Geek42

The only timing related problem I ever had was on a car with a chain. It wrecked the engine. I'm one data point only, but I'm perfectly comfortable with a belt. Now a belt for life, that's different, but the 1.4TSi has exactly that - there is no change interval but it gets inspected after something like 150k miles!

Ain't this the truth. I had a focus with 17" rims that weren't particularly sporty (50 profile) but the tyres were around £150 each for premium brands because it seemed to be a totally uncommon width/profile combination. One step in any direction would have halved the cost.

I don't normally go in for extras (I paid £14.5k for a used Octy and the dealer tried to add £2.5k of other stuff!!). That said, £85 certainly doesn't sound prohibitively expensive, it's the least of your worries cost-wise!

glaikit wee scunners? Sorry I think we're speaking another language! Should I be afraid to google that? I mentioned my 37mpg homeward run to my dad who gave me a lecture about the performance of my roof box and a warning about having to pick my clothes up from the motorway carriageway! I have seen 60mpg in the past, on a long A-road run at an almost constant 50mph. The economy of this engine can be exceptional, but it's definitely more sensitive to variations in usage than a diesel.

Went away for a week with the roof box on. Pootling around some up and down twisties in North Wales during the week (and I was pootling as we were often with friends in convoy) I was showing low 50's on the maxidot (means ~50mpg in reality). Coming home 4 up, fully loaded and wanting to get back I managed 37mpg on the maxidot (means ~35 in reality). Pretty much a full summary of the expected performance in one holiday there!

I have CrossClimates on at the moment, and I second themanwithnoaim's comments about them being progressive. They're easily the most progressive tyre I've ever had. I think they're also a good bit quieter than the Michelin Primacy HP that came off, although any comparison that can't be done side by side and requires the use of my memory is to be considered unreliable! Considering the tread pattern and the claimed winter performance though I'd have to say the noise level is impressively low. I had some issues initially where I thought that in mildly cold, mildly damp conditions (say 5-7°C with a morning dew) there was a lack of overall grip compared to the Primacy HP, but they've been fine of late, so it may just have been that they needed time to settle in. Right now I'd say they are a perfectly decent summer tyre, and I'll make my overall judgement next winter when it gets cold again and they're part worn. I paid £440 for mine fitted (225/45R17), the price does seem to fluctuate a bit but anything under £400 has to be considered a good price.

Details of what's type approved can be found here: http://www.skoda-auto.de/SiteCollectionDocuments/Serienreifen_Skoda_2014_07_1.pdf Assuming I've read the engine codes correctly 'V' is acceptable for the 17" on most non-vRS models, but 'W' for the vRS 17" and 'Y' for the larger rims, as flybynite states. I'm not usually overkeen on spending money, but tyres is one place I wouldn't want to take any risks in saving a couple of quid.

My two-penneth:

Once again I precede my comments with a disclaimer as I am far from an automotive engineer, but someone on here posted a link to an article about variable compression being good for NOX. Effectively using a bigger block and changing the angle of the crank arm or something to make a full sweep at low compression for full power, but a reduced sweep at light load that gives both reduced swept volume and higher compression. I didn't really understand it, but it sounded good!

On average, as a whole population, then this has to be true or else the insurance companies would all be bust! I also use this kind of philosophy with insurance (and I have dependants), but the specific way is to ask myself 'can I stump up to cover it myself?' (assuming it's not a legal requirement). I do not have the readies to rebuild my house in the event that it burns down, so irrespective of my mortgage lenders requirements I would take insurance anyway, but I most definitely have the readies to replace the £20 clock-radio I bought in Dixons. Whether you can cover the insurance 'gap' yourself when you drive a car off the forecourt and have an immediate smash is not so clear cut, but over a whole lifetime of vehicles you're likely to be better off overall without. I certainly wouldn't stump up an extra £2k for the list of extras you outlined at the start, I'd put that in a pot as the start of my self-insurance fund.

Well, to my knowledge there are at 3 different DSG boxes that people speak of on here, combining options of 6&7 vs. wet & dry, but being a manual box user I've never paid it too much attention. No idea how many forward gears the Polo GTI has, but it's definitely the case that at least one box in use on petrol Octavias is limited to 250Nm, and this must be the case on the Polo or they'd have given it the full 320!

Clearly the gearbox does matter, as the DSG is limited to 250Nm. It's the same in the Polo GTI where both versions get the same 0-60 time and VW claims that this as proof that the super fast gear change of the DSG is more then adequate as compensation for having less torque. Would be interested to see the in gear times though!

I'm no expert, but I believe that the biggest effect relates to the change in Cd. More to do with the width than the rim size. Of course, it only affects a borderline case like the Octavia, cars solidly within a band will not be moved by such small differences. I also believe that it's done theoretically, they don't test every variant.

Are you comparing current quote with current quote? Car insurance has been going up lately, mine is about 20% more than last year (for the same car) and no amount of shopping around would bring it down again. Also, it depends on your age/circumstances, but a couple of years ago I tried a few carefully chosen cars in a comparison site to see what difference it makes. Up to something like group 45 it was very reasonable, then the last 4 or 5 groups the curve goes like the side of a house!

