The vRS was in for it's 20k service (25 and a bit k on the clocks).

Was given the keys to a Fabia Sport - didnt check if it was the 1.2 or the 1.4 due to lack of time and it was cold :P

Let's get this over with first - it only looks a little sporty, it sure didnt appear to enjoy going fast all that much.

The biggest problem I had was to adjust to the clutch, which is very light and appears to bite very high up. The handbrake felt like it was not attached to anything, even the Rover 100 I've got feels more weighted than that.

Once I got used to it, it was a fine running car, brakes work well, dive appeared to be less than on the vRS. Acceleration-wise, I tried revving it a fair bit, but it wasn't too fast. Assuming it was the 1.2 it felt reasonably nippy considering the weight of the car and the engine size etc.

IMHO the car would have been better off without the sport badge, if you don't think about it it's ok, but it made me feel embarrassed to have that on. I'm not a badge-fanatic, but if you put some kinda sporty sounding badge on it does need to have at least a slim hope of achieving 60mph within the minute :P

It had an annoying rattle in the door trim too :(

The rest of the car appears to have been built well, and once at cruising speeds it was nice and quiet (less roadnoise due to 'normal' tyres).

Whether it's worth buying really depends on what you're after - it's not a sporty car, and I reckon without the badge claiming it's a sports you'd be able to enjoy it as a good runabout for sure

The Fabia Sport is only really designed to be the oposite to a wolf in sheep clothing, i.e its a sheep in wolf's clothing. The 1.2 especially is aimed at young drivers who want a sporty looking car with low running costs and lower group / cost insurance, thats where this car fits the bill well. Its much cheaper/safer in the long run than for a young driver to get cheap old/low powered car old car and modifying the bodywork etc to make it look sporty - we have all done it!! even me! but these days its very costly with the insurance cost.

If you drove the 1.2 you should really have recognised it straight away by its raspy engine / exaust note that is in my opinion great ,reminds me of when engines had their own characteristic engine note. The 1.2 needs low down gear changing where the power band is - its no use reving the nuts of it to make good progress.

banana's

banana's

Cant understand what you mean? although I can guess.

Are you tying top say I or the post originator are talking a load of rubbish? Personally I thought I would make an attempt to make a response to what I considered an interesting post on what WWVRS obviously made an effort to type and post.

yup 1.2 sport came out just after i got my 1.2 comfort and turned it into as sport with the spoiler, exhaust, peddles etc.

Would of loved the interior and tinted glass.

Oh... i'm a student so this is definiatly what im after a sporty looking cheap to insure car.

...................................

If you drove the 1.2 you should really have recognised it straight away by its raspy engine / exaust note that is in my opinion great ' date='reminds me of when engines had their own characteristic engine note. The 1.2 needs low down gear changing where the power band is - its no use reving the nuts of it to make good progress.[/quote']

I'm driving a 1.2 Ambiente courtesy car while the local dealers fix my vRS after they shattered the rear screen and damaged the tailgate & body doing warranty work on my tailgate dampers.

The 1.2 3 cylinder engine certainly has a characteristic engine note although mostly at low revs pulling away. Can't quite get used to the lack of torque compared to the vRS, but the trim level is good and the ride smooth enough on the straight bits, if a bit flabby in corners. Lots of features/gadgets are same as in the vRS.

Seems to have a few rattles and loose bits though which is surprising for a 1500mile 55reg car.

The 1.2 3 cylinder engine certainly has a characteristic engine note although mostly at low revs pulling away. .

iv been told mine sounds like a tank pulling away... the engine gives a noise which i can only describe as soundijng like tank tracks!!!

I had the 1.4 sport as a curtoesy car. The engine in that is so bad it makes you want to cry

I had the 1.4 sport as a curtoesy car. The engine in that is so bad it makes you want to cry

:rofl:

It had a 16V badge on it, I'm guessing that is the 1.4 then? I revved it up to the redline and it didnt seem to make much difference.

Agree with the target market thing though, and it's not a bad car for what it is

Have a feeling though that Richards car would put it to shame though, as you've done a LOT of hard work on it

(it didnt feel like a tank though )

It had a 16V badge on it' date=' I'm guessing that is the 1.4 then? I revved it up to the redline and it didnt seem to make much difference.

Agree with the target market thing though, and it's not a bad car for what it is

Have a feeling though that Richards car would put it to shame though, as you've done a LOT of hard work on it

(it didnt feel like a tank though )[/quote']

thanks.... and its much nicer to have the goddies on the comfort range... but i really want those seats from the sport!!!!

May sound like a tank but sure doesnt pull like one the 1.2!!!

It had a 16V badge on it, I'm guessing that is the 1.4 then?

Would have been the earlier sport model with the 1.4 16v 75bhp engine

The performance figures are :-

Max Speed mph 104

Acceleration 0-62mph 13.8

CC 1,390

Max Power bhp [kw]/rpm 75 [55] /5000

I'm amazed it's got 75 bhp, it didnt feel that fast - admittedly it does explain why 5th didnt make it 'stop', unlike my Rover 100 (1.1 petrol).

I really must try the 1.2 12V out one day, it's got to be a better all-rounder.

Something I forgot, the fuel economy was actually pretty impressive, especially considering my attempts to make it go faster during the beginning of the journey

Didnt go for hitting that top speed, but it cruised at 75 mph (on the clocks ) without much grief

Courtesy cars. I find that most skoda owners are old, therefore the courtesy car, before you or i get it, has been molly coddled around on short shopping trips. The car feels **** slow anyway, as you are used to the vrs, and they all rattle and creak, cos nobody reports the faults, and in fact no one actually gives a toss about them. I had a biege 1.2 with matching interior ages ago, and I was embarrased in it. It too was slow, rattly, and fely very primative. No worse than the 1.0 paxo's i used to get from Citroen. Offset pedals, horrid. Then I got a C3 as a C car. Deep joy. Handled well, but even with 500 miles on it, most of the trim fell off when i launched it over a humpback.

Cant understand what you mean? although I can guess.

i bet you can't

Wow, Bengie is in a baaaaad mood.

I reckon he fancied a banana, and for some reason the car/post/whatever made him remember :P - fine by me

You're quite right though, the rattles etc and the handbrake not seemingly being attached didnt work well. The other comment about a lot of these cars being driven like grannies on a sunday might do (exceptions excepted) really won't do them much good. Once it was warmed up I revved it up pretty hard and it did get a little better, but still no perceived power. Suppose it's mainly missing the urgency factor.

For a 1.4 it was dog slow, gearing seemed right for the engine. Didn't try to launch it by any means though