Hi,

Picked up a Octavia brochure yesterday, considering a new VRS CR TDi (or a second hand PD 57-plate+). It mentions, about the DPF:

"A driving style is required during regeneration, where a constant vehicle speed above 37mph must be maintained. This does not always suit customers who make frequent short journeys or experience stop/start driving or drive within inner-city or urban areas"

I then had a search on this site about it, and am now worried about going for a diesel because of my typical journey.

Weekdays I do all urban driving, no more than 5 miles each way to/from work.

Average weekends may involve fairly brief motorway journeys (1 or 2 junctions on average).

Once or twice a month I may do a longer journey further afield (motorway/dual carriage way journeys up to a couple of hours)

Annually, I probably do about 8k-9k miles.

The main reason I've been looking at a diesel is because I like the way they drive (love my current diesel) and on my journey to work I usually average 38MPG, up to mid-40s if I'm careful). However, I think I sound like a prime target for DPF problems, but would really help if I knew what the risk is/whether my weekday driving style is going to give me problems with a diesel.

Would really appreciate advice and experiences, especially from TDi owners who do similar driving to me as I am confused.com!

If you want a diesel in the octavia without a DPF you can go for the PD140 as it does not have one in any trim except for the Scout. Several companies now have remaps that enable the DPF to be removed completely from the VRS TDi, but it aint cheap as it includes the necessary exhause pipework and the remap cost.

I would tend to agree, you would be quite likely to get DPF probs, however, depending how you feel about mods, you can have the DPF removed!

Since August our 2008 PD140 Scout is used daily for a 5 mile commute at low speeds and never sees a dual carriage way or motorway... no DPF problems to date.

I think your occasional stint up the motorway will be enough for the DPF to do its thing.

Remember that you get a warning via a light in the dashboard cluster to tell you when the filter is getting full. Providing you take it for a good run as soon as you see it to allow regeneration I can't see you having any problems.

I'm a big diesel fan but I do mega-mileage in a non-DPF (PD140) car anyway, I can see why you'd be worried and would second Mannyo's suggestion of a 140. Pretty much every other manufacturer has similar issues with DPFs too.

you are asking for trouble - see my posts - for you petrol!

we had a seat altea freetrack4 (same tdi 170 engine as a vrs with a dpf) and our typical journeys would be same as yours. had dpf light come on about twice a week so had to keep going up the motorway for about 15 miles to clear it, this surely offset the better mpg we were seeing from having the diesel. car went in twice to dealers, first time they performed a forced regeneration and did a software update. this lasted about 5 days until light came on again, second time they told me it was probably because of my urban driving and just needed to go for a blast regularly to clear it!

whats the point in a car you cant use regularly round town and who wants to go for a run up the motorway when you dont actually want to go anywhere? in the end we swopped it for a petrol which is the same engine as a petrol vrs and all i can say is wow. so much smoother, revs further, sounds better and pulls very well from low down much like a diesel. as for mpg the petrol does about 26 the diesel was doing 35.

The VRS is the only Octavia I would consider I wouldn't want to remove the DPF tbh, I'm not really one for mods - I've always kept my cars standard.

Perhaps it's because there is no such thing as a clear answer, but it's very difficult to know what official stance on this is - especially when there's conflicting experiences. In an ideal world, there would be a clear cut guide that says "you need to do a x minute stint @ x mph, once a week" in order to not have any problems - wishful thinking I guess!

I read this article on AA's website which talks about "Active" regeneration being designed in specifically because a lot of cars don't get motorway-type runs.

Worst case scenario for me is that I buy a TDI, then end up getting the warning light all the time, then having to go off for a bit of a drive to clear it (ok, that would be enjoyable, but doesn't that defeat the environment-helping nature of the DPF??)

@dunknat - exactly what I'm thinking - the possibility that it's a false economy choosing the TDI if I end up having to always drive down the motorway a bit to clear it! Seems a bit contradictory for the environment too.

The only way I would consider a Diesel vRS is for for fuel economy - and that would mean an annual mileage of at least 15,000 miles. The petrol is better in all respects. And I speak as someone currently running a 2.0TFSI and a 1.9TDI. Yes, I know the CR's are better than the TDI's, but I have yet to be convinced of the benefits of CR technology to someone doing less than 100,000 miles in 3 years and then disposing of the car.

you got it mate. unfortunately we did our homework after the purchase and searching various forums etc realised the probs these dpf's can cause. dont get me wrong they do have a place i.e high milers lots of motorway ,but surely to god you should just be able to drive a car where you want and however you choose to:confused:. with the new eu emissions etc car makers are being forced to go down the dpf route and i can see lots of probs in the future until the technology is perfected. by the way i drive a petrol vrs and would highly reccommend one.

SlimAdy, why would you only consider a vRS?

When I was making the decision the guys here gave me some very sound advice on whether I should choose Petrol or Diesel & the general consensus was because of the low mileage that I do petrol would be the best choice.

However when it came down to the facts & figures with petrol cars, it became a lot more tricky.

I looked very carefully at the details of the vRS, 1,8 Elegance & the luxury 1,8 L+K (economy & specifications) and I was quite amazed at the differences.

A petrol vRS is quite a gas guzzler on urban/short runs & that goes for both DSG & non-DSG variants, it's also a lot more expensive to insure & comes less well equipped than both the Elegance & L+K.

