Help me decide 120d sport or Fabia VRS

Im looking for a change in daily driver, something that can do 55mpg on a run and is fun to drive that I can chuck a pushbike in the back of at the weekend

I don’t really care what it looks like, just want something reliable, comfy and fun, Im struggling to decide between an equally ugly 06 Fabia VRS or BMW 120d.

Whatever I get will never see a main dealer again (serviced by me) and will be run into the ground in the space of 5 years (35k annual mileage).

What do you guys think, having driven a few cars they seem to be the only diesels that handle well,

get the bimmer

BHP Before: 177
BHP After: 208
NM Torque Before: 350
NM Torque After: 435



[Edited on 4/10/11 by jossey]

VRS for me you will pay less for the badge and as it will be worth not a lot when you sell ( 5 * 35k ) my last 3 VAG tdi engines in bigger Cars have all seen > 120k .

I've got the octy vrs, would defo get another skoda

Another vote for a 120d.

Averaging a shade over 50mpg (mostly crawling up the M1 during rush hour) and has a semi-decent turn of speed if required (Plus the bonus it's rwd)

We have the 120d, and although its good, i don't think we will have another. Yes its quick-ish, and although i quite like it for a hoon, the mrs hates the combo of hard sports suspension + run flats on long runs.

Its also quite limited in the rear seat space, and quite possibly the worst performing car in snow that i have ever seen

Ive taken two golf tdi's (both remapped) to well beyond 200k miles without any issues, they seem to reach a level of sloppyness at 125k and not get much worse!

Im swaying towards a 120d because its rwd but I have no idea what they are like to work on and how bomb proof they are, the old golfs just stand up to consistant abuse, I just cant face another one and its hideous handling when compared to the fabia or 1 series.

the vrs would be a better bet for home servicing, the vag 1.9tdi's have got to be one of the best derv motors ever. Cheap to look after too.

I think you'd have a bit of a problem chucking a bike in the back of a Fabia, and I rather doubt you'll get one in the back of a 1 series..

Is a 3 series hatch out of the question?

borrowed my mates 123d for an afternoon. for a 200bhp hot saloon i thought its performance was massively overrated although it did go round corners nicely as most sporty bmw's do. im guessing that the lack of speed is due to the fact that the thing weighs 1500kg!! have also drove one of the older fabia vrs's and it didn't handle half as well as the bmw and wasnt half as quick in a straight line as the 123d, in fact it didn't feel any better than a current golf.

i would think the fabia as an every day car would be a better all rounder but the bmw wins for me on its point to point chuck it about ability.

what ever you pick dont convince yourself that either of them are proper quick as they simply are not. what they are is economical every day cars that are a bit hotter than your average run of the mill diesel/petrol model but will still do 45-50mpg. the 123d did about 35-40mpg with spirited driving which is still pretty good.

i remember my old fiat coupe that thing had 220bhp and on paper is almost about the same 0-60 as the bmw but boy was it stupidly rapid in comparison to the 123d, dont know why but it just felt much much quicker regardless of what it said on paper.

Fabia for me - I've had a couple - still got one now

Mine starts every day, gets minimal love from me, and keeps on going and going and going

Bird across the road has the 120d on a 54 plate, always back and forth BMW, last was abs unit sh1t itself along with the crank pulley disintegrating, £2300 bill as the abs ecu couldn't be repaired again as it had already had the mod kit fitted to it before.

Meanwhile, on my drive........................



Seriously though, bike will fit in my car with the seats down, doubt it would go in the 1 series. They are tiny in the back and awkward to get in because of the roof line too, although I concede the 120d is the better handling car, the fabia is cheaper to run and fix, does everything as well etc etc, and as stated before in the snow the bm was laid up outside and I was getting about ok

hth
Stott

i like the little fabia but BMW for me all day long as they are a very nice place to be inside, and they are rear wheel drive. A lot of parts are very cheap for the common BMW's if you steer clear from main dealers. All RWD BMW are sh1te in the snow. Skoda would win that one hands down if its important to you.

You can swap the run flats for normal tyres and the ride is will be much better.

bmw's don't work in the snow. 1.9Tdi engines are awesome (220k+ in my old A4).

Thanks for your inputs guys, I didn't realise the 1 series has the option of runflats, they're horrible on the 3 series at work. I reguarly chuck my pushbike in the back of a friends polo with his bike, great things quick release wheels!

The one thing that bugs me bout the current and previous models of octavia, golf, A3's (and ive only driven diesels) are that I find the suspension a bit vague when loaded up, plenty of grip, but when loaded up on medium and fast corners if you make any change in input or the bend changes radius or a bump the car does this lofty vague cringeworthy wallow as though the suspension bushes and mounts have a lot of mass to contend with. It just makes most modern cars a bit lardy feeling.

The fabia and vrs don't seem to do this as badly as other diesels, it just makes the chassis feel a bit more confidence inspiring when there isn't a tiny delay between steering wheel input followed by the car loading up. without it being so harsh that you couldn't live with it as a daily hack. I was trying to figure what makes them feel different, is it the circa 1300kg weight instead of over 1450kg or quite what

has anyone any first hand experience on working on 1 series bmw's. I know most bmw owners secretly enjoy some strange snobbery of being fleaced by the dealers but surely they can't be that hard to service compared to VAG stuff, or is just a case of there's more to go wrong!

just stay away from the 123d as it runs twin turbos best part of 4k to replace if they go wrong. also looks pretty complicated