Well, this is a record for me, 3 posts in 1 day !

Had my Fabia 1.4 comfort 8v since new, and put 60K on it (ok SWMBO had it for its first 2.5 years of its life, and did a very low mileage).

Thinking about changing, and have narrowed the choice down to two models (I do about 20K per year).

Firstly the Fabia vRS for obvious reasons, power, economy, and hopefully reliability, which with the options I want I can get for just over

Why not the PD100? If you are looking at a Golf with 105bhp then a Fabia with 100bhp could be ok. That may save you money, doesn't look as good or go as fast but would save you money.

I think the residuals on the vRS would be slightly better than the pd100, so whilst a pd100 might be about £1K cheaper to buy, the vRS's whole life costs wouldnt be that much more (have driven both the pd100 and a vRS - loved them both).

I would look at a Golf GT TDI, but a) its much more expensive, and it doesnt come with some of the things I want which the SE includes (e.g. Cruise control). Whilst you can spec them, the options arent exactly cheap.

I guess it comes down to what I really want, the vrs gives speed, whereas the golf (the 105bhp) trades speed for a slightly bigger interior, and the VW badge.

RBW.

I came from VW to Skoda, the main difference I have found apart from liking Skodas more is getting away from VW dealerships. I would never go back.

If you really like golfs, and perhaps the MK5 is more reliable than the MK4 and have a good local VW dealership then go for it. My old MK4 GTI was falling apart with only 50k on it.

Interesting point MadJak, not really had much experience of VW dealers, but have to agree the Skoda dealers are best of a bad bunch from my experiences so far.

I'd also expect VW models to be at least as well screwed together as the Skoda, which doesnt seem to be your view having owned a VW.

Looks like I am going to have to spend a bit of money on the fabia http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43878, as I dont want to change until March for the 06 plates. Ho hum...

RBW.

Well, I looked into every single car on the market, and for me, the vRS is unbeatable.

I do like the Golf, but opted against it because:

• there are to many of them on the road
  
• the blue dials give me a head ache
  
• too expensive for what you get
  
• the only benefits on the interior are the arm rest, and a good choice of climate controls

The Fabias +'s imo are:

• straight line performance
  
• equally well screwed together
  
• good comfort yet supple when "pressing on"
  
• sportier to look at, yet still subtle
  
• not many of them about
  
• the most comfy seats in the world - I'm quite largely framed and they fit perfectly, they are stunning.
  
• better spec - I specced xenons, heated seats and cruise, and came in well under the price of a nearly equivalent Golf.

My only minor gripe with the Furby is the lack of proper climate control. Whilst the "climatic" works well (its pretty good really), I love the look of the display etc of the climatronic that other VAG models have.

Hope this helps! :confused:

Get Vrs ...better all round ...but........don't get the black........ it is ALWAYS dirty

Get Vrs ...better all round ...but........don't get the black........ it is ALWAYS dirty

But the man does have a point... I'd probably have got the red or silver with hindsight, most likely the silver - purely because the black (as good as it looks when clean) is always mucky, and no matter how much you nurture it - it WILL get scratched.

the octavia is too big but you'd get a golf? :confused:

its only a foot longer

vRS tyres are much more expensive than the ones on the non-vRS version(s) of the Fabia - worth keeping that in mind. Fuel economy of the PD100 is better too. In Elegance spec you'll have pretty much all of the toys anyway

The fact that black is harder to keep clean is a myth.

I've seen many red or silver ones with a blackened/sooty tailgate and the yellow, well we'll not even go there!!

Do yourself a favour-get a Fabia VRS, it makes you smile when you drive it. Had mine for 6 months now and i even like driving to work!

Has anyone had a recent model successfully remapped ? I like the idea of the tuneability of the vRS, but a bit concerned that the ability to do this has been reduced by making the engine Euro iV compliant.

There was a recent thread about the disappointing results of a remap for a recent model, and I wonder if this is related ?

Cheers.

RBW

I've never heard of anyone disapointed by a remap...

You only live once, get the vRS and enjoy the extra power

As for a remap... go for it, the best

I too am yet to hear of people disappointed with a remap.

However, there was a thread about a PD100 which couldn't be mapped to much more over standard. I think the conclusion was that a particulate filter is now being fitted to bring the PD engine up to Euro IV standards, and this considerably reduces remapping potential.

Take this with a pinch of salt though - only going on "hear say".

Nothing a replacement exhaust system won't sort though

more is getting away from VW dealerships. I would never go back.

.

So true.

The only downside with our vRS is it attracts attention (believe it or not!)