Estate vs Hatch, Practicalities

[baggers]

Hi guys,

I've been a long term Fabia vRS owner for some two and a half years, it's my company car, I'm hanging on to this for another 18 months. Have been very impressed with the vehicle and the abuse it takes. I am looking to swap the second car out for an Octavia vRS, we current have a Polo as a second vehicle. Having two small cars can be a real pain sometimes.

I'm buying the car as an occasional use vehicle / load lugger, we'll use the Fabia for work commutes etc. The Octavia hatch boot is very generous, whilst I'm ideally after an estate I'm not convinced that there is much more practical load space in the estate, the flat load area is certainly one benefit. What are peoples experiences with hatch practicality and comparability to the estate?

If I find a very nice clean merc c class estate with all the toys I may be swayed in that direction but the more I think about it, 2 vRS' parked in the drive does make sense.

Would appreciate your thoughts!

Thanks

Baggers

[ExAudiSi]

I can't comment on the Octavia estate boot, but what I can say is that the boot on my Octavia hatch is about 4 - 5 inches longer than the boot in SWMBOs Fabia estate and and a couple of inches wider. It's huge!

I think that we will probably use the Octy to go on holiday in this year rather than the Furby estate.

[skinnyman]

I've got the hatch and sometimes wonder if the estate would have been a better option. The hatch pours water into the boot when it's been raining and it also has those annoying braces behind the rear seats.

Other than that, it is a great car for lugging all sorts of stuff to the tip, the family on holiday and bikes/mates on weekends at a good pace and in reasonable comfort. I love it and hope to keep mine for years to come.

[JohnRS]

I've got a vRS estate and the boot is massive. Its not much (if any) longer than the hatch boot but obviously the hight and accessibility is better.

[baggers]

Top tips, many thanks. Think I'll look at both options and wait for the right car to come along.

[RobKnapp2]

...I too have an estate, still easily capable of taking a weekends worth of gear for family of four, including pushchair etc, and keeping the sub in!

With the seats folded flat it will swallow most things, most recent was a fridge freezer! and a roll of 3mx3.5m lino...

Something small that I find dead useful is the load cover - instead of a parcel shelf, the retracting load cover is very useful to take off and stow on top of any items in the boot without getting bent etc...

Another thing to keep in mind is the strut braces in the boot of the hatch. They reduce the width if items you can take with the seats down.

Only thing I would say, is that the plastic trim on the edge of my loading area gets battered putting things in and out.

Some issues/dislikes I have had:

• Having to buy a skoda rear wiper to wipe the top of the rear window - not expensive but a pain making a special journey
  
• Rear washer jet pip comeing apart in the top of the tailgate - easy to fix but...
  
• water getting from detatched pipe into 3rd brake light - expensive to replace from skoda so i bought a aftermarket LED one and fitted the insides
  
• plastic strips on boot floor carpet - anything hard seems to slide on them - i end up always using the cargo net
  

Whatever you buy im sure youll be really happy but hope the above helps..

[iep]

I tried out the hatch and the estate vRS and noticed no real difference in how they handled. In the end went for the estate because I can get three bikes and luggage in the back without folding the seats down (by taking the wheels off and standing the bikes up).

Also, as has already been noted, the estate does not have the braces behind the rear seats so you can get much larger flat loads in the boot if you fold the seats down.

Only thing that has annoyed me about my estate is that the estate comes with 16" wheels rather than the 17" ones on the hatch. I think the estate would look much nicer with the 17" ones. However, I could pick a set up for about £200 with tyres if it really bothered me.

ip

[Mark_A]

Only thing that has annoyed me about my estate is that the estate comes with 16" wheels rather than the 17" ones on the hatch. I think the estate would look much nicer with the 17" ones. However, I could pick a set up for about £200 with tyres if it really bothered me.ip

Agreed 17's would look better, but decent tyres for 16's start at under £50 a corner (Camskill - plus fitting) and the ride quality is probably a little better on the standard 16's too, which as I'm getting older is definitely becoming more of a priority!!!

[iep]

Wise words Mark_A. And you can't even see the wheels when you're driving the car!

[Bodge]

I know I'm a bit biased, but...

I've managed to move house twice with my hatch. Once the seats are down, the load space is massive, and unless your carrying a wardrobe, the braces don't cause much bother.

I've fitted 2 mountain bikes in the boot, and with the smaller half of the bench folded down, I've carried a couple of pairs of Skis across europe, with all the gear that goes with it. I think the heaviest the car has been is while carrying 4 people and 4 peoples luggage across europe for a 10 day holiday!

I've never thought 'I need more space', so I'm happy with the hatch. But then I do think the hatch looks nicer....

[iep]

Bodge is right, the hatch is massive too (and does look really nice).

However, it's the wardrobe carrying comment that rings true for me. Sometimes I do need to carry large items that would not fit over the braces in the hatch.

I was torn between the two but in the end I went for the estate because of the larger flat load are that you get with the seats down (Also, I found a low mileage estate nearby).

ip

[r300chris]

I have a vRS estate. I bought it because my wife and I are windsurfers and having roof rails means the bars can be spread further appart making it better for supporting loads. Inside I carry 8 sails, 5 masts, 3 booms, two kit bags and a box of fins mast extensions and board fins. Sometimes if I feel lazy and im going sailing without the wife I launch my board inside the car too!

I have loaded 3 adult bikes before too with ease.

I also like the vertical boot lid, as mentioned before it doesnt through water over you if its raining + if its raining I can stand under it while getting changed. Being able to sit on the end of the boot when open is cool too. The lower loading space makes it easier to get stuff in and out as there is no lip to get the load over.

