Struck me as strange with the new facelift range that if you want the petrol 1.8 TSi, the Elegance level you can only have with manual transmission. If you want the 1.8 TSi in the

L & K level you can have the choice of either manual or DSG.

What has the Elegance level done to be denied the 1.8 TSi DSG?

A somewhat strange decision.

only in UK though...

That's really strange in the UK.

Fortunately, I managed to order my OII FL 1.8 TSI Elegance with DSG here in France. It should arrive on 5th March...

Struck me as strange with the new facelift range that if you want the petrol 1.8 TSi, the Elegance level you can only have with manual transmission. If you want the 1.8 TSi in the

L & K level you can have the choice of either manual or DSG.

What has the Elegance level done to be denied the 1.8 TSi DSG?

A somewhat strange decision.

My thoughts exactly

I had planned for an Octy estate 1.8dsg to be my next car: until i learnt it was only available as L&K in the UK. The L&K is specced way above my needs and I don't want to pay for this.

I've even spoken to Skoda UK about this and they state there are no plans to offer this combination in other specs. this makes it a rather oddly exclusive car, perhaps evn more so during a recession

My hunch is that one reason is the 1.8Tdsg is nearly as economical as the 2.0 PD diesel dsg, cheaper and more refined so maybe they don't want them to compete head to head. Perhaps things my change when the 140 CR diesel is introduced

I've finally got my new car...it is only a second day, hence I can't really report much on the driving experience, except the first impression (which is very good).

It is OII FL 1.8 TSI DSG Elegance (french version) in Arctic green colour. The colour doesn't really show well on the pictures, as it is difficult to capture it properly It is a bit like chameleon - changing colours based on the ambient light and the angle you look at it. It may look like silver, green and blueish too...

The 7 speed DSG in combination with this engine is simply fantastic...I will give it a proper test drive tomorrow (incl. motorway).

A few photos:

A few more photos (incl. sunroof & DSG box):

That looks really good

Looks very nice indeed, unfortunately I have a long wait for mine, do not even have a build date yet. In the UK we do not get the 1.8 TSI DSG in Elegance trim so I have gone for the 1.4 TSI DSG also in Arctic Green . I believe ESP & Hill Hold Control are standard on all 7 speed DSG's, do you have them? Notice you declined the 3 spoke wheel/ paddle shift.

Those silver shades are tricky to photograph, changing in differing lights - were your pics taken in evening light?

Look forward to your roadtest update.

Yes, the ESP & Hill hold came as standard in my spec. I have yet to try the hill hold function in my terrible underground parking Indeed, I initially planned to get the 3 spoke wheel with paddle shift as an option, but finally I decided to leave it out and get Xenon lights instead. At the end of the day, the paddle shifts are just a gadget and I hope to benefit from Xenon lights much more (as I like to drive at night on long journeys).

I took the photos a few minutes before sunset (last night), but will try to do more with D-SLR and some manual WB settings. It is really tricky to capture the colour with a simple compact and full auto camera (what I used yesterday), but in reality it looks very nice

Looks very nice

Looks nice, could do with lowering a bit though

very nice!!! i am getiing mine on the 23rd of march....i cant wait......

very nice!!! i am getiing mine on the 23rd of march....i cant wait......

When did you order it? Still awaiting a build date for mine so probably will not get my hands on it until well into May - sounds an eternity!

The sales brochure must have done a good job - Arctic Green seems popular.

i ordered it on 31/01/09...black magic for me...

i am just thinking if i should get the full cover or third party insurance...i know it wise to get the full cover on a new car...never had a full cover before btw...

i ordered it on 31/01/09...black magic for me...

i am just thinking if i should get the full cover or third party insurance...i know it wise to get the full cover on a new car...never had a full cover before btw...

Only a 7 week wait, that's good and given me an hope for mid April being an eternal optimist!

Personally I would only ever contemplate full comprehensive cover.

average waiting is approx 8 weeks in central europe...

i have been quoted 1,350 in GBP pa for full cover. i will get a full cover for the first 2 years...and on the third year i will change to third party cover....

average waiting is approx 8 weeks in central europe...

i have been quoted 1,350 in GBP pa for full cover. i will get a full cover for the first 2 years...and on the third year i will change to third party cover....

