Demise of VRS announced

[newbie69]

1. The vRS is nearly 3k more, 3k is 3k and quite alot of money in my book.

2. The Fabia vRS shouldnt be a 17k car no matter which way you look at it. They only sold in the numbers they did because they were a bit of a performance bargain on the VAT deal.

3. Never said the Monte was a competitor, rather its basically a vRS without the styling and the twincharger engine. Less power, less chassis corruption and less stress on the brakes......whilst its nothing like as fast it probably drives better as standard as a consequence.

Main point I have been trying to make is that the vRS talent really only surrounds its drivechain, otherwise its not particularly hot. Its not like im prodding fun at the car for the sake of it, I owned one for 18 months and thats my independent view on the car, dont expect everyone to share it, its a forum and thats quite the point.

Does speak volumes though....the majority seem to be going to the lengths of changing springs, installing arbs.....its evident the car needs these mods in order to drive as well as it goes.

There are a number of cara now that drive better, better performing or not.

swift sport

fiesta zetec s mountune

fiesta st

clio rs (ugly and french carp but will drive better)

Corsa vxr nurburgring (not my cup of tea but more power and a proper diff, press rave about them too....and they are cheap nearly new)

Closer to home the Ibiza Cupra, Polo GTi and even the A1 are better drivers cars though granted they are generally either more expensive or less practical, still better though.

 

Don't know why I care to reply really, I guess it's the weekend and I'm allowing myself to lose some more time restating obvious things but anyway...

 

1. "3k is a lot"    For what? Buying 100 kg of peaches or buying a significantly better car? I think my brain hurt when I read this sentence...

 

2. "It shouldn't be a 17K car no matter how you look at it"    Says who? Has there been a max price decided for Skoda hot-hatches that under no circumstances can be surpassed just because it so happens? Because again, I prefer to look at the actual car, its engine, its gearbox, its space, its running costs and then see where the competition stands in similar cars and 17K didn't by any mean sound unjustified at the time or I wouldn't have gone for it, isn't it that simple? I'm not a Skoda fan, never had one before and maybe I won't get one in the future. The thing is that the vRS did it almost all and for less money since its launch and maybe up until 2013.

 

3. "Less power, less chassis corruption and less stress on the brakes......whilst its nothing like as fast it probably drives better as standard as a consequence".  Wow, less power = higher drive quality... How haven't people thought about that? Down-tune the engines to 140 ps and presto! Train-like handling!    See I would imagine at the same speed, both cars take corners the same way given that the suspension/aerodynamics/setup is the same. When cornering with the same mph on the clock, there is no "weaker engine" factor to make the Monte grip better AFAIK.  And if the brakes are ok to stop a Monte from 120 mph then they'll probably do it from 132mph  as well. In fact the complaints in reviews and from owners didn't have to do with stopping power  but rather than quick fading which is something to be expected from anything not 100% hardcore and which never normally is an issue on the road. I'm doing hill-climbs every weekend and the brakes have never failed me, but obviously I don't drive 10/10 in public road as I would on a safe track.That's pretty much what there is to it. And that's probably the reason we very rarely see break upgrades from owners that don't do track-days or have not remapped. 

 

Regarding other competitors that drive better, yes it's important for me too and I think I've acknowledged it's the fabia's weak point BUT... and it's a big but: 1) It's only one thing out of many that count and it can't certainly just rule out the excellent score the vRS is getting in all other areas with most important, the incredible performance and 2) For something that can be fixed with such a low cost and no other issues whatsoever it becomes even less important in the final decision.

 

Of-course priorities change from driver to driver, I've only assumed a typical distribution of a) performance drivetrain c) handling d) everyday comfort e) buying and running costs with pretty close factors. If say for someone, handling alone weighs as much as 50% in the car's decision, apparently he should better look elsewhere. But I doubt this factor is as high for the majority of drivers out there...

[newbie69]

The dynamics were the deal breaker for us, the Fabia vRS is quick but that didn't translate into fun for me. I'm not sure how much Skoda could have done, the centre of gravity is high in the Fabia because of it's shape and lowering further would result in an even firmer ride and it's already crashy around town. The PQ24 chassis itself is a 14 year old design. . And without a complete redesign the electric power steering isn't going to give anymore feel.

 

 I think you have to do a test-drive in a lowered and stiffened vRS to realise it's tons better in handling and only just as crashy as before. My thoughts were the same prior doing the upgrades and I would have them removed if they worsened the ride quality as it's an everyday car for me but they didn't. I guess it only tells how bad are the stock dampers...

