Well he knocked

Last week my friend picked up his new shape 1.9tdi ambience in metallic silver. The deal saw

Nearly forgot...full tank of diesel as well.

No discounts on mine as it's a company car. the dealer did say that he's not made any profit on the sale as the lease company make them do so much. They've had to collect, prep and return my Renault that this replaced.

Agent006 hows the first month been with the TDi?

It's been great. Done 6000 miles in 5 weeks. It's a great car that's only faults are tiny niggly ones. Seeing as i'm that kind of person, here's the list:

Wipers/ windscreen are awful. It's dangerous in the wet, especially at night.

Drivers seat squeaks

Heater is making the inside of the windscreen filthy

Turbo is a bit whistly at low revs.

Apart from that, it's one of the best cars i've ever driven.

Thanks for that, are the Wipers/Windscreen that bad? that is worrying especially with Dark Nights and bad weather due.

the wipers are these new flat things. They were badly cut and smearing from the day i got it. There's also something all over the screen that i think is a deposit from the wiper blades that makes the water very hard to shift.

When it goes in for the first service i'm going to ask for normal wipers to go on.

Having Aero wipers on the Superb, I would say that to me they are much better than the normal wipers you get. The sweep/wipe action is much more even and efficient.

Sounds to me like your windscreen hasnt been de-waxed properly, or has been contanimated when they dewaxed the car.

Agent006, I managed to miss this thread when you started it, and it's an interesting read. One question - now the brakes have had time to bed in a little (sounds like you were giving them a pretty hard time right from the word "go") are they getting any better?

Have one of these as a courtesy car at the moment. Feel it is an OK car but nothing special. Mrs R doesn't like it at all - says it feels uncomfortable to sit in and it gives a very bumpy ride.

The lowered central part of the roof feels odd and, as mentioned above, claustraphobic despite the car generally feeling much bigger inside. I suppose you'd get use to it in time.

Feels well put together and has a decent(ish) turn of speed

The boot is just TOO big though. To get anything that has slid to front practically involves clambering into the boot!

Overall I think I prefer the old model but then I suppose I am comparing a vRS with a TDi

Edited to say now had a long motorway run in it. The wind noise above 60 is just unbearable to the extent I couldn't wai to park up and get out for some quiet. My work colleague commented on how noisy it was and wondered if the back windows were open. I regret to say that, after three years of nothing but praise for Skoda, my recent experiences have not been good and another Skoda buy or recommendation looks doubtful.

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.

My air con insists on blowing cold air at my feet. If I increase the temperature to compensate the car gets too hot and stuffy to be comfortable to drive.

Agent006, I managed to miss this thread when you started it, and it's an interesting read. One question - now the brakes have had time to bed in a little (sounds like you were giving them a pretty hard time right from the word "go") are they getting any better?

Brakes are still a bit dead. Fantastically powerful, but lacking in feel, but it's not meant to be a sportscar.

Aircon seems to have got its act together now too.

the wipers are these new flat things. They were badly cut and smearing from the day i got it. There's also something all over the screen that i think is a deposit from the wiper blades that makes the water very hard to shift.

When it goes in for the first service i'm going to ask for normal wipers to go on.

On delivery of my car the drivers wiper made a hell of a noise and did not wipe the screen. Turned out that the wiper arm was bent. New wiper arm fitted and all is now working fine.

Nice write up.

Edited to say now had a long motorway run in it. The wind noise above 60 is just unbearable to the extent I couldn't wai to park up and get out for some quiet. My work colleague commented on how noisy it was and wondered if the back windows were open. I regret to say that' date=' after three years of nothing but praise for Skoda, my recent experiences have not been good and another Skoda buy or recommendation looks doubtful.[/quote']

I believe Skoda are doing a recall to rectify the windnoise, it's connected to a problem with the rear quarter lights I think?

Dave.

Thanks for the review - I had to take my Superb in for some warranty work last week and they lent me a 2.0PD Ambiente Octavia for the day. I loved it - much faster than the 1.9 Superb, quieter, better ride and handling, and more economical too. Made them drag me out a DSG car to try - 1.9PD Classic. Loved the gearbox but it was a bit slow in comparison. So I've gone mad and ordered a 2.0PD DSG Elegance with options as follows:

Flamenco Red

Multifunction Steering wheel

Maxidot

Towbar

Light assistant.

