VRS to Fabia Sport impressions.

[Chris GB]

Ok, I have a Fabia Sport 1.9tdi as a loan car today, having dropped off the Fabia VRS for some work at the dealers. Some impressions:

Seating position is HIGH. Even with the seat as low as it will go it is like sitting in a mini MPV. The centre console presses into my knee if the seat is in the right place for the controls to be comfortable. I am 6'3" tall and average build. The seat itself seems very comfortable and has good lumbar support. Steering column adjustment is truly useful and the pedal actions are light and positive. The gearbox is a bit less well defined across the gate than the six speeder, but light and positive in use generally.

Engine seems a little less gruff than the VRS, but my VRS has over 100,000 miles on the clock. On the move, the NVH seems well controlled other than the whining of the Bridgestone ER30s at higher speeds. The 5 speed box makes for slightly shorter geared cruising than the VRS. Performance is weak by comparison, but still pretty good for a supermini. Out on the dual carriageway, it still picks up speed well. The torquey delivery feels much less well endowed in the midrange than the VRS though.

Ride and handling. Ride is nice and smooth. The car seems to absorb bumps and thumps lots better than the vRS's ageing dampers can. Springs are a fair bit softer but the car does not roll excessively for its softness. Damping? Did someone forget to fit the dampers? I had a look under the wheelarches and you can see stuff that looks like damping, but really, the car bounces and floats more than my 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. This combined with the short wheelbase and high driving position caused me to feel slightly nauseas. I will try it again tomorrow, maybe I was having an off day, but it really does need more primary ride damping for my tastes.

Fuel consumption seems a bit better than my vRS.

So would I buy one as a vRS replacement? Well it has to work as a driving school car. The high seating position makes it easy to see out of the back. Fuel consumption is good, dealer service from Skoda has been mostly exemplary. So it may make it onto my short list. Would need a set of dampers from new though.

Chris

[youngsyd]

Different car though isnt it?

[woodenspatulas]

good to see a real vrs owner trying one out

i think your comments are correct. if i was getting one to replace a vrs i would certainly be looking at lowering springs to tighten the ride. taking the esp option to counteract the lack of ASR. and finally slapping a tuning box on too

on a plus side how much better are those seats going to be to keep keep vs the light grey vrs ones

[Chris GB]

Originally Posted by youngsyd

Different car though isnt it?

Obviously very different. I have driven the smaller petrol engined version and it seemed to ride OK, but the extra weight of the 1.9 diesel up front really highlights how weak the primary ride damping is. If I had one to replace the vrs, it really would need dampers fitted from new.

I have driven it a fair bit this morning. I did not mention anything to SWMBO about the car. After around 15 minutes she was complaining of feeling queasy. Don't get me wrong, it seems to hold on OK, just the high driving position, short wheelbase and soft damping make it a bit odd. I have driven Roomsters and new Fabias before with no problems, so not new to the platform, but the big lump up front needs some changes to be made to the chassis IMO.

What does impress is the engine. Although "only" 105bhp, it pulls well and the performance difference between it and the vrs is not huge. You really notice the midrange is not as strong, but the top end is not too far behind. I reckon a sport on proper springs, dampers and bushing could handle pretty well. Need to do something about the "play chair" seat height for it to qualify for that sport badge though.

Chris

[Chris GB]

Originally Posted by woodenspatulas

good to see a real vrs owner trying one out

i think your comments are correct. if i was getting one to replace a vrs i would certainly be looking at lowering springs to tighten the ride. taking the esp option to counteract the lack of ASR. and finally slapping a tuning box on too

on a plus side how much better are those seats going to be to keep keep vs the light grey vrs ones

The whole plot is under damped, I cannot see lowering the car making this any better to be honest. Also, just how low can you go before the control arms are horizontal and the spectre of positive camber under load starts to show?

ESP, not a fan of it myself. OK for general driving, PITA for fun driving.

The car is on my list of prospective replacements for the Fabia vRS as a driving school car. I would like another nippy diesel. This time around though, I need more emphasis on fuel economy. I am spending over £7400 a year on fuel at the moment, so a few more MPG would be good. This is an area where the new Fabia is good.

Chris

[woodenspatulas]

Originally Posted by Chris GB

The whole plot is under damped, I cannot see lowering the car making this any better to be honest. Also, just how low can you go before the control arms are horizontal and the spectre of positive camber under load starts to show?

ESP, not a fan of it myself. OK for general driving, PITA for fun driving.

