Has anyone run one of these for a while? I have been offered a new one but concerned they cost more to service ,tax & insure. I appreciate they are not as economical as a 2 wheel drive but are they as reliable?If you have one or the Scout how do they drive / cost to run/ service/ problems etc?

I have a 1.9Tdi, registrered August 08. Tax and insurance are both much lower than teh Suzuki Vitara it replaced, fule consumption, around mid 20's in the suzuki, is mid 40's overall, can be netter than 50 on a long run, driven carefully. Servicing is covered by a skoda agreement, which costs me £14/month and covers servicing and replacements of most thongs not covered by warranty, except tyres. As for reliabilty, it has has regular servicing, has had the screenwash pipe re-attached to the bottle, and is currently waiting for me to get around to booking it in to investigate a suspected faulty rear screen wiper motor.

Can't comment on cost of servicing as both my Scout (and before that) 4x4 have been covered by free servicing. I'd agree with the above comments of fuel enconomy. Neither of mine have had any faults or problems (other than the alloy wheel issues common to Scouts). Not sure why but the Scout costs less to insure than the 4x4 did on the same policy!

We ran a 1.9Tdi 4x4 for a year and were so happy with it we replaced it and my Alfa GT with 2 2.0Tdi 4x4's.

Mine is now on 44k, the wifes on 14k, both 3.5yrs old.

I get mid 40's on a reasonable run (did 46mpg on a run to Wales and back from Kent at the weekend) and thats working it out on a calculator rather than the maxidot reading which always is about 10% optimistic. Towing, which we do with one of them we only get mid 20's out of it.

The only additional cost re a 2WD car I've had on the servicing was to replace the Haldex oil and filter at 40k service. Cost £130 I think. The rest of the service costs are in line with standard Octavia's, although the 40k one was the first I paid for as I got the 30k service deal when I bough the cars.

They are great in the snow, even better with the right tyres (wifes has Conti Winter Contacts' on right now) and not bad the rest of the year round.

I've had no problems that are specific to the 4x4. I had the bonnet release changed twice as it kept falling off into the footwell - but only on mine, not the wife's.

The 4x4 I have has the 15" alloys which is the only thing that pulls down the look of the things. Again for the summer we bought a set of Zenith 17" alloys that we use on the wife's. I told her it was to make towing more stable!

All in all I would recommend them. I may consider the Scout next time around (just to get bigger alloys as standard) but have not regretted the purchase.

Neil.

I've had mine since august. It somehow has a bent propshaft. There was a slight drone, which became louder as time went by, it also caused vibration which was visible in the rear view mirror. The cost of replacing the propshaft was £1000. The dealer fitted a new rear coupling??? which has pretty much cured it, but its still not perfect. This only cost £300. Overall i love the car though. Average mpg is 43-45mpg, though i'm not the most relaxed driver, thats the same as my old Pug 307, despite having more grip/power/space. Its been superb in the snow, i hadn't fully appreciated it until i had to push a relatives car halfway down the street and on and off our drive!

I've had my Scout for just over a year and done around 14K in it. I had a service at 12,000k which I thought was a bit expensive at £203 for an oil change, but I suspect this is because it was a main dealer and it would have been the same for a standard Octavia. Fuel economy I have averaged 44 to the gallon pretty consistently over the period even when loaded with roof box Kayak and camping gear. Insurance comes in at around £240 per annum fully comp for a middle aged driver and his wife with no claims bonus (Liverpool Victoria are about the best I have found)

I am also impressed with ability in snow and indeed on steep un-surfaced Alpine track in the summer. I have gone for 16" steel wheels in the winter with Vredstein Snowtrac3 tyres and recently spent a week in the Cairngorms with this setup, where it was pretty much unstoppable even on high mountain routes where others feared to go. I am pretty sure that running costs are not too far off standard Octy, remember that drive only occurs on all 4 wheels when you need it, so unlike my previous Subaru Outback (permanent 4 WD) the tyre wear is pretty good. I recon I will get 24k out of the Dunlop SP1’s that it came with and then get something cheaper, better and longer lasting.

I have left mine on variable servicing, but whilst other seem to get up to 18K out of this I recon I am only getting 12K, but I think this is probably still worth the difference between the standard 9K servicing on fixed interval. There is no difference in price as far as I can make out on the Scout as I understand that the long life oil is required for both. All in all if you want a car with 4x4 capability then the Octy is probably your most economic option for something that is practical and does what it says on the tin. I would buy another.

As I found out this morning, even on summer tyres and with a bit of wheelspin, you can tow a stuck Iveco Daily up a snow covered hill in a Blizzard!

Seriously, as others have said, solid bits of kit that are only slightly more expensive to run than the equivalent 2wd (2-3mpg and Haldex Oil at 40k)

We're so pleased with ours that my wife has already happily suggested inheriting it as a hand-me-down and me getting something new for work when her Leon dies!!

