andyh41

Sounds good. Any change to the handling?

I look forward to your thoughts on the new tyres. I'm thinking either the F1A2s or Efficient grip performance, but I'm still on 4mm and not keen to replace them yet if it doesn't help with the noise!

If anything I think the rumbling in my '13 elegance hatch has got worse with age. I was well aware of the potential issue when I got the car and was relieved that it didn't seem to be a problem for me. But now @ 14,000 miles it seems to be more obvious. In fact, when I have the dog in the boot and the parcel shelf stowed, it gets very annoying. I have a slim hope that some softer tyres will help (on dunlop sport maxx rt now), but that seems unlikely.

I'm also in the camp that doesn't find the sound from the Bolero too bad. You need to jack up the bass a bit on the equaliser but having done so it sounds reasonably well balanced. Having said that, once you get above half volume it does start to get a bit harsh on the mid to high frequncies - if I turn it up that high it doesn't stay there for long!

Another recommendation for x-shades (for my hatch). Turned up really quick and fit nicely.

Looks like the x-shades site is back up.

Hatch also has a 12v socket in the boot (or at least mine does).

I'll expect to see you around town sometime then (I'll be in the Race blue Elegance hatch)

Mine seems pretty bad for misting up. It can take ages to clear the front in the morning/evening and have resorted to mopping up with a cloth on the odd occasion. A moisture free zone was one of the things I was looking forward to with a brand new car - it's a bit embarrassing leaving work sometimes, when mine always seems to be one of the worst affected. Once clear, and driving along it seems ok though....

Thanks for the feedback everyone. So what I am experiencing seems to be the norm, and basically the TCS is no replacement for good technique.

Yes it's a manual. I think you're right, I'm maybe trying to liken it to launch control, which it's clearly not! I tried switching off the TCS tonight and it did seem to spin more easily. I'll just have to get used to its limited abilities. Generally I'm really pleased with the engine. The previous car was a focus 2.0 tdci so I'm missing a bit of mid range grunt, but it's not too far off. It's good fun when you want it to be, but also quite tractable when you are just pottering around. MPG is good enough (~45), buts it's so smooth and quiet that I'm not missing diesel at all.

How good is the traction control? This is my first car to have it, but I don't find it particularly effective. It either seems to kill the power so you go nowhere, or I get loud juddering and go nowhere! The manual suggests it should reduce the power so that you can pull away without wheel spin, but it doesn't seem to work like that - or am I expecting too much?

I had my windscreen replaced by Autoglass just before Christmas. My dealer confirmed that as long as they used the proper OEM part (which they did), the warranty would be unaffected. That'll teach me for not getting that innocuous little chip seen to

Yes, it is.

It's the time spent crawling in queues that kills it.......and the odd burn up the dual carriageway. High mpg's are good, but it's too nice an engine not to exercise it now and again I'm getting mpg's slightly lower than my Focus 2.0 tdci, and I'm quite happy with that.

From my past 4 fill-ups my mpg has ranged from 42 to 48. Most of my mileage comes from a 10 mile commute to work everyday with the occasional longer trip. Long motorway trips get me up to 50 mpg, at 70 to 80 mph.

I've got that too. The seat height adjuster knocks against the plastic surround. A small piece of sticky felt protector stuff fixed it. There's also a metallic rattle somewhere under the seat too, and a rattle in the near side A pillar!

