All the reviews i've read have been positive, positive to a fault -- they forgot to mention the negatives for a balanced review.

So here's Mute's "The Bad Bits" review of an Octavia MK2 Facelift Vrs This isn't a bah humbug review, the Octavia's pro's massively outweigh its cons. This is just to restore some balance to all these rose tinted reviews. Every car has faults, i just want to know what they are before i buy.

The Exterior

The lower sides and the entire rear of the car are mud magnets. After only 100 miles in rainy conditions my car has visible muck all along the bottom of the doors coming to half way up the door at the front and at the rear the muck seems to focus on the sides. This must be because there's no mudflaps.

The Interior

Road Noise. Absolutely deafening on the motorway. This car is almost silent while sitting at idle, it's a fantastic place to be, even about town it has acceptable noise levels -- it's certainly not loud. On the motorway, you need earplugs. The noise clearly comes from the rear of the car. The popular prescription of decent quality sound blanket material under the rear bench seat and under the load bay in the rear should hopefully cure this.

The stereo. I've not found the equaliser on mine yet (Bolero) but i'm hoping i can fix 70% of the problem here with the equaliser. The stereo sounds very tinny at low volume and then at higher volume there is bass that appears after around 20% volume, but still missing the lower mid range. Very disappointing as it comes from the factory.

The A Pillar. It's just in the road when going round a roundabout. It's very thick, can't imagine it being much thicker. I can subconsciously work round it the rest of the time, but on roundabouts, it's a pain.

The ticket holder is on the wrong side. Skoda provide a small clear plastic ticket holder on the windscreen. Unfortunately it's on the drivers side. This should hopefully just be an unclip and re-clip on the other side job, although the A-pillar trim will have to come off.

The Drive

Slightly busy ride over very uneven surfaces. I feel slightly disloyal mentioning this one, on account of the fact that the car rides better than a 15" rim'd VW Golf and this is on 18" rims with sports suspension. The Octavia does somehow manage to give a very good ride, much better than expected, but it does feel busy over uneven surfaces.

The Xenon headlights are too high and there's no adjustment. I don't need the beam that high and i can see the pattern shining over oncoming traffic's drivers eyes as i go over any bumps or undulations on the road. That's annoying for them and frustrating for me.

The Conclusion

Buy one

The good bits i didn't mention but the other reviews did, far out weigh any issues this car has. Just budget for some sound deadening material

Thanks for taking the trouble to write that up. One question though...

The ticket holder is on the wrong side. Skoda provide a small clear plastic ticket holder on the windscreen. Unfortunately it's on the drivers side. This should hopefully just be an unclip and re-clip on the other side job, although the A-pillar trim will have to come off.

I actually like my ticket holder (albeit in a Fabia) on the drivers' side. It's quicker to put parking tickets in and easier to take them out if you forget to before you drive off.

Why would you want it on the other side?

Don't know about the FL but i got the pre FL,lucky i haven't got any of this road noise that some on here go on about,it's fairly quiet on a motorway and normal roads,the xenon lights never had a problem with mine they are automatic adjusting,as i'm sure they are the same on the FL,i turn the lights on and they go up and then adjust down again to correct position..Ticket holder well never really bothered me,haven't had a problem with mud/dirt...mind saying that i have come from a subaru so a bit of mud on the car wouldn't bother me i just wash it..

"A" Pillar visibilty

Much better on my vRS compared to my old Pug 307, so quite happy.

The Interior

Road Noise. Absolutely deafening on the motorway. This car is almost silent while sitting at idle, it's a fantastic place to be, even about town it has acceptable noise levels -- it's certainly not loud. On the motorway, you need earplugs.

The A Pillar. It's just in the road when going round a roundabout. It's very thick, can't imagine it being much thicker. I can subconsciously work round it the rest of the time, but on roundabouts, it's a pain.

The ticket holder is on the wrong side. Skoda provide a small clear plastic ticket holder on the windscreen. Unfortunately it's on the drivers side. This should hopefully just be an unclip and re-clip on the other side job, although the A-pillar trim will have to come off.

Mine isn't noisy at any speed TBH. (hopefully that will change when I add the DP and sport cat)

I don't think the A pillar is any bigger than my previous car or the Ford Focus I use for work.

I removed my ticket holder and launched it!! any speed above 20 and it vibrated like an SOB!!!

My conclusion, definately buy one!

If the xenons are set too high take it back to the dealers and get them to set them properly,nothing worse than a car with incorrectly adjusted lights blinding other drivers.

