Test drove the above today and was amazed at the changes they have made. Best car they have made so far puts the superb and fabia to shame. Can't wait for the 140 bhp and also there are rumours that the RS will be diesel as well. Does anyone know whether the RS will be a diesel?

Martin S

1045 Bhp?

Don't care if it's a Diesel, i'll have one...where do i sign ??

Don't care if it's a Diesel, i'll have one

Test drove the above today and was amazed at the changes they have made. Best car they have made so far puts the superb and fabia to shame. Can't wait for the 140 bhp and also there are rumours that the RS will be diesel as well. Does anyone know whether the RS will be a diesel?

Martin S

spoke to my dealer on saturday and he seems to think there will not be a "hot" version diesel in the octavia. So the vRS will be petrol only. But anything can happen!

Sherlodge garage in Gillingham, Kent have a TDi 140bhp demonstrator.

I took my dealers invitation up for the 'special launch party' (obviously written by someone with a sense of humour) and went to Merritts with my dad to have a looksie at the new model and see if I could take one for a spin. They had 2 models on the forecourt, a 2.0 TDI (130bhp?) and a 1.9 TDI (105bhp). I was allowed to pick one so I chose the 1.9 (as it was elegance spec ) and of we went with the salesman in the back. As I've never driven a diesel before I was not sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it made the typical diesel drone in some gears at higher revs, but it wasn't as bad as I would have expected it to be. Performance isn't comparable with the RS, but I suspect nothing short of the new RS will be. Suspension was ok-ish, but the roads on which we took it did it no favours.

I've read somewhere that there may be an RS diesel but its also due to get to 200 bhp 2.0 turbo from the next golf gti

Salesman said it was going to be a 2.0 225bhp RS... but he didn't believe those specs either .

lol, dealers and salesmen are usually the last ones to actually know anything.

I'm with Zebedee on this one.

wait and see. i said about two years ago i wanted 150bhp diesal estate with cruise sat nav and a cooler box. i might get 140bhp estate but hey i can live with -10 bhp from my wish list.. planning on changing december 2005 (as i find dealers give best deals just b4 xmass-and ill have finished paying 4 the one i have) and the estate will have been out 4 6months so hopefully all the little faults will be ironed out.

17 Months and counting!!!

wonder what mods i can do to a new one

Hi All,

Just had a New Octavia 2.0 diesel 140 horses in Ambiente spec, whilst the vRS was in for it's first service, I didn't drive it to hard as it had just arrived & only had 10 miles on the clock. But you could tell it will go very well indeed when run in, it seemed a lot quieter than the MK1, handled well, good spec & very very well made, I must admit it may be a diesel next time I change, driving home (20 miles) on A roads it was doing 55-60 to the gallon + a shed load of torque. Their seems to be a more room for rear seat passengers but not at the expence of boot space.

All in all a very good package & a big step on from the old version, although I'm still not to sure on the shape, you need to test drive one because that will get you hooked.

The only fault I found was reversing, the boot is still very high & backing is harder than it should be. Parking Sensors would make the job a lot easier. A very minor fault & one I could live with.

Many thanks to David Ian Skoda Morcambe for letting me loose in a car they hadn't even driven.

Thanks Paul J

At least rear parking sensors come as standard on the Elegance now.

Suspect there will be no need with the estate...

Also test-drove a fully specced-up 1.9 TDI this morning. Didn't care much about the toys - I just wanted to feel what the special 17" alloys and sports suspension option was like, which was mounted on this car too.

And I must say, it was absolutely spiffing!

The suspension gives a very delicate feel - it isn't bumpy but feels very solid in corners, the car remained flat all the way through. Grip is excellent, the car feels planted.

But the nicest thing - no understeer!

Really, no understeer when planting your foot on the throttle mid-corner. In fact, it slightly oversteered when really thrown into corners. In a FWD! Woo-hoo!

So if anyone considers the new Octavia, the sports suspension is a must-have option for that small amount of money.

So if anyone considers the new Octavia, the sports suspension is a must-have option for that small amount of money.

17" alloys and sports suspension are a