[Ootohere]

I sometime forget about the Abarth 500 135 bhp 0-62 7.9 seconds from £14,205, or the Abarth 500 C & its Semi Automatic, 

but me & many also overlook the

'Abarth Punto Evo Supersport', 180 bhp 0-62 7.5 sec, 134 mph from £17,805 OTR

and available for less than that.

Then there is also the Available from Abarth stuff in the Crate.

http://abarthcarsuk.com/abarth-cars/abarth-punto-evo/abarth-punto-evo-esseesse

http://www.abarthworld.com

http://abarthcars.co.uk

 

george

[fabandy]

Now that is interesting: nearly 18k for a Punto - and surely the chassis on that must be pretty 'old hat' now. Of course, the 500 sits on a Panda chassis - and that was neither new or sophisticated when the 500 got it. I actually find the ride on my Fabia more comfortable than my previous car - a MINI Cooper - and it was the overly hard ride that put me off an Ibiza. But each to his own - I am not very hard-edged! I am glad my Fabia is so comfortable because I have driven 380 miles today and I feel fine! (Thank you padded centre armrest, padded and upholstered door armrest and cruise control). He he.

[lol-lol]

I sometime forget about the Abarth 500 135 bhp 0-62 7.9 seconds from £14,205, or the Abarth 500 C & its Semi Automatic, 

but me & many also overlook the

'Abarth Punto Evo Supersport', 180 bhp 0-62 7.5 sec, 134 mph from £17,805 OTR

and available for less than that.

Then there is also the Available from Abarth stuff in the Crate.

http://abarthcarsuk.com/abarth-cars/abarth-punto-evo/abarth-punto-evo-esseesse

http://www.abarthworld.com

http://abarthcars.co.uk

 

george

 

What many people do not know is the Fiat 500 is made in Poland, and Mexico I think, which amuses me when the do them in Italian colours, must be odd for the Polish workers but they are glad of the jobs and I expect they are every bit as good as most cars made in Italy. Had a Punto a few years ago, it just came up as a cheap runabout at our local Skoda garage and looked a good choice which it was fairly much. Drove the 500 diesel and thought OMG it hardly accelerates at all.

 

The problem is that much of the cars we would like to buy at from areas that have much stronger currencies than the UK pound ie Euro, Yen. If you map RRP car prices over the last 6 years they went up by around a half on all but the lost leading models.

 

The Czech and other Eastern European models have been less hit by the hike as although the car parts are sold to them in Euros their labour, which is a major part of cost to biuld, is in their local currency ie Koruna, Zlotty or whatever and their lower wages and the fact their currency has not strengthen 50% like the Euro and the Yen has means the prices for cars from that part of the world has not been so affected by the stronger Euro, Yen against the less so GBP.  It is just our burden in the UK, expensive mainland European and Japanese cars.  Helps us somewhat sell cars in to those areas.

 

In these terms Skoda/VW and others have done well to keep prices down to what they are ie if it cost the best part of 20,000 Euros to make and deliver a Fabia VRS and the volumes of sales are decreasing, as much to do with a general lack of disposal income then that is not surprising.  The cost of motoring has risen dramatically, petrol gone up by a half over the last 3 years also.  http://www.petrolprices.com/the-price-of-fuel.html

 

I find the Fabia VRS very reasonable to run.  The high-compression engine is capable of over 40 mpg on the long run which is similar to our HTP with a third of the power.  Just had it serviced after 20K on variable, not much more than 1p a mile in service cost.  Seats are comfy, gearbox so relaxing in traffic and super low revs in 7th.  With it going over 60K miles sometime next year and therefore when I would normal replace I think of then Octy 3 1.4 TSI DSG or a Rapid Spaceback with the same engine/box hopefully but despite reading all the review going I cannot see anything other than another Skoda that is as good.        

[Ootohere]

Suzuki Vitaras have been Built in Hungary for many years and Hungarians sneer at the idea of owning a Suzuki.

and actually many Hungarians are not very interested in owning  Skodas, they find it quite amusing that people in the UK would want them.

 

george

[Furbytom]

I thought the vRS was amazing value when I bought it new in early 2011. Nothing else available with such bang-for-buck on the VAT-free deal. However times have changed, prices have risen and the game has moved on. I don't believe they are selling anywhere remotely near the same now the price is circa 18k and I can fully understand why. When was the last time you saw a new "vRS ordered" thread on here?

