I meant to join and post many months ago, but been busy

Firstly to say thanks to the "regulars" here. When I was researching my new car back in the spring, I came across this forum and the info about the VRS was really useful in shortlisting the Fabia VRS. At the time I read loads of great posts about this car which confirmed it would be worth a look.

Second, to say I have been a VRS owner now since the middle of 2007 and so far, so good.

I was previously driving a petrol (2.5 V6 Vectra) and the VRS was not even on the radar to start with - or even the idea of a diesel. I started on the "green guilt trip" and looked at downsizing but test drives of things like the Toyota Aygo were not good when the thing slowed down going up hills. Tried loads of cars ending up by accident actually at a Skoda dealer and then looking at the Octavia VRS. Went home with a review copy of the cheaper Fabia and it mentioned the huge torque. This lead me to look at reviews then end up here. A fast car with a great MPG figure? Sounded good.

So I took the Fabia VRS for a test drive, being "old enough" to know the old Skoda jokes it felt a bit odd at first, well that is until the first main traffic junction when the lights had just changed to green and I floored it in second - and the thing took off. I don't think the Fabia is too hot a car in the looks stakes, but it ticked more boxes than anything else I had driven, and the price and low running costs clinched it.

It's not an exciting car to drive off the lights IMO (it's like a tractor) but it has the most outrageous power for overtaking. I commute on really bad A roads a lot and what you lose in 0-60 times (ie. acceleration when you don't really need it) you gain in overtaking grunt. And whereas my Vectra told me I was doing under 15mpg at motorway speeds, in the Fabia it's over 50!!! In a nutshell it really proved to me that 0-60 times mean very little, the key thing is "real life" performance.

One thing, not sure if it's just me, but when you do leave "better" cars behind particularly on motorway drags, the fact it's a Skoda just adds to the enjoyment. People just don't seem to expect it to drive so quick and I have never been hustled for a race, it seems to have an in-built cloaking device on the road. You really can have fun in it.

One advantage of this car when I bought it was the apparent ease to tune it up (remaps etc) but I am not so keen on this now, the standard set up is good enough. I'll wait for the warranty to expire before doing that.

Only had one disaster - relying on the key fob to open the boot only - then closed boot with keys in when tired - duh! Anyone else done this? It took the RAC nearly two hours to get in it without damaging it (by prizing the front door open and using a wire to open the rear window which is not electric).

Ride quality - at least in mine - is pretty rough, I do get knocked about a lot on most roads, and it does seem a bit noisy. I know this is the price to pay for better handling. The light coloured seats mark easily too, but despite this I am still smitten by this car.

Anyway I have waffled on a bit, sorry.

Welcome

I think your first impressions mirror most of ours.

Great little cars, if a tad fugly.

Welcome! Nice to hear your transition story.

I must admit, I really like the looks, compact, great lines and I love the aggressive front!

Enjoy and drive safe!

Welcome

I love my Car, I am working towards a remap. I also want to wait till the warranty has run out though

i have allways been paranoid about locking the keys in the boot,i can see how easy it could be done,welcome and enjoy:thumbup:

I almost did lock my keys in the boot in the Scottish borders snow just before setting off for my 50 mile commute home! I think unusually i must have unlocked the whole car though for loading up... Think i deserved some luck after hitting ice on the way there though!

I locked my keys in the back of my Astravan once - my poor mum saved me driving the spare key 40 miles to me!

I agree with everything you said, and I've owned my car just over three years now (warranty gone so starting to upgrade). In particular you mentioned the ride - it is/was bad and I've fitted Koni FSD dampers (on the standard springs) and I'm very happy to report they completely change the ride at mid to high speed (at low speeds dampers don't do much, it's all springs so pretty much the same).

I've never found it ugly either, but eye of the beholder and all that.

Somehow....I don't know how...but I managed to lock the keys in the car, whilst they were in the ignition, with the engine running about 8 months ago. That was embarrassing!

In a nutshell it really proved to me that 0-60 times mean very little, the key thing is "real life" performance.

And welcome

Welcome to the ultimate stealth car forum. Enjoy your car, drive safely.

I meant to join and post many months ago, but been busy

Firstly to say thanks to the "regulars" here. When I was researching my new car back in the spring, I came across this forum and the info about the VRS was really useful in shortlisting the Fabia VRS. At the time I read loads of great posts about this car which confirmed it would be worth a look.

Good to hear you enjoy your Furby

You could actually really join, by registering with Freedom £12 py and support the site :-) well worth it

Goan you know you want too, although you will receive the same cheerful reception wether a full member or not

Just been cheeky mate, this is a really good information site, and you can join for real for little money and no hassle

Furby is a great motor, made even better by BRISKODA, I too took the plunge after information on here

You know Skoda UK really should sponsor the site, it makes more sales than Skoda do and I bet their advertising is in the thousands bracket :-)

Well welcome aboard Pete enjoy the experience as for Scoobies leave them soot

Jimbo aka NATIONAL

Welcome!

Fantastic cars aren't they! I had to borrow my Dad's Furby 1.4TDi last year when my Astra was playing silly buggers and while not fast I was impressed with the torque on it and also the amount of equipment for the money. I liked it so much I went out and bought a vRS which always puts a smile on my face with a prod of the right foot

Really glad you're enjoying it mate and congrats on becoming a Brisky member!

Welcome

Welcome. The looks have grown on me- it's quite purposeful, if not pretty. Without a doubt it's the best car I've owned fro the performance/economy/practicality/costs blend.

Like you, I'll consider a remap when the warranty is out, maybe, but the stock performance isn't bad at all, and real world overtakes show what it's capable of.

I like the looks of the fabia. The only thing I'd say is the front of the Octavia VRS looks about twice as good, probably just because of the width of the car...

nice review, enjoy your car

Hey , welcome to the site , glad that you are enjoying the vRS! One thing that puzzles me , is there no interior boot release in your car down by the drivers side sill , where the fuel cap release is?? Or had you locked all the doors as well??

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

Or had you locked all the doors as well??

Yes the car was locked - I had used the remote fob to open just the boot, which then locks when you close it. The RAC guy started by tinkering with some electrics right under the car (saying if you trip some light or other, it can activate the central locking). This didn't work, neither did a wire in the driver's side to open the door using the inner door handle. So it was a longer wire in the front, to wind the rear window down as the rear door was too solid to prize open!! Once the window was down, the guy was in like a gazelle (at which point the alarm went off, waking up much of a marina where I was parked), got the seats down and got the keys.

as for Scoobies leave them soot

Funny thing this, but a scooby was on my test drive list. On paper it has to be even better performance/price than anything else. When I started it up (a new WRX) it sounded like a diesel strangely enough (was expecting it to purr but I guess that's after market exhaust mods or the STi), on the test drive the handling was amazing, and it was quick, but it was no fun at all. I found that really weird, I could see the speedo reach 60 in no time, but it just didn't have the X factor for me. I may be wrong but I'm sure I read the VRS has 310Nm of torque which is only 10Nm less than the Scooby? Not that I would ever try and race a Scooby of course but again it makes you appreciate the Fabia's hidden talents. I think I would have also been looking at about £300 road tax a year and poor MPG.

It's really funny how you read loads of car reviews and form an opinion based on these, but when you test drive the cars it's turned on its head.

I agree, only muppets buy Skodas.........

I've only done the key thing once, fortunately I was at home and just got the spare keys....

I bought mine after being driven in a colleagues vrs (he now has an SE) and when the fiesta was up for replacement it was the only car I bothered to look at. The only regret I have is not speccing xenon lights.