Finally test drove a 53reg silver Fabia vRS...

I will compare it against my standard Octavia vRS...

Pro's

quick... comparable ( poss slightly better on Motorway )..

Real world performance upto 100mph I would honestly say the Fabia vRS

would live with and sometimes embarass my Octy vRS..

80mph = 2000rpm in 6th.. = hardly any engine noise...

More refined than my Octavia.. ( Unable to make an accurate judgement as mine has bearing and excessive wind noise )..

Handling.. Fabia roll's more and does not feel as well planted as mine does..

but along bumpy country lanes, it actually makes it more comfortable...

tyre noise is comparable... unless its over concrete motorway where its quite

noisy...

Seats are fantastic, bolsters holding my lardy ass in place... better than good Octy vRS seats...

Brakes are good but don't feel as powerfull vs my Octy brakes...

Black carpet..

Stereo..

Price!

50MPG

Cons..

Seat material... will get dirty very quickly... Bolsters might show signs of wear very quickly...

No climate control option..

... I was VERY IMPRESSED... I'm now considering PX my Octy vRS for a

black Fab vRS with Xenons ..... maybe....!!

Cheers

Dazz

You know when you've been furbied :Yikes:

Oh and apparently the 04 has slightly better handling over the 03, I could not compare as mines is an 04 but I throw it into bends as much as I did my Mini Cooper adn it handles them fine thing is I now come out them much faster

Very good subjective review....

Agree with the brakes which i found very weak, so i solved that problem with a set of Octavia 312mm brakes

Very good subjective review....

Agree with the brakes which i found very weak' date=' so i solved that problem with a set of Octavia 312mm brakes

[img']http://www.briskoda.net/gallery/data/531/271IMG_1495_Medium_-med.JPG[/img]

and a very shiny wheel! Curtousy of MC2 I take it?

and a very shiny wheel! Curtousy of MC2 I take it?

yup... definately.... DS2500 are damn dusty pads too :eek:

If you buy a Furby made after March 04 you'll notice that the gearbox is closer ratio with 80mph now at about 2300-2400 rpm. This makes 6th gear more usable. I thought it was a good improvement over the earlier car I test drove.

Go on buy it. You won't be sorry!!!

any other differences 'tween 03 and 04 cars? test drove 03 but expecting me own 04 very soon.

Good review.

Regards to the suspension and brakes. Spot on. In the process of sorting the suspension out on my fabia with a eibach kit. Hope this sorts it out. As for the brakes, I'm not that impressed. After driving a octavia vrs the brakes in the furby are no were near as good. The brake pedel is very spongy were the octavia is nice and firm. Think it'll be a Neo VR root in a few months.

any other differences 'tween 03 and 04 cars? test drove 03 but expecting me own 04 very soon.

The other differences I've noticed are:-

One click indicators - Move the stalk briefly and the indicators flash 3 times (surprised how good this is when you get used to it)

Some people have said that there was a boot release switch button on the early cars, but it's on the keyfob anyway so isn't important

what have they done to the suspension set-up to make it 'better handling than the 03' - lower? stiffer? still looks like it could do with more if the 5th gear car was an 04 !

what have they done to the suspension set-up to make it 'better handling than the 03' - lower? stiffer? still looks like it could do with more if the 5th gear car was an 04 !

We aint sure yet... possibly think it could be a figament of peoples imagination my suspension changed loads from when new and after a few thousand miles under its belt.

will hopefully do a back to back comparison in a week or two..

had read somewhere on this site that newer 04 furby vrs had a different ecu program which prevented any serial port tuning (shut down completely when fiddled with!) - or was that the 'tavia rs?

well it seems that the some of the most recent VAG ECU's are much harder to crack.

my brother is extremely impatient waiting for APR to be able to OBD his 1.8T/190bhp A4 - apparently there's no program as yet as they haven't been able to get around the new 'chip.' i believe same goes for the new tdi 140 and the fsi turbo. :(

had read somewhere on this site that newer 04 furby vrs had a different ecu program which prevented any serial port tuning (shut down completely when fiddled with!) - or was that the 'tavia rs?

