GTI v Fabia RS

[bigfoot]

VW Polo GTI v Skoda Fabia RS

[JonW]

They didn't mention Depreciation... I just cant see the Skoda holding its value as well as the Polo over the years. I believe the 1000 difference will be easily regained when its time to sell. Just my 2c. Had the Fabia been under 30k OTR, then it might have been different, and if they did the first ones at 27999, we might have had a winner. perhaps.

Ive driven the Fabia, its nice and goes well, but for an extra 1k Id rather have the Polo, and in the end I paid Fabia money for my Polo. Perhaps if you negotiate hard for the Fabia you will do ok, but if you want a 3 door or a slightly faster, slightly better looking, and slightly better interior then you would buy the Polo I think. Not being funny cos I bought a Polo, I did seriously consider one of these and the Skoda dealer and I talked a lot about these Fabias the past year, I really wanted it to be great and cheap, but it just wasnt enough of either. :/

[readerr0r]

Yeah the Fabia RS isn't too good value. But I think if you're looking at the 77tsi/66tdi, the normal Fabia and Monte Carlo really shine. Why? Because the normal Polos are built in South Africa, and we've heard many build problems (rattles, bits missing, MK5 Golf) compared to the Spanish built GTI. Skoda has a great build quality cred and the Fabia is from one of their main Czech factories so I think it'd be much more solid than a Comfortline Polo.

Is a Fabia RS is better built than a Polo GTI? Probably a bit too close to call though

[seangti]

If I recall correctly, These came 1st and 2nd in Motor magazines Bang for Buck this month.

[JonW]

Sean is right, they did...

ReadErr0r is also right. I totally agree that the 1.2 Monte Carlo is very hard to get past. I really enjoyed driving the ones I tried. But... it was only available in Manual when I tried them for the MIL and so she had to have the Polo. But... Whilst i loved the MC's styling and it was fun, it was the Polo TSI DSG that I felt drove like a better long term proposition. Whilst I enjoyed blasting the MC about, and would love one for a hoon city car for out of rush hour (rare in Sydney), it was the Polo that was the more sensible choice, it rode better and the gearbox was easily worked hard and I felt it made the MC look outdated with manual. That said I was offered a MC for 'about 20k' when they were getting rid of the manuals as they were not selling, and I was very tempted, its a (very) great car for that money!

[pologti18t]

Everyone should go to carsales.com.au and lookup how much you can get a Fabia VRS for. Off the bat they are listing them 3-4K (sometimes more!) cheaper than a similar 5 door Polo GTI on carsales. You could pick one up for 28-29K on road.

In other words you can pick a Fabia VRS up for around the same price as a Swift Sport.

[JonW]

If thats the case they should sell a boatload no hassle. My local (<2kms up the road) dealer visibly blanched when I suggested sub 30k, maybe its a Sydney thing LOL

[LunchboxVRS]

I didnt relise at the timne i got my polo that they where going to have a wagon other wise i would have gone the fabia for that bit of extra room (that is if they bring the wagon here in RS form). plus white with factory black wheels would look hot. If you throw in a RNS 510 like i have on the polo anyway the no touch screen audio dosnt matter. i know a guy at skoda so would have got l ittle knocked of to even things up. not a fan of the stering wheel though very plain. wonder if a golf r whell would fit and work?

[POLOCLINT]

When i was looking to buy my Polo I took a Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo for a test drive. Now it was 5k cheaper and it felt 5k cheaper. The Polo Tsi is a better car by far, I know they run the same engine but the Polo is 6 Speed where the Fabia is 5speed. The gearing just didn't fell right. Another thing to take in is the resale value of the Fabia. It will be alot lower then a Polo.

[Smead]

The Fabia wagon is here saw a green one at the dealer in Canberra

[Savant]

I drove the Fabia RS wagon last week and I was pleasantly surprised with the power and poise. It also appeared to be well put together and the cargo space was great. But that's where the positives ended for me.
The interior is utterly drab and uninspiring. A color other than grey would've been welcome.....somewhere. Even a shopping trolley like Corolla has a more exciting interior. The Fabia also has a look that only a mother could love. It ain't ugly but it also ain't gonna come anywhere near close to winning a beauty contest.

So off I went to my nearby VW dealer for a closer look at the Polo GTI. Whilst the difference between the two interiors couldn't be classified as chalk and cheese, it's safe to say that they're very different cheeses. The Polo's interior is far nicer. The steering wheel alone is enough of a reason the choose the VW over the Skoda. The standard radio is also waaaay better in the Polo and you also get a choice of some decent options.
Put the two side by side and the Polo is a much nicer looking car (subjective I know).
For $1000 more, the Polo represents excellent value as an initial purchase and it's better resale will likely make up for the extra coin you had to lay out at purchase time.

The Skoda wagon would make a great sleeper though. Mod it with an ECU retune, CAI, intercooler, exhaust and some lowered springs and you've got yourself a 170kW wolf in grandma's clothing. But you'd have to deal with that depressing interior everyday......

[steveyoshi]

The biggest thing for me is the size of the Polo versus the Fabia... Both small the Fabia has just that bit more room in the boot as well as the rear legroom. Availability is much better too. Looks are subjective, Interior blandness is agreed but the comfort is still fantastic for the Skoda too.

Have no problem with Steering wheel either.

As for making a sleeper out of a wagon, the hatch works ok too. LOL

Slowly but surely it is still a pocket rocket.

Stephen