Skoda Fabia - Why Would you?

[Buller_Scott]

drop this thing 35-40mm all round, and that would look ufcking sick!

fabia vrs wagon + MANUAL + tune / exhaust / intake etc + good adjustable dampers + hard-as-ufck poly bushings all round (even if they have to be replaced every so often) = a car that would be quite up my alley.

[kaanage]

I'm interested in the Fabia diesel wagon

I just hope that the diesel engine setup isn't that same as the one in the 6R. That said, it should be OK out your way as you don't get many traffic crawls (except maybe on some weekends with all the cars and buses going from Apollo Bay to the 12 Apostles).

Did you see a gaggle of 9N3 Polos and Suzuki Swifts passing through town a couple of weeks ago?

[Pugdriver]

Hi Kaanage

no, I didn't see a bunch of Polos and Swifts, what were they doing here?

Can you "please explain" your comments about the diesel setup in the 6R Polo? I expect the Fabia will be the same, they use the 66TDI engine.

It is my biggest concern about the Polo and Fabia - I test drove a Polo diesel and though generally I liked the car, I was disappointed about its lack of the expected diesel "grunt." I currently drive a Peugeot 307 1.6 HDi wagon and it has the same size engine but gets 80 killer wasps from it, VW's diesel of the same size is only 66 kW. I noticed in one spot when doing 80km/h in fifth on a flat country road, as I passed the 100km/h sign I planted the right foot and absolutely nothing happened, it just slowly oozed up to 100km/h. In the (much heavier) Pug it would have picked up its skirts and run. So where is the famous diesel torque???

From reading here and elsewhere, it appears VW's implementation of a diesel particle filter is not as sophisticated as the Peugeot system - Pug was the first to use them in a passenger car, maybe they have more experience with them? The Peugeot FAP (DPF) has a small tank of a catalyst fluid under the floor, near the fuel tank. The liquid is called "Eolys", I think it is like the Adblue used by some others. Its purpose is to lower the temperature at which the DPF regenerates, so it is sensors tell the computer that the DPF needs a regeneration and isn't up to temperature from normal driving, it adds a splash of eolys to the incoming diesel fuel, which does two things - it increases the exhaust temperature, and lowers the temperature at which a "burn off" occurs inside the DPF. I have been a member of the Aussiefrogs forum (the French car equivalent to this forum) since about 2006 and I have never heard any mention of the problems that these VWs are said to have, with not regenerating with short trips and inner city driving.
We have been looking out for a new car for my partner for over a year, we didn't get a previous model Polo precisely because it doesn't have a DPF - we are pretty "green" and want to have a low emissions car. It pretty much ticked all the other boxes. Now the new model has doubts about its get-up-and-go, and we can't get fog lights without the sports pack - and on our crappy roads I don't want lowered suspension and boy racer 17 inch alloys/low profile tyres.

Hopefully the Skoda will fill the bill, otherwise a runout model Focus diesel, though bigger than we really wanted, is looking good. It uses a Peugeot diesel engine, don't know yet about their DPF though.

In case anyone wonders, though we love my Peugeot, the Partner hates the 207.

[Finance_Analyst]

Skoda dealer in Brisbane tried to convice me that the Superb was an Audi and that I should buy that instead of my GTI

[break]

Price.

There is a good $2.5k (aud) difference between the two, with no mechanical differences in the drivetrain.

[Buller_Scott]

Price.

There is a good $2.5k (aud) difference between the two, with no mechanical differences in the drivetrain.

close to $25k for the fabia vrs? that's not bad.

i also saw in an auto review that they get the option of manual in the vrs overseas? (probably wrong though).

[sabloke]

Wow, a manual vRS $$$$ cheaper than the a GTI? Now that would be a serious threat to Polo GTI then. Sure, posers will always fork extra for the German version but if performance is what you're after Fabia is a no brainer. Imagine how high that little bugger could be tuned without worrying about DSG blowing up!

Checking on skoda.de found out Fabia RS uses the dreaded 7 speed DSG as well... Wonder if it is identical to Polo's Getriebe.

Getriebe 7-Gang-DSG mit Triptronic Funktion
Gangstufe I. 3,500
Gangstufe II. 2,273
Gangstufe III. 1,531
Gangstufe IV. 1,122
Gangstufe V. 1,176
Gangstufe VI 0,951
Gangstufe VII 0,795
Gangstufe R. 4,170

More details here.

[Frostee]

But it's fugly!

[sabloke]

So are Porsches if we're honest. But we still love 'em.

[Frostee]

Mmmm understand what you're getting at but I think it's a long bow that you draw!

[brad]

Price.

There is a good $2.5k (aud) difference between the two, with no mechanical differences in the drivetrain.

When i was cross-shopping Golf GTI & Octavia vRS, there wasn't a lot of difference in price but the Octy had 18"s, full MDI, better head unit, parking sensors, better spare wheel & half a dozen other things over the GTI.
Didn't buy either in the end - LOL

[Buller_Scott]

When i was cross-shopping Golf GTI & Octavia vRS, there wasn't a lot of difference in price but the Octy had 18"s, full MDI, better head unit, parking sensors, better spare wheel & half a dozen other things over the GTI.
Didn't buy either in the end - LOL

a good mate of mine, who's a member of this forum, who owns an octy, swears he'll always buy skoda over vw from now on.

why? same build quality, same engine, same drivetrain, better options list, more practical, same acceleration, same driving dynamics in the hills, but $5-10k cheaper (for non-brand new, comparable cars).

beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and whilst i DO think that the polo gti looks a more sporty / attractive, i reckon the fabia has a "i'm a hatch and i've got nothing to hide" look about it.

if only they came in manual. the sleeper appeal is strong in this one.

[sVWatt]

a good mate of mine, who's a member of this forum, who owns an octy, swears he'll always buy skoda over vw from now on.

why? same build quality, same engine, same drivetrain, better options list, more practical, same acceleration, same driving dynamics in the hills...

...the sleeper appeal is strong in this one.

coming from Europe I know what pre-VAG Skodas were like...they used to say you could double the value of one by adding a sunroof, and that the rear window heater element was to keep your hands warm as you attempted to push start it. NOW it is firmly in the VAG family there's no more joking.

I think VW cost more as you pay the premium for leading design/technology and (typically) Skoda get the previous generation running platforms and engines. The upshot is VAG can increase the product development lifecycle ROI / position themselves in more buyer segments and we get a broader range of VAG family cars to choose from.

Spoke to my dealer today about a Golf R for my next car. Might have to eat minute noodles for a year or two...

[broxigar1983]

Spoke to my dealer today about a Golf R for my next car. Might have to eat minute noodles for a year or two...

The Scirocco R should be here by then

[Buller_Scott]

c
Spoke to my dealer today about a Golf R for my next car. Might have to eat minute noodles for a year or two...

The Scirocco R should be here by then

both awesome cars, no doubt.

but if it's a matter of waiting for two years... damn, man, i'd be drooling over the rumored-to-be-a-1.6-turbo-thanks-to-euro-emissions-rules renaultsport clio 4.

renaulsport clio + turbo engine torque and moddability = "no thanks, golf R / gti / focus xr5 / cooper s / civic type R / polo gti / etc... these roads are twisty, and you just dont cut it. im off to hunt down porsches"