mcdeli

Not convinced here. Main dealer told me straight the Sportline and RS iV only difference is the remap. Ask Skoda.

Hmm… I could not find any evidence for that. Citation?

If the numbers of new orders have dropped like a stone, what is happening at the main dealers? Presumably, they are in real trouble, or not? How is this affecting their business now in late 2021, are they downsizing, are salespeople moving to other industries, how can they cover their costs - generally, what is going in?

(Just to echo and update a point made earlier, I was quote yesterday an 11 month wait for a Volvo v60 as I continue to weigh up up Octavia iV vs V60 PHEVs. Obviously, at approaching a year for either car it’s impossible to place an order and I’m resigned to the second hand market.)

Citation please. That’s not what I’m reading on the SC/V/90/60 forums.

I am a big orange fan…. But… it doesn’t rock my world… and I can’t see it helping resale… previous green and petrol metallics have been much more special. i still configured one with the orange but no. I couldn’t order that. It’s also asking for the plod to pull you over at any opportunity!

Head says Sportline. Heart says vRS. Wallet says make me an offer I cannot refuse. I am willing to order, ready to order but I don’t need to. To get me over the line I need a grand gesture - quite a few grand gesture;)

I am still thinking. And I am expecting a jaw dropping offer next time I go in;) And of course I want the vRS! It's so much better looking!

The 7-8 months is also what I’ve been quoted. I am very interested in how far my dealer is willing to or can bend to get me to order. Presumably orders have fallen off a cliff and they have no way to meet end of targets. Does that make them desperate or defensive?

Good points and great idea with the cobblestone test! After some thinking time, I am leaning towards the Sportline as I feel it getting ”everything but the remap” for 3k less. The only thing I don’t like is the Sportline badge! One small issue is my head has been turned by the Volvo V60 T8;) uh oh

Well, I am not so sure that Skoda know how fast the cars are... you say 7,7, the configurator I am looking at says 7,8, and the Finnish technical data sheet says 7,5 https://web.skoda.fi/lataukset/uusi-octavia/uusi-octavia/Uusi-SKODA-OCTAVIA-tekniset-tiedot.pdf

The Finnish specs I looked at said 7,5s for the Sportline. But I think this 7 point something is a negligible difference. Yes, the ”red one” had DCC. I tried the different modes but I am not an experienced enough test driver to notice any difference driving on Porvoontie in comfort vs sport vs eco with DCC on or off. For me getting the seat in the right place is the biggest factor!!!

Ironically the Finnish site says that DCC is "Adaptive chassis adjustment and Performance Mode Selection - RS driving setting selection"... this seems like a bit of marketing though... as the Sportline can be ordered with DCC and the vRS can be ordered without DCC! Go figure! The UK site just calls DCC, "DCC". Hmm.

DCC is an option on the Sportline - and an option on the vRS. Both have Sport mode. The vRS is rated at 180kw, the Sportline 150kw - the difference in power is in engine tuning - not in mode selection or any different hardware.* *I am waiting for answer on the brakes. They are painted red on the vRS - I don't know if they are different spec. vRS 180 kw / 245hp / 225kmh / 7.0s 0-100km Sportline 150 kw / 200hp / 220kmh 7.5s 1-100km There is a difference in power available and a difference on paper in the acceleration and top speed, but I think it is not noticeable - unless you do some extreme tests - it is not noticeable because of the way the electric boost and ICE combine during acceleration. At least that's my impression. I'm still playing devil's advocate here as I'm hoping someone will chime in with a significant difference or justification to help me choose the vRS!

The vRS PHEV and Sportline PHEV have the same susp, bar and diff.