Think I got a pretty good deal, but I'll be climbing the walls with impatience by February!! Let's just hope DSG gearbox behaves and doesn't leave me stranded by the side of the road with bits of clutch everywhere :eek:

I was interested in seeing photos of an Octy 2 in Corrida Red as this is the colour I've selected for my 1.9tdi Ambiente. Yes, it is very red, however, it's sure to be a rarer Octy 2 colour than the usual silver, metallic grey etc. Furthermore, from a safety point of view you'd have to be almost blind not to see one approaching fast in your wing mirror.

Being a company car driver, I am restricted to a monthly leasing budget with no option of paying for extra kit out of my own pocket. This means some inevitable compromises.

I currently drive a 4 year old 406 Hdi 90 bhp which I inherited when I joined my current employer in August. In October I was told I could select a new car via the HSBC corporate car leasing website.

My choices were very much cost restricted, however, I managed to make a short list of the Octy 2 Ambiente 1.9tdi, Golf S 1.9tdi, Mazda 3 1.6D TS, Fabia Vrs, Superb Classic 1.9tdi 130 and 307 1.6 Hdi. The Focus (old or new did not feature on HSBC's list).

I drove all bar the 307 and Superb. The 307 is getting old now, plus there have been quality issues. I never really liked the MPV styling and "clap hands" wipers. The Superb had the great 130 Tdi motor, although, the Classic spec was a bit basic. The Superb was also too LARGE for my needs and carried a higher tax bill.

The Mazda 3 with the new Ford/PSA 1.6Tdi engine was a good drive, although the ride was too unforgiving, especially on motorways. The internal space was on a par with a Fabia, not it's class competitors. I thought the dash plastics were only average quality, but did like the rocker pad/switch operated electric door mirrors...better than the Octy 2 mirror switchgear. The boot has a false floor which means the actual usable boot is very shallow.

Turning to the Golf, I liked the external styling, but the interior was basic in S spec. Ride, gearbox & steering were all excellent, but I thought the seat backs were poorly padded and lacked lumbar adjustment. The higher monthly leasing price meant there was no room for any optional extras, not even metallic paint.

I had previously test driven a brand new Fabia Vrs demonstrator in the summer when I was then allocated a Astra 1.8 SRi. I enjoyed the massive dollops of torque, but thought the internal size a little too small for my 6'1" frame. The space with the rear seats down was not as good as the Astra (not really surprising as the Fabia is a size down). The handling did feel soft compared to my SRi, although, I believe aftermarket Eibach springs sort this out. At the end of the day I reluctantly rejected the Fabia.

So, I was left with the Octy 2. I actually drove two different Ambiente 1.9Tdi demos, the first one slightly disappointing. The second drive was a 50 mile mixture of fast A & B roads and a bit of motorway. I even enjoyed a memorable fast three car overtake on an open section of A road. My wife enjoyed the ride and the space of the large cabin. The seats are excellent and on a par with Audi/Mercedes. The courtesy indicator function (3 flashes) is great for motorway driving, while positioning additional indicator lamps in the door mirrors is a good safety feature. There is plenty of internal storage space, good when you have lots of maps etc to be accommodated. I think the instrumentation is very clear and approve of the 10mph increment markings up to 80mph (in contrast,the Mazda 3 had a very poorly spaced/marked speedo). Going from my 90bhp 406 to the 105bhp Octy was a revelation. For everyday driving I think this is the better choice over the more powerful 138bhp diesel. The boot is cavernous and great for transporting bicycles and other bulky objects. A shame there are no wheel operated audio controls as in my 406 and previous Astra. A larger fuel tank (ie 60/65 litres) would give more range. I love the 800 mile range the 70 litre tank in my 406 provides (great for European excursions!).

My mind was made up. Later I ordered my car online opting for Corrida Red paintwork. I would have preferred the gorgeous Flamenco Red finish, but decided to save the

Only a couple of weeks to go then - look forward to reading your thoughts once you've got it.

What was the problem with your first test drive ?

The gearbox was baulky, brake pedal soft and the nearside mirror didn't adjust properly. None of these faults were present in the second Octy I drove. Both cars were demos with only a few '000 miles.

Only a couple of weeks to go then - look forward to reading your thoughts once you've got it.

What was the problem with your first test drive ?

Seems strange that they should be so different. Let's hope the new one is the same as your second test drive!

I'm collecting my 2.0 PD Octy with Met Island Green, Onyx leather, and 17" and sports on 26th Feb. Thats nearly 3 weeks! how will i cope??? :eek: , at least i can get my fix by reading these forums by doing so, i have found a few pointers to look out for when i pick it up. Its an ex-demo, and it was quiet at 60-70 mph so hopefully rear quarterlight has been sorted. Will check wipers are good. and will let you guys know with a little review after a few days with it.