I also use the car for towing a trailer with motocross bikes, the vertical window makes it easier to keep an eye on the bikes to make sure they dont fall over in transit. lol

My only gripe is the 16" Wheels which I am currently trying to sort.. 17" Spiders for sale anyone?

I suppose it depends on what you will use the car for, if you have no need for the estate then get the hatchback, they look better, more available, started production earlier so you can get an earlier model if on a tight budget (Estate only started in 03).

Does the estate have stiffer rear suspension for a larger payload, and towing?

[pikpilot]

The estate also has a flat floor option (standard on some trims) that is carpeted. It is raised above the standard floor.The advantages are:

- allows you to slide big items in without the lip being a problem

- gives you a flat seat with the tailgate up

- being carpeted, things don't slide around like they do on the plastic strip on the lower floor

- it is hinged in two places to give several configurations with the end of the floor slipping vertically into slots in the side rails (need to see it as hard to describe)

- you have a gap between the two floors to put in slim items such as an umbrella, first aid kit etc, so you don't loose any space.

- with the rear seat squab folded down this is virtually level with the raised flat floor, allowing you to slide in longer items

- finally, if you want maximum depth, it can be taken out easily.

In my opinion this option is well worth while and means the estate beats the hatch if you need to carry not just big items but many stacked smaller items you need to get at regularly, as I do in my job.

Mike

[KenONeill]

I'd pretty much agree; the estate is better for really big stuff, but if you just want suitcase space the hatch can handle a huge amount.

[Octygone]

As already said water pours in the hatch when it's raining ....,but you can sit in the boot of the estate with the door over you keeping you dry .....great if you have kids ....did get a chest freezer in the back of my estate ....with all the seats still up and the back door shut

[skinnyman]

This is a question that I assume will get a set response with regards to handling/insurance/necessity, but has anyone removed the braces from the back of the hatch before? Either permenantly, or temporarily to move a wardrobe or freezer?

If I remember rightly, the estate does without because it's on 16" wheels, but the hatch came (mostly) with 17" and it was a bit of a bodge to stiffen things up. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[iep]

Interesting point skinnyman but why would 17" wheels require a stiffer chassis than 16" wheels?

ip

[skinnyman]

Interesting point skinnyman but why would 17" wheels require a stiffer chassis than 16" wheels?

ip

I'm not sure. Is the estate somehow stiffer than the hatch? Quite a few people have put 18" wheels on their estates, but haven't needed to add a brace of any description. :confused:

[iep]

Pure speculation but, since the braces are there to prevent 'parallelograming' of the car under cornering, perhaps the estate does not need them since it has a boot panel that will provide support in this direction instead?

iep

[Mark_A]

My gut feeling is that the lack of braces in the estate is a marketing decision - too many buyers might have been put off by the reduction in usable loadspace that they would have caused in what was meant to be the "practical" version of the car.

I think the above compromise may well be part of the reason why the estate got 16's in the first place - my estate definitely has an occasional wobble through the shell over big bumps. I've not driven a hatch to compare it to though...

[KenONeill]

I've seen claims that the vRS hatch needs the braces because the hole in the back is much longer, and the 17s make the effective wheel rate higher because their sidewalls are lower. I doubt it's anything to do with grip, because the standard tyres are the same width on both.

[Clarey]

Only owned an estate so cant comment on the difference between the two. Agree with most comments above, both big boots but estate has the height.

I've run 17" spiders for the last 40K miles approx. No problems. Main difference is looks, if there is a handling difference, i cant tell on a daily drive basis.

Try both versions for yourself i guess?

[Stuart_J]

We owned both at the same time, the estate can definately swallow a lot more, even with the seats up. If you are looking for a load lugger / general hack get the estate. Our hatch is gone but we still have the estate as the family workhorse, now on 137000 & still going (1.9 tdi L&K) With all the space you dont have to worry to much about how you load it for short runs to the tip etc. I just open the tailgate, throw a huge blanket in to keep it clean & chuck everything in

[matt_theforce]

I've owned Both the Hatch and the Estate MK1 Octavia.

The Hatch was fine for our needs, Large Boot, Big enough for the Dog and the kids pushchairs. One the odd occasion the rear braces were a pain to load the car around and the way the water runs in from the boot when you open it when its wet can also be a pain. You will also find that the CD changer is sat inside the boot.

The Estate in my opinion looks better that the hatch. Compared to the hatch I've found the rear wheel wells seem to intrude into the boot a little more on the estate however the non-existant rear braces is very welcome. Rain doesn't run into the boot when opening when wet and the extra size of the rear door makes it much easier to load large items. The CD changer is sat inside the rear boot panel so not viewable if the boot cover is left open.

With regards to the flat loading, I think you will find you will need to purchase the False floor for the vrs to make the boot floor the same level as the rear seats when folded down, my vrs hatch didn't have the false floor however my Elegance Estate does have the false floor option however I removed it for the extra load depth. Should you decide not to look at the VRS and look at the 4x4 that comes with the boot floor at the same height as the rear seats folded due to the 4 wheel drive system under the car.

[Scathel]

I too have the estate, but only because it was offered to me.

That said, my last couple of cars have been estates, and I think they look better then the saloon/hatch versions (406, Audi 80, Octavia), as well as being far more practical.

My only gripe is that the back end of the estate looks very bland - even more so when debadged, whereas the hatch rear end looks far more interesting.

My estate does not have the false floor, so the horizontal ridge between the struts is a pain. I keep on meaning to make a false floor for the boot, but no doubt it will remain just a good intention......

HTH

Steve