Its a shame their will be no mk3 Fabia vRS if skoda are to be believed tho. 'End of an era' and all that. When I told SWMBO the news she became even more determined to hang onto ours!

I see the Abarth 500 has been mentioned. Here would be my assessment comparing the two I have:

Performance: vRS wins in straight line (but doesn't feel huge gap). More low down urge due to supercharger but power delivery quite linear.

Handling: A clear win for the Abarth. Feels so much more alive and fun. Waaaay less body roll. VRS feels like bambi on ice skates in comparison. Abarth steering much more meaty in sport mode.

Ride : Strangely another win for the Abarth. Abarth is firmer but oddly less crashy if that makes sense! You can feel big bumps have a harder edge to them in the Abarth but they don't jar into the cabin rattling the trim in the same way the Fabia seems to suffer from. The Abarth feels more stable and planted and rough road surfaces just don't intrude so much.

Running Costs: mixed bag here. VRS cheaper to insure and tax but Abarth way better on fuel. Can't seem to average less than 39mog over a tank no matter how hard I've been beating it!

Practicality : vRS wins here. Bigger boot, 5 doors more space.

Interior/exterior : another win for the abarth. Styling way better. Much more attractive from every angle on the outside although this is only my opinion! VRS does have led drls tho which I like. Interior on the Abarth is a step up in quality in my opinion as its a rattle-free zone and is much more interesting to look at. The vRS seats are more comfy tho.

Fun Factor: no contest massive win for the Abarth. Abarth sounds waaaay better both in terms of induction noise and exhaust note. Never really felt the "drive for the sake of it" in the vRS but I'll make any excuse to go out in the Abarth! Abarth puts a huge grin on my face each time I drive it and every drive feels like a special occasion. At least once or twice per week (usually in car parks or petrol stations haha!) people come over to ask about the abarth or give it a compliment. Only happened once or twice in nearly 3yrs of the vRS tho!

Having said all that tho I'm sad to report the Abarth is going in a couple of weeks to be replaced with a new BMW 120d M-sport. Gonna miss it so much but needed to get something bigger as we have our first baby on the way :-). To be honest I would have preferred to have chopped in the Fabia for the BMW and kept the little Abarth but SWMBO has become much to attached the vRS keys!

Looking forward to scratching my RWD itch tho!

Tom

[Ootohere]

Nice.

 

People are often mentioning New Platforms, chassis etc, as though new is better. Well not always.

Hard core can become soft and less so. Just boring or handling or performing less well.

(Just become a passenger car that looks sporty & sporty pretentions.)

 

You just have to think of the Golf, light and fun and handled, then we are at MK7, They made good ones that really handled then up-dated,

Then had some worse than what went before.

 

Honda did the same, Type R, great car, then new model, not so good, we wait for the next edition to see if they get it right.

Renault Clio RS, Cup Chassis etc, best in class etc, then new platform and it gets slagged by some.

Ford have done it over the decades, what followed a peach was sometimes a plum.

Seat have turned out some great cars over the years, trying out stuff before it ever gets to a VW, and sometimes VW never build the car, some current Seats have been better than the newer advamced and boring VW that gets launched.

Ford  seem to be back to building and selling what drivers want that want something that handles, goes and is affordable.

 

Many Classics and Future Classics, 'I need one of those', 'must haves' are not this model, and might not be the next, it is the one before, where they were not penny pinching, & making average.

trying to sell more on the reputation of the Great Model that they just discontinued.

 

I can think of many cars i  have had,and bought only once used and well thrashed, so not that fresh, just what i could afford,

& that i would like to be able to go buy a brand new version of now.

Not an updated one, what it was like in say 1998.

Pre tempering, softening, air bagging, emission controlling and needing to meet EU requirements.

 

george

[vRSy]

Dont forget why the Fabia is cheaper than the other platforms it shares alot of its roots with.

 

Smaller tyres, Older chassis (PQ24 v PQ25 in the Ibiza and Polo), pretty much the only thing that is new on the car is the engine/gearbox.  Everything else is cobbled together from the older mk4 Octavoa/Mk1 Fabia vRS.  Then theres the blander interior/seats, poorer damping/suspension setup, no floor mats etc.  Christ even things like a rear interior light or a sunglasses holder where options!!!  Drive a Polo GTI and you will notice the differences immediately, particularly in the suspension imo.