1) Stokey, 1.4 TSI Elegance HB, race blue, ivory full leather interior 2) Erniem, 1.6TDI Elegance HB, Denim Blue, Columbus Sat Nav, Bi Xenon 3) Stuart, 1.6TDI SE HB, Brilliant Silver 4) Carrock, 2.0TDI Elegance HB, Race Blue, sports suspension, 5) Stokie_nav, 2.0 TDI Elegance HB, Steel Grey 6) Spearmg, 2.0 TDI Elegance HB, Denim Blue 7) Matt Pez, 2.0 TDI Elegance HB, Race Blue, Man, Black Int, Winter Pk, Park Ass't, Golus, Spare, Cornering Fogs, Chrome, Sill Guards 8) John Y, 2.0 TDI Elegance HB, Cap. Beige Metallic, Black Leather, Winter pack, Golus 17" wheels, Spare Wheel, Zenon Headlights, LED Rearlights, Chrome Sill Guards. Front Mudflaps 9) DJD66, 1.6TDI Elegance HB, Race Blue, Beige alcantra/leather interior, Chrome window surrounds, Spare wheel, Sill guards, Front mudflaps 10) DavidF3911, 2.0CR Elegance HB, Candy white, Beige interior. No options. 11) Viking68, 1.8 TSI Elegance 4x4 DSG, Race blue, Alcantara +++ (dlv. Oct) 12) Pumatron, 1.4 tsi Elegance HB, candy white, 18" Golus, sports suspension,canton sound system, crew protection, LED rear lights, heated front seats, chrome window trim, apple connector, boot net program, cornering front fogs, spare wheel, mudflaps, sill protectors. 13) Timoctav, 2.0 TDI Elegance HB, denim blue, black alcantara /leather, bi-xenons, rear light LED's, winter pack, park assistant, spare wheel, Mitsumi Apple device connection, sill protectors 14) GWM97E - 1.6tdi Elegance, Black, beige alcatara/leiather. Ordered a set of roof bars as well, but they haven't arrived as 'they haven't been tested for the UK market yet' !!! 15 ) Laurpat - 1.6 TDI Elegance, Candy white, 18" Golus, Sports suspension, Tinted windows (70% rear, 30% front), Heated windscreen, Heated front seats, Hill hold control, Tire pressure warning light, LED rear lights, Interior light in footwell front and rear, ISOFIX" on passenger seat, No engine label, spare wheel, mudfla 16) Hawkster - 1.4TSI SE, Petrol Blue met, spare wheel, front mud flaps 17) Albors - 1.4 TSI Elegance, Beige capuccino, bixenon, chrome, driving mode selection, Black interior, alarm, Teron 17" wheels, interior light in footwell. 18) Richie - 1.4 TSI Elegance HB, Pacific Blue, Black Alcantara/Leather, Bi Xenon, LED rear lights, Golus 18" Alloys, Heated front seats, Mitsumi Apple Connection, Spare wheel, Lane Assist (for the wife) - On order 19) Dellfan - 1.6tdi Elegance, Red, beige alcatara. (On Order) - Provisional Build week confirmed by dealer as week 26. 20) Harkonnen - 1.4 TSI, HB, Elegance, Race Blue, Heated front seats, Canton sound system, rear parking sensors, Simply Clever 21) Igdos - 1.6 TDI Elegance, Estate, Candy White, DSG, LED Rearlights, Spare Wheel, Front Mudflaps 22) Ninjoid - 2.0 TDI Elegance, Platinum Grey, Canton stereo, spare wheel, front mudflaps (pick up on June 21st) 23) Menumorut - 1.4 TSI Elegance HB, Petrol blue metallic, Bi-Xenon headlights with AFS, Boot net, Canton sound system (10 speakers, digital equaliser, subwoofer), Cornering front fog lights with black surrounds, Electric sunroof (PAD), Front Assist, Lane assistant, Parking assistant (parallel, bay and manouvering out of a line of cars). Build week: week 27, collected: 09/08/2013 24) denoudsten - TSI 180 Combi Elegance Candy White. Build week 28, estimated delivery week 31/32. 25) WallaceSteve - 1.4 TSI Elegance HB, Race Blue, Columbus 26) JonnyMick - 1.2 TSi SE Combi, Race Blue, 17" Denom alloys, front arm rest, sunset glass, spare wheel (and rear arm rest which I thought was an option. 27) fabswimmer - 2.0tdi elegance ,candy white,Canton , full leather & winter pack ,golus 18'',Intelligent Park assist ,intelligent light assist , rear led's ,spare wheel , front flaps, hill hold, tyre pressure monitor ,mitsumi apple connect. 28) matt-k918. 1.6tdi. SE. Candy white. HB. Bluetooth+. Golus alloys. Front mudflaps. Boot liner. 29) jaymaceye - 2.0tdi Elegance, steel grey, full black leather, winter pack, keyless, bi-xenons, park assist, light assist, rear led's front flaps, electric seats - excellent 30) Arex - 1.6 TDI DSG Elegance. Corrida Red. 31) 130bhp - 2.0 TDi Elegance. Race blue. 32) Juniperz - 2.0TDi Elegance Combi, Steel Grey, Full Ivory Leather, Columbus 8" SatNav, Winter Pack, KESSY, Sill Protectors. & a proper Spare Wheel. 33) iapetus - 1.4TSI SE Estate, Petrol Blue, cruise control, variable boot floor, automatic lights/high beam control, sunset glass, proper spare wheel 34) Plectrumman - 1.6CR DSG Elegance, Brilliant Silver, Spare wheel 35) Capo79 - 1.4 TSI DSG Elegance Combi. Candy white. Black leather/textile, panoramic sunroof, Bi-xenon, rear LED's, columbus, KESSY, electric tailgate, 18" Golus, sport suspension, simply clever, sun-set, driving mode, 3-spoke steering wheel, electric drivers seat, tow bar, proper spare wheel, hill hold, light assist +++. Ordered april 12th, build week 37. 36) Has - 1.2 TSI SE Hatch, Brilliant Silver, 17" Denom's, Multifunction Steering Wheel, Front Armret, Rear Armrest, LED Rear Lights 37) Cameraboy - 1.6CR Elegance Hatch, Candy White, Black leather/alcantara seats, Heated Front Seats, Bluetooth +, Ordered 15th July. No idea of delivery or build yet 38) Andyd90 - 2.0TDI 150 Elegance Estate. Black magic. Chuffed to bits 39) Czechinuk - 1.6 TDI DSG Elegance, Race Blue, 17" Denom Wheels, Parking Sensors Front and Rear, Driver Activity Assistant, Drive Mode Selection, Amundsen Navigation System, Kessy - (Ordered End June - Current estimate Mid Oct) 40) Spacenase - 2.0TDI DSG Elegance Hatch, Rio Red, Beige Interior, Bi-Xenon Lights, LED Taillights, Columbus Sat-Nav, Canton Sound System, Electric Seats, 3 Spoke Steering Wheel, Wood Decor, Park Assist, KESSY, Winter Pack (01/08/13 - on order, standard 12-week delivery quoted at present) 41) RickGroove - 2.0 TDI DSG Elegance Staioncar, Black, Silver rails, 18" Golus, sport suspension, bi-xenon front, LED tail, heated front seats, multi adjustable seats w. memory + electric fold-able mirrors, Canton, Bolero, Front/rear sensors, Bluetooth, Mitsumi, Lane assist, Chrome bumper guard, arm wrest, bins + storage pack, vinylcovered front seat backside, tinted windows - Comming around October (fingers crossed) 42) PompeyVRS - 2.0 TDI 150 Manual Elegance Estate. Candy White, Autoglym Lifeshine, Winter Pack, Sunset glass, Towbar prep. Confirmed build week 38 (3rd week September) 43) LadyVienna - 2.0 TDI VRS Estate. Race blue. Canton, Amunsden, mitsumi and a few other bit. Hopefully due mid - end September (sooooooooo excited!) 44) RNorden - 2.0 TDI Elegance (UK) Hatch, Race Blue, Black Leather Seats, Spare Wheel, Tow Bar, Bluetooth+, Front Assist, Cornering Fogs, Sunroof, Columbus, Intelligent Parking, KESSEY (Ordered End of July, - Estimate build Week 40 45) ShaneCusack - 2.0 TDI VRS Estate, manual, race blue, black pack, sunset glass, colour maxi dot, canton, spare wheel. ordered 27th July quoted 6-8 weeks for delivery. 46) Snownrock - 2.0 TDI 150 Man Elegance estate. Topaz Brown metallic, Black leather. Silver roof rails, sunset glass and temporary steel wheel. Ordered 06.08.13, quoted 10 week delivery 47) Booyaka - 2.0 TDI VRS Estate, manual, candy white, black pack, cruise control, boot liner, mudflaps - ordered 3/8/2013, awaiting time scales. 48) sworrall - 2.0 TDI VRS DSG Estate - Race Blue, Black Pack, Adaptive Cruise, Colour maxidot, Sunset Glass, MDI, Power Boot... Ordered 23/7/13 49) andyh41 - 1.4 TSI Elegance hatch, Race Blue, spare wheel!

