Spotted: 2012 Skoda Fabia vRS In Thailand

Having spent months wondering what is the ideal car for Bangkok streets, we realised that there is no perfect solution given that traffic is back to its fully clogged nature. Bottlenecks abound, leaving no room even for minor spurts of “2nd gear” fun. But we’re still intrigued by how well suited the Mazda 2 hatchback is for tighter sois - a linear petrol motor, 6-speed auto that always seems to find the right gear, and most crucially compact dimensions to squeeze through traffic - these are attributes too important to ignore here in Bangkok.

But the Mazda 2 can't be the only solution for Bangkok. There’s the Suzuki Swift and Celerio, Honda Jazz, and the Toyota Yaris, but these still hail from Japanese brands and suffer from low speed CVT rubberband-ish effects. What if you want something more unique, yet based on a familiar, tried and tested platform? Include a requirement for performance and the quest to locate one seems bleak, until now…

Another random search on Facebook Marketplace revealed a 2012 Skoda Fabia in vRS trim for sale. At first glance the shape reminded us of the Suzuki Celerio - narrow, tall, functional, but its capabilities far exceed that of the Japanese supermini.

What we have here is a Mk2 Fabia, fettled by the vRS department. Associations with Volkswagen Group meant it had access to the twincharged 1.4-litre motor deployed on the Mk5 Polo GTI and Golf GT. Its chassis was based on the Mk4 Polo - compact dimensions were retained, and when loaded with 178bhp and a 7-speed DSG it could sprint off the line in a respectable 7.3 seconds.

Truth be told, you’ll stand out even by driving a Volkswagen in Thailand - a scan over the years brought to light more than 80% of vehicles owned by Japanese marques. But eagle eyed enthusiasts will know that this has hot hatch credentials.

Power delivery will not be as frantic as a RenaultSport Clio 200, and it might not excite the senses like a Suzuki Swift Sport. But its low end punch makes for brisk progress on a footprint that barely takes up half a lane on a B road.

This example has clocked 60,000km, has OEM rims which is a massive bonus nowadays, and has seats seemingly unabused to reveal cool, clean vRS embroidery. The ad claims that this costs THB1.5 million brand new back in 2012. It is now asking for THB499,000, which doesn't sound too cut-throat. Just set aside some time and budget for imported spare parts, given that VW dealers in Bangkok primarily cater to Caravelle / Transporter customers.

It’s a tempting proposition, and we’re certain it’ll be great fun during road trips towards Hua Hin or Chiang Rai. But we’re not sufficiently prepped yet to go fully independent on parts sourcing. This listing might have been up for half a year, but it just needs one to pull the trigger. And in this striking shade of red it’s screaming for some proper canyon carving…