Time to Move On..

[Bullyboy]

Just thought I would post that agreed a price on a new car yesterday and the fabia will be traded in at the end of January for the new car.

 

Thought I would just post and give quick thoughts to my time with the Fabia.

 

Came from an RX8 to the Fabia, great deal on it new with the VAT saving.  Car is only a second car and has 10,000 miles on it after nearly 3 years.  Never missed a beat, never anything wrong with it.  Oil top ups between the two services i have had have a been approx 750 ml.   Enjoyed the car, its fast, its different and i did enjoy the DSG - having never owned an automatic car.   Can't fault anything.  The 2 services by 2 different dealerships were both very good. 

Only negative comment i can give to the car is it never got anywhere near the MPG that Skoda claims, appreciate I do a lot of suburban driving but expected better.

The only negative comment i can give to the brand is when looking now for a new car and thinking of moving up to the Octy vRS one dealer took over a month to phone me back and another suggested very quickly that unless I order a stock model (i wanted extras) it was a 6 month wait.     So with those 2 different dealers spoken to i have gone for another brand of car.

 

If there was definate news of a new Fabia vRS then would have stayed with it a bit longer to find out details, although everything i have read is saying they wont make one.

 

Anyway, ill will still hang around and I still have circa 6 weeks left with the car so hoepfully nothing bad happens before it leaves my care.

 

I have purchased (waiting to be flamed) a Nissan Juke Nismo.  Something again a bit left field, but its something different and ticks alot of boxes with performance and pricing. 

 

Hopefully when i arrives it turns out to be as good as an ownership experience that I have had with Skoda.

 

 

[Sparkly]

Hi Bullyboy,

 

Nice positive write up on the vRS, great to see.  Make sure you stick around Briskie though even with the Fabia going!

 

I had the Juke 1.5DCI (little brother worked for Nissan and got a great deal) on a 61 plate for 6 months, it's a decent little car with some quirky design features, decent build quality superior to the Fabia, good driving position, reasonably quiet and refined, acceptable handling to ride balance, woefully small boot (actually comical) but then again you will know that already.  Theh 1.5DCI is a happy little diesel and will move the car around with ease.

 

I also took out the 1.6 turbocharged 190bhp 4x4 version with my little bro and it's not a slow car but not really a patch on the vRS for performance and much worse on Mpg, just to warn you and the CVT auto is a let down compared to DSG.  Those criticisms aside I have no idea how much improvement the Nismo model brings

 

Oh and the stock stereo is belting

[sharkrider]

Yes do stick around, and nice review of the vRS:) I have also heard they don't like the cvt box on the nismo, and my vRS does better mpg than a colleagues duke deisel! Anyway, alternative car for sure, give us some pics and a review when you get it. A bit of comparison ect stick around

[Sparkly]

Potential entry for the Spring Action Day at Castle Combe? 

[Bullyboy]

Thanks chaps.  I really did like the Fabia, its a shame to go but a change is as good as anything these days.

 

You both mention the CVT - they do a CVT 4x4 Nismo but I am going for the 2 wheel drive 6 speed manual.   I read reviews on the CVT box and it was not good !

 

I would have had considered the 4x4 but its only availalbe as a CVT and its just not a touch on the DSG - so back to the land of manual gear changes and some strength again in the left arm !

 

I will stick around and hopefully if my car ends up with another member by some hook or crook they will enjoy it as much as i did. 

[conanius]

The 2WD Manual is the one to go for. I actually really, really like them.

 

Apparently there will be an even hotter Nismo R version out later in 2014. 

[Furbytom]

Definitely a different choice - I like that! Hope you enjoy the car. Good decision to swerve the auto by all accounts. Had a look at one once..... Thought the gear selector looked errrr.... very 80s!

[RedSooty]

It's funny how Skoda keep adding new model ranges yet more and more enthusiasts keep moving elsewhere because Skoda UK don't want to do anything too quirky or risky. Fortunately my Monte isn't my adrenaline fix (Thats my R33 Skyline). Glad you enjoyed the Mk2 VRS and good luck with the Nismo Juke. If I could afford it I would like an R35 GTR but a chat with a Nissan performance mechanic made me realise I couldn't ever afford to break the high tech gearbox in the R35 so I will continue to live in the manual gearbox 1990 years and keep practicing my low tech fast shift skills. Please post up about your experiences as I quite fancy the quirkiness of the Nismo Juke too...

[fabiamk2SE]

Off topic i know, but a mate of mine is due to buy an r35(550bhp version) in january. The parts for them are rediculously expensive. But my god, after accelerating onto a bypass in it on a test drive (the first time iv thought 'i wouldnt keep up on the bike' which doesnt happen very often!) then kept accelerating and cruised at 150mph (private bypass of course ). It cruised at that speed like my fabia cruises at 60mph. Those things are just truely incredible.

Get one bought .

Edited 17 December, 2013 by Otaylor38

[sharkrider]

I'm just glad u dint get the cvt ! The manual should be much better , Nissan make some good cars let us know how it goes and you will still be welcome at meets, I was in my fiat'

[Bullyboy]

Thanks Again chaps, yes deifinately will hang around. Will post some bits and pieces up as soon as i have had it a week or so  (keep your eyes peeled end of Jan or first week of Feb).

 

It is a shame Skoda are not doing a new vRS in the Fabia.   I sort of like quirky.  My RX8 was a quirky car and before I bought the Fabia i wanted to go back to a hot hatch due to 2 kids on the scene and the RX8 was not really practical anymore.  I liked the idea of the Fabia and once driven, really liked the DSG boxes.  A couple of my mates gave me a hard time on the Fabia but once they saw it and had a drive they both agreed it was good and could understand why I went for it - again quirky was mentioned.