Good to hear. I will stop worrying and just look forward to it's arrival

Well there was an elegance on display in the showroom so i did see and sit in what would be the final spec. Yes a 2.0 tdi SE would have been a similar price but I didn't particularly want another diesel, but did want the higher spec! If they had offered a 2.0 tdi elegance for the same price as the tsi, that might have been a different story!

Thanks all for the comments. They did also send me out in a mk II 1.4tsi, to give some idea of the power delivery. Again not ideal, but considering it has less power than the mk III, things will only get better in that respect. Maybe I over dramatised the issue a bit!........I really just wanted some feedback on other users experience of noise levels in real use. Anyway, hopefully in a few weeks it will be another Race blue Octavia to add to the growing collection.

Well if it was possible I certainly would have. Unfortunately with 4 engine x 3 wheel variables they could never run all combinations, and in this case they were only provided demonstrators of the expected best selling models (ie diesel).

So I test drove a spec'd up 2.0 TDI SE yesterday and was very impressed........so impressed that we put in an order! Now in the cold light of day i'm fretting a bit about my decision. Generally everything was great on the drive, but I noticed an intrusive low frequency booming noise now and again (not a constant noise, but a buffeting type). I've yet to read a review that put the Octavia down for noise so we (the dealer and I) put it down to the 18" wheels on crappy roads. In the end we plumped for a 1.4TSI Elegance and i'm hoping that the 17" wheels will reduce the level of any road noise. I know lots of you are running on 18s so have you noticed anything like I experienced? Thanks.