HenryNZ

@CS363 Is your installer an official Skoda provider or some other third party installer? I have price checked all three offical Skoda dealers in Auckland the cheapest is NZ$2600 something and the most expensive NZ$3400 -- for a tow bar! On the other hand, there is a third party installer in Auckland which quoted $1800 for a removable tow bar with all wiring and coding. The price difference is great but I am hesitant to go with a non-official installer in case it creates problem with warranty in the future. Any other people in Auckland, NZ who can share their experience?

Tried reversing downhill with auto-hold off and it's a lot better, almost the same as my old automatic transmission car. I do hope doing this will not cause premature wear of the clutch. In a coupe of attempts, the emergency braking was activated causing quite a jolt at the bottom of the driveway. It would appear that the sensor mistaken the acute change in ground level as an "obstacle". However, this did not happen all the time -- it seemed to get triggered if the car was near standstill at the bottom of the slope and I tried to reverse into the levelled carport by giving it gas.

Yes I did. I know the 1.4 TSI is probably more than sufficient but vanity got the better of me… the RS is so much more car and the price difference between the Style and RS (the only two trims available) has decreased a lot with the run out special (it looks like the car is of 2022 vintage based on the VIN and the fact that the infotainment is still stuck at 1900 version).

Is it going to harm the gearbox? I have read too much about not creeping / inching with DSG, but I don’t think I can reverse into the driveway any other way. Does the rule not apply to reverse gear?

Hello all! New to 7-speed DSG here. Despite what I have read, my car seems to behave quite well at low speed without any of the jerkiness mentioned on the internet -- with one exception -- I seem to have problem reversing the car downhill slowly - but I am not sure if it is a problem with auto-hold rather than DSG: My driveway is short but it is steep downhill and has a 45 degree bend about halfway. At the bottom of the driveway is a two-car carport which is a rather tight fit. In the past, with our normal automatic cars, my wife and I have always been reversing our cars slowly down the driveway, by putting the car in reverse and feathering the brakes to slowly "creep" into the carport. However, when I attempted the same manoeuvre with my DSG and autohold-equipped car, I must have braked / slowed down too much such that auto-hold became activated repeatedly. To release the auto-hold, I ended up having to give it some gas which resulted the car lunging downhill, which in turn caused me to slam on the brake and ended up activating the auto-hold again (and rinse and repeat). My question is, should I: (a) attempt the same with auto-hold off, but keep the car in reverse gear and control the descent by feathering the brake (i.e. what I did with my old AT); (b) attempt the same with auto hold off and also switch the gear to neutral so that the car reverses downhill by gravity, with the speed controlled by feathering the brake or (c) something else? Which way is least harmful to the gearbox or are they all equivalent? I enquired about fitting a tow bar when I purchased the car and was quoted by the dealer NZ$3300 for a third party locally made tow bar. I was gobsmacked by this figure as the tow bar on my last car 10 years ago costed only NZ$400. Admittedly that was 10 years ago and it did not need any special ECU wiring. I did find a company that will fit a locally made tow bar for just under NZ$1000 including ECU wiring, but it does not seem to integrate with the car function such that one need to manually turn off reversing / park sensor etc. I am just wondering if any fellow Kiwi or our Australian neighbours have similar experience? Do you have recommendations for cheaper alternatives? Despite the salesman telling me the infotainment unit will be most up-to-date at delivery, I am disappointed to find out that the version on the unit is 1900. I have downloaded the files for the two newer versions but I am hesitate to update it myself. Also, since there is no OTA update here in NZ, will a manual DIY update cause problem with the in-built navigation or online-manual? I am under the impression that these can updated over the air after manually updating the software, but this is probably not something available in NZ... Appreciate any comments or suggestions! Henry

The Cops drive Skoda Superb here in NZ, so may not be able to run away from them...

One more question for @SouthernComfort and those who drive 1.4T 110kW Octavia: When you say it has good power, is it with the car loaded? With this car I am deciding on, it will be my daily commuter for work (about 20km one way x 2 each day) Monday and Friday with myself being the sole occupant. In the weekend it will be the family car for the transportation of 2 adults, 3 kids (two of whom are teenagers about 3/4 adult size), a dog and various things in boot. Every 2-3 weekends, we drive about 250km on country roads to our holiday home. The trip comprises of roads on gentle rolling hills 70% of time and roads through windy roads along river gorges and mountain ranges the other 30% of time. For my daily commute, I am sure the Style is plenty powerful enough and in fact the ideal choice given its economy. But what about for my family weekend trips with 5 occupants and boatload of stuff? Would the 1.4T engine still be good enough?

