I've had my new 2.0tdi Elegance for just over a week now. 1400 miles done in 39 hours of driving. I though i'd put down a few comments about it. Excuse the rather brief format but it's late. I'll probably add more in the week. Any comparisons are probably with the car it replaced (01 Laguna 1.8), my own 93 Audi 100 2.8 quattro, or the 'family' Boxster.

First impressions are that it's very big. Not long, but very tall, especially at the back. It's very red too. Don't get Corrida Red, just don't.

In terms of general feel and build quality, it's much like my audi. The finish inside is very plasticky, but mostly decent stuff. Dials and guages are some of the best i've used. Speedo is a bit odd, goes up in 10mph stages until 80 then in 20s. Seats are the usual hard vw stuff, takes a bit of getting used to. the fabrics are very coarse, which is my biggest bug about hte interiour really, you can feel the texture through a t shirt.

Pedals are nicely laid out, with a bottom hinged accelerator. Very short travel in it though. Clutch is very light, and comes up a long way. Brakes are powerful enough, but lack initial bite and have absolutely no feel at all.

Steering wheel is nice an chunky, but the leather's too slippy at the moment, really have to grip it. I assume this will improve over time.

Handbrake is terrible. It's right down in front of the big (externally) storage bin between the seats. Lower models don't get this, and would be all the better for it. the storage thing is worth avoiding, i can just about fit my wallet and house keys in it, too small for CDs.

the engine's the usual lumpy deisel affair. ALL the power comes in bang on 2000 rpm and starts to tail off much over 3500. 6 spd gerbox is fantastic. the action is most like on our boxster, very little movement and prcise shifts whilst not being notchy like the audi is. 1st is far too low, 6th is also too low to make motorways peaceful, but it does keep you in the turbo range at 70.

Traction control is dreadful, very slow to react. Hoof it out of a junction in 1st and i'm changing into 2nd by the time the traciton light is flashing at me. Vaguely decent for other gears but still takes a good half second to start cutting the power.

The ride and handling are fantastic. It's a little bumpy, but this is a trade off for fantastic handling, especially at speed. There's not a hint of understeer, lots of grip, and you can put the back out slightly if you lift mid corner. Inspires lots of confidence; i can see this going sideways through a hedge before the year's out, but that's not important right now.

The brakes need a fair old shove to really stop, but i've not had any fade or judder and i've pushed it really hard on occasions with long twisty downhill sections that the audi would get about halfway at that speed then lose the brakes entirely.

Overtaking's effortless, mostly in 4th, even from as low as 40mph.

Very quiet at 80/90mph. Hardly any wind noise at all. Crap tyres mean lots of road noise though. Go buy yokohama avs dB tyres everyone, they're great and really quiet. Don't get bridgestone turanzas.

the headlights are brilliant. Not xenons, but projector bulbs with regular halogen fittings. the best non xenon lights i've ever used. A little high on the highest setting and no notches on the adjustor dial either. Foglights are a waste of time, as with most cars since the mk1 laguna/megane.

The radio is a bit odd. the actual radio itself is a masterpiece. There's so many settings and stuff it does. It displays temperature, time, the rear parking sensor flashy display things when in reverse, various air con controls. You can adjust about every setting you can think of, startup volume, volume when reversing, speed volume increase, phone kit volume, Sooo much. CD changer is very slow to change disks, but it's alright.

However, the sound quality is very hard to hear at low volumes. the kind of volume you use when you've 4 up with passengers and want something ambientish on. There's enough of bass and loads of treble and NOTHING in between. I've got the treble down as far as it will go, bass up to +6 biased -2 to the rear and it's just about ok. Having said that, it's great when you've got something loud. Put it on volume level 43 and it thunders along. Strange thing.

Air con's ok, insists on blowing cold air in my face no matter what i tell it to do though. rear window keeps misting up. No fancy electric folding mirrors like the renault had, but does have jazzy audo dimming rear view mirror wit hannoying green light when it's on.

Windscreen wipers are these fancy-ass flat things and are terrible. they're smudging and streaking already after a week. hardly any water out of the washers, and the headlight washers insist on soaking everything in the same postcode you're in at the time.

This all probalby sounds like it's full of faults and i hate it. Well it's not and i don't. As a company car (which it is) it's great. Bags of space, comfortable, very good on tax as it's a euro 4 engine. It's nearly 2 grand more than the last car, but i'm paying less for it as the tax percentages are lower.

I was all set on getting a superb untill i saw the ovtavia at the motorshow. Good thing too, as this makes the superb feel very much the old car it is (early 1990s design be the passat, be it not).

I wouldn't get a FWD diesel again, but if they put out a 4x4 estate version that may well be the replacement for this in 3 years time.

That's a very good 'warts and all' write-up with no punches pulled. So is the car any good? I will leave others to read the write-up and see for themselves. :(

That is a very good write up

Just a quick question.. what options (if any) do you have with it... it sounds like you have the audience sound system.. and possibly the uprated speakers too?