The car is on my list of prospective replacements for the Fabia vRS as a driving school car. I would like another nippy diesel. This time around though, I need more emphasis on fuel economy. I am spending over £7400 a year on fuel at the moment, so a few more MPG would be good. This is an area where the new Fabia is good.

Chris

so maybe add dampers to the upgrade list? what about thicker anti roll bars?

i thought i read somewhere that the springs and dampers were the same as the mk1?

[Chris GB]

Originally Posted by woodenspatulas

so maybe add dampers to the upgrade list? what about thicker anti roll bars?

i thought i read somewhere that the springs and dampers were the same as the mk1?

I think it has a pretty stiff anti roll bar anyway. Body roll is quite well checked for something that rides so softly. The springs and dampers may be the same as the Mk1, it feels much more bouncy though, even just standing outside the car and bouncing it, there is obviously a lot of slack that is no even remotely as soft as on the Mk1.

Personally, I would do dampers and bushes. Springs could wait IMO. It sits pretty high, so although dropping it a long way looks like a good idea, you may get the situation where the lower control arms are higher at the ends than at the body. When this happens you get positive camber as the car rolls, which is very very bad news for handling. Needs research.

Chris

[mole]

i have standard 1.9tdi springs off a 57 plate fabia if your intrested

[Chris GB]

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I have had the opportunity to drive the Fabia Sport for a considerable time now. I must say that it is starting to grow on me.

Fuel economy of the 1.9 TDi 105bhp engine continues to impress, with a noticeable improvement of maybe 10% on the old Fabia vRS over a similar journey. The performance is obviously less swift, but there is still a useful amount of go, so keeping up with traffic is not an issue.

The car is good on a fast cruise, NVH I felt where better than my vRS by a fair amount, but since the vRS got its new dual mass flywheel, there is much less difference. Tyre noise is well suppressed and lumps / bumps are more softly dealt with.

The handling, while initially feeling soft, is very competent. The car takes a while to settle, but once you get dialled in, it is possible to get the back end working in corners and the balance of the car comes alive. It is not particularly immediate in its responses, but pretty gratifying to cover ground on B roads in. The compliance of the ride smooths the way. A comfort oriented setup then, but one which has room for some fun if pushed a bit. Push very hard mind, the whole lot gets very soggy and slow witted, but the pleasure is to be had from stroking it along in its very nice sweet zone.

Driving position is high, still cannot get used to it. The vRS allows one to sit much lower and my other regular transport has me sitting a few inches off the ground, so the impression is magnified. However, looking out of the windows in traffic, it is clear that I am sitting higher up than almost any other hatchback on the road. This is an MPV in disguise.

Got to try the Dance option Radio / CD player. It seems to give plenty of volume, there is however a tendency to thickening of the lower mid / upper bass that bogs the sound down and robs music of its pace a bit. Not a bad effort if you like boom tish music, but could sound very odd with other musics. Spoken voice accentuates the issue. The tone control for bass does not reach high enough up the frequency range to tune out the heavy spot. The system does provide a nicely positioned sweet spot for the driver to listen from. I prefer the more open and neutral sound in my vRS.

The headlights are strange devices. Twin beam projectors. They work well on dipped beam, on main beam there are hot spots in the pattern that illuminate the edges of the road while leaving the middle of the pattern less bright. It has its advantages and is a matter of taste for sure. Personally, I prefer a bright flat field illumination, which will not cast shadows of movement on the scene ahead as you turn. In this respect, neither the vRS or the new car are fully to my taste, but both are good. I prefer the new Fabia's dipped beams for sure.

So the car is growing on me. The high driving position and soft suspension still make me feel queasy, but overall, I do enjoy driving it.

The next car I buy may be one of these, or maybe a Fabia Greenline as I need to cut my fuel costs for the job in the face of what will probably be a £1.50 / L price for diesel by July. I have driven the 80hp three cylinder diesel before and liked it, so that will go on my shortlist too.

Chris

[oilburninnut]

trouble with the mk 2 sport is power,unless a vrs version is released then a mk 2 sprt just won't be quick enough.I also wonder how much of a detrimental effect the narrow track will have on handling.

[Chris GB]

Originally Posted by oilburninnut

trouble with the mk 2 sport is power,unless a vrs version is released then a mk 2 sprt just won't be quick enough.I also wonder how much of a detrimental effect the narrow track will have on handling.

