Thinking about a Fabia VRS

[ian27]

Hello,

Thinking about buying a Fabia vrs as a change from my Yaris t sport. Should hopefully be cheaper to run and better for motorway driving, and I'm after something with a bit more torque that feels a bit quicker (you really have to hold the gears in the yaris to get the most from it). The only thing that's putting me off is some things I've read regarding the handling of the vrs (I really like the way the yaris handles as standard and think I'd miss this if I changed it). Although I have read on here that a rarb helps things a little bit. Basically I'm wondering if anyone's driven both cars and what their opinions are on the fabia compared to the yaris. I'm hoping to have a look at a few in the next month and get a test drive sorted so I can get a better idea.

Thanks :yes:

[martyn1976]

i have not driven a yaris but my fabia is lowered on 17s and handles great you can throw it in to corners with no problem and is stable at motorway speeds hope this help

[JLneonhug]

Hello,

I had a Yaris tsport before ('02 mk1, phase 1), and I've had the vrs for a few months.

Handling wise..

On the TS I had upper front, upper rear and lower rear strut iirc, stiffened up a fair amount with a healthy portion of lift-off oversteer..

I think if I were to compare like for like, you can't 'chuck' a vrs around like you can in the Tsport, the vrs is much more nose heavy car, needs more thought to cornering..

Lots of understeer on the vrs..

Steering is much better on the vrs, the tsport is light and unresponsive, even considered removing the power steering altogether..

Performance wise..

I had minor stuff like induction kit, mani, backbox, etc.. on the TS

Loved the 1st 2nd 3rd on the yaris.. Hate the 1st,2nd on the vrs... I still don't fully understand it :|, on the bright side 3rd and 4th is lovely on a-roads, effortless overtakes.

Comfort/economy etc..

Well the fabia wins hands down on that dept.

When at pace: 32mpg TS, ~45mpg Vrs, Normal drive: 36-38mpg TS, 50+mpg Vrs.

[REDFABVRS]

Coming from a Yaris T Sport (Standard) to a Fabia VRS.

I have to admit the Yaris T Sport is a far better car than the Fabia VRS in standard form.

All depends on your needs if your after a bigger boot and a 5 Door car the VRS has to be it.

They both have there disadvantages and advantages.

In terms of fun factor the Yaris T Sport wins - Reliabilty, Cheaper mainteance no cambelt to change as its a chain, Fuel consumption is very good, insurance group is lower, snow driving not much of a struggle, the list goes on.. Let down is the boot space

The Fabia VRS having owned one now, the Fuel consumption is in the range of 40-50MPG in reality if driven gently 55MPG, the torque makes the drive effortless, but the Yaris is no slouch the 0-60 Times are similar I know many will say in the real world 0-60 does not matter, but with the advantages of the short ratio gearbox of the Yaris using the gears im sure it would not be far off from a Fabia vRS, because it can reach in excess of 100mph without much effort.

The disadvantages of the Fabia VRS is the turbos failing are a common fault having been on this forum for over a 8 months a turbo fails at least once a week, and boost pipes popping off, and other minor issues can cause concern if you have empty pockets. Having said that I have owned mine for 8 months and thank God I havent had a problem it may just be down to maintenance, the PD 130 Engine has to have the correct oil used. The MPG is good, road tax is cheaper as its 125 for the year on the Fab.

If your strictly after peace of mind stick with the Yaris T Sport in terms of reliabilty, in 2 years I have never spent anything other than 2 oil changes, and it was not driven gently either.

With Diesel you have to allow the engine to warm up to prevent the turbo from failing, not good if your doing short journeys. The Fabia VRS is nice car to drive, and itf your doing high mileage it makes sense to get a diesel for the price the Fabia VRs is good value for money and it makes a decent family car, I would say its reliable but not as reliable compared to a Yaris T Sport.

Test drive the Fabia VRS but keep in mind they can be expensive if and when they go wrong.

If I was to have a 2nd car for the Mrs it would be a Yaris T Sport.

Keep us posted...

Edited 25 August, 2010 by REDFABVRS

[JLneonhug]

Thats a good point about reliability..

Me and a friends TS never had any problems either and we didn't treat the cars v nicely.. more of a toy..

Just to expand on the costs a little more - £300-400 for cam belt every 4yrs/60k, turbo seems to last for about 100k (+- 30k) refurb your looking at from £250+ for parts alone.

Flip side - it feels much safer on the motorway, if you were going to change cars anyway its a relatively good pick in comparison to many other cars, my other choice would've been a swift sport.

[Juego]

24k of hard miles in the year I've had my fabia vrs and had three problems. One was my fault as one of my coolant pipes got stuck beside my bmc and melted on the fuel pump wrecking my maf sensor, my starter motor failed randomly one morning and my dial cluster went faulty. But it's been one of the best and most reliable cars I've owned and I'll be sad to see it go come time to change

Edited 25 August, 2010 by Juego

[scottk18]

also has a yaris t-sport ,

and i think the fabia is an all round better car.

i was even crashed into when i had my tsport by a fabia vrs at some red lights and it wasnt nice ,

fabia looked ok , by boot floor was ****ed

[REDFABVRS]

Saftey wise they both have 4 stars..

