Here are my thoughts on the Skoda 11 L&K Estate compared my previous BMW E39 530d touring.

Both cars are diesel automatic estates, with leather.

Firstly I’m very impressed with the Octy. It has the 2.0 TDI PD140 with the DSG gearbox. I have the MFD2 factory sat nav fitted along with the integrated Bluetooth car kit and iPod kit. It has a DPT (diesel power tuning) box fitted which ups power & torque to that of the PD170 of the VRS (pre CR), electric drivers seat, Skoda mats, auto dipping interior and exterior mirrors, the raised boot floor etc... Unfortunately no zenons. Really miss them.

The BMW was basic in comparison, leather, auto, zenons, self level suspension, self dipping interior & exterior mirrors which also folded in. It was remapped to 220bhp & 450Nm (from 184bhp & 390Nm).

I loved the ride in the BMW & all was peaceful & quiet. Not so with the Octy, ride is OK, but after 64,000 miles I think the shock might need replacing (with Koni FSD I expect). Interior noise is terrible in the Octy, probably similar to other cars in class, but not what I’m used to, so next job is having sound insulation fitted by Noisekiller. The BMW has about 50mm of sound isulation compared to the 12mm or so in the Octy. Road noise is very noticeable on the Octy. It was there on the BMW, but not intrusive like the Octy. Luckily I only have 16” wheels fitted, so must be far worse with 17 or 18” wheels. I understand that tyre choice is critical & Michelin Primacys are one of the recommended ‘quiet’ tyres.

Handling in the BMW was just brilliant, always felt safe, whatever the weather – sun, rain, snow etc. (unless I turned off the traction control in the wet – fun & dangerous so rarely did – oversteer!), and the driven wheels were in the right place (at the back). The chassis was perfectly balanced.

I guess the Octy is OK, just need to change my driving style. Front wheels spin in 1st, 2nd & 3rd occasionally if I floor it, and haven’t backed off because I’m all over the road with torque steer. I have Pirelli P6000 on front and Michelin Primacy on the rear, BMW had Primacy’s all round.

Performance wise the Octy feels as quick as the BMW, because it is lighter by a few hundred kg. That was before I fitted the DPT box. Even better with the DPT box.

The BMW’s gearbox was fantastic – steptronic 5 speed, but the DSG 6 speed gearbox is even better for me, as it feels more like a manual gearbox (it is) but without the clutch. I would be spending a fortune at the ostiopath if I had a ‘real’ manual as I get sciatica. The DSG holds on to gears where the BM would just drop down a gear. Both protect themselves by stopping me from abusing them – change up/down automatically under certain circumstances. I would like to be able to pull away in 2nd though with the DSG like I could with the BM.

Hill starts with the DSG need the handbrake, as it rolls back a few inches before it engages once the foot is taken off the brake, in fact that is my only fault with the DSG, as it doesn’t have a torque converter, from idle with foot on brake, take foot off brake then there is a delay before the car then starts to creep forward, and then it lurches forward a few inches, so have to be careful when parking in front of my house, so that I don’t drive in to the wall!

Fuel economy. There is no comparison. Brim to brim the Octy has been doing 45mpg plus, with the maxidot reading a max of 63mpg for one journey. I recon it is out by as much as 6mpg. The BMW averaged 33mpg.

Insurance cost the same with the DPT as the standard non mapped 530 cost me.

Interior, the boot is approx 40% bigger on the Octy, and even with the seats down it is still bigger slightly. Interior space is similar to the BMW.

Exterior the Octy is similar in width and height, but about 200mm shorter – the Octy has a transverse engine, whereas the BMW had a longitudinal 6cyl engine. The BMW had a split rear tailgate which I used all the time.

I spent £5k in repairs keeping the BMW on the road, it was 9 ½ years old when I sold it and had 150,000 on the clock.

That and the economy are why I have changed & also all the positive reviews about the Octy.

So, in summary, I really like the Octy and miss certain aspects of the BMW (folding mirrors, split rear tailgate, xenons and the peace & quiet), So I manually move the mirrors when I park on the road, live without the split rear tailgate, fitted Osram Nightbreakers and I’m having sound insulation fitted soon and will put Primacy’s on the front as well. with the Koni FSD to follow & a geometry check.