1,350 in GBP pa for full cover.... Thats a bit scary:eek:

bear in mind that insurances in UK are one of the most expensive in the world....where i live price insurances are more ''down to earth'...'

My fully comprehensive insurance costs here in France 760 euros per year and that's already one of the more expensive covers (more reliable in case of payouts). One could find a cover for 500 euros. The main difference compared to UK covers is the validity of the full comprehensive cover across the EU. In England, I had to pay extra to get EU cover for up to max. 90 days in a year :(

Bassa, I guess you should have already received your car too...first impressions? Are you happy so far?

Bassa, I guess you should have already received your car too...first impressions? Are you happy so far?

No unfortunately, not yet. It was only ordered late Feb. and I have only just received the build date of week 17 - guess I should get the car around mid May time.

In the UK, it was late Feb before Skoda made the TSI DSG available, so even now, I very much doubt if there are any in the country. The TSi manuals are now beginning to appear though.

How are you finding the 7 speed DSG's auto mode and the hill hold function ?

You have a few more weeks to wait...

The 7-speed DSG is great in the combination with 1.8 TSI. The D mode changes gears very smoothly at very low RPMs (I haven't tried S mode yet). You end up having 7th gear engaged at only 50mph. The engine is extremely silent (compared to TDIs, but also to my previous Mazda 2.0 petrol engine). As the engine is still new and I am driving only short distances at the moment, I am taking it easy and not speeding/accelerating too much. Once it warms up, I am trying to slowly increase RPMs, but still not more than 3-3.500 (already enough to have fun with). I will increase the RPMs once the car has done around 1000 miles...to make sure it doesn't become too lazy

Hill hold function is great and I am using it nearly every day (see picture to understand why). My exit from the underground garage is very steep and it was most likely designed for tiny French cars (twingo, 206 etc.). Anything bigger has a problem to make a smooth turn in the 90 degrees turn with very steep incline. It was a nightmare with my Mazda 6 and manual gearbox without hill hold!

You have a few more weeks to wait...

The 7-speed DSG is great in the combination with 1.8 TSI. The D mode changes gears very smoothly at very low RPMs (I haven't tried S mode yet). You end up having 7th gear engaged at only 50mph. The engine is extremely silent (compared to TDIs, but also to my previous Mazda 2.0 petrol engine). As the engine is still new and I am driving only short distances at the moment, I am taking it easy and not speeding/accelerating too much. Once it warms up, I am trying to slowly increase RPMs, but still not more than 3-3.500 (already enough to have fun with). I will increase the RPMs once the car has done around 1000 miles...to make sure it doesn't become too lazy

Hill hold function is great and I am using it nearly every day (see picture to understand why). My exit from the underground garage is very steep and it was most likely designed for tiny French cars (twingo, 206 etc.). Anything bigger has a problem to make a smooth turn in the 90 degrees turn with very steep incline. It was a nightmare with my Mazda 6 and manual gearbox without hill hold!

I see what you mean, made for hill hold.

Going back to your DSG, how do you find, in auto mode, the first & second gears in slow traffic situations - do you detect any gear hunting indecisions? When I tried the 7 speed DSG Golf that was very decisive with no indecisions, unlike most of the oppositions single clutch type semi autos.

apparently the DSG 7s is much smoother than the DSG 6s! it is very decisive! when the rpms are dropping it keeps the second gear longer unlike with the DSG 6s which drops it to the first gear faster....

apparently the DSG 7s is much smoother than the DSG 6s! it is very decisive! when the rpms are dropping it keeps the second gear longer unlike with the DSG 6s which drops it to the first gear faster....

That is exactly how I found it with the 7 speed DSG Golf. Being unable to find an Octy TSI DSG demonstrator in the UK as yet, I had slight concerns if the Octy would perform in a similar manner - so that is reassuring to know. My concerns were really created by those single clutch semi autos available from other marques, which are jerky and rather unpleasant in auto mode, requiring the driver to adapt their driving style in order to obtain smooth progress..

Edited 24 March, 200917 yr by Bassa
change