Took the Saab 9-3 out for a test drive and loved it, I do like the look of the octavia 2005 and after, but what are they like to drive, I want it to be comfortable with barely any wind or road noise, it needs to be nice to drive as well, as mentioned before my budget is about 9k. I know nothing about the octavia so I don't know if I should go for the petrol or diesel it has to be the vrs, if I could I would want leather seats and xenons. Talk to me people.

Best thing to do would be to test drive the octy, both the petrol and diesel. There's not point in us saying how good the octy is if you find that when you do drive one you don't like it as everyone have different tastes.

Remember saab is in deep financial trouble at the moment with saab gb filing for bankruptcy and saab still haven't received any of the cash from their Chinese partners, so there would be a possibility of problems from spare parts in the near future.

A friend had a 9-3 Aero and really liked it. It was quick (similar to a petrol VRS), comfortable and refined. His wasn't particularly well equipped and was fairly old (53 plate) but it was a nice thing to travel in.

On the downside, he found the ride uncomfortable harsh on anything other that smooth roads. It improved markedly at motorway pace, but wasn't great on A and B roads. The interior isn't to everyone's taste, especially the dash, but the seats are lovely. It isn't the most practical car either. Thought the boot is big, access to it isn't great and from memory, the rear seats don't fold flat (may be wrong with this).

The main problem (or bonus judging by Saabs ongoing financial problems) was that under the attractively styled skin, it was pure GM underneath. This meant that it wasn't that much of a drivers car and the handling was nothing to write home about. It grips well but isn't much fun to thrown around down the twisties. Depends what you're looking for I guess. The upside of the GM parentage is that most parts won't be a problem to source - it is a Vectra underneath the skin after all! And the 2.0 turbo engine is pretty much bomb-proof (it's got a chain cam from memory)

As someone who now has a 2007 Octavia VRS, I would, like has been suggested, get a test drive in both so you can compare them properly. They offer very different things really.

FOr me, the Octavia is slightly less luxurious but better built. Obviously, if you can find one that is specc'd up nicely it will be more luxurious than most, but you'll spend longer looking! The Octavia drives and handles better and is a much more modern design, is more practical and will maintain it's value better. I love my VRS and would recommend one to anyone who was asking.

But, there is just something about Saabs that can't be explained - I've still got a Saab itch that I haven't scratched yet. Maybe I won't if they go under...

Any down this way wanna take me out in there octavia?!

I'm guessing i need to get the limited edition to get xenons?

Nope - mine's got Xenons and it's not a LE. It is a factory fit option and there are some around if you look hard enough. My guess is that leather will be a tougher find. The LE might be your best option to find both together. You could consider a retrim but that could be expensive or a hassle. If you were up this way you'd be more than welcome to have a spin. Bit far from home though!

What's the mpg like on the petrol?

Although ive never driven the 9-3, i've always been of the opinion that they look like good cards, driven by discerning buyers.

Sp when one of my relatives rocked up at a family reuinion in a 2005 9-3 i thought id get the lowdown on it from him. I was quite suprised when he basically told me it was one of the most bog-standard cars he had ever driven.

The crux of his complaints was that, as mentioned above, it is just a Vectra in a pretty dress. He said that in the couple of years he had had it there had been numerous reliability problems and breakdowns, all of which were related issues on the Vectra. The good news from his point of view was that he was getting rid of it in the coming weeks.

I was quite shocked by his comments though, as i say, always thought they were interesting cars driven by interesting people

But ive always found that skoda have no gadgets or anything interesting, its hard to find one with xenons,then you need to go le to get full leather, you get no multifunction steering wheel, no fold in mirrors, not sure about heated seats, let alone the boring dash? As a car brilliant but you dont get much else, this is what is swaying me away from skoda. I think it seems to be before the plate 57 on the 9-3's they weren't interesting and started to get dated but since the facelift (aero model this is) they seem to be getting very good reviews.

Just before I got the vRS I was looking at a 9-3 Aero ttid. The only thing that put me off was the IMO dated dashboard and I was struggling to find a manual.

Had the Skoda for about 6/7 weeks now and so far cant fault it. Ref MPG I am getting around 30 ish with is mainly local driving on a motorway run driving steady I saw mid 30's which I was very impressed with. I am running a remap also don't know how much this effects things.

At the end of the day it's personal choice drive them both and see what you think.

Ref spec if you have a good look around and are willing to travel you will find the car/spec you want. I've got everything I wanted on mine but had a 460 mile round trip to view/buy it.

What's the mpg like on the petrol?

