neil_f

Personally I would drive it to experience the difference. I had stage one (revo) on my tsi and it made a huge difference. Never put it on a rolling road as it drove really well and not into bragging about power figures. Rolling road is useful if you think there is an issue as it might help to identify the possible cause but power figures seem to vary so much depending where you go that I wouldn't bother.

Good luck with fighting your case but as has already been mentioned if you have two officers both stating a particular offence has taken place then you'll struggle to prove this. A few years ago I was charged with dangerous driving on the heresay of two officers. They were in an unmarked corsa travelling in the opposite direction from myself with no recording equipment. They alleged I was driving on a country road in excess of 80mph and had witnessed my car being "airborne" (an audi a4 tdi estate!). The case went to court and I instructed an approved accident investigator (who was ex traffic) to disprove the officers evidence. The report stated my vehicle would have to have been travelling in excess of 100mph and , due to a bend in the road, would have crashed if the vehicle had left the ground. In court the judge still took the officers word and decided to reduce the charge to careless and I still got a 6month ban. Ridiculous as it seems two officers statements appear to hold more weighting in court than anything else unless you have eye witnesses at the time.

Where is this figure of 35k coming from? Absolute rubbish to say that's all you get. Mine had done almost double that mileage on original chain before I sold it.

The point I'm making is this engine is used throughout the vag group. So you can't just compare failure on octavias. Factor the number of vw's, audi and seats that use the same engine - both 2.0 and 1.8tsi and then work out the failure rate. My mate is a audi tech and when I asked him about this a year ago he knew of two cars they had in with this failure (the dealership he works in is one of the largest in Scotland and he was a vw tech before that). I'm not denying that if it happened to me I would be highly ****ed off but just trying to put it into context of the amount of these engines in production. Certainly wouldn't out me off buying one again.

Not really. Mine was past 60k when I sold it. Never bothered me as it affects a small minority of cars. Very unlucky if it happens to you but the way people speak on here seems to suggest it will happen by a certain mileage. ....not the case!

That's for the oil temp not the coolant. That was one of the main reasons I made sure the monte carlo I bought for the wife had maxidot as you get a proper temp gauge for coolant temp and fuel gauge. Also looks far better than the standard instrument cluster.

I was originally looking between a new octavia vrs estate or Leon fr estate. I felt both worked out more expensive than they were worth by the time I added some options....especially the octavia. I then looked at nearly new and there were few octavia with a decent spec second hand. In my opinion the Leon offers better value for money and looks nicer (controversial to say on a skoda forum lol!). I saved over 7k on list price for a 6month old car. Sat nav, led lights, panaromic roof, seat sound (similar to canton), metallic white (usually £700 option!), 18" wheels, alcantara interior. Boot space is near as damn it the same as the octavia . The octavia does offer slightly more space inside but for me it no longer offers the value they once were.

I had an octavia vrs tsi before I bought the Leon diesel. The octavia would get 40mpg if driven really gently. Start to use the performance and the mpg would drop to low thirties and worse during town driving. On the other hand the Leon averages 150-200miles more from a tank (and the tank is 5litres smaller on the Leon!). Sit at 85-90mph and the Leon still averages high 40's. All depends on how many miles you do. I loved the octavia and the tsi engine was more exciting than the diesel but doing over 20k miles a year the fuel bills were mounting up. Diesel also holds it's value better when you come to resell.

Sorry but the golf is a different class to the i10 hence why it costs more so don't think it is a fair comparison. Also My wife has a 1.2tsi monte Carlo and I drive a 2.0tdi seat leon estate. I'll admit the tsi is a good engine but my diesel not only gets better economy (ok only about 5-7mpg but bear in mind it is a bigger, heavier car), has 100bhp more than the fabia and is cheaper for road tax.

Think it's a bit of an exaggeration saying it only lasts 35k. I just sold my 2010 tsi two months ago with 64k miles and no issues or unusual noises (had stage 1 remap, serviced every 10k miles and full rev range used regularly). Factor in how many tsi engines are in circulation throughout the vag group compared to the number of failures and it is still unlucky to have it fail. Forums are great for highlighting issues but few people post to say they've had no problems. As you say if it worries you then replace it.

Totally agree. I think vw test their engines more accurately on an engine dyno than a rolling road that then uses a calculation to work out what the flywheel power is. Don't get me wrong stage 1 map on the new vrs will indeed be a quick car. I just get tired of people bragging about power figures. I used to work for a company that remapped cars of which we predominantly used Revo software. I tried to avoid quoting figures and instead concentrated on drivability. I remember a customer who was using different software that took great delight in bragging that his car had been "on the rollers" and made much more power than Revo quoted and it was cheaper as well. Interestingly he couldn't understand why his mate with a similar car (both ibizas) running stage 1 was actually quicker than his stage 2 car.

