One jonesey might like...

[DaveB]

Hi Chaps..

I felt like getting rid of some money today so took the Skoda Fabia to a main dealer for it's 40k service and MoT. I'd booked a courtesy car to and expected a little runabout.. much like the one I've got only newer. Look what I got given...







The bloke at Parkview said 'we've only got the vRS left' towit I said 'you're shttin' me' 'Are you ok with automatics?'.. err.. yeh, I guess so.. D and away you go. That's it he said I then started it up and tried to drive off.. don't know why but I wasn't going anywhere. This is no normal automatic. Eventually, I shot forward then breathed on the brakes, thanking god I had a seat belt on. I bet they were all sniggering in the showroom

What do you get with this in this little tinker is a 1.4 petrol engine with both supercharger and turbocharger.. the supercharger working up to 2400rpm where the turbo takes over. The 'automatic' box is not just an automatic box.. it's a 7 speed DSG unit as found in the posh VW VRX range which works either as a normal automatic.. D, put your foot down and the box does the rest or.. you can play at rally drivers using the gear stick to go up and down the gears (forward to go up, back to go down) OR.. you can use the paddles on the steering wheel. You would not believe a 1.4 petrol engine can go like it does and still return an average of over 45mpg That said, with almost 180bhp on tap with a published top speed of 140mph, I doubt you'd see close to 45mpg

The only thing is.. I've only been able to drive it home and tomorrow morning, I'll drive it back to the showroom again. Had I known I was getting the vRS, I'd have taken the day off If you get a chance to drive one of these things, give it a go. It WILL put a smile on your face. Coming back from Reading this morning, I found myself slowing up on a favourite bit of road until the traffic was out of sight so I could boot it and catch them up again God only knows what the Octavia vRS is like

Have fun out there and watch your speed

ATB
DaveB

[Tako_Kichi]

Boy Skoda have come a long way from the poxy little rot boxes I remember from 20+ years ago!

[DaveB]

Yes they have mate. Once upon a time, you could go and buy a brand new one for around £4k, in fact I think my dad's first.. a Favorit 5 door hatch was just £4k. During the time he had that, VW jumped into the mix with both Skoda and Seat and things improved dramatically. Dad's next Skoda, a Favorit LXie had some 120 detail improvements over the previous model.. all engineered and directed by VW. Things weren't all plain sailing for them though. Try as they might, they found it difficult to improve on the standard Skoda 1300 engine. Having driven both Favorits, they were 'agricultural' compared to European cars but functional. Nowadays, models share common components and this has helped quality control. Unfortunately, it has also bumped the price up so your brand new Skoda for £4k is a thing of the past. That little vRS weighs in at around £17k and shares much with the VW Polo GTi but.. the VW's are always markedly more expensive. The Octavia vRS and top end Golf share many components from the engine down but the Golf will be some £3k more expensive. At the end of the day, you pay extra for the badge.. still important for some folk

ATB
DaveB

[Molyned]

Yes - that pocket rocket has some good reviews. A mate has a Skoda and swears by it, not at it).
Only thing spoils them for my cultured tastes is the badge - ugh.
Cheers
Dave M(oly)

[DanKH]

What can I say Dave .... apart from the fact that the steering wheel is placed at the wrong side in the car

[Garry Russell]

No Dan...that's right, the rest of the World is wrong

[DanKH]

Bugger .. I knew it!

[Tako_Kichi]

I've been in Canada for 19+ years and now it looks odd to me to see a Brit car with the steering wheel on that side.

I must be turning native!

[Garry Russell]

Must be difficult to drive with the steering wheel on the passenger side

[jonesey2k]

I'm amused that I've come across as somebody who is very enthusiastic towards hot hatches.

1400cc? Nah, a bit too big for me. I like my inline fours to be around 750