Good Morning Chaps!

My current car (Pug 306) has died on me and I am now looking towards a Skoda Octavia for my replacement. I have a budget of upto £9k and therefore looking at the following:

Octavia TDi PD Elegance 2.0

Octavia TDi PD Vrs 2.0

I have also recently become a father so this will be the ideal family car, however..... my head says go for the elegance where my heart says go for the Vrs. The MPG is pretty much the same (circa 50) so that is not an issue and the only real financial differences would be the insurance.

I would like to know your thoughts on whether the Vrs can still be deemed a family car over the elegance or should I stay with the sensible option of going with the elegance?

I just need help deciding as I am inexperienced with the Octavias and the real differences between them. I really wanted rear parking (for the missus *cough cough*) sensors.

Can anyone sum up the main differences between the two and the strengths and weaknesses of each?

I realise this is a lot to ask for by a realitively new poster but any advice given would be appreciated.

Cheers Peeps!

Well... I have a 1.9Tdi Elegance Estate and I'm delighted with it. It gives 600 miles to a tank of fuel and enough performance to enable safe motoring. Granted I have had TVR's, Cobras, Westfields and Supras in the past so I've been their and done the performance side of motoring.

The main reason we went for the 1.9 was it's excellent economy. It's also a proven unit with years under its belt.

We upgrade to the Octavia Edtate from a Fabia Combi. Main reason like you was a little 'un and we needed more space.

I would certaintly reccomend the estate. Even with just one kid dont underestimate the amount of crap you will be karting around. Especially on holidays ..... The variable boot of the Elegance is also very handy.

We have standard suspension on our Octavia but even with the stock 16" wheels the ride is firm. Especially if you are sitting in the back. This may be worth considering if you are carrying a child.

Elegance normally comes with a lot of toys as standard, parking sensors, dual level boot climate control etc. some VRs models had to be specced up to this (it was free at some point ) but watch out for the odd one that isn't ...Mine is a 1.9 pd elegance and I am really happy with it......if needed things can be done to it to make it handle better or go better loads of space and places to keep odd bits and pieces....radio isn't too bad comes with a 6 disc changer and one in the head unit plus an mp3 connector, not sure if others know but there is a hidden box in the rear load cover that is very useful.

Mine at the moment is doing about 50mpg on a long run and 39mpg around town....it quite likes Shell diesel (especially the V power) .

Nor sure where abouts you are but there will be someone near you (Dealer or even one of us) with a an Elegance or vrs estate who would quite willing to show you round their car

Thanks for the replies so far

The difficulty for me at the moment is thus:

all the added extras in the elegance Vs the (assumed potential) more fun n sporty drive of the VRS.

I am now in my 30s and my only car thus far was a 306 HDi so never really went through a boy racer or performance car stage through my driving history. I have no assumptions that the VRS would satisfy any performance related desires, however, I would have thought that it would be a step in the right direction over the elegance.

But with the addition of a newborn I am once again drawn to the elegance and how sensible it is. I took a test drive in the 140bhp ambiente yesterday at a dealer as that was the only one they had available and must say i climbed out of the passenger seat with a pleasant smile on my face. Obviously being accompanied on the test drive I did not have the option of testing its true potential but I did feel that it was a drive I could enjoy.

The suggestion of the upgrade to the elegance was a no-brainer considering the added extras you get on top including the all important rear sensor parking (for the missus I swear!!!).

Hi there and welcome Alty.

I bought my vRS PD in Feb last year and really pleased with it. I went out to buy either an Elegance or a L&K. Had seen an L&K imported at motorpoint or somewhere at a similar price to the vRS.

I went to my local dealer and saw a vRS and asked for the keys to have a wee look inside to compare to an elegance etc. As they had just opened the dealer suggested to take it for a spin. Within half a mile of driving it I knew I wanted it. A 3rd gear accelleration down a slip onto a Dual Carriageway was tremendous, the shove into the seat that the 170 horses gives you is unbelieveable. Admittedly I never drove a 140pd to compare. I would suggest that you try and drive both though for comparrison.

A basic vRS with no options will be lacking quite a few things that an Elegance would have as standard (rear sensors, cruise control, maxidot, headlamp wash,dual zone Climate, rear leccy windows) but these are few and far between. If the vRS has the "jumbo pack" that was a free upgrade for a couple of years you will get the centre arm rest (air conditioned for your cola) an Aux in, Rear leccy windows, dual zone climate and upgrade to 18" alloys.

All you would be lacking then would be cruise (easily retrofitted), parking sensors (again, retrofittable but not as good as OEM) and maxidot (retrofittable-although harder).