The rights and wrongs of the political response to some recent and not so recent medical advice can be debated all day, but in terms of desirability the VAG 1.4TSi looks phenomenal right now. I come from a position of having moved to the 1.4TSi from a diesel car (my one and only diesel), and can make the following observations: 1) Despite huge improvements in diesel refinement, it is still not quite as smooth/quiet as petrol, low speeds and SS showing up the remaining difference clearly. 2) We all know that claimed mpg is junk for ALL vehicles, but the higher the number the bigger the probability of a lie (hence the golf GTE only getting 30% of the claimed number in the real world). This means the difference isn't necessarily as big as you'd think. 3) I worked out that over 5-6 years a 2.0TDi would be about 2k cheaper in total, but over such a long time with total outlay of ~30k (for ALL costs) I consider this difference almost insignificant, especially when I like the 1.4TSi so much. 4) Three years ago there was very little competition. Some other manufacturers have reasonable light pressure turbo petrols now, so there would be a bit of choice, but this particular engine is a peach. Some manufacturers still have nothing to compete with it if you absolutely don't want diesel. Gutless low torque mid-range is consigned to history as far as I'm concerned. 5) As a chronic asthmatic I maybe pay more attention to air related health stories, and the diesel/asthma link was being discussed (although in a much more low key way) long before I bought my Octy, over 3 years ago. Although I am waiting for the petrol/asthma related stories in about 18 months, after they've destroyed the diesel market! I have a Skoda with this engine, as does my brother-in-law. One sister has a Seat, one a VW and my mum has an Audi. All with the 1.4TSi. We all like totally different things in a car, and yet we all went for the same engine. It's popular because it's good and yet most of the young used versions will be from fleet where it will take longer to overcome the diesel bias, so there's a supply/demand imbalance, at least on the nearly new market. Where's the conspiracy?

I quite like the idea that the depreciation on a car shouldn't cost me any more than the fuel it burns. It doesn't always work, but it's in the right ballpark for me when I buy a nearly new car for less than £15k and keep it for 5-6 years (I do 14k miles/yr currently, it was a bit higher). We're talking 15p/mile type numbers. At 2.2k miles/yr, assuming the PCP repayments were about £350/mth (a guess) the depreciation, even with the equity at the end, comes in at ~£1.50/mile. Who mentioned taxis being cheaper, it's not far off... You gotta love cars man, I just couldn't justify that to myself. Alternately, are we sure that 6,600 is not a typo? Loveman hasn't been back on since, maybe we're just in the lull before the correction?

You'd be nuts to change if it's only because of the fuel economy. If you could improve the mpg from 40 to 55 (which I don't think you'd get anyway) then it would save you about £200 a year. Considering your current car has taken the bulk of the depreciation hit then swapping is going to cost way more than you could ever save in fuel. Of course, if you dislike the Octavia, or you just really want a different car then that's fine, but it can't be justified on fuel cost alone.

I don't want to put a downer on your test, but was every other variable kept constant? I did the first 3000 miles on Shell V-Power whatever-they-call-it, then switched to 95 and saw no difference whatsoever (at least, I saw nothing that got out of the usual tolerance band). My behaviour has far more impact on mpg than what fuel I put in. I do throw the occasional premium tank in as I read somewhere that the cleaning agents are good for the injectors, which may or may not be right, I don't know. I'm not telling you not to use the premium stuff, but I'd be astonished if there was much measureable difference in economy, and certainly nothing as large as 10%.

Probably the newer 150PS version. Your 63 plate will be the 'original' 140PS version.

I can also confirm that it's nice and quiet inside the car, but at idle it can sound like a bag of nails from outside, especially with the bonnet up. It's just the way it is I'm afraid.

I believe that the 16" / 17" divide on the 120g/km boundary was true for the original 140PS version of the 1.4TSi (mine is a 140PS on 17" wheels and I'm in the £110 bracket). The newer 150PS upgrade came with a corresponding reduction in CO2, so got the larger wheels under the threshold. Are you sure that your 63 plate didn't originally have larger wheels that somebody downgraded? Do you have other options that maybe put the weight up (that's clutching at straws a bit, as I think the real reason for the difference with the wheels is not weight, but the extra width putting the Cd up slightly).

I think that this is just a case of being in the right gear at the right time. I agree that below 1500rpm in lower gears it can pick up gently with a tickle, but if you floor it there's nothing there, but if you want all the beans you should have more revs on. For my money 4th, 5th and 6th are too close together so I do quite a bit of block changing up and down (even 3rd to 6th and vice versa on occasion) but that doesn't make the car wrong, just drive it accordingly. It's not like you have to thrash it or anything, 2k rpm in this car is still a pretty refined and civilised place to be (after all, it's not a diesel!) As with all these things, only you know what's good for you so go drive one and see.

Are we discussing two different functions? Setting AC to eco in the driver mode settings definitely still produces below ambient temperature, the compressor is not turned off.

I was referring to the driver mode settings, not sure what the official name of it is, but you can have eco, normal and sport. In a manual it affects the amount of steering assistance, the throttle response (misleading labelled 'engine') and the A/C settings. In a DSG it also affects the gear change points and the coasting feature and I think there are other options included (cornering lights maybe?) that I don't have. I have mine in custom mode with engine (throttle linearity) = normal, steering = sport (means least assistance) and A/C = eco. The compressor still runs, but on the full coldest setting it's not quite as cold as the 'normal' setting, so maybe it runs the compressor at low speed or something.

Wow! I've never bought gap insurance and always considered it another unnecessary expense, but 5 years worth is a lot - the gap will be huge after 5 years! Mind you, my wife and I have 40 years combined driving experience behind us and the almost worthless Clio is the only right off we've had, so maybe it's not a high risk. Or maybe my first one is round the corner, who knows (I'm sure the insurance co actuaries have it all figured out statistically).