The price difference between the Style and RS is NZ$8000 (about AU$7300 or GBP 3800), so it does not seem as much as mentioned above. By paying that difference one gets a more powerful engine (2.0T 180kW vs 1.4T 110kW) paired with different gearbox (8sp AT vs DQ381 DSG), and one also gets an upgraded rear suspension, front diff lock, matrix head light, 1 inch larger alloy wheels and RS styling e.g. seats etc. The amount of kits for that extra cost is VERY attractive. In the past 15 years I have been driving the stereotypical reliable but boring Japanese cars due to my young family. Perhaps it is a midlife crisis, or perhaps because the kids are now older and I don't have to worry about fitting three car seats in the back row or having to taxi the kids everywhere, I really want to treat myself a car with better driving experience whilst still having the space and not breaking my bank. To this end, I have set eye on the Octavia accepting that being a VAG car it will probably be less reliable than my current soulless Toyota/Honda. It is perhaps for this same reason my heart really desires a RS over the Style. Having said that, I fully admit that I will very rarely need the kind of power that is in the RS considering how I have been driving in the past 15 years. The primary uses of the car will still be as a daily commuter to work and occasionally longer road trips between towns, so whilst it may not be as reliable my current Japanese car it still need to work most of the time. The reported problems with the. DQ381 are really giving me pause. As you can see, I am still rather torn between the Style and the RS. 😔

So in summary unless I really need the power and speed that is the RS, the 1.4TSI/8AT is a better (safer) bet without losing much? Am I right?

Email reply from the salesman: “the vRS is using a DQ381 transmission, service is every 60K generally unless otherwise stated by time. A DSG service is included in the price if you go for the 5-year service plan. If you go for the 3-year service plan, then you’ll have to cover the costs.” I note 60,000 km is about 40,000 miles; perhaps they have changed the servicing interval here to 40,000 miles? Are the megatronic faults related to service frequency? If one is to service DSG more frequently, will it reduce the risk of the reported faults?

Thanks SouthernComfort and CKO. I am based in Auckland, so have two dealers to choose from, but imagine they would be on par. I have checked with the dealer the gearbox in the RS is indeed the 381. The service interval is 60,000km. The first service is included in the 5 year service plan but is not included if one opts for the 3 year service plan.

Thank you Rooted for the info. I will check with the dealer which DSG the vRS is equipped with and what service interval it has in New Zealand. What kind of problems are people reporting of the DQ381 (assuming this is what the vRS has) and how often do they run into trouble? Is it as bad as the DQ200? Is the problem completely eliminated with more frequent oil change? The question I have, is whether I should avoid the vRS and go for the Style? I test drove both and found the Style "ok" / powerful enough but preferred the vRS's almost instantaneous power.

Both style and RS I am choosing between are the current 2024 offering. These are the only ones available in NZ since ambition has been dropped. The Style is a 1.4 TSI with 8 speed AT and the RS is a 2.0 TSI with 7-speed DSG but the exact model was not specified anywhere.

Thinking about buying an Octavia...probably a Style at the moment, even though I really like the RS at test drive (I am still a bit concerned about the DSG gearbox in the RS and its higher fuel consumption - the Style has an Aisin 8-speed AT which I am more accustomed to and the consumption is only 6.2L/100km). If you are in New Zealand, how do you find the after sale service here? What about the regular servicing? Did you buy the service plan and if so do you have to pay extra at servicing? If not, how much is the servicing without the plan? Is the cost reasonable? If you have had problem with your Octavia or other Skoda models, what has been your experience with the Skoda dealer / service / repair here -- esp in Auckland? Thank!

I currently drive an automatic Toyota hatchback and my wife drives an automatic Subaru Forester. I need to upgrade my car so that I can ferry three kids and a dog in my car, rather than relying on my wife's car all the time to do the heavy lifting. The sensible thing for me is probably to get a Toyota RAV4, but I really hate how high the driving position is inside a SUV. Also the parking space at our house is rather limited and having two largish cars in the same space is a headache - it makes it difficult to get in and out of the house. Therefore, I have been seriously considering getting a station wagon, with its lower driving position and its smaller size. In New Zealand, there are not that many station wagons to choose from. For Japanese make, AFAIK there is only the Subaru WRX (and perhaps the Outback, if you can call it a station wagon). The Mazda 6 would have been a strong contender but alas it has been discontinued locally. Therefore, the only other options I have left are the European offerings. Amongst these, the Octavia seems to offer a very nice package and ticks most of the boxes, and it is currently my top choice. For the 2024 Octavia, the two options available right now are the entry level "Style" which has 1.4 TSI engine with a 8 speed auto gear box, or the "RS" which has a 2.0 TSI engine with a DSG gear box. I have done some background research about these two trim levels but I am still not 100% sure which trim level I should get, and I am hoping you can give me some advice? "Style" Pro: Cheaper More fuel economical True automatic transmission - no change in my current driving style Con: Concern about it being under-powered when loaded by with 5 people, a dog and stuff. Doesn't have some of the nicer features e.g. matrix head light Doesn't look as "cool" as a vRS (sorry I am vain). "RS" Pro: Bigger engine so presumably better when fully loaded. Some of the nicer features are included as standard Looks really cool Con: More expensive Less fuel economical DSG gearbox - I understand that it needs more maintenance and I will need to change the way I drive in start-stop traffic - which occurs frequently during the week. Other factors I would like to consider is reliability and maintenance cost. I understand Skoda is generally reliable if regular maintenance is observed and is better than other VAG offerings. Would you say the Style is more reliable than a RS, given it has a smaller, more tested engine and a more durable gearbox? Thanks in advance for any tips and advices!