So if you can find a vRS (as I did) with Parking sensors, cruise and maxidot and light assist then your not far from an elegance spec.

Mine has the 17" alloys for some reason and yes, the ride is firm but not overly so, SWMBO and kids dont complain and thats after having a Nissan Navara DC pick up for 18 months beforehand with very soft suspension. Those with 18's may find the ride a little firmer but not a great deal.

A couple of downsides to the vRS could be the DPF that the 170 has. Some have reported issues, although many have had no trouble at all. There is a campaign to fit a new sensor and remap the ECU ongoing and that apparantly sorts any DPF issues but too early to say. My DPF light came on a few weeks ago, drove it as it suggests in the book and it was clear in 5-6 mins.

Also, the seats in the vRS are partly leather and partly allacantra which is a grey suede type material. With kids that may put you off. Dont let it though, put a sunshine kids seat protector under the kids car seat and spray the seats with a good protector spray and they will be fine. I dropped a FULL LARGE cup of hot choc on the drivers seat a few weeks ago. Luckily I had towels in the boot, soaked most of it up there and then and not a mark on the seat but had it cleaned for £10 the following week just in case.

Steve

Obviously being accompanied on the test drive I did not have the option of testing its true potential but I did feel that it was a drive I could enjoy.

That didnt stop me when I test drove the vRS!!!

I warned the accompianying driver that I was gonna give it a good drive and he said thats fine, thats what they are built for!!

I didnt mention on my other post but the Elegance 140 could be chipped upto around 165/170 and sport suspension added at a later stage. I have seen on here somehwere that the vRS has a slightly different chassis or something to cope better with the extra power. Although, of course the 170PD can be chipped upto around 200!

Steve

If you like the toys, go with the Elegance. Have a search for one with Optional Pegasus Alloys and Sports Suspension. Should look like this.

Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDi PD Elegance 5-Dr Hatchback

How much of a difference does the Suspension and Wheel make to the ride of the car?

Only curious because I might be buying one with this fitted already.

How much of a difference does the Suspension and Wheel make to the ride of the car?

Only curious because I might be buying one with this fitted already.

IMO 17" better than 18" for ride - I drove both back to back while looking into buying my vrs. 18" had a dead spot around straight ahead. Told the dealer, he said "what? surely you'd go for the free 18" upgrade? Maybe its that car." So I drove another one and it was the same. 17" tyres are cheaper to replace, and less likely to get curb or pothole damaged. In the end the dealer took out 17 and 18" equipped cars and agreed with me, then gave me an additional £450 discount for not taking the "free" upgrade. V good!

Hi all

I have a L&K Octavia 140 pd sports suspension, remapped to 195 and she drives very nice thank you.

Up graded from a 130pd, that was nice also.

What ever you decide I think that you will be happy.

Excellent, well I've asked about the car in another thread, but it is a 3 year old Octy 2 Elegance with DSG and the sport suspension... for £9,000 it is VERY difficult to NOT buy it

Welcome to the same dilemma I had a few weeks back!I am 28 and like you wanted a family car that I could keep for a few years. Had to be diesel but didn't want an "old man's car" because I am still young enough to be a little bit vain!I ended up buying the vRS TDi and I have to say it is a fabulous thing. I came to it from a Focus 1.6i zetec, so it was always going to feel substantial and better quality, but I was not prepared for how much more special the car would feel.Mine's on the 18" wheels and having come from the 15" on the Focus I am pleasantly surprised by the ride. It is firmer (obviously) but I don't find it unacceptable, and even the mother-in-law has been for a 50 mile countryside blast and didn't once utter a complaint - maybe she was too scared!Whatever you pick will be quick, comfy, big enough for the family, reliable and well made. Which one to buy, IMHO, comes down to looks, price and available deals at the time.Personally I'd buy the vRS - most of the used ones out there now have the jumbo box etc upgrade on, and the worse the financial situation gets, the better the deals look! Happy hunting!

I ended up buying the 2.0TDI DSG Elegance. By far and away the best car I've ever bought.

It is 2.5 years old, (so has 6 months original warranty) bought from a Skoda dealer, so I get another 6 months warranty (Buying a used Skoda means you get 12 months warranty)

The car has LOADS of addons (Pegasus 17" and Sport Suspension, Maxidot and Steering Wheel)

Car's only done 22000, was serviced last year @ 18,000, brand new tyres on the front, pretty good ones on the back...

Man, it was a rare bargain @ 9K (Oh, mine's the 140bhp TDI. Honestly, I think DSG and Diesel are a VERY good pairing )