Hello everybody - Honda Convert in your ranks!

[damianscott71]

Good evening everybody,

I've just paid the deposit on an year old Octavia 2.0 TDI PD vRS 5 door estate, the deal should be complete within the next week or so. In the meantime, I thought I'd introduce myself and let you know a little about my car history.

Currently, I'm driving a Honda Civic 2.2 ictdi sport that was until recently remapped to 200bhp (it's now back to standard). It's got 18" alloys and an eibach lowering kit. To be honest, I'll be glad to see the back of it, the paintwork is thin, thin, thin, the panels are made from tissue paper, and I'm having my 3rd set of replacement alloys fitted next week under warranty before I P/X the car. I've had the car 3 years from new, and it's had more warranty work than any car should ever have!

Prior to that I had a new Golf Mk5 2.0 GT TDI, again remapped to 180BHP (it started as a 140).... I kept it for 18 months, again too many trips back to the dealer.

Before that I had a Passat 1.9 TDI that started life as a 110 bhp, and ended up around the 180 mark. It was built like a tank, and whilst it was a labour of love, I'm hoping for the same sort of bullet broof build quality with the Skoda.

Before that a Volvo S70, a Peugeot 406, a Brabus Smart, a Corrado, a Laguna, an Audi A4, a Toyota Carina E (not my choice!), a couple of Peugeot 405's, Vauxhall Astra, and my first car was a J Reg Polo GT.

I think that I've gotten wiser as I've gotten older. I can't wait for the vRS to arrive.

Let battle commence!

Damian

[fikes75]

Hello and welcome .

[Gillywibble]

Welcome

[mikejay]

how does your civic compair to a vrs?

[sms]

hi and welcome

[damianscott71]

how does your civic compair to a vrs?

Hi everybody & thanks for the welcomes...

Well, the Skoda has got better interior fit & finish, I think in the long run, the Skoda will be more "hard wearing" on the inside. Also, the panels & paint on the Honda are really thin. The bonnet of the Civic has needed a respray for the past 30k miles, but what's the point? It would only end up peppered with stone chips as soon as I took it back out on the road.

There's less road noise whilst travelling in the Skoda, and it absorbs potholes much better. The suspension on the Honda is rock solid, and you know about it when you drive over a cat's eye or a patch or rough ground.

In it's favour though, the Honda's engine is much more refined, it's much quieter and has more torque through the rev range. It doesn't "run out of puff" in the same way that the Skoda does.

It's been widely acknowledged that Honda failed to get it right with the quality of the new Civic. Dealers will admit that they're getting more warranty claims than is acceptable for every Civic (I think the average is 12 claims per car).

I'm hoping, nay EXPECTING that the Skoda experience will be different!

Edited 7 June, 2009 by damianscott71
Spelling mistake

[InexEng]

Welcome and I hope your new car will be a good one