MC Bodge

I test drove my used car. It was raining very heavily on the day, though, which was less than ideal and possibly masked some of the noise and feeling. There is nothing functionally wrong with the car, but my expectations were higher due to driving a lot of Fords from the 90s-00s. I will certainly be more rigorous in testing any future cars.

Having tried various things to improve it over the past year, I'm going to give some alternative cars a careful test drive, trade in the Octavia and move on. My wife says that she finds the Octavia steering vague on the motorway. I don't find it that bad in a straight line, but I know what she means. Stiffer tyres and higher pressures make the ride even less bearable, though. I've been put off VAG cars. It's a shame, as the engines can be excellent.

I do wish they wouldn't put such big wheels on cars

To be honest, if the Astra drives better, I'd consider one.

Had they carried out a focus group with various cars back to back, there would have been negative feedback.

I assume that the Octavia eastate with torsion beam wasn't developed extensively as it could have been. It may have been designed for the Golf and then just used on the Octavia. The chassis engineering dept will have known it wasn't very good. Maybe the Scala has been developed more after the poor feedback about the Octavia.

That's a shame, although the Ford torsion beam cars are much better than the Octavia. I suppose most drivers would never notice the difference anyway.

Hmm. The Octavia is a handy size for carrying luggage, furniture etc. I wouldn't want a shorter car...

That's interesting, thanks.

It would be interesting to try one. I don't have high expectations of another MQB, though.

I want a car that drives and has a boot like a Mk3 Mondeo estate, but with a TSI 150 engine (The Mk4 Mondeo was unnecessarily and excessively large) . It doesn't exist. I will take any future car I consider buying on a more thorough test drive, if possible. I had been spoilt by my previous cars all being good handling. 25 years of mostly Ford.

Yes. The cost savings were on the chassis and brakes. The engine is brilliant, the interior is good enough for me, the seats are comfortable, even if the satnav (rarely used) feels a bit clunky compared with google maps. The boot is big and it looks fine. The headlight main beams aren't anything special. I took mine for a test drive of a few miles, albeit in very heavy rain, and didn't notice the ride and handling issues. I was probably concentrating too much on the engine - wondering if a 1.4 petrol would be enough, and the car felt newer than my old worn out car. I noticed the boom/noise, handling and ride issues the day after I bought it.... The car would suit a lot of people, but it is the only car I've owned that I do not enjoy driving and I've not gelled with it after almost a year. I made a mistake with my choice.

Possibly, but Auto Trader shows mostly 123bhp ones. I would want a 150. A Passat or Superb could be an alternative, although I do like the more compact size of the Octavia.

I have 16" rims with Rainsport tyres. I have the pressures at 31psi. The ride over ripples and small bumps is still poor. The lack of independent suspension almost certainly compounds it as the car rocks side to side as each side hits the small bumps. As per my earlier post, having been an enthusiastic driver of mostly cars with multi link (or at least well developed torsion beam) suspension for the past 25 years, this car is noticeably poor. It is a car designed for IRS with a cheapo torsion beam retrofitted, but not developed sufficiently. I would like a car with the same engine, but a better chassis.

I suspect that it won't have a live rear axle. The leaf springs will just be a convenient package for the spring task and are unlikely to be holding the rear in place.

If you don't drive briskly and have never experienced or noticed/cared about better ride, handling and steering in other cars, you may well be happy with your Octavia. It isn't horrific.

Yes. It is noticeable though that the people who have come from Fords (torsion Beam and multi link rear) are the ones who are complaining about the Octavia chassis. The Octavia has some good points, but for the keen driver, the torsion bar cars are lacking and inferior to a 1993 Mondeo.

Haha. I'm resisting doing that. A few of us have commented on how good our Mk4 Mondeos were. Mine (on 16" wheels and non sport suspension) was excellent and composed at speed on bumpy, challenging mountain roads Eg. Corney Fell. The Octavia is jarring, bouncing and rolling all over the place with far less steering precision on the same sort of roads.

The harder estate ride is presumably a result of the firmer rear springs. The handling effects of the rear suspension are presumably shared between the torsion beam cars, but I'd expect the stiffer rear to hold up better under hard/quick turning.

I concur. On a smooth, straight road, the Octavia is fine, but throw in bumps, ripples and bends..... It annoys me more than it should, but my Mk1 Mondeo of the mid 90s had a better chassis. I should have bought a 1.5 Ecoboost Focus estate, even if the boot was smaller

I had the opportunity for a cross country drive earlier. The 1.4TSI engine really is good for A/B road overtaking up to sensible speeds. The back end of the car really does let the side down. The rear suspension "collapses" under moderately hard cornering (it reminds me a little of an old Mk3 Cavalier or Mk3 Fiesta, albeit with a much better front end than the Cavalier)

Did you use standard book settings?

You can only adjust the front wheels? What settings did you use? (It feels to me that the rear geometry is the problem) Thanks.

The Octavia steering mode can be changed, but I found that the "performance" setting just made it feel artificially heavier, but not better. I have the throttle response set to performance.

My wife has been driving my Octavia a bit on longer journeys this week and got back into her (old) Fiesta yesterday. She is not in the slightest bit interested in cars, but she mentioned in passing that, "The steering in your car isn't very sharp is it? I noticed when I got back into the Fiesta that the Fiesta steering was heavier, but you could sort of feel it more and the car turned more easily" QED.