Mr Kipling

Can't find a 170 for less than 8K, most are nearer 10K, got my Volvo up for sale so here's hoping for a buyer. Happy to buy the 140 and chip it up.

My wife who normally drives the Volvo took the other car, it was Saturday morning and I had to go into work for a couple of hours. Jumped in the Volvo and nothing, out of fuel, hours walk to get fuel and ended up hitting traffic and not getting home til lunchtime.She said " you always put the petrol in" not when I'm not driving the bloody car! Still at least she didn't fill it with diesel like last time. Disclaimer - my wife is abnormally incompetant and is in no way representative of the average lady driver.

Mk 5 Golf is the best all rounder, Civic most reliable but I couldn't live with screaming the tits off it just to get the performance and no torque. Fords - the ST is better and newer and can easily be chipped within a knats of the new RS. Great car to drive but p*** poor economy ( I have a Volvo S60 T5 with the same engine 15mpg around town ) also poor showing for donor car Focus in JD Power ( 67th place for reliability and 77th for build quality ) Me I'd take the Golf and chip it - lots of great hot hatches to choose from happy hunting. Oh the Megane 26R is top of Evo's hot hatch list but would it start in the morning ( French reliability )

I too have AVG on my desktop and whilst it's good basic protection it's not the best ( or maybe it's the sites I'm visiting ) Kapersky is on my laptop and has been bulletproof but would also recommend seperate spyware protection - Spybot is good. See PC Pro for the security suite reviews. PC Pro: Products Search

Hi Yohan, The Proxy's are good tyres, in my opinion the Eagle F1's are the best and I've been running a set for a couple of years and would buy again ( the new assymetrics ) as they keep winning tyre tests. You won't be dissapointed with the Toyo's though. Do a search for best prices - Black Circles are very good. To be honest you'd have to drive like a maniac to notice the difference and it's more important to make sure the pressure is right than to have the best tyres under/over inflated.

Hi, Whilst looking at Octavia's to buy I came across a PD 140 Sport - can anyone tell me how this differs from the Elegance. Previously I could only find info on the Classic, Ambiente, Elegance and the Laurin and Klement models. Also I see that Superchips can chip the 140 up to 177bhp - anyone done this?

Thanks for responding so quickly, it would appear that I was mistaken in thinking that mark 2's were available with both engines. I think the 140 brake mark 2 is the one, would love the VRS 170 but out of my reach. I have between 5-6K which would seem to net an 05 or high mile 06. I thought about the Volvo D5 but having been spanked so severely on the T5 I've been put off the brand. The recent showing in the JD Power survey has sold me on the Octavia. Consistant podium places and has just usurped Lexus as a manufacturer is some going and owner's seem to love em. As much as I love cars and performance it's no good if it won't start in the morning. This car seems to be cake and eat it, better reliability and satisfaction ratings than the parent company's Audi's and Vee Dubs. Would love to hear from some owners with what to look out for, general tips etc. Many thanks - Mr K.

Hi Everyone, I had mistakenly posted this on the welcome sections for new members and got lots of friendly hello's but no responses to the query, hence the re post. I am about to convert to the darkside and buy my first diesel, having spent ages researching I've decided on an Octavia in Elegance trim. The thing that I'm not sure of is whether to buy the 1.9 130bhp or the 2.0 140, confusingly they appear to have been manufactured at the same time. Can anyone advise on the merits of either, I'm coming from a Volvo S60 T5 SE upgraded to 300bhp so power is important. I'm ditching the Volvo as I've just been stiffed to the tune of £2,000 for the ABS/DTSC control units and it's turned the ownership experience sour. Also 15mpg is painful and I want to savour the previously unknown joys of economy. Also where is the best place to buy, car supermarkets seem to have some good ex fleet cars and mileage isn't a worry as I only cover about 3-4K a year. Any advice gratefully recieved.

Hi Everyone, I am about to convert to the darkside and buy my first diesel, having spent ages researching I've decided on an Octavia in Elegance trim. The thing that I'm not sure of is whether to buy the 1.9 130bhp or the 2.0 140, confusingly they appear to have been manufactured at the same time. Can anyone advise on the merits of either, I'm coming from a Volvo S60 T5 SE upgraded to 300bhp so power is important. I'm ditching the Volvo as I've just been stiffed to the tune of £2,000 for the ABS/DTSC control units and it's turned the ownership experience sour. Also 15mpg is painful and I want to savour the previously unknown joys of economy. Also where is the best place to buy, car supermarkets seem to have some good ex fleet cars and mileage isn't a worry as I only cover about 3-4K a year. Any advice gratefully recieved.