Edited 1 May, 201016 yr by kenny rsell

All the reviews i've read have been positive, positive to a fault -- they forgot to mention the negatives for a balanced review.

So here's Mute's "The Bad Bits" review of an Octavia MK2 Facelift Vrs This isn't a bah humbug review, the Octavia's pro's massively outweigh its cons. This is just to restore some balance to all these rose tinted reviews. Every car has faults, i just want to know what they are before i buy.

The Exterior

The lower sides and the entire rear of the car are mud magnets. After only 100 miles in rainy conditions my car has visible muck all along the bottom of the doors coming to half way up the door at the front and at the rear the muck seems to focus on the sides. This must be because there's no mudflaps.

The Interior

Road Noise. Absolutely deafening on the motorway. This car is almost silent while sitting at idle, it's a fantastic place to be, even about town it has acceptable noise levels -- it's certainly not loud. On the motorway, you need earplugs. The noise clearly comes from the rear of the car. The popular prescription of decent quality sound blanket material under the rear bench seat and under the load bay in the rear should hopefully cure this.

The stereo. I've not found the equaliser on mine yet (Bolero) but i'm hoping i can fix 70% of the problem here with the equaliser. The stereo sounds very tinny at low volume and then at higher volume there is bass that appears after around 20% volume, but still missing the lower mid range. Very disappointing as it comes from the factory.

The A Pillar. It's just in the road when going round a roundabout. It's very thick, can't imagine it being much thicker. I can subconsciously work round it the rest of the time, but on roundabouts, it's a pain.

The ticket holder is on the wrong side. Skoda provide a small clear plastic ticket holder on the windscreen. Unfortunately it's on the drivers side. This should hopefully just be an unclip and re-clip on the other side job, although the A-pillar trim will have to come off.

The Drive

Slightly busy ride over very uneven surfaces. I feel slightly disloyal mentioning this one, on account of the fact that the car rides better than a 15" rim'd VW Golf and this is on 18" rims with sports suspension. The Octavia does somehow manage to give a very good ride, much better than expected, but it does feel busy over uneven surfaces.

The Xenon headlights are too high and there's no adjustment. I don't need the beam that high and i can see the pattern shining over oncoming traffic's drivers eyes as i go over any bumps or undulations on the road. That's annoying for them and frustrating for me.

The Conclusion

Buy one

The good bits i didn't mention but the other reviews did, far out weigh any issues this car has. Just budget for some sound deadening material

Got to agree with the Bolero comments. I have found mine to be poor. having said that I have tried three others and they are all the same.

I was definatley dissapointed with the Bolero.

Hi the two problems i have with my VRS is same regarding mud everywhere due to no mudflaps and the other is the water that comes into boot when the tailgate is opened. The rain water goes all over what ever is inside the boot, its a pain having to open it so slowly people laugh at you when at a shopping centre. But i have the last laugh when i race past them somewhere down the street when its safe to do so i hasten to add and leave them for dust etc I do not have any probs with the road noise and i have continentals on mine.

My verdict is buy one but get in touch with customer service department at Skoda Uk and voice your opinions, you never know it may do some good on the next models they produce or facelift??? :yes:

Road Noise. Absolutely deafening on the motorway. This car is almost silent while sitting at idle, it's a fantastic place to be, even about town it has acceptable noise levels -- it's certainly not loud. On the motorway, you need earplugs. The noise clearly comes from the rear of the car. The popular prescription of decent quality sound blanket material under the rear bench seat and under the load bay in the rear should hopefully cure this.

Abolutely deafening, need earplugs? Really?

Mine is quite a relaxed cruiser at motorway speeds, certainly not notably worse than any other car I've been in, anyway.

Mine is not noisy at all.

Stereo sound is super, but I have digital amplifier.

The Interior

Road Noise. Absolutely deafening on the motorway. This car is almost silent while sitting at idle, it's a fantastic place to be, even about town it has acceptable noise levels -- it's certainly not loud. On the motorway, you need earplugs. The noise clearly comes from the rear of the car. The popular prescription of decent quality sound blanket material under the rear bench seat and under the load bay in the rear should hopefully

.

you have crap tyres. Dunlops or Bridgestones. Do some handbrake turns and stuff to get rid of them and buy some proper ones.

A pillar in my former Leon was much worse. In Rs is ok.