[Ootohere]

Agreed,

The £4000-£5000 did count for something, but not many sold,

lots as Registered as Demonstrators to the UK VW Dealerships, then sold used, and only a few hundred bought new.

Less than 1000 Polo GTI 1.4 TSI S-A,  were Registered in the UK.

(personally i did not prefer the standard Polos handling to the Fabia, but i am odd.

A vRS on 215's feels pretty much the same,

and a vRS with £1000 spent is much like a Polo in feel only maybe better,

if not better quicker and  it cost you £3000 less, obviously not the nicer interior or greater weight on the Polo though. )

 

Terrible residuals on them, You can get Polo GTIs for a snip, & there are as many with engine problems as a percentage as all the other Twinchargers.

There some absolute bargains available for anyone wanting to buy a fully specced up Polo GTI,plenty  beautiful cars available,

lots sitting not selling for those that are not prepared to take a drop on the price they sell for.

 

But there are 3 years old and £24,000 at purchase now available for 1/2 that price.

Maybe just pay £2000 more than for a 3 your old VW Polo GTI CAVE,

and you can buy a Brand new vRS  CTHE with a 5 year Warranty.

 

george

[logiclee]

 

 

I find the Fabia VRS very reasonable to run.  The high-compression engine is capable of over 40 mpg on the long run which is similar to our HTP with a third of the power.  Just had it serviced after 20K on variable, not much more than 1p a mile in service cost.     

 

Technology has moved on with economy though.

 

Fabia vRS  45.6mpg, 148g/km (0-62, 7.3, 140mph)

BMW 118i auto  50.1mpg, 129g/km (0-62, 7.2, 140mph)

BMW 120d auto 67.3mpg, 110g/km (0-62, 7.1, 142mph)

BMW 125i auto 44.8mpg, 148g/km (0-62, 6.2, 151mph)

Fiesta ST 46.9mpg, 138g/km (0-62, 6,9, 139mph)

Clio 200, 45mpg, 143g/km (0-62, 6.7, 143mph)

 

Many manufacturers offer servicing packs, for example for £300 cost on a new vehicle you get 5 years servicing with BMW and that's transferable to the 2nd owner if you sell.

 

Cheers

Lee

[Ootohere]

Technology is only as good as the Technicians that are looking after vehicles and sometimes KISS is good.

UK Dealership workshops might not be as good as those in the Countries of the Designers and Car Manufacturers.

Why some cars are just not right for the UK. Not just different conditions,

indifferent maintenance and repair skills, lease cars and service interval, and cheap skate private buyers,

drive them, abuse them and pass the problems on to the used buyer..

**Why last year we never got the change the EU wanted to first MOT at 4 Years then every 2 years.**

 

Lots of Sensors, and ECU's, Automatic Lights, Automatic Wipers, Restraining Seatbelts, safety and security.

It is why Prestige and fancy models are worth so little at 4 or 5 years old.

Why so many German cars are worth sweeties after the Manufacturers Warranty Expired or the Private Buyer no longer could afford a Dealers Service.

Belts, Fluids, All Bulbs replaced etc,  all needing replaced to have a FDSH.

 

Some like cars & interiors simple.

We all know of Peugeots, Citroens, Renaults etc that had 88 MPG figures attributed and lovely mood interior lighting,

you would maybe not want to own or buy a used one at 8 years old though. 

Dash lights that will not go out at MOTS and Electrical problems are what will put cars off the roads this decade not Corrosion of the metal work.

Beautiful and technological advanced are wonderful,

but reliabilty, simplicity and value might be why Dacia (Renault) are selling so many cars now.

 

Horses for courses.

 

george

[ItalianJob]

Can you get a brand new BMW 1 series for less than £15k ?

[daydotz]

Would this also suggest the mk3 fabia may not be far away ?

[Furbytom]

Can you get a brand new BMW 1 series for less than £15k ?

Doubt it mate! :-)

[logiclee]

Can you get a brand new BMW 1 series for less than £15k ?

 

Can you get a vRS for less than £15k?

 

You'd need a £2200 discount. Quite possible as the Mk3 is due soon.

 

Remember this thread is about why the vRS isn't selling and why it's been dropped from the Mk3. If it was the fastest, most economical, best value, most reliable and most dynamic model available then we wouldn't be having this debate. 