Glad your liking your Oct'y

Front wheels spin in 1st, 2nd & 3rd occasionally if I floor it, and haven’t backed off because I’m all over the road with torque steer. I have Pirelli P6000 on front and Michelin Primacy on the rear, BMW had Primacy’s all round.

P6000 = Teh SuX0r

That would go a long way to explaining your problems described above. Wouldn't put P6000s on the driven wheels of a car with more than 100bhp and half decent torque never mind a 2.0PD that is 'enhanced' :eek:

Funnily enough I'm thinking of changing my Octy II for a 530d M-Sport, not till next year though.

:eek:

P6000 = Teh SuX0r

That would go a long way to explaining your problems described above. Wouldn't put P6000s on the driven wheels of a car with more than 100bhp and half decent torque never mind a 2.0PD that is 'enhanced' :eek:

I knew they were bad, but not that bad!

i thought this thread was gonna be another "i took him like a king thread" :(

Glad your liking your Oct'y

Getting better all the time. (and quieter I hope!)

i thought this thread was gonna be another "i took him like a king thread" :(

Yeah I wondered that too.

Interesting comparison, nice to see the Octy stands up so well against a "premium" brand

Which premium brand? Was there another car mentioned besides the octy and the bmwthingy?

Interesting read. As a matter of interest, which do you prefer overall?

Interesting read. As a matter of interest, which do you prefer overall?

BMW's claim to be the ultimate driving machine in my opinion is true. I just got in the 5 & drove it, it just felt right.

The Octy, is taking a lot of getting used to, but I have only done 2,500 miles in it since buying it a month ago, whereas I had done over 100,000 miles in the BMW. over the last 3 1/2 years.

But the more I drive the Octy, the more I like it & the toys on it make life more bearable.

If money was no object, then the BMW wins, but money has to be plentiful, as when they go wrong they are EXPENSIVE!, for example, my 530d needed new injectors (x6) and a new fuel pump, as hot starting was taking longer than it should, as they were worn. Only BMW could supply the parts, to have these replaced would have cost me £2500 plus VAT & labour (several hours). Service stuff is very reasonable. (I didn't have this done - just lived with it taking 10 seconds to start rather than 2 seconds when hot!)

So in the real world the Octy wins, as it is bigger inside, as nippy, far more economical - like 15-20mpg more, and the parts should not be any where near the cost of the BMW. It's not bad to drive, just different & when I replace the tyres will probably be better.

Hill starts with the DSG need the handbrake, as it rolls back a few inches before it engages once the foot is taken off the brake, in fact that is my only fault with the DSG, as it doesn’t have a torque converter, from idle with foot on brake, take foot off brake then there is a delay before the car then starts to creep forward

if you use your left foot to hold it on the brake then apply pressure on the throttle with your right foot it will just pull away with no rolling back - I never use my right foot for any braking in an auto or DSG car as, once you've got the 'knack' (I acquired it over 20 years ago in my first automatic car) it's easier to use your left foot... oh, and I don't have a problem driving a manual and reverting to 'normal' braking either

I had a BMW330d Touring before the Octy (same model as yours) and can echo the sentiment regarding it feeling as quick but a bit noisier (Michelin Primacy are definitely a quiet tyre ) I used to get 21-22mpg towing my racecar with the BMW, I now get 37mpg with the 2.0TDi with DSG

I have also gone from BMW (in my case a 320d) to an Octavia (2.0TD Elegance manual) and I much prefer the handling of the Octavia. The steering on the BMW always felt vague (even allowing for it being real wheel drive - I'd had two BMWs previously) and it seems that certainly in the last couple of years with the car I would end a journey feeling what I can only describe as travel sick!

For fuel economy the BMW was better at motorway speeds (I get about 44 mpg from the Octavia on a fast motorway run) but with fuel prices as they are I tend to now drive like a granddad anyway. In fact I'm thinking about adding a sticker "The vehicle is limited to 56 MPH by law" to the boot of the car.

The gearing is much better in the Octavia as well - it will trundle along at 30 MPH in 4th gear - the BMW was barely happy being in 3rd.

The Octavia also feels a lot livelier than the BMW – probably due to less weight and lower gearing.

