CKO

Like you, I considered the Octavia as my final car in my retirement years as it seemed to offer what I wanted w/o breaking the bank. 19" rims are not standard on the vRS unless you opt for the Plus Pack at extra cost. This also brings the HUD (head up display), DCC adaptive suspension and heated F & R seats. The 19" wheels add to the appearance but spoil the ride as they make the car a shade jiggly whenever pot holes or wavy roads are encountered, making me request a wheel downgrade to the 18" items on mine. I am still a little miffed that the dealer did not offer me a credit for this swap. The DCC is a good option to have as you can adjust the settings for urban cruising or back road blasts. It still won't let you forget the presence of the 19" rims, though. You may also like to consider the pano roof if you go for the vRS as the all black cabin (even the headliner is black) is lightened up by this feature. Good luck with your choice and enjoy your ride.

Don't let the cops get you. They're much stricter on speeding nowadays than five years ago.

Welcome on board! Which part of NZ are you located in? Dealer service in Christchurch has been alright so far - I've had mine in for a rattly driver's door trim apart from the first service. I've had my vRS for slightly over a year now with about 11,000 km on it - I don't drive as much as I used to as I am in my so called golden years and not working full-time any more. Service intervals for the vRS are 12 months/15,000 km, whichever occurs first - I don't think the Style will be different. I have bought the service plan for five years - at the time of purchase, it was advised that it is transferable, should I decide to walk away from the car before then. The vRS gets me between 11 - 13.3 km/l in mixed driving. Regardless of your model choice, enjoy your ride. The facelift models are expected to hit the country toward the end of this year for release early in 2025.

I've got DCC, electric adjust sports seats in faux leather/cloth, the pano sunroof and winter pack on mine in NZ - there was a chip shortage when I was looking around, so it was all or nothing. After living with the car for just over a year now, I would take the DCC and winter pack if it's going to be a family hauler. Does the UK winter pack have heated front and rear seats and steering wheel? If so, go for it. The faux leather/cloth trim IMO is just so-so as the leather doesn't feel as rich as on some rivals. If you can forgo this and power seat adjustment, perhaps you could lessen the tax burden? As for the pano roof, it really brightens up the all black cabin heaps, especially in winter.

Unsure about UK spec cars but in NZ, the chance for free standing options disappeared when the chip crisis bit, being replaced by one option pack where buyers got the 19" wheels, HUD, pano roof, massage front seats, winter pack (heated front and rear seats and steering wheel) and a few other goodies bundled together. So, buyers had the choice of a base car or a fully optioned one with nothing in between. The comments others made on the software edition and tow bar prep are also relevant.

If your budget can stretch to it, get the newest available model you can. It seems that the introductry models had lots of software issues (check the forums here out) and although these should be fully sorted out in theory, you never know.

I've seen 6.1 l /100 km on a long motorway run. I've kept a log over the 9.000 + kms since taking delivery and overall consumption (mixed driving) ranges around 8.2 l /100 km to 8.5 l/100 km. Overall, it's quite an economical drivetrain - and I came from an F41 BMW 320d that regularly gave 6.1 l / 100 km.

This is a fashion hue taken on board for a model year or two before being replaced by another in vogue shade or a more stable colour. The likes of BMW (Valencia Orange), Ford (for their previous Ranger pick up) and Nissan (350Z) have all had it in their colour palettes at one time or another recently. As said by a previous poster, if it floats your boat, go for it! Resale will not be impacted much as with the majority of cars being finished in white, black, silver or grey these days, those looking for something different will pick your car up if it has been properly maintained.

The ride on 19" rims can be jittery - this was the reason I downgraded my vRS 2.0TSi to 18" items before delivery - and the dealer didn't even offer a credit! I've got my DCC set past the midway point to allow the car to track into corners well at the expense of a slightly firmer ride even on these rims. Having come from an F31 BMW 320d Touring, the vRS does what it's asked to do but with slightly less panache. Guess that's the difference between BMW xDrive and a pure front drive layout. Biggest complaint about the rolling refinement is pronounced tyre roar on rough tarmac.

It's entirely your call, but the way things are going, the spec could change with the facelift. It should improve seeing as to how the model's in the mid stage of its life but it could be that certain features are made optional or even deleted. The styling will certainly be tweaked and refreshed and as this is a very subjective area, it may not meet with your approval.

The adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist have tried to kill me a few times on my 10 month old unit but I've learned to adapt to these foibles. If anything, they've both made me more alert when I drive. Apart from the above, so far so good (fingers crossed, bottle of holy water at the ready and piece of wood at hand to knock on). Agree with TheWanderer's other observations and comments. The car's a great cruiser (tyre noise on rough tarmac aside) and quite economical - and I came from a BMW 320d.

Thanks to all who replied with their advice!

Hi, all! I am travelling soon and will be leaving the car parked up for close to three weeks. The dealer service dept has advised me to disconnect the battery with only the clock and radio pre-sets needing to be re-done when the battery is re-hooked up. Knowing how temperamental the Infotainment system is, has any Octavia Mk4 owners experienced issues doing the above? Answers really appreciated.

Headline from several news/industrial web sites. Too little too late after all the hassles experienced by those who were early adopters and bought various VAG products with the new wave software?

Delivery dates seem to be a matter of pot luck/hit and miss. My dealer in NZ has stock arriving for the Octavia and claims that Skoda builds in country spec batches (makes sense to harmonise items like chips and wiring harnesses) but that the IV models are still not showing up. It seems that Skoda (like all other brands) is allocating components to models that get them more profit and also allow them to meet emissions legislation in some countries. The Enyaq launched here recently and there are units on the ground and on order.

I am surprised that they do not service the UK any more. They were willing to ship the F & R flaps and door sill plates to me in NZ.

www.kopacek.com sells various bits and boobs for all Skoda models. I had a set from them fitted by my panel shop and apart from the material they are made from not being as study as some other flaps I've had on my previous (non-Skoda) cars, they seem to be up to the job. They claim free delivery in the EU but I wonder if the UK falls within that classification.

Had mine for a month and almost 1000 km now and - knock wood - so far, so good, although the ACC is a tad sensitive and tends to over-react when the vehicle in front filters off to do a turn. Buying any new car always involves an element of luck, so the setting for this pic is so appropriate. Good luck to those expecting delivery soon.

Where are these from?

VAG could go the way of General Motors - too large and cumbersome to manage with empire-building executives running each brand/division; over-lapping models in terms of pricing and intended purpose serving the same sector of the market. So far, they've kept the products separate and distinctive but this could go away soon with the electrified models tending to look similar and worse, have similar driving characteristics.

Don't know about the way VAG/Skoda allocates build schedules but I've just taken delivery of my MY 23 vRS 2.0 TSi, which is an Oct 22 build according to my dealer. They also claim that the NZ market is OK to place orders (I did not press them further on delivery dates), but then, ours is a small market - hardly even a rounding error in the overall scheme of things. Also, I should advise that the iV models are about to be launched in India, which is now the third largest market for Skoda, so perhaps that is where the chips and battery packs are being allocated. Sorry if I've spoiled anyone's day with the above.

Just took delivery of my vRS 2.0 TSi (Oct 22 build according to my dealer) and it has the latter style cover on it. According to them, Kodiaks are still being delivered without the cover.

www.automotiva.co.uk has custom made mouldings for the Mk4 and I believe they do paint to match too, at extra cost. Car designers do not live in the real world as most modern designs emphasis multiple swage lines down the flanks that are a challenge to protect.

After parking my decision to join the ranks of Octavia vRS owners, a dealer development has given me some food for thought to re-consider. A 1.9% finance deal is on and the dealer has a pre-ordered for stock unit in my desired spec arriving sometime in Dec. My head says one thing, my heart another, largely owing to the known facelift that has been spotted in testing. Trouble is, will this be a spring '23 launch or a MY24 intro in autumn/fall? Owing to the backlog of orders yet to be built and delivered, intuition would suggest the latter but that still leaves only a year or so before the new version breaks cover. Should I or shouldn't I? Any advice is appreciated.

The camouflaged prototypes have been spotted and pictured on Briskoda before. Any one have any idea if they are destined for a spring launch or autumn debut in 2023? My dealer is making advances to me as the supply chain seems to be freeing up. Last thing I wish to do is get a unit that is going to be dated almost immediately.