damitamit – Member
Looks like it will be roof bars then.
VRS owners, how do you like it? Any comments?
I’ve got an Ibiza 130TDi Sport, which is effectively the same car. They later branded it the FR and gave it a sportier look to separate it from the bog standard models.
I looked at the Ibiza & the Fabia. The Fabia held it’s value better so for a similar age car with similar mileage, there was about a £1k premium. The equipment levels are about the same I think, but the build quality of the Fabia is better I think (more solid dashboard). The big thing that put me off was the stupid white panels in the seats of the Fabia that would have looked muddy brown after no time at all.
With regards to the car – I think it is close enough to the Fabia to broadly comment. I am very pleased with mine. I had a wheel bearing replaced at 38k miles (weird) and an intercooler pipe came off (turns out it had the wrong clip fitted). Apart from that it’s been fine. I’ve had it 4 yrs and done 114k miles in it. The front brake discs/pads weren’t changed until 119k miles!! Front tyres last about 25k miles, but if you go for proper soft tyres they will get eaten.
It’s a quick enough car for most circumstances, and the torque comes in very handy for quick overtaking. I get >55mpg out of mine. Was a bit sceptical about getting a Seat, but it’s a really good car. I keep looking to replace it with an estate, but can’t justify it while it’s running so well. Insurance group 7 is nice (considering the performance) and tax comes in at £120.
If you want to make it quicker – a Custom Code or P-Torque remap will see you nearer 170bhp & 250lb/ft of torque. You can go higher, but start to get into clutch issues and heat soak as the side mounted intercooler gets overwhelmed.
The front brakes from the previous gen Audi TT can be fitted fairly easily for about £300 and apparently improve the stopping power significantly.
The bloke I bought the car off threw in the roof bars, as they were specific to the car and no good to him once he’d sold the car. They are a good choice. They clamp very tightly & the front one has a small pin that locates in a hole in the roofline. I’ve never had an issue with mine damaging the roof or moving at all.
I didn’t go for a rear mounted ‘hanging’ type carrier as the top straps seemed to load too much on the spoilers of the Ibiza.
A friend has a Saris Bones and it wouldn’t take my 2010 Stumpjumper or his Heckler, as it seems to be designed more for ‘traditional’ frame shapes. They probably would have gone on eventually, but we gave up. A Kona Coiler went on, but that took ages to get a suitable position for it.
