If anyone is interested there's a brief test, in the latest issue of Diesel Car magazine, of the new Octavia 130 PD.

First impressions are very good: 0-60 (8.8 secs) Top speed (129mph) mpg (49.3)

Looks like it may be a bargain!

If thats the 0-60 of the Octavia , then the Fabia vRS PD will be low 8's to 60! Not bad I suppose.

Almost identical figures to the Superb.

Cheers

ps...Diesel Car mag is cack now they have reveamped it, and made it more Evo-ish with all that flash and half naked girls. Why cant we have sensible magazines for sensible people?

Originally posted by Kentish in this post

Almost identical figures to the Superb.

Cheers

ps...Diesel Car mag is cack now they have reveamped it, and made it more Evo-ish with all that flash and half naked girls. Why cant we have sensible magazines for sensible people?

I couldnt agree with you more!!

Diesel Divas? Whats that all about?

Free tacky tax disc holders and a general dumbing down of the content hasn't impressed me at all!

I think they are aiming more for the Sun readers. Personally I will not bother with it if it doesnt change for the better.

Cheers

I guess they are just trying to move more copies... and feel they can get it with a younger sportier audience.. not sure if it will work though .. as you say they will alienate many readers.

I can see that, but it looks and is so bloody confusing in its layout now.

I suspect some suited school leaver in advertising has decided it needs to be "cutting edge". Ah well another decent publication goes down the pan.

Cheers

I used to subscribe to Diesel Car until last year (4 cars ago, long story).

They always managed to achieve the best 0-60 acceleration figures for any diesel compared with any other magazine (eg Fabia TDI 100, 9.0; Golf TDI 150, 7.3). Reminds me of Audi Driver who must test with one person and 5 litres in the tank.

I agree that they did need (to steal an anti-Alistair Campbell phrase) to sex it up a bit though to cater for the more modern diesel market / buyer. Naked women eh ?

i feel that as a market(and no. of available models) grows , it would naturally attract more readers.

there are very many successful car mags out there that succeed because of good journalism, good art editing and a generally forward outlook on publishing a motor magazine.

sexing up with 'diesel divas' and the like is, imho, pretty pathetic.

dumbing down more like. :(

just my tuppence worth...

evo-ish? I'm glad to say Evo stays clear of half naked women etc, thats one thing I can't stand! (in a motoring magazine, you understand )

Like you say, trying the obvious to shift more copies...

Whatever next???

(although, the concept of the caravan club magazine heading in that direction could be interesting, showing off the shower cubicle *and* some eye candy )

"car" is still the best monthly mag and autocar weekly...although i must admit I do like Evo.... and I buy Max/FC/RL/Revs cos the wife wouldnt approve of porn;)

"car" is still always a good read - max \ fc \ RL \ redline are all trying too hard - if I want a car mag I'll buy a car mag, if I wanted something from the top shelf I'd buy something from the top shelf!

(and the same can be said of "stuff" - tho "T3" is heading in that direction sometimes!!)

yup the other mags are going down hill fast... only worth reading for the mail order ads.....

Originally posted by Huck in this post

...........i feel that as a market(and no. of available models) grows , it would naturally attract more readers.......

Yes, but might it be that the "profile" of owner has changed. Diesels were once the domain of the, (dare I say it) more mature, thoughtful owner. So they've changed the style of the mag to suit what they think is a new more up to date profile. Might we not see the same change in owner profile with our beloved Skodas, as more folks become wise to them. It's already been mentioned that as vRs's reduce in price we might see a different type of owner on the scene.

I'm with the rest here, not a fan of some of these changes. But maybe I'm no longer in that original profile group. Something to do with, years, grey hair, an interest in pensions....etc...etc...etc...

Paul:cheers:

I haven't seen any half-naked women in EVO??

I thin you probably mean MAXPower; bible to wearers of backward facing baseball caps and Nova/Corsa drivers.

Seen plenty of half naked women in FHM. Normally every other page.

PS: Anyone want some back-copies? I have four years worth!

Whilst the new more powerful engines will please some, Skoda are in danger of moving too many models into too high an insurance group which won't please a lot of traditional Skoda buyers. A 225bhp vRS 4X4 (ie a Skoda) in group 17/18 will have some people choking in their beer.

Jason, I thought we disposed of your FHMs for you last week - or was I dreaming?

Hmmm.....don't know whehter a 225bhp vRS 4X4 would be in group 17/18.

Focus RS has 212bhp is group16 but the Civic Type R is group 17. The Scooby WRX with 220bhp is also group 17 but the Seat CupraR at 210bhp is group 16 which incidently is the same as the normal Leon Cupra.

It's more than just power that decides a cars insurance such as cost of repair and desirability.

Generally speaking car insurnace rating come down with new models. So I reckon a 225bhp vRS 4X4 would still be group 16.

However I also think that Skoda prices are going to go up and will not be the value for money we have today.

Just MHO.

Cheers.

Adrian.

The 4X4 mechanicals would not be cheap to repair in the event of an accident. In fact, having had a close-ish look at the underside of my 4X4, I don't understand how Skoda have managed to keep the price down. I believe that the Haldex and its controller cost an arm and a leg to replace.

I have had my 130pd for a month now and I am very impressed with it. Its an estate and I am averaging 46mpg, having done 3000 miles so far on a mix of roads.

The acceleration is impressive as long as you don't get caught outside the narrow powerband off boost.

I changed from an Impreza turbo and I'm saving