Other plus points for the Octavia:

1. More storage - cup holders especially

2. Smoother gearbox

3. Cheaper to buy (£23K for BMW vs £16.5K for Skoda)

The BMW was however a much quieter car for road noise. I've replaced the front tyres in the Octavia with Falkens but there's still too much for my liking - I may have to go down the Noisekiller route.

So overall I'm pleased I made the switch, and although I kept the BMW for a while after getting the Octavia I found that for the most part I didn't miss driving it. Mind you I've now also got a Mondeo ST220 for when I feeling bored!

Hmmm, all the BMWs I've driven have had very nicely weighted and positive steering, nothing vague at all. Perhaps there was a problem with your 320d?

Thanks for your review Mr Rockhopper - I understand your points completely. For what its worth, I have it on good authority that you can simply swap your current headlights for Octavia xenon units, they are just plug and play, and you keep your levelling control on the dial.

The 5 series is a lovely car, and whilst the 530 has a lovely engine, petrols are what BMW do best, especially the straight sixes.

I went from a 2.0TFSI Octavia vRS (200bhp) to my now 225bhp 328i. There isn't a doubt in my mind that I could pilot the vRS down a b-road more quickly - the Octavia chassis allows you to exploit every ounce of available grip, the handling is very neutral and driving it quickly is childs play. But in the BMW the experience is completely different. All the controls are so much more direct, the steering feels more positive, the controls perfectly weighted. However, being RWD I haven't yet got the confidence to exploit all of the available grip, but I'm sure with time things will improve...

Hmmm, all the BMWs I've driven have had very nicely weighted and positive steering, nothing vague at all. Perhaps there was a problem with your 320d?

Nothing was mentioned by the dealer when it had service/MOT although I too did wonder whether the geometry was out (BMW charge £200 + for laser alignment) or the shocks were getting tired. It had covered 87K miles when I traded it in.

The gearing is much better in the Octavia as well - it will trundle along at 30 MPH in 4th gear - the BMW was barely happy being in 3rd.

WOW! I didn't realise the TDI engine was so inflexible. My Petrol Octy II vRS will happily cruise through a 30mph limit (legally), in sixth. I am happy to say that it also managed 35mpg average through the scarier times of the recent fuel prices... OK, so the TDI does a little better...

WOW! I didn't realise the TDI engine was so inflexible. My Petrol Octy II vRS will happily cruise through a 30mph limit (legally), in sixth. I am happy to say that it also managed 35mpg average through the scarier times of the recent fuel prices... OK, so the TDI does a little better...

With the DSG it won't let you go any higher than 5th at 30, and 6th at 40, but you have to 'override' it to get it to do that. otherwise the DSG will do 4th at 30 and 5th at 40 as posted above. It is indeed a very felxible unit, within reason, and the DSG lets you use it whereas BMW wouldn't let you to the same extent.

Edited 10 October, 200817 yr by rockhopper
punctuation!

Hmmm, all the BMWs I've driven have had very nicely weighted and positive steering, nothing vague at all. Perhaps there was a problem with your 320d?

I can only echo you with regards to the 320, something must have been wrong, as my wifes 323i was like a cart around corners (bumps and all!) very direct steering, & great fun to drive - just watch it in the wet Tom if you turn off traction control:)

Thanks for your review Mr Rockhopper - I understand your points completely. For what its worth, I have it on good authority that you can simply swap your current headlights for Octavia xenon units, they are just plug and play, and you keep your levelling control on the dial.

Many thanks Tom and good news about the zenons, though not strictly legal...

The 5 series is a lovely car, and whilst the 530 has a lovely engine, petrols are what BMW do best, especially the straight sixes.

I thought they did the best (most powerful & smooth)diesels out there as well. Have you driven a 535d? all I can say after having one for 3 weeks is awesome;) It made me go out and have my 530d remapped.

I went from a 2.0TFSI Octavia vRS (200bhp) to my now 225bhp 328i. There isn't a doubt in my mind that I could pilot the vRS down a b-road more quickly - the Octavia chassis allows you to exploit every ounce of available grip, the handling is very neutral and driving it quickly is childs play. But in the BMW the experience is completely different. All the controls are so much more direct, the steering feels more positive, the controls perfectly weighted. However, being RWD I haven't yet got the confidence to exploit all of the available grip, but I'm sure with time things will improve...

Give it time!

Mike