I traded in my 2 owner, 60plate tsi hatch 2 months ago with 62k miles and fssh although not all done by main dealer. Car was immaculate. Initially got offered 7k but managed to get thw dealer to give just over 8k for it. They had it advertised at 9450 so imagine they probably got about 9k for it. Was traded into a seat dealer. A lot of car for the money but I'm doing a lot of miles and decided it was best to go as in another year it would be at 90k and the value would likely have dropped massively.

There's no way a standard mk7 gti is 266bhp! My mk2 fl vrs that had stage one revo was quicker than a friends standard mk7 golf and I reckon my octavia was probably about 250bhp and was on normal unleaded. I'll admit they usually make slightly more than standard but not almost 50bhp!

It is the 184 version that I mentioned though which has same multilink as vrs. Just realised that as standard the leon as 17" wheels (although most of them are specced with the optional 18") hence why the emissions are probably lower. I thought the 2.0tdi engine in the latest leon and octavia would be the same as in the golf?

Interesting that the leon st fr184 is quoted 8kg heavier than a vrs estate yet the leon is quicker 0-60 and has lower emissions?

Mine was remapped and got it to just go off the end of the speedo (was going downhill at the time!) . Does take a bit of time to get it flat out......certainly compared to how quickly my zx12r could do it in lol!

Towbar and rack is probably the best way but also the most expensive and means you need a towbar every time you change cars. I've been using the same Thule setup that you currently use for the roof with the proride 591. Have used it on various cars mk1 leon cupra r, audi a4 avant, seat toledo, mk2 octavia vrs and now on my mk3 leon estate without any issues. Perfectly secure (and tested upto 140mph!) and best value for money imho. Would have thought bikes will get dirtier being behind the car and also need to be careful parking due to the extra length of bikes/carrier. Both systems have their plus/minus points.

Must admit that's what partially put me off changing my mk2 fl vrs for the mk3. It does look great on the Xtreme wheels but didn't feel overall it had significantly moved on both in quality and styling . Controversial to say on here but I ended up changing it for a mk3 leon fr estate. Slighlty less interior space although boot space is near as damn it the same as the octavia estate. Personally I felt the leon looks better and has the better interior. Deals are fantastic and the price difference was huge by the time I specced up an equivalent octavia (panaromic roof, led lights - headlights are better than the xenons on my mk2 and not available on mk3, sat nav, metallic white, privacy glass, alcantara interior, front park assist). I await to be shot down for mentioning another brand! (It's still vag though lol!)

Don't know why manufacturers still fit these to uk cars. All diamond cut alloys will suffer corrosion issues regardless of the quality. I used to sell alloy wheels and refused to sell diamond cut/ polished wheels as no matter how well you informed people of the durability they would come back and complain. Uk winters exaggerate the issue due to the salt we use as well.

Well after a couple of weeks driving the leon fr I gave it it's first good blast down a country road. Given it is diesel I thought the handling would be worse than my petrol vrs but have been shocked/suprised to discover it handles far better - bear in mind this is only an fr not a cupra! Feels far more reponsive and no where near as nose heavy as the vrs. Obviously I do occasionally miss the power of the vrs (especially as it was remapped) but the 170miles more from a tank (leon tank is a gallon smaller than the vrs) makes up for it. Very impressed with the car overall - better build quality, far less road noise and better handling. I've not driven a mk3 vrs to do a fair comparison but given the prices/spec on the leon the mk3 octavia struggles to compete on overall value.

Decided to sell my fl vrs tsi. Been a great car over the last two and half years and 43k miles. Currently has 62.5k miles on it and had no issues. Have bought a 6 month old leon st fr184 with a few options. Not overly impressed with the new octavia and believe they are no longer the value that they were with the mk2. Trading in my vrs which breaks my heart as it is immaculate and has been maintained to the highest standard. The initial trade in prices I was offered were shocking but I don't have the time to try and advertise it privately. Some of the "we buy any car" websites were quoting £6.7k!

Agree that buying privately let's you speak to the owner and get a better idea of how it has been looked after. Might be selling mine........good spec, well maintained (loads of reciepts).............

I wouldn't let the timing chain issue put you off. It has affected a very small amount of vehicles. Probably best with the newer model as it is likely to have a later revision of the tensioner/chain. I would go on the condition of the cars. 2010 looks expensive? Mine is the same age but double the mileage and only getting offered just over 7k for it and it has a good spec! I only paid about 2 k more for mine when I bought it two and half years ago.

I'm thinking of selling mine if your interested. Late 2010 petrol tsi model. Race blue hatch with 62k miles and fsh. Serviced every 10k (just been serviced). Recent front discs and pads and rear pads. Immaculate condition - is washed 2-3times per week! Also has optical reverse park, factory bluetooth, xenon headlights with afs, auto wipers and auto dimming rear view mirror.

I have a 2010 petrol vrs with 62k miles and only issue I have had was the air con compressor which was replaced under warranty. Why do people still get hung up about mileage. More likely to have more wear and tear on low mileage cars that do short runs than a higher mileage car that as done motorway miles/got upto operating temperatures regularly. Modern cars can do well over 100k miles no bother. Judge it more on condition and history than just the mileage.