In general use, I get low to mid 30s though if you're driving carefully (45-55mph) you can get low 40s! Trouble is, I find it nearly impossible to drive like that. It just begs to be given a bootful!

I ran a Saab 1.9Tid 150bhp Vector Sport for about a year, loved it, leather trim lots of gadgets etc, drove down to the South of Spain non stop, arrived after 18 hours no back ache and pretty fresh, it had brilliant HID projector lights.

On the down side, it wasn't that economical to say it was a diesel, boot on the Sport Wagon isn't as big as my 2003 VRS estate.

Certainly the VRS is quicker being Petrol and more engaging to drive, cheaper to buy a definate plus point.

Good Luck!

I'm guessing i need to get the limited edition to get xenons?

The LE doesn't have xenons and it was not an option either. Skoda probably created the LE to shift all the standard front bumpers before they released the facelift version.

I would read this first and then choose http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/saab/9-3-2007/?

It seems to be quite good? Or have I missed something.if I can get an octavia with xenons fir a good price then I'll be going for the octavia I think.

Good choice! If you really want leather, you can always get a retrim.

I hope you enjoy your new Octavia when you manage to track one down.

Depends what you want from the car.

Im on my 4th Octavia now 3 TDis and now a 1.8TSI Elegance

This one has all the Toys I need cruise, climate electric everything and a superb stereo.

I find the std lights perfect so cant see the point in the expensive xenons.

As for leather I wouldnt touch it as its cold in winter and hot and sticky in summer but thats because I do a lot of miles.

Comfy to drive 4-5 hour without a stop is no problem. Good on fuel I think anyway mine is averaging 38mpg and I do drive it quite hard.

It handles well but it aint a VRS so I cant compare it.

You really need to drive one to see if it fits.

Over the last 8 years I have travelled over 300,000 miles in Octavias and cant fault them.

What's the mpg like on the petrol?

If 9k will get you into the newer TSI engines you can get low 40s driving carefully.

I've a TFSI and through the summer I was averaging 37 driving very carefully. 35 isn't hard to get.

In the winter or in a hurry 32 is more normal.

It is by far the most reliable car I've ever owned.

Hiya,

For what it's worth, and in addition to all the very helpful comments above I'd just add that the Octavia - in vRS terms at least - is surprisingly forgiving in terms of ride, ie, it won't try & shake your fillings out at the slightest hint of a pebble on the road.

My experience of 'hotter' 9-3s was that they seemed a lot more stiff in the rebound & you'd end up wincing at ridges and bumps in the road a lot more than you would do in the Skoda.

I'm fairly certain that the SAAB examples I drove (one diesel, one petrol) were standard in terms of suspension setup & as I've only ever driven the factory-spec vRS chassis I'm pretty certain it was a relevant(ish) comparison.

If you can live without too many of the toys then I'd say go for the Skoda, but then I, like most on here am a tad biased..

All the best,

David.

I would like one as said with xenons on candy White! But my poor little fabia hasn't had much luck so far, got over 40 people watching it mind!

Agh the other question I was going to ask was how's the sound system in the octavia I like to play my foo fighters loud!

When I say foo fighters I mean steps!

Agh the other question I was going to ask was how's the sound system in the octavia I like to play my foo fighters loud!

Don't know about the newer Bolero units but I'd describe the Stream unit I have as adequate. I assume like previous cars I've had it's the cheap spakers that let things down more than anything.

The VRS has a 6 disk changer in the boot but only the head unit will play MP3s.

Xenons seem to be specced quite commonly. I didn't and find the standard lights fine.

White didn't get popular until recently.

Edited 5 December, 201114 yr by Aspman

Agh the other question I was going to ask was how's the sound system in the octavia I like to play my foo fighters loud!

I've got a Columbus fitted and it's OK. I find it incredibly harsh at high volumes as I think the crossover between the mid/bass driver and treble is set too high. I've gone into all of the tonal settings on the head unit and have treble almost at the minimum but it's still very harsh. I have been lead to believe that it may because it came from a Superb and that a VCDS session may help to fix it, but I think the speakers are at fault too.

I had a 2.0 petrol 54 plate 9-3 convertible for three years, loved it! Very luxurious, very comfortable,very smooth, plenty quick enough and was absolutely faultless for the 50k miles I did in in. Plenty of gadgets and gizmos, sat nav, brilliant headlights, heated seats, cruise, multi function steering wheel, aux iPod connection etc. If you're after a classy drive in supreme comfort, Saab all the way.

Octavia VRS, a Bora underneath, is a better drivers car, as it's power is delivered better and it feels more planted.

Edited 5 December, 201114 yr by Lance