Look at it this way the Yaris T Sport is half the price of a Fabia you could pick one up for 2500 average miles. Many years of hassle free motoring.

I would still rate the Fabia as the best diesel value for money, for the price range add another few hundred if you look hard enough you could pick up a Honda Accord 2.2 cdti much better than a VRS.

[JLneonhug]

I would still rate the Fabia as the best diesel value for money, for the price range add another few hundred if you look hard enough you could pick up a Honda Accord 2.2 cdti much better than a VRS.

iirc insurance is more and the newer versions wern't hatchbacks, but they do look very very nice..

[Rob.]

The disadvantages of the Fabia VRS is the turbos failing are a common fault having been on this forum for over a 8 months a turbo fails at least once a week

Don't mean to contradict you, but think that's a bit ott. It's never 1 turbo a week... I doubt it's even 1 a month. And allot of the (if not most) the failed turbos are on the modded / mapped cars.

If your planning to keep it standard then wouldn't worry about the turbo anymore than any other tdi VAG car. And if your gonna mod I still wouldn't panic. There's just been a few go at a similar time recently.

[scottk18]

Don't mean to contradict you, but think that's a bit ott. It's never 1 turbo a week... I doubt it's even 1 a month. And allot of the (if not most) the failed turbos are on the modded / mapped cars.

If your planning to keep it standard then wouldn't worry about the turbo anymore than any other tdi VAG car. And if your gonna mod I still wouldn't panic. There's just been a few go at a similar time recently.

very true mine only went because it has a stupid 180+ bhp map on the standard turbo ,

saying that it had 98k on it ad it was mapped like this at 60k

[REDFABVRS]

May I emphasise the Fabia VRS in general is a brilliant car if you do high mileage, and its very practical. Maybe I am wrong it may not be as much as one a week but they are known to fail it maybe because of the badly mapped cars.

If in doubt do a search some have reported the Turbo failing on standard cars, the search button shouldn’t lie

Skoda has favoured some owners because of the dealer service history and has discounted the parts/labour so you may be lucky IF it does let go.

On a positive note if you find a good example full service history, with a careful owner you may be lucky, and the turbo could go on for a 100k +

[Sonic_Vrs]

very true mine only went because it has a stupid 180+ bhp map on the standard turbo ,

saying that it had 98k on it ad it was mapped like this at 60k

Map & turbo was fine for me for ~65,000 miles. Perhaps check your driving?

Map was rated and proved to be ~160bhp. 98,000 and turbo popping is pretty normal even for a standard car.

[geordie_21]

TBH I wouldn't worry too much about turbo failure if you follow servicing guidelines and dont abuse the car too much - Mines a 2004 model on 92k, modified and mapped for about 50k, I do around 350 miles a week plus the odd track day and its never skipped a beat!

John

[scottk18]

Map & turbo was fine for me for ~65,000 miles. Perhaps check your driving?

Map was rated and proved to be ~160bhp. 98,000 and turbo popping is pretty normal even for a standard car.

it was your hard driving that killed it, hahaha

only joking, is that all it is then 160 bhp ? didnt they claim on the site they give you 180+ bhp ?

Edited 31 August, 2010 by scottk18

[REDFABVRS]

it was your hard driving that killed it, hahaha

only joking, is that all it is then 160 bhp ? didnt they claim on the site they give you 180+ bhp ?

Dont know in regards of this particular map but 160BHP Would be a safe map if mapped to deliver the power smoothly throughout the rev range it would save the clutch, bad maps usually have a spike and overboost is the most common cause of turbo failure Apparently from what I have read anyway

Generic remaps usually up the BHP upto 170BHP- With supporting mods 180BHP is achievable.. New Clutch, Air filters, PD160 Intake, Bigger intercooler etc

Keep in mind its not so much about the BHP but the torque rise what relases the cars potential

[Soot1e]

I can't see that the VRS is going to be any cheaper to run overall. The handling on standard `VRS's just doesn't cut it, you would have to do a lot of mods to get it to your liking, then if you followed that route it would not be cheaper to run. My advice is to go to a Skoda dealer and have an extended test drive to see if it fits your purpose. For smallish warm hatch it the VRS is surprisingly relaxing to drive on long journeys, a good all rounder I would say.

[brett_j]

Ive only recently came over to the vrs from a fiesta zetec s mk5, i have to say, best choice of my life its has the economy and boost when you need it (which is an uncommon mixture) and more spacious inside so your not knocking arms with your passenger when changing gears

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

Map & turbo was fine for me for ~65,000 miles. Perhaps check your driving?

Map was rated and proved to be ~160bhp. 98,000 and turbo popping is pretty normal even for a standard car.

My turbo went at 122,000 miles. Anywhere around 100k is good for a turbo imo, obviously the longer the better tho. And yes its expensive, but its not crazy money, replace it with a 130 hybrid (around the same price as a standard one) and relax knowing it`ll prob last longer than you`ll have the car for.

Matt