 

The truth is there is a lot of alternatives for a lot of potential buyers. We would have been a buyer but felt the build didn't justify the price and the dynamics were poor. Yes we are fortunate that we could spend more money to get what we wanted but a lot of buyers are quite flexible with budget especially when pcp and contract lease deals are taken into account.

 

Lee

Edited 15 September, 2013 by logiclee

[Ootohere]

Yes you can get a vRS for less than £15,000 new OTR, and yes you can get a vRS Estate new for £15,000 OTR 

Maybe not if you do not have the Cash Money and are buying on the Drip & Hand Back options.

 

This thread is not about why the vRS is not selling, well the OP was not.

it was a link to why they were not doing a MK3 vRS version .

This thread and others in Briskoda are about sometimes what VW say or a magazine prints, 'they did not sell well, enough in the UK'.

 

Sales of new vRS seem to be picking up, as people have become more aware of the amazing value available.

Price people are paying to buy, not the price that appears on the Configurator.

 

VW say the Monte Carlo is a run away success, but it seems to have sold to at this time just over twice as many  as the vRS in half the time with a choice of engines. 

Cars that appealed to people, Monte Carlo, with engine choices then LImited to 1000 model Techs, with engine choices,

then Monte Carlo Estates, with engine choices.

Next might come Monte Carlo Hatch & Estate with engines choices and a gearbox choice.

Then the MK3 Fabia, and we start all over again.

 

Its got lots to do with how you look at figures and Press Releases from VW, and what they say in Mainland Europe/Rest of World & in UK about sales and profits.

Mostly to do with Spin though.

 

george

[logiclee]

Dr Frank Welsch, Skoda board member for technical development, made the revelation at the Frankfurt motor show. "A lot of people think the FabiavRS is a great car, but we cannot work on cars that everyone likes but only a few people buy.

 

"With the Octavia vRS," Dr Vahland (CEO) says, "we made around an eight per cent penetration into the market. With the Fabia vRS, it was less than one per cent

 

"The Fabia vRS was too expensive in Europe," Dr Vahland (CEO) says

 

I think those comments from Skoda's CEO and Technical Development board member tells what Skoda think of the Fabia vRS sales. To sell it they had to heavily discount it but still made little impact in the market place.

 

There are a reasons why! There are reasons why potential buyers have driven them and thought no way!

 

But this thread shows some are unable to accept that.

 

Cheers

Lee

[Ootohere]

He might be the person responsible for allowing so many design and manufacturing fault vehicles to be sold,

possibly his coat is on a soogly peg.

 

I wish he would say the percentage of faulty 1.4 TSI 180ps engines they built from 2009 -2013,

How many rebuilt, and replaced.

How much it has cost them, and why no recall for checking those needing Breather Mods, ECU up-dates etc was done.

 

How many or few A1 185ps & VW Polo GTI were sold but how many were still faulty.

 

Truth is, they want the issues forgotten.

Drop the Name Fabia vRS incase anyone forgets the popular MK1, but remembers or thinks of the MK2, and High Oil Useage & engine failure stories.

Thats VAG fact not Internet Myth.

** Something that VW/Audi need to accept because the cars owners have had to in many cases.**

 

It will be more to do with say the Rapid Spaceback launch and future & probably the A1 & less to do with supposed poor UK sales of the vRS Fabia.

 

Anyway, it matter not a bit, there are a few thousand MK2's kicking around for a few more years,

and always a bargain to be had buying a VW or Audi thats used price is no more than that of the Skoda or Seat.

When we get Euro 6 engines and it will be a whole new story anyway.

 

george

[XK140]

I would say the reason why the vRS has not sold well is because it looks poor for a sporting car,so that puts potential buyers off,plus some don't like the idea of an auto in this type of car.

On the other hand anyone who has a test drive is very happy because both the acceleration and the speed of the dsg box greatly exceed their expectations.

So IMO it's preconceptions that have restricted buyers,They have never got as far as an actual test drive.

Also the two hidden snags with the car would not be really apparent at this time....very few on a test drive would push it hard enough through corners to discover the handling shortcomings and reliability issues are not to the front of your mind,with a new car people think that's what the warranty is for.

In time the vRS may become somewhat of a cult car on the second hand market,especially when a wider audience have driven ones that are strong mechanically and have had the needed suspension mods.

[Furbytom]

It's all about the bottom line. Skoda/vag aren't stupid. They are a business at the end of the day and they will make/sell whatever generates the most profit for them. If they made very little cash on the vrs this time around I can't blame them for sacking it off.