You'll not go wrong.

Niall

I just found this on the web http://www.themotorreport.com.au/49351/2010-1z5s4y-skoda-octavia-scout-20-tdi-road-test-review/page/1

Mine replaced an 04 Subaru Outback a couple of months ago and, apart from a clogged DPF which took the dealer two visits and 4 days to sort (it mainly does short city runs, unfortunately) is going strong. As it should be, of course

I have done a a couple of gravel road runs though, and am looking to fit another big one in soon. Very nice on gravel - I can feel the slight pause as the haldex locks up, but uphill corrugated gravel roads are a (comaparative) joy.

I'm not game to try it on sand without low range though - not that the new Outback has low range either.

Kent

I just found this on the web http://www.themotorreport.com.au/49351/2010-1z5s4y-skoda-octavia-scout-20-tdi-road-test-review/page/1

I saw that the other day, but didn't bother correcting a number of misapprehensions in the comments as no-one had been paying much attention for about three weeks. I thought the review itself was a pretty fair one. Our major Sydney newspaper had this one last weekend, which I felt was less fair with its 3/5 summation http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=68910&vf=14

An issue for all reviewers here in Australia is that Skoda is less than well known. Given that VAG tried and failed to effectively launch SEAT here in the 1990s, some are concerned that Skoda will go the same way, which tends to colour perceptions

Kent

We've got a 07 2.0 TDi 4x4 and it has been excellent - no real problems at all with it but it has only done about 25k miles. We had to replace the OE dunlop tyres because they split between the treads after 18 months but that is hardly Skodas fault. Also had to have a Parrott kit re-wired but again not the car's fault - more a poor initial installation.

I've got it booked in for a full check over on Monday as it comes off warranty at the end of March but the only thing I'm vaguely aware of is a potential intermittent fault with the rear wiper - occasionally it seems to stop working after a prolonged period of use in the rain. I think this is a motor problem and is a known occasional issue.

Cost-wise it's on variable services and has been done once at an indy.

Mileage-wise it tends to average high 30's round town and high 40's on a run (recorded not trip computer) and has peaked at 55 on a steady cruise across Northern Ireland last year.

Has anyone run one of these for a while? I have been offered a new one but concerned they cost more to service ,tax & insure. I appreciate they are not as economical as a 2 wheel drive but are they as reliable?If you have one or the Scout how do they drive / cost to run/ service/ problems etc?

I have a January 07 2.0TDi 4x4 which is now on 81,500 miles. It is a company car which is used extensively on tracks and unsurfaced roads.

Two wheel bearings, couple of suspension bushes, the usual rear washer pipe issue, a bit of paintwork and a drivers interior door handle under warranty. The only non standard service items the car has had were a rear propshaft coupling (£199 plus fitting) and 2 tailgate struts (hatch gets used a lot). It had to have the air con condenser replaced as it was holed by a stone (£350 inc regas - it is very exposed to stone damage due to the design of the bumper) otherwise tyres, brakes, oil etc. It has just had the cambelt changed and I chose to have the waterpump replaced at the same time as a precaution, although I was assured it was not strictly necessary. I got 17,000 miles out of the OE tyres and get 25-27,000 out of the all seasons I run now, but they do get a bit of abuse and I suspect if it were not used off road I could get more out of them.

It returns 43mpg on average, unless you stick a fully loaded trailer behind it when it can drop to 29mpg. Longer runs on light throttle can see upper 40's but the best I have had is 51mpg, but not often. Overall maintenance costs, including non service repairs, have been around 5p per mile.

I have run Subarus previously (still have an older one) but it is possibly the best all round car I have had.

Edited 24 February, 201016 yr by Forester

get 25-27,000 out of the all seasons I run now

What make/model are they?

Another great review from the man who should be in No 10

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article6867968.ece

and has peaked at 55 on a steady cruise across Northern Ireland last year.

You're not trying!

This was genuinely recorded as the average over 24 miles on a UK journey. Though it was a bit of a cheat........

Niall

You're not trying!

This was genuinely recorded as the average over 24 miles on a UK journey. Though it was a bit of a cheat........

Niall

Downhill all the way I take it...

Maybe.....

Glenshee to Blairgowrie after a fine afternoon on the slopes whilst in the obligatory late afternoon 40mph rolling que of Central Belters heading home!

Set me up nicely so that even with a thrash down the Motorway to home (most of the journey) the overall average was still 52mpg according to the computer.

Niall

What make/model are they?

Vredestein quatrac 2, still waiting to see how the quatrac 3 do , they are on 15,500mls at the moment and seem to be wearing a bit quicker than the Q2's.

They have stopped making Q2's in a size to fit the Octavia 4x4.

Many thanks to all who replied. Just ordered new 4x4. Delivery next week.