2010 skoda Fabia reviews

Skoda Fabia VRS 2010

I bought the car recently due to my Impreza turbo coming to the point where I was spending more money on repairs than seemed practical and I had been looking for some time to find a car that was at the right price under 16 grand and still had enough poke to keep me reasonably happy. My requirement was for a New car (to prevent me picking up a thrashed 2nd hand car which is always a possibility with any sports model) that could give over 35 mpg, around 7 secs 0 - 60, 5 door hatch and small enough to park in a tight car park for work . As you can imagine I didn’t have much luck in that department for quite some time until this car came along. The only let down for me was the propect of an auto gearbox with no option for manual. For any person that considers driving a pleasure to experience and not a means from getting one place to the next on any four wheels, the idea of an automatic gearbox is enough to make one shudder. However the test drive made me raise my eyebrows in pleasant surprise. The Automatic box has the option of Drive, Sport mode (both leaving the car to make all the gear shifts) or with a flick of the gear lever to the side enabling you to shift up and down gears by tapping it back or forwards (which makes you feel more involved) or using the paddles behing the steering wheel to change gears which makes the gearbox quite pleasant to use. The drive can make you feel like you are driving a much bigger car than it actually is. Normal driving can feel quite lethargic if left to the auto gearbox’s own devices as it changes gear upwards quite quickly to save fuel. From the lights the initial drive engages as though hesitantly from the start but within no time at all you are rapidly sent forward at pace if you put your foot down, especially when using the steering wheel paddles. Road noise on motorways can be rather intrusive but in my mind this seems to be all from the tyres. I have only covered 200 miles but I am seriously considering buying some new, quieter tyres. Build quality is excellent and the sound system far better than many I have heard. The internal space at the front and rear at the same time is very good and not a significant trade off, one for the other. I have quiet a long body and find that there is plenty of headroom to spare in the car. The feel of the road feels just a little remote in comparison to the Subaru (again I think this could be improved by a better choice of tyres) and adds to the big car feel. The car can come with numerous options including parking sensors, Cruise control and Climate control again adding to the big car feel. But trust me when you find yourself parking in some tight spaces you realise just how easy it is to park. All in all I can say It tick enough of the boxes to having made me buy one and would suggest that this car is certainly worth serious consideration on these pricey petrol driven roads. When you realise that this small engined 1.4 has a Supercharger and Turbocharger fitted and has 180 bhp, 0 - 60 in 7.3 and 139 mph available from under the bonnet in a 5 door hatchback (the estate does 140 mph due to aerodynamics) and all this with only £125 road tax to pay each year (no that really isn’t a typing error!) It really is a pretty incredible car. I should add that I test drove several other cars before I bought this car which included a new Corsa VXR, and one point you need to watch for on any test drive is the real fuel economy, not just trust what the manual says. The Fabia gave over 33 mpg on my spirited test drive whereas the Corsa only gave 22 mpg unspirited local driving and a pretty bad headache too, from its overly hard (for our roads) suspension. I also tested the Suzuki Swift, which although a pretty nice car to drive was gutless at 65mph if you need to overtake. Currently (Nov 10) there is a 12 week waiting list for the Fabia VRS and was the reason I bought the demonstrator car! which probably tells you what a good car this is. One point to note is that this Skoda is the same engine as is used in the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza as all come from the ’Volkswagen Audi Group’ Company. However in basic format the Skoda is a couple of grand cheaper if you dont want the pricey badge or extra unwanted gadgets. I would ask you though not to buy one as I like the exclusivity for the moment.