Skoda vRS owners meet the new Fabia on the block

Skoda is a consistently strong performer in the annual Auto Express Driver Power satisfaction survey, with owners rating the brand’s products very highly every year.

So when launching a new car, the company has to tread a fine balance between keeping these happy customers content and trying to draw in new buyers. We find out if it’s achieved this with the new Skoda Fabia by taking the stylish supermini to meet some keen fans of the previous model in our video.

Jenny and Adrian Corney, from Market Drayton in Shropshire, own a 2013 Fabia vRS – and they admit they’re smitten. Their range-topping 1.4-litre turbo petrol hot hatch is used for a mixture of commuting and longer trips, but the big question is: could they be tempted by the new Skoda Fabia?

It certainly stands out from the previous car, featuring a larger grille shared with other models in the Skoda range, plus the option to add contrasting paint finishes for the roof, A-pillars and wheels as part of the £250 Colour Concept option.

And while the new Fabia 1.4 TDI diesel we show the Corneys has only half the power of their 2013 vRS, it still serves up plenty of punch. Plus, as the latest car is lighter than before, it drives well. Perhaps more importantly given that they cover about 12,000 miles a year, it returns around 80mpg, so fuel bills will be lower, while CO2 emissions of less than 100g/km mean they won’t pay anything in road tax. 

The new Skoda Fabia also compares well on standard equipment. All versions come with a central touchscreen and Bluetooth, while a neat MirrorLink system is available that mimics the display on your smartphone. That’s on top of a raft of safety kit.

So are these Skoda Fabia fans won over by the new car? You can find out what the Corneys and other Auto Express readers think in our series of videos.

New Skoda Fabia 

• Meet the man who designed the new Skoda Fabia• New Fabia to build on Skoda Driver Power performance• Skoda Fabia Estate proves big things fit in small packages 

New Skoda Fabia videos 

• Skoda’s Fabia takes the twentysomething test• Can Skoda’s supermini convert a family to Fabia fans?