 

I am getting the same comments from them re the Juke, but I think they will find a similar thing when I give them a go.

 

Also this is no reflection on the Fabia or the upcoming Juke, but if you had told me when I was coming to the end of my time with the RX8 I would have bought a Skoda and then 3 years later bought a Nissan - I think before these cars were looked into seriously by myself - I would had said to myself you must be mad go for a ford/vw/bmw.

It does just show that if you take the time to look at a fair few models, the ones that maybe are out of the left field do surprise you.

 

Also as a side note I work with people that have in the last 12 months or so bought either KIA's or Hyundai's and now swear that they are greatly put together and cars and do the job as well if not better than a Ford, VW, Vauxhall etc.

 

As Redsooty mentioned - lets hope Skoda do still make some quirky models, if they go too main stream you will loose some long time customers.

 

Ill keep you updated on the Juke as and when..

[PDIBK]

Sort of on topic (in as much as it's changing cars): CAR magazine this month has group tests of interest to Skoda owners and shoppers:

1) Octy VRS vs Golf GTI vs Kia Pro'ceed GT. Golf won, but Octy was praised (biggest in the test, not much slower than Golf, but in test spec, was MORE expensive!!). Kia got a sort of joint 2nd place - has jumped a couple of iterations from budget Korean to genuine Euro contender.

2) budget cars - Citigo Sport, Dacia Sandero (I think), Suzuki Alto, Kia something. Dacia was biggest, but cheapest and lowest quality. Suzuki was lambasted. Kia and Skoda did well. They notionally stripped all the extras off the cars to reach their base price to be judged "cheapest in UK at list price".

In fact of interest in the motoring world in general, the long termers include a Clio 200 or whatever they're called, you know, 5dr only, flappy paddle, turbo 1.6. Also a Dacia Duster - £15k of 4x4. They keep mentioning that it does the job of a Yeti or other such crossovers, but about £10k cheaper.

I moved to a CAR subscriber from EVO, as I had got fed up with EVO's slide into AutoExpress territory - packed with "artist impressions" and computer renderings every month. That and the cars were always too out of reach! CAR is relatively "real world" while Still offering a taste of the exotic.

[Bullyboy]

Interesting points made.

 

It just shows you must not consider the norm or the main stream - look at everything

 

On the golf test I would have taken the octy vRS purely because its just a good and more car for the money !

[Bullyboy]

Just a nearly final update on this post.  The Fabia goes to the dealer on Saturday, the Juke I ordered was delayed very slightly a couple of weeks ago so I am being given a loaner of another (diesel) Juke for a week.   Reason its going back early is road tax ran out, dealer says its just going to auction so they would sort out the loaner as delay was from thier end, free of charge of course.

Orginal pick up date for the Juke was 27th Jan, its now been built and should be with the dealer on Monday, so pick up date will be next Friday 7th Feb.

 

Ill give you an overview on the Juke when I get it.

 

All my comments made still stand on the Skoda, had no adverse experience with it.   Hopefully whomever gets it will get a low mileage car with lots of extras that has been driven correctly with no oil issues !

 

Cheers for now.

[horkin]

Good luck Bullyboy, my Daughter had a Juke from new and parted company after a couple of years. She moans every time I see her about how she misses it and wishes she hadn't parted with it.

 

I am sure you will enjoy the car, quite a firm ride but coming from the VRS it won't be an issue, also the slightly higher driving position is nice and those raised headlights are a real boost when judging where the front corners of the car are.! Nice choice.

[XK140]

If you can live with the looks,which IMO are dodgy on both the Fabia and Juke for different reasons,then both are Ok.

To me the problem I had with the Juke was the lack of space,both in the rear seat and the boot.

[Bullyboy]

Juke arrived on 7th Feb and very pleased with it.  350 miles done in 8 days

 

Am not going to compare with the Fabia vRS as as you can see from above, I had no issues with the car but it was time for a change.

 

Juke feels quite grown up due to its height and cabin seems very smart, seats are nice and like the alacantra.  A bit of a throw back to the 80's but nice and supportive.  The connect 2 system with Nav, bluetooth etc is a joy to use.   I did not have this in the vRS althoguh had the Admunsen.   The speakers are good from stock.  Its 197 bhp feels fast and the turbo engine feels responsive.   Has a Drive mode, eco (pointless) normal (good) and sport (better) which is quite nice, although to be fair in the long run might as well just leave it in sport.  It tigthens up the steering and changes the engine character a bit.

 

It looks the part especially in Silver as (1) the Nismo is still a fairly rare sight on the road and (2) I am told 90% of them are either black or white, so Silver is quite rare !

 

Its a good package for £ 20 k.   I am pleased with the choice.

 

Niggles - no interior light in the back.   Headlight bulbs are a joke ( just like the Fabia) they have been replaced after a week with Osram Nighbreaker Unlimited for £ 16 which are pretty good.  Cant beleive I had 2 new cars in a row where the headlight bulbs from the factory were poor !  MPG not great so far around 30.   However told this gets better.

 

I will try and post a couple of picccys up later.

 

Had a good time with my Fabia, lets hope the Juke gives me the same over the next 3 years....

[Furbytom]

Glad you are enjoying your new beast!

How are you getting on with the boot? People say its tiny but I've not seen it myself.

[Bullyboy]

Boots not bad. Wide but not deep although under boot storage is available in a tray.

See picture of the car

Edited 17 February, 2014 by Bullyboy