Edited 1 May, 201016 yr by maskoo

The "equalizer" in the Bolero is reached by pressing the little button on the top left of the unit, the one with a picture of a music note (double quaver?) on it... I did not study music so if that's wrong don't shoot me

I think the sound quality of the Bolero HU is actually pretty good but I reckon the speakers could be better placed and better quality (especially the tweeters), still better sound that the POS in my last car

I'm also convinced most of the road noise in mine is the sh!tty Dunlops it came with, 2 of which will be replaced soon, other than that, I reckon it's actually quieter than the Saab I handed back to the fleet manager when I got the vRS

The A-Pillar in the vRS is no worse than the one in my last car (Saab 9-3, which in turn I don't remember being worse than the Jag X-Type I had before that) and I had a Corsa hire car on holiday last year and I found the A-Pillar in that to be a real pain...

I don't have the Xenons so can't comment, but this is the first car I've had that I replaced the headlights with brighter ones as the original bulbs didn't impress me compared to my previous car (Saab)

Got to agree on the noise - in my FL, the tyre roar is a real shame as the engine is otherwise so quiet. Nothing would possess me to get the same tyres again (Dunlops).

Also agree on the back bumper, the bottom third of which can become noticeably dirty after even a few miles.

I still have a thing about the pedals not lying naturally / intuitively underfoot, the relationship between the height of the brake pedal and the other two necessitating a crooked ankle which can be wearing after heavy miles - I've had a couple of (Ford and Renault driving) friends periodically driving the car and they agree that it's not the best set up they've happened upon, despite the extensive seat / steering wheel adjustment.

Still, a very well put-together car with a peach of a 1.4TSI engine.

Nice "negatives" review

The "equalizer" in the Bolero is reached by pressing the little button on the top left of the unit, the one with a picture of a music note (double quaver?) on it...

How could I resist

Edited 2 May, 201016 yr by Phil_P

Never open bonnet immediately after car wash as the water in the front grill will swamp the engine compartment ( may get into electrical connectors as well as causing general corrosion ).

you have crap tyres. Dunlops or Bridgestones. Do some handbrake turns and stuff to get rid of them and buy some proper ones.

Ive seen a few threads mentioning using sound absorbing mats to kill the noise... can anyone recommend a good product/supplier. Although my old passat exploded, when it worked it was dead quiet on the motorway, I suspect I might notice extra noise.

Thanks for taking the trouble to write that up. One question though...

I actually like my ticket holder (albeit in a Fabia) on the drivers' side. It's quicker to put parking tickets in and easier to take them out if you forget to before you drive off.

Why would you want it on the other side?

Same here, I always put tickets on the driver's side anyway so prefer having the clip there. I don't find the A-pillar that bad as most cars these days seem to have thick A-pillars anyway and there's worse out there. Running on Michelin tyres the road noise is fine on my Vrs.

I've been disappointed with the audio on the Stream head unit so it's disappointing to hear the Bolero doesn't sound much better, I don't know where it's best to spend the money upgrading it.

John

After 3 months now not found very much at all to dislike

but I guess these would be the ones

1. The water going into the boot when opening after its been raining as mentioned earlier.

2. The MDI could be better - it is slow when you have a lot of tracks on the Ipod

3. Some annoying squeaks from the rear seat area and where the drivers seat meets the console and seat belt holder.

4. Auto wipers - not convinced by these!

The good bits massively outweigh these niggles

1. The water going into the boot when opening after its been raining as mentioned earlier.

I'm on my 4th Octavia, and I'm amazed this flaw hasn't been designed out yet on such a mature model as the Octavia! It's actually the only thing that bothers me about the car, fortunately once you're aware of it you open the boot accordingly. But still, design it out FFS!

Before ordering de new Octavia I went to see a Passat Wagon Tdi and it just been washed. When I opened the boot I closed back up again due to all of the water left to dry started to actually go in the boot.

Water going in to the boot is a common thing with lots of hatchbacks that have a shallow angled rear window. I certainly used to have the same problem with my old Focus Mk II, but the Mk I I had before that didn't have the problem. Just buy an Octy estate in future and you don't get the problem, and it looks nicer too

I've not ever really thought about the mud problem - our Scout is permanently muddy and it looks so much better for it!

road noise. bloody terrible!

some say it's the tyres, but i never had to put a particular tyre on any other car of mine before to avoid premature deafness

road noise. bloody terrible!

some say it's the tyres, but i never had to put a particular tyre on any other car of mine before to avoid premature deafness

I've never though of it as "terrible". There can be noise, but mostly down to the terrible state of the roads. Get on a decent stretch of Porus Asphalt and not how quiet it is.