Hi all,

I'm gonna be getting a new company car in the next few months and am looking for some advice. I'm restricted to a 1.9 tdi. I was gonna go for the new Octavia but took a spin in the Fabia vRS at the dealership and was well impressed.

I definitely loved the car but do approx 800 miles a week, a lot of it on B roads and am concerned about the the comfort of the Fabia and about it getting rattled to pieces.

Can anyone advise me? I'm not even sure if I'll be allowed the vRS and if not I'm gonna go with the Octavia with a Revo remap. Has anyone had one of these and how would they compare with the standard Fabia vRS?

Sorry bout all the questions?

Hmmm, I guess the Fabia has more sporting credentials, but I'm also sure the engine in the Octy is feels just as urgent.

I think the Fabia would be the obvious choice if it is a sporty car you are looking for, but if you need a load lugger, then go for the Octy.

Have you test driven an Octy? And what sort of spec would you be after?

A decent specced new Octy would without a doubt cost a lot more than the Fabia, and hence you will have to pay more tax...

pd130 Octy might be a bit more plush and comfortable than a Fabia, and more friendly to someone who carries passengers often, or lots of luggage - more rear space and bigger boot.

However the Fabia would be more fun generally, and if you usually have no more than 1 extra person in the car, would be a good cheaper option.

You need to really disclose what you'd generally use the car for at weekends, etc for us all to make an (un)educated decision.

pd130 Octy might be a bit more plush and comfortable than a Fabia' date=' and more friendly to someone who carries passengers often, or lots of luggage - more rear space and bigger boot.

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Have you ever been in the back of a Mk1 Octy? I remember there being less legroom than in the Furby - probably to make way for the cavernous boot...

Is the Mk2 any better?

Hi

I do 1000 miles a week in the Fabia vRS over the last 4-5 weeks and it is remarkably comfortable both to drive and passenger in. Only just under 6000 miles from new and it seems to be holding up well. B roads are fun in this car.

Chris

Is the Mk2 any better?

Mk2 is significantly better

Chris

Thanks for the quick response.

The car during the week will spend its time in and out of building sites and driving on country roads. At the weekends I drive 150 miles home. I've always driven small cars (paseo, starlet gt) but with the new job the car is supplied.

I'm driving a 1.8 volvo s40 at the moment and its bigger than i need. It is comfortable compared to the paseo though albeit a bit awkward. The only thing that's ever in the car apart from the girlfriend is a guitar and a suitcase/gearbag.

I loved the Fabia but thought the ocatavia was a great car for the money too and if the remap was any good I'd wouldn't rule it out with the 17" alloys and suspension package.

I think if a small car is all thats needed, then definitely go for the Fabia vRS.

The suspension is set up to be really comfy, yet more supple than the rest of the range. This results in excellent comfort and decent handling - although several have uprated the suspension to give a firmer ride and cornering ability.

My fabia vRS came to a P11D value (the value used to work out company car tax) of

Shame you didn't ask this question next month as I am awaiting delivery of my work car which is a 1.9 Octy.

I do fear that the Furby will be a more sporty drive but it is a fair bit smaller where as the Octy will be a roomy, more relaxed drive.

Chowy,

I wont be getting mine for a while yet so I'd be interested to see what yours is like? I thought there was a fair bit of grunt when I test drove one but nothing compared to the Fabia vRS.

I'd love to know what effect a remap would have on one. I spoke to Westward Motorsport here in Ireland and they said could do a Revo remap for about 600 euro. He wasn't entirely sure if it was available for the 1.9 but is looking into it.

Revo on the 1.9TDI will give you 180bhp I should think. Guess that would be the case for both pd130s?

Better off seeing what some of your fellow countrymen did. I know one of them made the effort (bpm) to come all the way over to Jabbasport in Eastern England for a custom remap. Judging by his emailed thanks I read in their folder, he was quite happy with it.

After hearing your needs and feelings, and Tom saying the Mk1 Octy rear legroom isn't special - I say the Fabia is the one to go for.

The Octy II is more refined than the Fabia IMHO, Octy I is definitely not.

That said, the Octavia has _way_ more boot space. It is a little more forgiving on the suspension side of things.

The Octy I with the 1.9 PD engine was not remarkably fast or slow when I drove it, certainly not as fast as the Fab vRS, but that's not what you'd expect. It is a fine car in it's own right. Both cater to a different set of requirements.

Both cars, regardless of 'version' are fine motorway cruisers. I've done several hundred mile trips in the Fabia vRS and it was no problem at all. I can't imagine the bigger car would be less comfy on a longer trip somehow.

How about taking both for a test drive, and get that rear legroom thing tested when the front seats are in your driving position. It may swing your preference towards one of the choices

Revo on the 1.9TDI will give you 180bhp I should think. Guess that would be the case for both pd130s?

.

The Octy 2 1.9 TDi isnt 130 bhp so why did you keep banging on about it? :P

Personally i'd go for the Octy 2 as a company/work car especially if hauling long miles and visiting building sites etc. MAkes more sense as a buisness user in my eyes and are great to drive even in the 105 form.

Another thing to bear in mind is that although the Octy 2 1.9tdi is only 105 bhp, there may be possiblilites that VAG have done something to the very latest engines to restrict them for remapping.

I was at Jabba with Striker from this site who has a Fabia 1.9 PD100 and Mike couldn't get any more power than 128 bhp regardless of all the maps he tried! Mike from Jabba thought it might be an Injector issue! Not sure if Striker's was a one off problem or whether all new PD's have this problem??

PS His car was a late '05 car I believe

I would go for comfort as a priority when doing 800 miles per week. The octavia would be my choice out of the Skoda range.

Welcome to the forum BTW

P.S Are you Murphy

Also bear in mind a remap may cause complications with respect to the leasing agreement and/or your company - as well as altering the emissions too.

Need big boot,choose octavia.Don't need it ,choose fabia.

Fabia vRS is fine on the motorway,doesn't feel like a small car and eats up the miles.

Don't know if 105 bhp tdi is better on fuel or not though.

I now know what I want. I want space/ comfort of the Octy but want it to drive like the Fabia!! If only the 2.0 Octy was an option!

I'm still leaning towards the Fabia. I think I could trade a bit of space and comfort for the buzz of driving it!

In the end its going to come down to whether the boss deems it suitable as a company car. Could vito it because of its vRS status.

Keep the fingers crossed. I'll know in a few months. I'm due to change in April.

Id go for the fabia I have the estate/combi with the pd100 and find it fun on b roads, excelent on motorways a lot better than the renault megane 1.6 16v i had before.....

it feels a much bigger car than it is, very solid..... just a shame the fabia vRS wasnt made in an estate........