The handling is OK generally. There damping is soft and the car seems to take a long time to take a set. If you turn it in quickly, it sets and unloads again as the shocks cannot control the rebound sufficiently. Once is has taken a set it will hold it unless the situation changes a lot. Probably easier to hold than the vRS. BUT, the speed at which it takes on its set is lower than you would be going for the same angle in the vRS. The high driving position is a bigger problem IMO. It is hard to tell the difference between lateral, radial and vertical movement unless you are sitting close to the ground.

On the plus side, the car is a bit lighter and it feels it. The overall balance is better than the vRS IMO, the nose feeling a lot less heavy.

Power wise, there is only25bhp in it, but it is in the midrange where the old vRS murders it. With the new car, the delivery is linear and the car kind of gains speed between bends, with the vRS it used to lunge through the midrange in a much more aggressive manner. Where the new car feels like, well a car, the old vRS sort of had you pedalling rapidly through the gears keeping it on the boil, almost motorbike like in the way you spent so little time in each gear. To put it in context, on a B road route I know well, the vRS would be peaking at around 85 - 90mph on many of the straights, the Sport can barely get above 60mph anywhere on the same road. To be fair, the Sport is not intended as a vRS replacement.

What driving it does tell me is that if Skoda are serious about making a vRS version, they need to do something about seat height and damping.

When are they going to make that sexy looking yellow 2 door thing that I keep seeing on posters in the dealers? That has to be a good place to put a vRS badge.

Chris

[oilburninnut]

Originally Posted by Chris GB

The handling is OK generally. There damping is soft and the car seems to take a long time to take a set. If you turn it in quickly, it sets and unloads again as the shocks cannot control the rebound sufficiently. Once is has taken a set it will hold it unless the situation changes a lot. Probably easier to hold than the vRS. BUT, the speed at which it takes on its set is lower than you would be going for the same angle in the vRS. The high driving position is a bigger problem IMO. It is hard to tell the difference between lateral, radial and vertical movement unless you are sitting close to the ground.

On the plus side, the car is a bit lighter and it feels it. The overall balance is better than the vRS IMO, the nose feeling a lot less heavy.

Power wise, there is only25bhp in it, but it is in the midrange where the old vRS murders it. With the new car, the delivery is linear and the car kind of gains speed between bends, with the vRS it used to lunge through the midrange in a much more aggressive manner. Where the new car feels like, well a car, the old vRS sort of had you pedalling rapidly through the gears keeping it on the boil, almost motorbike like in the way you spent so little time in each gear. To put it in context, on a B road route I know well, the vRS would be peaking at around 85 - 90mph on many of the straights, the Sport can barely get above 60mph anywhere on the same road. To be fair, the Sport is not intended as a vRS replacement.

What driving it does tell me is that if Skoda are serious about making a vRS version, they need to do something about seat height and damping.

When are they going to make that sexy looking yellow 2 door thing that I keep seeing on posters in the dealers? That has to be a good place to put a vRS badge.

Chris

that sexy looking yellow thing is the joyster??????? i think,when talking speed i know what you mean about the vrs lurching,a good re map ensures it lurches from 2k rpm to 5k rpm but the standard handling on the vrs can be sorted,with money,but could the mk 2? I like the sport in white lowered on eibachs with white team dynamics multi spoke wheels,so much so i nearly bought one for the missus,horses for courses i suppose,i just wonder if we will ever see the vrs version

[monkey023]

Some very fair and realistic comments about the Fabia Sport in comparison with the furby. However, I cannot believe that the seating position combined with the dampners actually make you feel queasy. Try the back of a renault over a long distance that may do it worse!

[Chris GB]

Originally Posted by monkey023

Some very fair and realistic comments about the Fabia Sport in comparison with the furby. However, I cannot believe that the seating position combined with the dampners actually make you feel queasy. Try the back of a renault over a long distance that may do it worse!

It is mainly the dive and rebound when slowing and getting off the brakes combined with sitting high up that does it. On the open road it is fine, but in traffic I am sure a set of slightly firmer springs and / or dampers would sort it. The Fabia vRS is my "soft" car, my MR2 is sprung to around 0.25 - 0.3 seconds. Curiously, my Omega is firmer than the Fabia Sport (the Omega has the Factory fitted sport suspension) though the Cadillac Coupe De Ville is very soft, but also has a very long wheelbase.

The sport is the only car I ever felt this way in. I have driven another New Fabia with the 1.4tdi engine and that was fine as well.

Chris