I do wonder what the absence of a top of the range hot variant will have on the rest of the range tho. People bought the Monte because it was similar style to the vRS but for less cash. It is a wannabe/aspirational model imho. If there is no hot version to aspire to I wonder if a semi-sporty model will sell so well on a mk3....

[Gazbull17]

Skoda have already confirmed, I think, correct me if I'm wrong though that they are going to extend the Monte Carlo spec across the rest of the range just like the VW R Line, Seat FR and Audi Sportline specs can be had on nearly every model in their respective ranges.

This would mean a better selection of engines to suit everyone's preference and budget.

Furbytom is right, they are in the business of making cars as profitable as possible and if the vRS isn't making enough profit then Adios Amigos, hasta la vista maybe.

They can't just build cars for a cult following especially the way that business and commerce is run today.

Like I've said in an earlier post, compared to the Mk1 vRS, the Mk2 was ill conceived which has maybe come back and bit them in the @rse and frightened them off.

[Sparkly]

It's been said before but there would be NOTHING at all surprising if Skoda have a U-turn on a MK3 fabia vRS.

The only true argument is as furbytom said a commercial one.

Given that they can go in many directions on a new platform sootchucker/petrol, manual or DSG. Why would they not? The vRS in Octavia guise, I believe, does well for them.

So putting aside the Mk2 marmite effect (Lee, George). I can't see why they would truly ditch vRS in Fabia format, in truth to my mind it would make sense to have a vRS Octy, Rapid, Fabia and Citigo (Roomster???)

[logiclee]

I would say the reason why the vRS has not sold well is because it looks poor for a sporting car,so that puts potential buyers off,plus some don't like the idea of an auto in this type of car.

On the other hand anyone who has a test drive is very happy because both the acceleration and the speed of the dsg box greatly exceed their expectations.

So IMO it's preconceptions that have restricted buyers,They have never got as far as an actual test drive.

Also the two hidden snags with the car would not be really apparent at this time....very few on a test drive would push it hard enough through corners to discover the handling shortcomings

 

In some case perhaps but it's a bit far to say anyone who drives one would be very happy.

 

I already own two DSG cars, I've owned hot hatches and fast saloons in the past, I've owned three Fabia's. I had a pretty good idea as to what to expect.

But for nearly double the price of a 1.2 SE we were disappointed with the interior, a few blingy bits and sports seats (With limited adjustment) but the same drab plastic interior as the budget £9k models.

Then the ride, Gordon Lamb Chesterfield's test drive route is through a town centre then back through bumpy B roads. the vRS banged and crashed all the way around and I couldn't push it as my mechanical sympathy and spine wouldn't take it. The trim rattles on the 2k mile demonstrator made it feel like an 80k miler.

So a few weeks later I had another test drive at Rainworth Mansfield, surrounded by dual carriageways and roundabouts a lot more scope for pushing it and as I've bought several cars from there an unescorted test drive. Yes the performance was there on the dual carriage ways but I was surprised by the amount of roll and understeer on the roundabouts and no more steering feel than our other three Fabias. I took this one into Mansfield and yes the same crashy ride although slightly less trim rattles over bumps than the other one but still not good for a low mileage new car.

 

I came away Mr Unimpressed. With 20% off I could have forgiven the interior but the ride quality was a no from us. £18k list is a joke.

 

Now if that's my impression and I'm a Skoda fan with eight previous purchases then what do some people think who have no brand loyalty.

 

Cheers

Lee

[fabandy]

As Sparkly and Gazbull17 said above: it is about what they can do and what they can sell. If the new Fabia is MQB chassis based there will be better handling and the possibility of any engine/transmission combo VAG has through (next generation) Polo to Passat. But what will they give us? R-line, FR and Sportline indicate the marketability of a sporty look with the choice of different (smaller and more economical) engines. Will the full-fat halo model survive? I am not sure Skoda will do Monte as a 'line' on all models but they like the response to the Fabia Monte Carlo and are experimenting with 'Sport' on the Citigo and, it seems, 'Sport' and 'StylePlus' on the new Spaceback. The 1.4 tsi act and 2.0 tdi are certainly cutting edge but will there ever be a 180ps Fabia again? Those who claim that Skoda will axe the vRS because it was never good enough might be overlooking the obvious: there may not be enough people wanting a 180ps supermini to make a business case for it. In which case, the only reason (sadly) to produce it, is as a 'halo' model.