Fabia vRS Mk1

THE shift in character between the Octavia vRS and the original Fabia vRS, which landed two years later, is striking. Powered by a 1.9-litre diesel motor producing 130bhp, the VW Polo-based hot hatch typified an industry-wide move towards diesel during the early noughties, and aimed to carry the Octavia vRS’s ethos in a smaller, frugal package.

As with its larger, petrol-driven relative, the Fabia vRS looks humble, and certainly not one you’d expect to produce more torque than a contemporary Porsche Boxster. Drive it, however, and there’s no doubting the figures.

Whereas the Octavia required a few revs to tap into that mid-range, the Fabia can comfortably sit a gear higher, pulling strongly from down low with a healthy swell of torque. Instead of straining the engine, you sit back, hover over the throttle and make swift, effortless progress, while keeping that noise at a distance.

Then you can concentrate on the feelsome steering, compliant chassis and the heightened agility afforded by a shorter wheelbase than the Octavia. The turn-in is blunted by the heavy diesel engine, but the Fabia is enjoyable to thread along, with controls that share the tactility of the Octavia’s.

It’s perhaps here, more than anywhere else, where the advances in technology are clearly felt. The 1.9-litre TDI sounds and feels agricultural by today’s standards, and the exhaust smell confirms just how clean modern diesels are.

There was logic in producing a diesel hot hatch back then; the promise of more than 50mpg and reduced CO2 meant it was cheap to run. But as a performance model, it was compromised. The chassis delivered a spritely drive, but the engine’s torque delivery meant there was little pleasure in wringing it out, as you might in any other landmark hot hatch. As a result, the Mk1 Fabia vRS is a pleasant road car, but stops short of being a memorable

one.