Well, I had the vRS PHEV for an hour last night to compare to the Sportline I had over the weekend. Both had DCC and I think both had 18” rims. Both also had the same... everything else. The seats were the same. The vRS had the red stitching and dash fabric. But same seats and very similar material. The electric engine, same. Even though I love the vRS badge, it is impossible for me to justify the 3k extra for the vRS when the only significant difference is the petrol engine remap. And IMHO, that power difference is heavily masked in real world use because of the way the electric engine boost interacts with the ICE when you rapidly accelerate in hybrid mode. That kinda jerky delay you get as the electric boost comes in before the ICE power means the extra power is not responsive. My guess is 99/100 people could not pick out the difference between these in a blind test. In the end I am a bit confused why these are do close in price yet so far apart. Is the Sportline overpriced (like the Volvo R you pay to dechrome) or is it the vRS that is overpriced (it’s a lot of extra cash on top of ICE vRS pricing to not have the 2.0 litre engine)...?

My dealer has told me straight there are no other unmentioned differences between these models. I will try the iV vRS PHEV tomorrow night and report back. The differences really are tiny. The ride height is the same with or without DCC. One niggle is that here, the grey RS stitching is extra as only available with electric seats in a 2k extra pack. I would prefer the grey over the red but not for all that coin. I have them down to just 2k eur difference. And that means AFAIK 2k to swap badges, the tiny front and rear styling differences, remap and the red brakes. Are the brakes even the same?

I will try and ask from my dealer and from the mothership tomorrow;)

Well, the sportline I am test driving this weekend has vRs pedals, 10 inch display, sewn dash detail. The interior details, like upgrading the stereo, electric seats etc. are options in various packages. Of course you can’t get red stitches in your sportline seats - but the seats are the same. There are no meaningful differences as far as I can work out from studying the manuals and configurator. A sportline with e.g. DCC and the different assist packages has all the same buttons as the vRS PHEV... unless I am missing something...?

Respect!

The seats are basically the same;)

It seems a lot like a remap and different badges for 3k. Unless, as said here, there are some other mysterious differences somewhere. I am a big vRS fan, so I am minded to pay the extra. It's worth something to get rid of the sportline badge! So, I am being devil's advocate. But there is the niggling feeling that this isn't really a vRS! Next segue... Tonight I figured that e-mode and strong recuperation work great for me. Is there any disadvantage to strong regen - I like the feel as I am used to slowing with the engine, I like seeing "the blue", what's not to love?

I know that pretty much everyone on here can spot the difference, and I know I am not showing the more obvious rear details... but the idea that one is more sporty than the other just doesn't hold water. I just don't think it is credible to say they look noticeably different.

I hear you... but... I have the two configured side by side, same grey, similar 19s... and the sportline and rs look practically identical... the differences (red brakes, comb front, no sportline side badge, rs badge, rs rear red line, other small styling differences, and even if you pay to black the exhausts...) these differences are minute, tiny... to the naked eye they are basically identical. The concern for me is that this RS PHEV is not really a vRS - it's a 1.4 TSI - agreed the price difference is not much (without adding DCC, electric seats and other usual RS standards) but is it "really" a vRS, if the top speed and acceleration are less than the 2.0 TSI...? (I'm playing devil's advocate here... if you have more thoughts, I would love to hear. The vRS PHEV is quoted as accel: 7.3s top speed 225kmh against 7.8s/220kmh for the sportline PHEV... with the 2.0 vRS at 6.8s/250)

Yes Timster. I have that one charging in the garage right now;) I am a bit confused and appreciate any help... - No DCC by default on RS iV. - Ah OK. I see that now. I just played with the DCC modes on a medium distance drive. I didn't get any tangible effect so I am happy to leave it out. - RS iV can be ordered with a tow bar - both sportline PHEV and rs PHEV can have the towbar ready. That's fine for me. - 1.4TSI output is the same on both.- this I don't understand, though I see it from the pics... I was told the RS has been mapped... so why no extra power? - RS iV gets more juice from the electric engine. - I don't follow,, the electric engine is the same, right? And the electric boost works well on the sportline at high speeds. How is the RS different? ...It is quite crazy how the available packages are changing. I would really like the blind spot warning. Lane assist I do not like at all. Laura did OK today by the way. Though she does like to make it cool. Biggest hit with the fam is the virtual pedal. Magic.