I'd agree about the seats, I have found them quite hard myself, especially compared to the ones in the Fabia.

Good review though, showing both sides of the coin as it were, top job.

And I'd be interested in knowing the fuel economy when driven hard , or when bimbling along the motorway

No options on it apart from standard elegance stuff (cruise cont, cd changer, various other rubbish). The radio is called "stream", with seemingly normal speakers, 4 bass and 4 tweeters.

The only options i would have liked are electric seats and 4wd but alas neither are available.

MPG so far has averaged 45, goes down to low 30s when pushing hard on b roads. I'll work out how to reset the trip thingy and get a better figure.

Don't read all this wrong, i think it's a great car. the performance is far more accessible than anything else i've driven. It's very very easy to drive fast, both in a straight line and through the twisties. Given my favourite make (audi) is going rapidly downhill, i think i might be a skoda regular now.

Some pictures.

http://www.anicecupofteaandasitdown.co.uk/galleries/vk54bmu/

I think its rather fetching in red, all our demos and ones ive been in so far seem to be black or dark grey.

That is indeed **VERY** red.

It looks a lot brighter than the brochures and isn't really my cup of tea I'm afraid. It does make the car look a bit dated IMO.

Still everything else looks very nice

Would i be right by your comments then, that as certain individual items in the new car, there are a few tweaks that need to be made. BUT as a complete package it somehow works ?

Steve

Yes, as a whole car it's great. I can find annoying things in any car!

The interior fit and quality is far better than current porsches and certainly on a par with audis.

The ride and handling are fantastic. It's a little bumpy, but this is a trade off for fantastic handling, especially at speed. There's not a hint of understeer, lots of grip, and you can put the back out slightly if you lift mid corner.

That's exactly what I found when test-driving a new Octy with the sports suspension yesterday. Really loved it, allows you to feel very confident in it, no understeer at all, and even a bit of oversteer when having fun.

Bodes well for the new vRS... If that would feel the same, I wouldn't object to FWD.

That's exactly what I found when test-driving a new Octy with the sports suspension yesterday. Really loved it' date=' allows you to feel very confident in it, no understeer at all, and even a bit of oversteer when having fun.

Bodes well for the new vRS... If that would feel the same, I wouldn't object to FWD.[/quote']

In the UK the sport suspension and 17'' alloys pack is only

Good review... very red!!! ...and don't those wheels look TTish??

Much appreciated....

In the UK the sport suspension and 17'' alloys pack is only

Guys, don't do this to me :(

I have a Octy 2.0TDi Elegance on Order, being built build week 46 08/11 so I still have chance to change colour add extras, but I already have a shed load on there bar the 17" Alloys & Sports Suspension.

So far I have ordered.

Graphite Grey Metalic. Would like the Silver same as my existing Car but for the trim down the side only being in black and not colour coded. Also quite like the Stone Grey Metallic which seemed like a bluet tinted silver in the flesh.

Xenon Headlights

Audience In Car MP3 Player

12 Speaker Sound System

Multi Function Steering Wheel

MaxiDot

Tyre Pressure Monitor

Light Assist

Rear Blind

Now do I want to add the 17" Alloys :confused:

Pro - look nicer than Vega,

Con - get a steel space saver spare, Vega you get 5 Alloys

Con - 17" Tyres are considerably more expensive than 16"

Undecided on Sports Suspension, went out in the Ambience Model and Suspension didn't seem to soft just about nice. However when I had previously test drove a VW Passat anything but the Sports Models suspension seemed very soft and bouncey.

Anyone know what size tyres are on the 17" Alloys Can't find it anywhere.

Steve, they are 225/45 R17.

Love the options and the colour you picked but if I'd been you - but I'm not, so don't pay any attention - I'd have ditched the xenons for the wheels and the sport suspension yesterday...

Steve' date=' they are 225/45 R17.

Love the options and the colour you picked but if I'd been you - but I'm not, so don't pay any attention - I'd have ditched the xenons for the wheels and the sport suspension yesterday...[/quote']

225/45/17 Pirelli PZero Neros cost are

Thanks for that honest review.

Mine's being built 1st week December.

Black 2.0TDi Elegance with Xenons, Sports suspension, 17", Audience and Sound System Speakers.

Can't wait.

what kind of deals are you guys geting on the new octavia? much money off?

what kind of deals are you guys geting on the new octavia? much money off?

Probably about four fifths of nothing :(

Personally I feel I got a great deal but had to show around, local dealer wouldn't knock anything of RRP (later found out his Sales Manager wouldn't let him) and only gave me a guide part ex price, said it would be based on mileage & condition of car on delivery of new Octy which coulsd be 10/12 weeks away.

Second Skoda dealer, opening line was to knock

Thats over 1300 quids worth of extras by my reckoning so if you got that for nothing and a discount below list then you got a very good deal indeed.

The extras including metallic paint came to

were they willing to include any extras in the price?