kiwiboy

In New Zealand the RS230 is still for sale: http://www.skoda.co.nz/models/octavia-rs-230/octavia-rs-230/ I don't think we ever got the 4x4 TDI VRS.

A fellow Kiwi Octavia owner here. I've driven just over 14,000km in the car and not a single rattle so far (says he touching wood).

Yes, New Zealand is a great country to live in and drive in provided you're out of Auckland. Great scenery and not too many cars. The weather's highly variable though so it is good to have four wheel drive. I also get to drive Subaru's regularly as work cars. The base Impreza's and XV's are very nice to drive but simply aren't as well designed in the cabin or as well put together as Octavias. The Subaru interiors look like the manufacturer bought bits and pieces off a whole range of companies and put them in without much thought for how they go together. Subaru's also seem to develop rattles quickly. To me the Octavia looks coherent and better designed and seems very well put together. Its a much nicer space to be in than the Subaru's I've driven.

I'm one of the lucky ones - right hand drive, race blue 4x4 1.8TSI Estate (not a Scout) - built in the Czech Republic and delivered to New Zealand in September 2014. Its a lovely car. Great ride and handling while the engine is smooth and plenty powerful enough for me. It quiet too - I suspect we have more sound proofing that you get in the UK - I read somewhere some markets (Scandinavia I think) have better sound proofing and it wouldn't surprise me if we're the same. Just why we can get this car and you can't in the UK is a mystery. The NZ market is tiny in comparison. There's probably only 300 or so Octavias sold each year here and most likely only a handful or two would be 4x4 estates. I've not seen another in just over 18 months driving it though I've seen a couple advertised for sale. There seem to be more VRS's than any other model. Each country seems to have picked its most mix of models and specifications. You can't get the 4x4 1.8TSI Estate in Australia either - though both New Zealand and Australia now get Scouts with that engine. But in Australia you can get a great suite of options including a technology pack that deliver a whole range of extras for a very modest price compared to what we have to pay for them individually in New Zealand.

Here in New Zealand there has been a change in attitude towards Skoda. There are certainly people with memories of Skoda's low-tech rear drive cars from the 1970s and I still get some teasing for driving a Skoda but there is growing recognition that Skoda now makes very good cars. The New Zealand motoring media are very positive about Skoda. Just today there was an online article about a classic 1960's Skoda: http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/customs-classics/77765130/happy-birthday-to-skodas-radical-rearengine-reardrive-1000-mbx-coupe An interesting piece of Skoda history - but the article was also interesting for its comments on current Skoda's: "Just in case you thought cool Skodas were a recent thing: this month marks the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of the now-iconic 1000 MBX two-door." and "Volkswagen was chosen as a partner for Skoda in 1990 and took over completely in 2000. It's been a long road back, but the company is now producing cars of engineering and styling excellence again. Albeit nothing quite as cool as the 1000 MBX of 1966."

I've got Michelin Primacy HP 225/45 R17 91W tyres on a 1.8TSI Elegance 4x4 Wagon and have never thought them noisy tyres even on our coarse chip New Zealand roads. Out of curiosity I just looked up the decibel rating on the tyres on www.mytyres.co.uk and they are rated at 70dB. The slightly different 91Y was rated at 69dB. There may be some other versions of the tyre but the Primacy doesn't seem to be rated as a noisy tyre.

I've got a 1.8TSI 4x4 O3 wagon with Michelin Premacy tyres. I have never noticed any noise issues with the Octavia - either booming or road noise and we mostly have noisy coarse chip highways here in New Zealand. Before that I had an Audi A3 (can't remember the tyres) and the Octavia is no noisier and a better drive - once I set the steering to the sports setting. Somewhere I read that some countries have better noise insulation that others - I think the comment was about Scandinavian cars. I wonder whether New Zealand cars also have that extra insulation?

I've never had an issue with the low frequency boom in my 1.8 TSI 4x4 Wagon. I'm currently on holiday in the South Island of New Zealand and have hired a 3.5 l Toyota Highlander. It certainly has occasional issues with a low frequency boom - not continuously but enough to be annoying. It's not just an Octavia issue. My sympathies to those who have similar issues with their Octavias.

We have the 1.8TSI 4x4 wagon plus the 1.8 TSI Scout in New Zealand. From personal experience the 1.8 TSI 4x4 wagon is a lovely car to drive. I've had mine for just over nine months and still enjoy hopping in every day.

The 1.8TSI in the 4x4 is set up a little differently to the engine in the non 4x4 version. Both are quoted as 132kw while the torque in the 4x4 is 280Nm compared to 250Nm in the non 4x4. Apparently it is set up this way to make up for the 100kg or so extra weight of the 4x4 unit. The extra torque means the 0-100 km/hr times are exactly the same but the 4x4 uses more fuel.

Actually the Scout is only in NZ in TDI. The TSI is coming April next year.

We get the 1.8TSI 4x4 Elegance in New Zealand. The Scout has just arrived as well in both 1.8TSI and 2.0TDI.

I'm sure you will be delighted with it. I have my 1.8TSI 4x4 for just over two months. It is a lovely car. Perhaps the only drawback is I can't get anywhere near the quoted fuel economy. It is quite thirsty.

My Race Blue 1.8 TSI 4x4 took one day short of six month's to arrive at the dealer in NZ - I ordered back in March and was quoted 5-6 months by the dealer so Skoda just scraped in. It was a long wait but six weeks on I'm very happy. I've only seen four other Octy 3's in New Plymouth. A Race Blue Hatch plus three white VRS Estates. Quite an exclusive club.

I have a 1.8 Elegance 4x4 Estate with Front Assist and Cruise Control. Is there some way to enable Adaptive Cruise Control?