Hi,

I'm considering the purcahse of my next car which will be either a Mk1 or Mk2 Octavia VRS.

Ideally I'd take the estate version of the Mk2, but these seem to be few and far between at the price point I'm looking at. Mk2 hatches seem much more plentiful and more keenly priced (~£800 - £1000 less than the estate).

So I think it's going to come down to a choice between a Mk1 estate and a Mk2 hatch.

One of the big considerations for me is how large and practical the boot is. I do a lot of camping & cycling trips away with friends, so the car needs to carry all the associated kit around.

The Mk1 Estate has 548 litres boot capacity against the Mk2 Hatches 560, so on paper the Mk2 hatch wins. However the volume doesn't tell the whole story.

From practical experience is the Mk2 hatch much more awkward to get large bulky items in and out and positioned correctly?

Does the extra height in the Mk1 estate make up for it's marginally lower capacity?

Cheers for passing on any experience you have to share.

Would you put a bike, sometimes with water or mud dripping from it in the nice carpeted boot?

My opinion is you can buy either car AND a roof bike rack.

That way there's plenty of boot space for whatever you can think of. Folding the rear seat down I managed to fit in mine 2 packs of insulation material 50x50x100cm each with plenty of room to spare for smaller items around them.

They went inside up to the fixed rear door's glass level, and they're a good half a cubic meter together.

I noticed the rear vision is a bit restricted on the mkII hatch (compared with a mkII estate, I can't comment on mkIs as they never imported them to Oz).

I have fitted 2 bikes in the back of my Mk 2 hatch (with the back seats down). It was a little awkward but not too bad. I am sure the estate would be easier to load heavy bulky loads (no need to lift them up over a boot lip) but I have never had any real problems with the hatch. I have also had a washing machine in the back with no issues.

Having previously had a Mk1 Octavia L&K Estate, I can vouch for the practicality of this car.

I would choose the estate over the hatch anytime as you get more flexibility from the "volume"

On the estate the tailgate screen is more upright and the load cover is a roll away blind design that takes less space & is easy to remove and store - from memory, the hatchback has a solid parcel shelf which takes up some space.

John.

The Mk2 has a nice square boot. The only snag I can think of is that the sill is higher on the hatch than the estate.

The Mk2 hatch's parcel shelf can be removed and slots behind the rear seats when not in use.

I have had a Mark I estate and now a Mark II hatch. In the 18months or so I have had the hatch I haven't missed the estate as the newer car I think is bigger. I haven't tried a bike ( gents hybrid type ) in the hatch but I had to take the front wheel off to fit it in my old estate ( it fitted in a Saab 900 hatch no problem I had prior to the Mark I ).

However I agree the rear vision out of the Mark II is a bit rubbish, but I have parking sensors. Oh , and estates seem to get dirtier on the back window quicker in winter.

I carry two bikes in my hatch back. Both Freeride MTB's. I use DHB bike bags for the bikes so no worries about mud. For short journeys I use a set of skoda roof bars and a set of Thule 591 bike carriers.

Cool - thanks for the advice everyone. Looks like a Mk2 hatch will be no problem :-)

I've lived with and owned both cars you talk of and can catagorically say the MkII is better in almost every way. Refinement, handling, equipment, performance, etc etc. are in a league above the MkI only the looks could be argued as questionable but not enough to sway your decision.

If you can afford the premium for a MkII to then deffinately go for it and if you can squeeze that little bit extra a MkII estate would be perfect.

If a MK2 estates the best option, it doesn't necessarily have to be a vRS does it?I have a MK2 vRS estate...It's the best all rounder IMHO...Happy hunting! I stick my bike on the roof!

Have to agree with the last. I have a MK11 VRS estate and love the versatility. I like the fact that it has the roof rails that i can attach the roof bars too, as i damaged my last car (impreza) by over-tightening the clamps!!

Have had two bikes on the roof and 1 in the boot with the half the rear seat folded down + three adults. Cracking car if you could stretch a little further.