, or take everything off, inc ABS \ ESP \ power steering etc, a "rallye" version.

I'd imagine with fly-by-wire steering making it non-power assisted would be harder!

Rob.

you cant have fly by wire steering it wouldnt be road legal

Oh? Pretty sure on some motoring programme when the Fabia was first released they said all the controls were fly-by-wire...although this seems to make it less likely to be true...

Rob.

Is your car road legal, Paul? Or more to the point, is it even roadworthy?

totally and completely legal

if not roadworthy

your not worthy...

leave my car outta this...

thats why i told him to leave my car out of it....

so to recap Fabia RS?

1 spec is crap..

2 std tune is poor

3 potential is terrific

4 anyone seen the options list?