Looking for a little bit of advise and help from other vrs owners or people who do a long commute.

I will most likely be moving soon and will have a 70 mile each way commute 5 days a week.

I planned on getting a vrs petrol estate previously, but now this has moved on to the diesel version.

I currently drive a '09 Honda Civic Type R which is well documented for its poor ride and uncomfortability and really want something for this long commute which will be as comfortable as possible to drive.

I've never been such a big fan of the visual styling of other models in the range which is why I wouldn't straight away think to go for an elegance etc.

Also I really like the full VRS leather and having sat in both cars a couple of months ago, preferred it to the standard vrs sports seats - is this something that others have encountered?

Also if anyone else has any suggestions of cars that would be good for this journey, then I am all ears. The thing that draws me to the octavia be it hatch or estate is the 5 doors and big boot along with 50+mpg on the motorway.

Thanks in advance!

Having previously owned a Type R, the vRS is in a different league comfort wise. It's sooo much better on the motorway, quieter, smoother and a better seating position (IMO).

With those miles though, I think the diesel is definitely the right decision.

I use my petrol vRS for nearly 25K per annum and I would consider the diesel but opted for the petrol as it was a nicer car to drive, all considered. Having said that most of the miles I drive would have been a lot more economical with the diesel version. I am getting 35mpg average across all trips which includes 40+ mpg on the motorway and maybe even sub 30 when being more enthusiastic on the back-roads.

Either way you choose, it is a nice car for that sort of commute.

I use my petrol vRS for nearly 25K per annum and I would consider the diesel but opted for the petrol as it was a nicer car to drive, all considered. Having said that most of the miles I drive would have been a lot more economical with the diesel version. I am getting 35mpg average across all trips which includes 40+ mpg on the motorway and maybe even sub 30 when being more enthusiastic on the back-roads.

Either way you choose, it is a nice car for that sort of commute.

+1

Saved me from typing

My annual mileage is around 30k, diesel would have been a good choice but I'm very happy I chose the petrol.

I'm happy to trade a few mpg for a car that I enjoy driving when I'm in the mood.

:yes:

I use my vrs for the same sort of mileage motorway commute.

I think there are plenty of better cars out there for a long commute. If I had my chance again I'd have gone for a high spec mondeo or superb. At a steady 120kph (75mph) I can get mid-high 40s, at 140kph I get around 42mpg. My overall for the last year is working out at 43mpg, calculated the old fashioned way. The trip computer is very optimistic, saying my average is closer to 48mpg.

Having previously done big commutes my honest opinion would be to get something that is cheap and does very high mpg with a long warranty.

With those miles your going to go through tyres and services very quickly and bits for the octy are not that cheap because it's a sporty model.

If the price of diesel goes up much (and it's not going to go down) you might come to regret getting something that 'only' does 50mpg.

I love my VRS but I think something like a Kia Cee'd or even the Rio with 70+ mpg and 100k of warranty is really more suited to the miles you'll be doing.

Get a nice used VRS TFSI to use when you're not commuting.

Thanks for the replies.

I thought about something smaller but was not sure how comfortable they would be to drive on the motorway?

Anyone have experience with these type of cars? Also considered something older so less to depreciate but reliability worried me!

Well I cant comment on the VRS but my 1.8 TSi Elegance is fine for long commutes.

I drive for a living and do 50k a year and the seats are fine.

I cover all the north of England so 4 hour straight through journeys are not uncommon.

I wouldnt go for a Kia or any of the other if you want the boot space in a fairly small hatchback with is what the Octavia is.

I average around 36-38 mpg but I do drive it fast If I drive steady it will do over 40 mpg.

Thanks for the replies.

I thought about something smaller but was not sure how comfortable they would be to drive on the motorway?

Anyone have experience with these type of cars? Also considered something older so less to depreciate but reliability worried me!

What about an old Fabia vRS?

