Decent dealers make all the difference, don't they?

Decent dealers make all the difference, don't they?

Having lived with a Modeo and suffering the agonies of having to visit a Ford dealer every 12,500 miles (3 times each year for me PLUS extra visits for breakdowns / repairs) I know exactly what you mean!

Someone I know bought a vrs 2.0T - he mentioned to the dealer the "buyacar.com" price he could get on the net - after walking out the door the dealer chased him down gave him Xenons and another 500 quid on his part exchange. Every little helps. Buyers Market!

Well just been to Farmers in Nottingham for the test drive I had booked in the Superb and an Octavia VRs and to be honest if that is the level of service from the dealer network then I think I'd rather use public transport than buy a Skoda!

I was informed when I got there that the salesman I had spoken to was about to do a handover so i couldnt have the test drives I had booked and was left to wander aimlessly around the showroom for 20 minutes.

Great service...NOT!!! :mad:

Yep, its a shame the dealer network has a few terrible ones! Good luck with your Superb.... Its a cracking car and you wont be disapointed!

Was mulling over the petrol myself and if they hadn't have brought out the CR I'd have gone for the petrol for sure. Don't get me wrong, the PD is a good engine but by the time I handed over the Fabia to the wife I'd gotten sick of the agricultural feel of it in the 1.9 - it's just a bit clattery and the power delivery all in one lump. Good fun but mine was not that revvy, even when mapped.

The 2.0T is very good from the people I've spoken to who own one - nice wide torque curve, good on fuel (compared to others in it's class) but not the quietest being direct injection and also prone to the usual VAG issue of coil pack failures.

Personally though I like only paying £125 a year on VED and getting 45 mpg. Considering petrol and diesel costs the same at the pump now, and ideally you need to run the TFSI on at least 97 RON (although you don't 'have' to), plus the insurance on the petrol is a smidgen more, I didn't see the point for an extra 30 ponies and less torque.

Petrol.

/thread

Was waiting for you to come along Babs.

It's hard to talk petrol heads into buying a 'dirty diesel'. You normally have to have a reason not to buy the petrol. That reason for me is that I live in the UK and want to put as little ££ into MP's ridiculous expenses as possible but still have a car that makes me smile.

The FL VRS petrol has the newer TSI engine and on a run today I got 41 mpg on a mixture of roads. To be honest, thats about the same as I was getting in my old PD 170, and the difference is amazing. (Yes I know the CR is much better than the PD!)

Hi Paulie T, I live in Ashby and am mulling over the VRS diesel or petrol also. I'm pretty much set on the petrol as there isnt a huge difference in company car tax over the course of a year. Some useful thoughts on the diesel vs petrol debate here:

http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/diesel-vrs-fl-petrol-vrs-first-impressions/157789/

I've tried pretty much all the Skoda dealers in the East Mids but none have a F/L VRS petrol DSG. Let me know if you spot one!

Derby have a VRS petrol manual and VRS diesel DSG so I'll test drive them both me thinks.

In real terms, the new TSI engine is getting very close to the economy of derv.

The tax (which everyone starts praising derv over) isn't really that big of a difference, in real terms.

The TSI is smoother, sounds better, has a wider power band.

What the derv has over the TSI is lazy-power. You won't need to change down as much to overtake etc. This suits some people fine! It also has the greatest economy, even though the TSI (and petrol in general) is getting better. So if you do astronomical mileage you will be better off.

It does cost more to begin with though!

I bought my Fabia vRS because I was doing 25k a year. I got bored of the power delivery and so bought an Mk1 Octavia vRS instead. I would rather "put up" with the cost of fuel (because of the lower economy) than put up with the diesel.

I think the choice has to relate to both the amount of miles that you do and where you do them. Although the maths will vary slightly due to relative changes in petrol/diesel prices at the pumps, basically unless you do more than 12-14,000 miles each year then the diesel will be more expensive despite the better economy due to the higher purchase price of the car and the higher price of derv at the pumps.

However, the other issue is that the diesel vRS has a huge amount of torque and is great on a motorway for that 50-70 acceleration range, so if most of your driving is motorway cruising then this should be a consideration, but if your driving is more mixed - towns, A roads etc., then the petrol will basically give you a more zippy performance - and without sounding like a taxi!

Definately try and drive both, but in my view the choice really comes down to your own individual assessment of the above factors...

I'm opting for the petrol for cost and quality reasons. I drive about 15k miles per year that are mostly motorway. My pocket may feel a little lighter running a petrol but not significantly lighter.

I've driven diesels for about 10 years, I'm between company cars at the min (just changed jobs) so running about in my Wife's petrol fiesta. I've missed how much more quiet petrols are over diesels! The extra £500 or so per year a petrol will cost me over a diesel is a small price to pay for blistering pace and much more refinement.