Skoda Fabia vRS

No two ways about it: the Skoda Fabia vRS is one of the most popular cars on the Auto Express long-term fleet. Everyone who drives it loves the neat handling, compact size - and the effortless punch of the 130bhp turbodiesel engine. And it seems you agree, as we've received lots of correspondence from similarly ecstatic owners.

That's not to say the feisty Czech couldn't be improved, though. It appeared in this year's Greatest Drives test (issue 863), albeit with a minor modification - a Superchip. The promise of additional performance with little, if any, effect on the fuel economy was too hard to resist.

However, we decided to wait a few months before publishing this report so we could cover a few thousand miles with the conversion in place, keeping a close eye on engine and gearbox wear, plus diesel and oil consumption.

Superchips plugs a laptop computer into the Engine Control Unit and adjusts the settings. Its boffins can do this because manufacturers factor in wide engine tolerances to cope with different driving conditions and changeable diesel grades world-wide. But since we have good fuel and decent conditions in the UK, the company can make the most of the engine's performance.

The work cost us £511.13 and took roughly an hour to complete. Superchips began by putting the car on a rolling road to measure power outputs, then various settings were tested until the ideal balance was selected. The results are impressive - originally measured at 137bhp and 317Nm (slightly higher than the manufacturer's claimed 130bhp and 310Nm), the vRS now develops a considerably more impressive 160bhp and 383Nm of torque.

The car's character hasn't changed a jot, but power delivery is smoother and more consistent at low revs, while the mid-range performance is frankly amazing. We strapped on our timing gear before and after to find out what differences the upgrade had made. The 0-60mph sprint time fell from 8.1 to 7.0 seconds, while 30-70mph took 6.2 rather than 7.7 seconds, putting the Fabia's performance on a par with that of the 197bhp VW Golf GTI. Perhaps most impressive is the sixth-gear 50-70mph time of 7.5 seconds - the Porsche 911 Carrera S is only 0.4 seconds faster.

However, you are legally obliged to tell your insurer about such an upgrade. We tried to get a quote from the RAC, but it wouldn't cover the modified Fabia. Firebond and Adrian Flux would, for £525 and £445 respectively - although the standard model was only £328. Firebond also supplies the year's free warranty that comes with a Superchips conversion. It guarantees the parts related to the Superchips work, while the Skoda cover still remains for everything else.

We've had a bit more smoke from the exhaust, but fuel economy hasn't suffered unduly, falling from 44.1mpg to 42.5mpg. The only real faults are unrelated to the conversion: the CD player sometimes eats discs, and the driver's seat creaks. Yet my enthusiasm for the vRS remains.

Second opinion

A week in Cornwall was a good excuse to borrow the Fabia. I covered more than 1,300 miles in total, and with its brilliant fuel economy and fantastic performance, the Skoda was a perfect travelling companion. However, the vRS is so understated that its blistering pace often took other drivers by surprise. Perhaps the manufacturer could introduce some special editions with a couple of distinctive colours to help the fast Fabia stand out from the crowd.
Gary Lord, production editor