I was in a similar situation to you last October. I too have a 170 mile daily commute and previously ran a 1.9 diesel Peugeot 306. It was great on fuel up to 50mph but as the engine was working harder beyond 50mph upto 80mph it dropped like a stone. It was also getting long in the tooth (12 years old / 160,000 miles) so reliability was becoming a concern. I had my monies worth out of it though

I spent ages looking for a replacement and quickly dismissed the obvious Focus / Astra / C'eed etc. as they were just too common / boring.

Already having an Octavia Scout (the wife's) I knew another Octavia made the most sense so I narrowed it down to the following...

1.9 PD105 - Bullet proof reliability, fantastic MPG, a little unrefined.

2.0 PD140 - Good reliability, 6 speed, more power, less MPG.

2.0 PD170 - Good reliability, 6 speed, lots of power, impressive MPG, rare, looks very stealthy.

My budget meant I was restricted to the pre-facelift but I too wasn't impressed with the styling of the SE, Elegance (black rubbing strips on the doors and bumpers etc.) and don't really think the looks have improved too much on the facelift - still just a tad plain for me, so the vRS was the obvious choice.

At 60MPH it'll average 55-60MPG, at more realistic speeds (70-80MPH) I average 50MPG. I don't know how the petrol vRS owners doing high mileage afford to run them at 35MPG!

I assume you'll be looking at the new vRS with the common rail engine? These are even more fuel efficient

Hi

I do a 60 mile round trip communte on A roads im mine, its comfy but at the same time it can be lively when i want to overtake

i average high 40's in MPG with a bit of town/city driving in there too

Dallan

Thanks again all!

Yes I am looking at cr engine.

If I forgo the facelift exterior styling and I have my heart set on full leather then would the limited edition be the obvious choice?

Am I correct in thinking mechanically it is like the facelift just without the new styling?

Can pick one up with 45k miles for under 12k - good compromise?

It's either that or I end up with something like a focus :(

Yes, the LE is the same as the facelift vRS but without the facelift . It even has the updated interior and those fab leather seats. The only problem with them is buyers were unable to add factory options so they are all specced the same (which is standard vRS spec apart from the seats) and they are all grey.

£12K sounds steep to me. OK mines a PD and not CR but it is fully loaded (rear sensors, xenons, curtain airbags, maxidot, auto wipers, anti whiplash headrests etc.) had 33,000 miles on it, full Skoda history (including cambelt) and I paid a smidge over £9K back in October.

Don't do the Focus, you'll regret it!

I drive 35k miles a year and ran a vrs cr for 18 months mainly on a 100 motorway mile per day commute. Overall brim to brim mpg of 47.9 which is good IMO for a performance diesel. High torque makes motorway overtaking in 6th easy and safe. My only gripe is that the pre FL CR TDi had an annoying boom from 2200-2600 rpm which equates to an indicated 75 - 90 mph. I wouldn't let that put you off though and would otherwise recommend this choice.

have you considered a mk2 superb tdi as they are more refined and comfortable compared to an octavia

Did yours have std seAts vlad - was it comfortable enough for all those miles - also why the change and what did you go for?

I'm not a big fan of the std superb styling but I like the estate - they are more costly than I would like though tbh.

Yes, I had standard seats. Very comfortable, we took 2 trips to the south of France in it, better half has a bad back but no problems with the seat. I tend to change cars every 18 months - 2 years as my mileage is equivalent of an average drivers 3 - 4 years at 40-50k miles and as I love cars I fancy a change by then. I now have a 140 cr TDi which is a better commuter as it is quieter, longer geared and more economical. I still wish I had my vrs back though.

Just another thought...I had to collect and deliver a Golf bluemotion 1.6cr, which involved a few hundred miles on the Motorway. It was comfy, quiet, smooth with enough guts and returned 65-70 mpg on that trip.

What year did that model start?

I guess golf is better than a focus!

I'm still deep in thought about this and looking around for inspiration.

I read elsewhere on the web to go for something like a Volvo s40? My impression of Volvo's is that they should stand up to the miles very well - could pick up a 40 k miles one a few yrs old for 6k.

Anyone here ever owned one of those?