Model tested: Skoda Fabia VRS hatchback 1.4 TSI 180 5dr
Price: £15,700
Date tested: July 2010
Road tester: Andy Goodwin

This is the all-new Skoda Fabia VRS, the 140mph hot hatch inspired by the Skoda S2000 rally car competing around the globe. You will also be able to buy an equally rapid Skoda Fabia VRS estate.

Powered by an award-winning 1.4-litre TSI engine, the Fabia vRS has both a supercharger and turbocharger, to give it low-down grunt and top-end power. With 180bhp it's certainly no slouch, going from zero to 62mph in 7.3 seconds.

Its clever seven-speed DSG semi-automatic gearbox helps its performance too, making extremely fast changes as you accelerate, and barely interrupting the flow of power to the front wheels. There won't be a manual gearbox available.

Like its predecessor there's a real duplicity of character found in the new Fabia VRS. For a start, it does all the normal hatchback things such as seating five occupants, have a decent boot and it feels at home in a multi-storey car park. Its small engine and long gearing also makes it very quiet at cruising speeds - most of the interior noise coming from the wide tyres.

But, when the driver squeezes the accelerator, forward progress doesn't feel far off the pace of a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

We were able to drive the VRS flat-out on a circuit with varied corners and surfaces, and the car remained composed and easy to control - and enjoy - without feeling out of its depth.

The VRS features a system called XDS, which precisely brakes an inside front wheel if the car is being asked to corner too hard. It feels like it's working with, rather than against the driver, keeping cornering neat and reducing wheelspin and understeer.

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On scarred and potholed roads the ride comfort is amongst the best hot hatchbacks, soaking up most bumps better than the firmer Mini Cooper S and Seat Ibiza Cupra, without really losing out in the handling stakes.

Standard specification includes 17-inch alloy wheels, 3-spoke multi-function leather steering wheel with paddle shifts, eight stereo speakers, alarm, electric front windows, electric and heated door mirrors, LED daytime running lights, air conditioning, trip computer, iPod/MP3 player connection, sports seats, hill hold control, tyre pressure monitor and tinted rear windows. We can't think of a more powerful and better equipped car for the price.

Safety kit includes ABS, stability control, traction control, XDS, Isofix in the outer rear seats and driver, passenger and side curtain airbags.

With the new vRS sharing its engine and DSG gearbox with the Seat Ibiza Cupra and Polo GTI, so does it still stand out?

Aside from being the cheapest, and therefore the best value, its slightly better ride comfort and high levels of standard equipment make it a great car to drive day-to-day. And, its unique selling point is that it's available as an estate, making it a quick, discreet and useful way of getting from A to B.