Well, i,ve not long clocked 30,000 Miles in the vRS TDi, so thought i'd do a little review of my experience and thoughts of the Car over this period

Problems Encountered;

- Engine Mount Failure - More info Here - http://briskoda.net/forums/octavia-ii/major-fault-engine-destruction-possibly-manufacturing-part-fault-please-read/81579/

- Rear Wiper Washer Jet pipe blown off

- Squealing Brakes at low speed

- Stream MP3 Head Unit reception issues

- Gearbox Failure - More Info Here - http://briskoda.net/forums/octavia-ii/anyone-remember-what-happened-my-car-1-year-ago-well-guess-what/113455/

- Drivers Doorcard lining is lifting/bubbling

Other Issues Encountered;

- 2x Tyres (front) changed at 17,000

- 4x Tyres changed at 27,000

Dealerships used;

Westover, Poole/Bournemouth, Dorset - have had issues with this dealership, not the best for service either

Loders, Yeovil, Somerset - had much better experiences here, tend to go here more than anywhere else, better levels of Service too

Thoughts/Comments;

Where to start?

Well, Performance - i am very happy with the abilities of the car, and I am nowhere near bored with it - it has been RR'd twice, both times putting out over book power (174bhp & 178bhp) and the torque was recorded as being 22lb/ft over standard when running V-Power Diesel - this equates to excellent performance on the Motorways and on A-roads where overtakign can be carried out with ease. The Handling has been very good, it has never let go, and been put through a lot in varying conditions. The ESP system has been excellent, never being too intrusive, and only working when the car is nearing it's limits.

Economy - started off as ok, was getting mid to high 30's in terms of MPG - as the engine's loosened up, this has improved, i'm currently seeing an average of 45-47mpg and getting about 500 miles to a tank - this includes some spells of 'spirited' driving - if i behave and sit on or just below the speed limit and use the gears to achieve constant low revs, i can get 55+mpg and up to 700 miles from atank - however, going back to how i think of the cars performance, this is rarely acheived...

Comfort - Good experiences in general - the seat can be a little uncomfortable once you've been sat in it for over 4 hours in one hit, but i think thats just due to how they have been setup by myself. The reception on the radio is crap, 75% of the time it's fine, but once it starts to lose reception, thats it - the 'Learn' and 'Auto Frequency' Settings don't seem to do anything, i have to do it maunally to keep it on the same station, if i can find it. I also have recently noticed the lining on the doorcard to be bubbling, whether this is due to heat or anything else i don't know, may take a trip to a dealership and see what they say. Otherwise it's all good, can be a bit of a pain to keep clean though!

Reliability - hmmmmm. Its been a bit of a bad apple this one - doesn't mean all will follow suit! Suffered from 2 major mechanical failures in 1 year, both linked at top of post - however, it has been otherwise OK, the car has managed Fording water over 1ft deep too. Has eaten through tyres too, but that could be more down to me...

Can't really think of much more to say - though any questions or suggestions for additional info will be accepted...

Cheers for reading too...

Good review, nice of you to share your experience of the car with us but...

700 miles to a tank...

is that :bs:

if not, thats incredible mpg you got there

Good review, nice of you to share your experience of the car with us but...

700 miles to a tank...

is that :bs:

if not, thats incredible mpg you got there

Only done it twice - Not BS atall - it can be done, just takes a LOT of caution to keep just under the speed limit - here's the gauge on the same day as i passed 30k - 495 miles with 3/4 tank left

And like i also said, i hardly ever achieve it

Isnt that just the expected tank range if the current speed was kept?

I can get very high readings for the tank range, but I very rarely get anywhere near them come time to fill up

You must be on the motorway for ages to get that then, so apologies about questioning your readings, I thought you must just be being optimistic

And I thought I was doing well to get 500 miles to a tank

Although my average with the TFSi was 280-320, so Im still pleased

Nice little review.

A couple of questions:

Is your car equiped with the 17" or 18" wheels?

- 2x Tyres (front) changed at 17,000

- 4x Tyres changed at 27,000

Does that mean that the first set of front tyres lasted 17K miles and the second set only 10K miles? If so, what make of tyres were they?

Nice little review.

A couple of questions:

Is your car equiped with the 17" or 18" wheels?

Does that mean that the first set of front tyres lasted 17K miles and the second set only 10K miles? If so, what make of tyres were they?

- 17" Wheels

- First set (17k life) Were Michelin Pilot Exalto (?) that it came with on delivery, second set were Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 which the pair lasted 10k (by which time the rears (Exalto's) were dead aswell) - the PS2's suffered because they offered a huge mass of extra grip over the Exalto's, so i chucked the car around more, and put them through a bit more punishment...

- 17" Wheels

- First set (17k life) Were Michelin Pilot Exalto (?) that it came with on delivery, second set were Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 which the pair lasted 10k (by which time the rears (Exalto's) were dead aswell) - the PS2's suffered because they offered a huge mass of extra grip over the Exalto's, so i chucked the car around more, and put them through a bit more punishment...

.... and having spoken with Michelin 'Technical' a few months ago I was told the Pilot Sport 2s have softer rubber (than Exalto 2s) to give more grip and thus would be expected, for similar driving, to give 15% less mileage.

Of course if you are now driving the car harder, as would be expected, then they will last less than that.

What tyre have you got fitted now?

Overall; good to see a vRS TDI put to good use and that you are enjoying it, pity about the mechanicals but then at least it was under warranty.

.... and having spoken with Michelin 'Technical' a few months ago I was told the Pilot Sport 2s have softer rubber (than Exalto 2s) to give more grip and thus would be expected, for similar driving, to give 15% less mileage.

Of course if you are now driving the car harder, as would be expected, then they will last less than that.

What tyre have you got fitted now?

Overall; good to see a vRS TDI put to good use and that you are enjoying it, pity about the mechanicals but then at least it was under warranty.

Got PS2's all round...