Hi,

Having owned a mk2 fabia vrs hatch for the last 15 months it's now time for something completely different in the form of Toyota gt86. Before the fab is gone I'd like to share my thoughts about owning the car.

The good bits:

The fabia has been a very easy car to drive in everyday use. Town driving really is a doddle with light steering, dsg and accessible power and torque from my not particuarly oil thirsty engine. Sitting in slow moving traffic it's a great place to be. On motorway journeys of a few hundred miles it's the same, easy to drive with comfy, supportive seats and again the engine and gearbox are great here. Some nice touches in the car that are really useful such as the plastic clip for car park tickets and the hooks and basket in the boot should come in every car in my opinion. Driving it in a spirited fashion you've got the engine giving you plenty of go and dsg changing gears super quick. On the test drive these two things made me purchase the car along with the no vat offer, the car was great value for money.

The not so good bits:

The downside of the steering being so light is the lack of feel and precision when you want to drive it like a hot hatch. For me there is too much play - particuarly just off centre - and the feel of the car suffers because of this. The ride is too hard but at the same time to soft. Over a typical uk road surface the car crashes over bumps and is unsettled in the process. Body roll is also an issue and I always feel understeer to some degree which needs correcting with the application of a tad more steering lock rather than using the throttle. Dsg is undoubtedly quicker for most drivers but for me some of the enjoyment of driving is lost in the process so I'm going back to a manual in the Toyota. My previous car was a mk2 1.6l petrol ford focus. It wasn't quick but much more fun to drive around town or along a b road than the fabia. The engine, what an engine but I feel power wise it's out of proportion with the rest of the cars performance and I expected a bit more than mid 30s in terms of mpg. You can get going very quickly whatever the situation but the ride and handling have disappointed and the brakes seem to fade quickly as well. A bit less power and some more focus on the chassis and overall feel of the car would make, for me, the vrs a more balanced car.

In summary I'd say the fabia vrs is a warm rather than hot hatch not because of its performance, more it's character. It's a great all rounder - good on motorways, good in town and can go fast on a b road - and I applaud skoda for making a car that looks unique and different. It may never win a beauty contest but it has it's own style and can't be mistaken for anything else.

Before I got the fabia I very nearly bought a Clio 197 and now moving onto a gt86 both of which are performance orientated cars which I accept are not as practical or as easy to live with as the vrs and in certain circumstances not as quick either. In a straight line the fabia would probably beat both of them but it's the way they feel that makes them enjoyable drive for me.

Finally I'd like to thank the briskoda members, There's some great stuff here and I realise this post (from someone who hasn't posted before) may be seen as negative by some people, it isn't intended to be so, just my experience of the car.

Thanks for reading.

I agree with pretty much everything you have said above. Ours got sold for more or less the same reasons; also became increasingly paranoid it was going to end up in the garage alot in the future, swapped for an Octavia vRS diesel that whilst a bit slower IMO is an all round much more competent car to drive.

Shame as I think if they'd paid a bit more attention to the chassis and brakea as they clearly have with the Octavia they'd have themselves an all round hot hatch.

That sounds almost identical to me. Test drove a Clio 200 Cup and almost bought that but the vRS was cheaper so got that instead. Test drove a GT86 a few weeks ago and what an eye opener! Think whatever I go next has to be RWD and fairly sporty. Reckon it has the same power as the vRS just makes you work for it which I loved. I still like the vRS handling and I've never had a real problem with it but a GT86 will beat it every time which is hardly surprising. MPG wise my vRS has never been brilliant IMO. Rarely get more than 35mpg, daily is anywhere between 26mpg and 32mpg. 38mpg on a longer motorway run. Guessing the GT86 would be worse but I wonder by how much. Pretty sure it takes normal unleaded too which is a bonus.

GT 86 has 2 doors and only 2 seats for adults,so nothing like a Fabia at all.

My 350 z is better than my vRS in many respects and in other respects it's not.

Comparing apples to pears is pointless,why bother?

I have driven the automatic BRZ and GT86 and used the paddles which i do not do on a vRS, they worked well..

Liked them but did not love.

Nipping on on wet roads is the same in a vRS as a GT86 when the national speed limit is 60mph or 70 mph,

not many challenging 70 mph roads in Scotland or the UK.

And any car on sale since about 1975 copes with taking corners at 60 mph even in the wet.

(so actually any car copes quite well in the real world)

So to get fun from a GT86/BRZ it will be a track,

for the road maybe something with just 68bhp & narrow tyres is a challenging and fun drive for Scottish roads.

Limited size and space and needs revving to keep on the boil.

*very very exciting driving small engined cars, bum clenchingly so as you go for overtakes.*

£10,000 more for a new BRZ/GT86 over a vRS or even vRS Combi.

£10,000-£14,000 more for used GT86/BRZ over a used vRS.

That means buying one car for the price that you can buy 2 for.

You can have a daily economic car and a weekend fun car (track or fun where available)

Double the money on a car that draws attention does not mean you can easily use its potential and keep your licence.)

The new Clio Sport with Twin Clutch might be a step up from a vRS, as would be a S3, then a RS3.

You can always step up cars, speed, money.

Compare apples and pears even horses for courses. Or just 'Bang for your bucks'.

(there are vRS going Bang right enough.)

george

The Automatic is much better IMO than roadtesters suggest.

You can be in auto for upshifts and use the paddles for downshifts and spirited driving, just like with a DSG.

I think they are the same type of reviewers and testers that are down on any automatic car.

OT but why don't any of your links work properly? Just copy and paste them in?

its a shame they dont fit the EJ20 engine in the gt86/BRZ

Sorry, more OT,

If i could copy and paste i would, mobile and broken reception, loss of logged in most posts.

Google has them there anyway.

It's a shame there isn't a tuned 4AGE engine in there with a supercharger

there was talk on my facebook about the GT86 too....

I do like it. BUT I'm afraid I'm stuck to £15k .. simply cannot afford to pay more.GT86 should be a better car at £10k more expensive!

That's my sticking point too. It might be a more fun car but as an all rounder 10k more is a lot. Give it 3 years and I'll be having another look.

You will not have to wait 10 years.

Thay are not Cult Classics yet, and no shortage of dealers wanting to sell Ex Demos,

just still asking too much. Not wanting to devalue or take the drop. 'Yet'.

Only 1 BRZ coming in for every 10 GT86 for the UK as i am told. (read)

7 for sale near me that i know of, 4 on Autotrader,

and one i was offered for not very much money considering what the customer paid for it.

Maybe Scotland will provide a bargain one for you.

george

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

Remember we are going away onto 13 plates,

Some of the first 12 plate Demos need to drop in their selling price if not their 'Asking Price'.

Just here, new and used.

66 manuals & 30 autos,

or 25 BRZ. 22 manual, 3 auto.

£19,000 'cash money' should easily buy one next month.

My mates mum has recently bought a gt86 and its a truley lovely car to be in.....but i just feel my 19year old celica has a little bit extra spark for me, the gt86 seems a bit souless

But i changed my fabia for pretty much the same reasons....it was just too soft