Diesel vs plug-in hybrid – both are an attempt to set new trends
Was the first Skoda Fabia RS a diesel?
Yes, of course. That Fabia RS, launched in 2003, was really something different from the hot hatches of that time. Instead of a petrol engine that likes to rev, Skoda hung in it a 1.9-liter turbo diesel that came from the big VW warehouse. So a fast diesel, a few years before Audi started winning with diesels at Le Mans. Because at the time everyone still thought that those economical and powerful engines would be the future. Eh, they were a bit off there…
But diesel isn’t dead yet, right?
No, not quite yet, but almost. Everything you can charge is now in. And diesel is out. So the Octavia RS iV, as it’s called, is a petrol car that you can also charge. Even so, pure fast petrol or diesel models drive better, they do not carry an extra powertrain with them, but such a plug-in drives 60 kilometers electrically. If you take it very, very easy.
And that Fabia is certainly not really fast?
Well, it has 130 horsepower and weighs just 1,320 pounds. But the big joke is that it has 310 Nm of torque, with which, if you believe the internet, it achieves intermediate accelerations here and there that can compete with a BMW 330i E90 and a Lotus Elise 111R.
Does such a Skoda Fabia RS drive a bit nice?
Pretty. The weight of that relatively heavy diesel puts pressure on the front wheels, so it doesn’t feel as floaty as many of its fragile competitors from that time. Very stable and sturdy. The steering is slow and a bit numb by today’s standards, but that doesn’t spoil the fun. And because of that nice thick diesel in a small car it feels fast, and you have it on the red line of your tachometer. Not that you want to, but still.
What do these cars have in common?
They are of course completely different. But the parallel is that they both have a powertrain that doesn’t really suit a fast car. So you have to adjust your driving style and try harder to get the best out of it. Yes, a hybrid can be quite fast – think of the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 or Ferrari SF90, to name three – but in this affordable segment a hybrid is not yet convincing as a hot hatch. But give it some time…