Really, that is a bummer if thats true... hopefully it will be tunable still as I had intended to get this done next year some time. Does that also mean it cant be superchipped?

As for the suspension, well I have driven the 03 version and own the 04 version, and from what I can remember, I dont recall there being any difference. The only difference I noticed was the gearing being much taller in the 03 model.

paul,

i am sure the tuners will crack any problem ecu's, just may take some time.

one thing though, PLEASE don't get a superchip........

Are the superchips crap then? I admit from what little I know, it always appears that the remaps are better.

ok, as you know, 3 ways to tune.

1) rechip ie. replace chip. no problems here(i think) with uncrackable ecu's as they're just being replaced. downsides - not switchable, physical evidence etc. either off the shelf generally or individual a la jabba.

2) remap via obd - invisible, same program.

3) for diesels, a tuning box type thing.

with regard to 1 and 2, most companies do/can do/have done both. superchips also do obd tuning but the reason i was saying don't get one is because frankly, they are crap remaps compared to what you can get from jabba, amd etc. horrible spiky, peaky efforts from superchips imho. yeurch!

Some more questions...

I know thes might have been covered elsewhere but....

Interior.. I would expect the dealer to offer the supaguard protection..

is this worth it, or is there a better aftermarket option to protect the seats?

... On the suspension comments.. I would like to add that even though the

Fabia did not feel as well planted it did not wallow or get deflected.. in fact

the suspension is more compliant.. While this might make it seem less precise

than the Octavia it is more comfortable....

I liked the indicators setup..

I've done some research on t'internet for the best price for a UK supplied

car and the price I've got is approx

Some people on here use teflon stuff to protect the seats.. tho i have to say, mine is 6 months old, has done 16k miles and the only mark on the white upholstry is in the back at the bottom of the drivers seat where someone has scuffed their shoes barstewards!!!

Oh.. and to quantify fuel economy.. brimming tank is about

If you buy a Furby made after March 04 you'll notice that the gearbox is closer ratio with 80mph now at about 2300-2400 rpm. This makes 6th gear more usable. I thought it was a good improvement over the earlier car I test drove.

Go on buy it. You won't be sorry!!!

Mine's a 53 plate (December)' date=' and I'm sure 70 comes in at about 2000, 80 [i']probably[/i] about 2300-2400...Do I have one of the first in the (slightly) revised models?

I don't have one-touch indicators...

:confused:

Yes that sounds like the later ratios. I'm sure the early vRS's did 38-39mph/1000rpm in top gear, i.e. 78@2000rpm

Mumphie, I am sure you have the old gearbox, because 70 in mine is about 2200, 100 mph is 3000 rpm.

paul' date='

i am sure the tuners will crack any problem ecu's, just may take some time.

one thing though, PLEASE don't get a superchip........[/quote']

How come no to superchips, I know they dont produce much power in comparrison to others, are there any other reasons??

CDOG

Supagard is about

The dealer may do you a deal for your first DiamondBrite - mine did, still gotta book it in to get it done though

You can just touch the boot-grip when the car is not locked, it will pop open the boot as well (in addition to the release on the remote). The one-click = 3 indicator thing works a treat, and the rest of it still behaves normal (i.e. unlike a Vauxhall one where it keeps going or when you cancel it it goes the other way, depending on whether IT decides to cancel before you or not.. Drives ya mad).

It is very handy when you just need to indicate you're clearing off a roundabout. Clip it, change gear and drive off at pace

Brakes - hmm initially they were PANTS. Worse than my Metro so it felt (they still weren't though ) - once run in they are pretty good. Feedback is not great, and it may be why I'd upgrade the brake fluid on the first service - but really it's not that bad for normal road use. Track use - not a clue but I'd expect more trouble there without changing anything then with the Octy, based on the number of posts about it

Superchips don't appear to have a good reputation with VAGs - there are plenty of others that use them who seem happy enough though, perhaps it's just not their speciality? Either way, AMD/Revo/Jabba are popular for this one