My Fabia was in for its (excruciatingly painful) 40k service on Saturday, so I took the opportunity to have a go in the Octy VRS. I liked it a lot. Not as quick as the V50 T5 I tried a couple of weeks ago, but much better seats and it felt grippier and more reassuring somehow. Like being in a snugly-fitting trainer instead of a work-shoe, if that makes sense. I am now, therefore, rather interested in the idea of owning one, particularly as Lady Bertie McHobnobs has given notional approval to the idea.

However, there were a couple of things I forgot to check, and was wondering if anyone could answer?

1) How wide is the boot - both the main bit and the hatch? I'm trying to work out if a guitar hard case will go in. I think it will but would like to be sure.

2) What is maxi-dot? I can't find an explanation. And would I want it?

3) Would the factory be able to make me one without the spoiler?

4) Do they do non-leather heated seats? The options list suggests not but the chap wasn't sure.

4) The chap suggested that my Fabia would be worth £6800 at trade in (it's an 05 but has 40k on it). Drive the Deal suggest about £16300 for a new VRS. Are these both sensible figures?

Ta muchly.

Oh, and being the most important aspect, if I did get one I think it would be black.

Ah-ha. I did a bit of a search and answered the maxi-dot question myself.

I'd sell the Fabia privately and get a low mileage black octavia vRS with all the kit for about £14k.If it was me.....

nice cars and the second hand prices are starting to look attractive

£6800 sounds on the low side to me for a 05, is £16300 for a petrol or deisal and what options?, (How far do you live from Simpsons you might persuade them to give you book on the Fabia and still get the drive the deal price )

I was looking at a petrol with rear parking sensors and maxi-dot, I think. I'm in Guildford so the two nearest dealers are Station Garage and the Aldershot one. I think I prefer the Aldershot place; they're certainly nicer to deal with for servicing, apart from the no while-you-wait thing.

Why would you want an Octy vRS without the spoiler? That's the best bit about it?!

I suspect the ordering system can be fiddled to order the heated non-leather seats but this will depend on the dealer. Same for the spoiler.

Just looking at an Octy VRS TDI 170 myself, well me and dad!

Dad has a silver 54 plate furby VRS with 25.k miles, been offered £6,250 as it needs service end of month and all 4 alloys re-furbed - sound resonable?

Car in question is 56 plate Race Blue Octy VRS TDI 170 with 10k miles at £15k with all options on it...

Why would you want an Octy vRS without the spoiler? That's the best bit about it?!

Ditto !! Well almost .......

As to heated seats; YES you can get the 'standard' vRS seats (leather sides/perforated suede top & bottom/mesh centre section) heated. Its not on the official price list but your dealer just adds option code 'PWO' to the specification and relieves you of an extra £250.

Mmmmm - nice warm bum.

Recently traded my 54 plate silver Furby VRS with 60k for £6500, so some of these offers might be low.

It had just been serviced (and cambelt done) too which I used to get the dealer to up their offer.

They are charging for wheel refurb and an interior shampoo as usual fabia interior is filthy...

Were hoping for more for the VRS but it is 50% of what it cost after 3 years...

We'll see...

Get a combi, you know you want one

Thanks chaps - most helpful. Especially that code for the heated seats - Lady Bertie McHobnobs can now have no objections whatsoever.

I was thinking of losing the spoiler just for added "stealth" value - one of the things I like about the VRS is that the differences from the normal Octy are fairly subtle.

Could someone elaborate on the "Simpsons" thing please? Are they a particularly generous dealer?

Oh, and my Fabia is a 1.9 Elegance estate; presumably that'd resell a little lower than a same-age-and-mileage fabia VRS.

I was thinking of losing the spoiler just for added "stealth" value - one of the things I like about the VRS is that the differences from the normal Octy are fairly subtle.

i think i agree with this - if i'd been buying new, i'd be tempted to replace the spoiler with boot lip one instead (as in the Octy Sport) - i think it looks a lot smarter, a bit more Audi "sport" image. Would probably cause serious problems at resale time though, as very few buyers would feel the same, i think.

Ah - that's a good point. I could see lots of "Is this a real VRS?" and "what else have you modded?" questions.

I think the problem really was that the demonstrator was yellow. A black spoiler wouldn't show as much.

If body is same as a standard 2.0 hatch, I can't imagine any way it wouldn't hold a hard guitar case.

With the shelf out and back seats down it would hold an entire rock group.

I took half my garden to the local tip in mine.

It certainly looks like it'd fit. But that was the one thing I didn't check before buying the Fabia, and a hard case won't fit sideways in there. :(

Last month my dealer gave me £7500 back for my 55 plate vRS Furbie with 50K on it so I think you could get a better PX price then what you have been offered if you shop a little.

Hmm. I checked the Glass's thing on the Vauxhall site and that suggested £6820 for mine if it's in excellent condition.

Not as quick as the V50 T5 I tried a couple of weeks ago

Strange, as far as I can see the performance figures on test are virtually identical. It could be that the V50 just gave the impression of being faster. Certainly there are still times when I'm surprised at how quickly the traffic behind seems to get very far behind and yet I don't feel that I'm going quickly.

I thought the V50 was 0-60 in 6.4 and the Octavia (officially) 7.3, actually 6.9 or so? Ah - or it could be that the V50 was unaccompanied, and the VRS had the Skoda chap in it. I probably drove the V50 a bit harder.

The V50 did feel faster, but that might have been because when you floor it it's such a job keeping it in a straight line. The VRS just seemed to accumulate speed without any great fuss (though in a most fun way).

If you assume the V50 T5 is a similar weight to the S40 T5 then it would have a better power to weight ratio than the VRs as it weights about the same but has an extra 25 horses.

The 2.5T engine in the V50/S40 T5 is the same as in the Focus ST and everyone knows how good that is...

I must say that I am a big fan of Volvos, I was toying with the idea of an S60 R before I got the VRs. I test drove one and I could only describe it as a rocket ship!

I found the headrests in the V50 very annoying - you can't adjust the angle and they seemed to push my head forwards. Most uncomfortable. And the VRS seats are much snugglier - I felt much better held in place when cornering.

Just get the vRS and be content

Just goes to show that different tests (different drivers/weather/cars) will prodice a variety of figures.

I had a Focus ST on trial for a week before choosing the Vrs. The ST was ultimately quicker and it would out handle the Vrs at the extreme but in everyday use not sufficiiently so to make greater progress. Also the fuel consumption when driven hard was only 21-22mpg.

Now the only thing I really would like from the ST is the Recarro seats, they were much better than the Vrs.