When you look at the economy, there's quite a gap between the vRS & 1,8 Elegance & 1,8 L+K, now whilst the differences may only be a matter of a few miles, those few miles soon add up especially if you do a long run, it could make the difference between making the petrol station & not making it.

Also the VED for a 1,8 is much lower than a vRS & it's a gap that's going to grow!

As for performance, why if you're only going to be doing short trips do you want a performance car?

It doesn't really make any sense, the top speeds are academic, you can't legally do them anywhere in the UK other than a racetrack or in Germany on a unrestricted section of the Autobahn!

I gave a lot of thought before making the final decision & it came out to a 1,8 Elegance with DSG, it's got a decent amount of performance, but not the out & out oomph of a vRS, it's cheaper to insure than a vRS, cheaper to run than a vRS & cheaper to buy than a vRS.

A vRS can actually be a plod, thief & vandal magnet too, as it really "looks the part", with all of the sporty refinements.

I would say have a think, look at the facts & figures before you make that final decision, especially when it comes to the insurance.

@Indiana Jones

I understand where you're coming from. There's a number of things I look for in a car, not in any particular order:

1) appearance - i'd never buy I car that I didn't like the look of, no matter what the performance/cost. For me, the VRS is spot on. I look at the others and couldn't see myself driving one.

2) performance - I like a bit of oompf. I don't drive around like a demon, but I like having the power there if I need it.

3) value for money - there's no doubting that Skoda's are amazing value for money at the mo, none more so than the Octavia VRS.

4) running costs - VRS although undoubtedly higher than other Octavias is not a lot more than my current car. Fuel - is the main one.

I currently drive an Ibiza FR TDi. The natural progression for me is to a Seat Leon FR or Cupra. But there's no comparison in VFM at the mo between those and the VRS.

Didn't realise the Petrol VRS VED was quite that high though! £250 as of Apr 2010, vs £125 for the diesel (as per my current car)

Bit steep isn't it?

It goes up even quicker the year after so I've been told...

Appearance - The differences are minor apart from the spoiler & alloys.

Performance - 0-60, the difference is 0,5 of a second.

VFM - Elegance is much better specified than the vRS, apart from a few cosmetic tweaks.

Yep is a bit steep. I would be concerned about it going up and up.

The VRS has a number of differences in appearance, which may mainly be subtle individually by IMHO mount up and make that much of a difference to me (lowered suspension, VRS bumpers, alloys, spoiler, sport seats). It appeals because it has that sporty edge, while still looking respectable/not boy racer.

Performance - yep, 0.5s diff. is nothing (I've been dead set on diesel until now which is ~1 sec slower than the petrol, so I'm not focussed on getting top top performance)

Spec - for me, the Elegance isn't better specced in terms of what actually adds value for me. Elegance has rear parking sensors and auto dimming rear view mirror w/ rain sensor as most noticeable differences, neither of which I'd choose if I had the option.

When did DPF come in? Sounds like the PD engines also have it?

when you compare to something like a focus st which will be £550 for first year!!!

you reallise what a performance bargain a vrs is. i often do the autotrader merry-go-round looking at what i could be driving and when it comes down to it i always sit back and decide i have just the right car for me, heaps of performance,decent looks,fair amount of luxury,ultra reliability,massive practicality(enormous boot) and probably the lowest costs given the amount of performance on offer.

When did DPF come in? Sounds like the PD engines also have it?

Yes, all VRS TDI PD170s have DPFs as do the newer CR versions.

In the UK the only other DPF cursed model is the Scout TDI PD40

For the mileage that the OP is thinking of even I would think about getting a petrol

although I'd probably buy a diesel for the nicer soundtrack & smell

(I might be odd though)

@dunknat - £550?! Could buy a car for that!

Although, unless I'm wrong, the £250 tax is just for the first year? It subsequently drops to £180?

(cheers @gcr31463)

Didn't realise the Petrol VRS VED was quite that high though! £250 as of Apr 2010, vs £125 for the diesel (as per my current car)

In the overall scheme of things the VED is small beer in comparison with other costs associated with running a new/nearly-new car.

Decided that the diesel is not for me, after being 90% sure it was up until learning about DPF. Popped in to dealer today, and agreed the petrol would be best for the type of driving I do. Taking the petrol for a test drive this week so will see how that goes

Decided that the diesel is not for me, after being 90% sure it was up until learning about DPF. Popped in to dealer today, and agreed the petrol would be best for the type of driving I do. Taking the petrol for a test drive this week so will see how that goes

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I mostly drive our 1.9TDI for reasons of fuel economy, but I always relish getting into the 2.0TFSI for the smoothness and extra performance.

@Hauptmann - I know I'll really like the petrol, it's just the fuel economy that I'm worried about - had a diesel for over 5 years now so well and truly hooked on the high MPG/high performance combo!

However, with the DPF nowadays, that pretty much stuffs me getting a new diesel. Hopefully, the petrol's consumption won't be too hairy when I try it. I'm quite happy to go easy on the pedal for my normal urban driving

I find the statement in the manual really unusual as in order to make my car go into regen I have to have been driving it hard - tootling round town doesn't seem to do it. Makes sense as driving it hard produces the most soot on all the diesels I've owned.