I've just sold my 61 reg diesel Scout after only 5000 miles. Here is my summary:

Good points:

Fantastic turning circle considering the size of the car

Very well made, feels solid, no rattles at all. Bodywork panels feel strong.

Normal ignition key (no daft starter button or key in the dashboard nonsense)

Conventional handbrake that holds very well with little effort

Bolero stereo is really easy to use (although sound quality is only average)

Lots of pockets and cubby holes

Surefooted handling (but a totally uninvolving driving experience)

Good compromise between comfort and handling

Very good headlights (even without xenons)

Nice quality load cover in boot

Bad points:

Far too much engine noise

Clunky gearchange

Pulsating feeling through clutch pedal (dealer said its completely normal)

Headlamp washers waste gallons of expensive screenwash

Poor fuel consumption 42mpg overall average over 5000 miles

High loading lip in boot

Ridge in middle of loading bay with back seats folded

Front seats feel too narrow

Nowhere comfortable to rest my right elbow when driving

225/50/17 tyres are expensive. Ride was better on my 205/55/16 winter steel wheels.

No suitable jacking points for a trolley jack

No way to properly randomise tracks when playing from SD cards

Overall:

A good car (but not the right car for me). The boot is huge but not very useable. Not a particularly pleasant driving experience due to the engine noise and clunky gearchange. I should have bought the petrol one!

Didn't you test drive one first?

As that would have given you a very good idea of what to expect.

Agree about the jacking points for a trolley, they are a joke

Agree about the jacking points for a trolley, they are a joke

Skoda just told me to use the sills in the arrowed points as that's what it was designed for. Not ideal compared to the usual lump underneath, but not horrendous.

Is ur scout not a cr engine which is very quiet? All ur bad points seem very pointless or even enough for u to sell it! Sorry!

Skoda just told me to use the sills in the arrowed points as that's what it was designed for. Not ideal compared to the usual lump underneath, but not horrendous.

You can only use the Jack in the boot on the sills unless you get a hockey puck and cut it or you will bend the sill with a trolley Jack

I've just sold my 61 reg diesel Scout after only 5000 miles. Here is my summary:

Bad points:

Far too much engine noise - Its a CR - one of the quietest diesels you can get.....Test Drive?

Clunky gearchange - 5000 miles isn't run in.......Test Drive?

Pulsating feeling through clutch pedal (dealer said its completely normal) - Test Drive?

Headlamp washers waste gallons of expensive screenwash - Gallons? Slight exaggeration there...

Poor fuel consumption 42mpg overall average over 5000 miles - 5000miles isn't run in

High loading lip in boot - Test Drive?

Ridge in middle of loading bay with back seats folded - Test Drive?

Front seats feel too narrow - Test Drive?

Nowhere comfortable to rest my right elbow when driving - Test Drive?

225/50/17 tyres are expensive. Ride was better on my 205/55/16 winter steel wheels. - Brochure? Test Drive?

No suitable jacking points for a trolley jack - I just jack on bottom of wishbone and on bottom of rear axle.....how often do you jack cars?

No way to properly randomise tracks when playing from SD cards - You can shuffle folders or whole directory iirc.

Seriously minor things to sell a car for IMHO.

Headlamp washers waste gallons of expensive screenwash

Adjustable by your friendly local VCDS owner......

Adjustable by your friendly local VCDS owner......

Not on facelift models they aren't

You can only use the Jack in the boot on the sills unless you get a hockey puck and cut it or you will bend the sill with a trolley Jack

There is another option, get Audi A3 jacking points and fit them (easy to do if you don't mind a little swearing when removing the existing blanking plates!). Fitted them to my Scout and other half's A3, work a treat especially as both cars have a set of winters steels to be swapped back and forth every year. Trolley jack gets nowhere near the bodywork/sills/chassis. Cost wise was about £40 if I remember correctly.

Is ur scout not a cr engine which is very quiet? All ur bad points seem very pointless or even enough for u to sell it! Sorry!

Totally agree with this.I would have thought all this would have been found out on a test drive first.

all i can i say is wat others have said already....."Test Drive" before u buy.

some self research also goes a long way.

ur money and time has been wasted at the end of the day, not ours!

Skoda just told me to use the sills in the arrowed points as that's what it was designed for. Not ideal compared to the usual lump underneath, but not horrendous.

Whats wrong with the chassis legs?

You can only use the Jack in the boot on the sills unless you get a hockey puck and cut it or you will bend the sill with a trolley Jack

I just use a small block of wood that fits behind the sill on the jacking point and put the trolley jack upto that. Does the job fine. Problem with using a hockey puck with just a slot in it is that the jacking point behind the sill is higher than the surface on the outside of the sill which means the weight is not being lifted through the jacking point.

As above, did you not test drive one? All your points would have been picked out on test drive!

Always good to see the 2nd hand market for Scouts getting new stock.

There is another option, get Audi A3 jacking points and fit them (easy to do if you don't mind a little swearing when removing the existing blanking plates!). Fitted them to my Scout and other half's A3, work a treat especially as both cars have a set of winters steels to be swapped back and forth every year. Trolley jack gets nowhere near the bodywork/sills/chassis. Cost wise was about £40 if I remember correctly.

Sounds like somebody needs to make a "how to" and a sticky,

Any more info on this such as part numbers, pictures of location etc?

What did you change it for?

Just interested. I've had mine 4 years now and would be struggling with what to replace it with except another one (without a step change in finances). Though I have a variable boot floor fitted and like the jumbo box armrest.......

But hey, horses for courses and all that!

I can't imagine you lost too much on changing looking at current second hand prices.

Niall

Edited 13 March, 201214 yr by Niall

How would buying the petrol one (as he suggested) have overcome the Op's Bad Points?

lol I thought exactly the same as everyone else it seems from reading OP "Test Drive" but tbh I had never driven an Octavia before I ordered mine and had only sat in passenger seat of a 105 PD TDi once for a lift that was it. But I am happy .

I have a feeling you are more of a BMW driver in your past especially if you can afford to dump it so soon depreciation wise! Good luck with next car and please reply to thread to let us know what you move on to and how it compares.

Have just done over 2,000 miles in my 61 plate Octavia 4x4 (OK not the Scout I know)

Agree with all the good points, same with my 4x4.

Far too much engine noise. No problem smooth and quite, when you accelerate you get a nice gentle ‘roar’

Clunky gearchange. Found it to be very smooth, maybe a little clunky from 1st to 2nd.

Pulsating feeling through clutch pedal (dealer said its completely normal) Not noticed, feels OK to me.

Headlamp washers waste gallons of expensive screenwash. Keeps headlights clean! Used a 8ltr. mix in 2 months

Poor fuel consumption 42mpg overall average over 5000 miles. 2,000 miles, average 52mpg, just watch the speed and acceleration. But then I have done two 500 mile round trips to South Wales on motorways which averaged 61/58 mpg.

High loading lip in boot. Acceptable.

Ridge in middle of loading bay with back seats folded

Front seats feel too narrow. Found them to be comfortable

Nowhere comfortable to rest my right elbow when driving. Use jumbo box arm rest.

225/50/17 tyres are expensive. Ride was better on my 205/55/16 winter steel wheels. Tyres 205/60/15, not that expensive.

No suitable jacking points for a trolley jack. Agree.

No way to properly randomise tracks when playing from SD cards. Not a problem for me.

Consider the Octavia 4x4; a little lighter and less of a raised suspension, better airflow and £125.00 road tax.

On that 3 year Skoda finance deal package and in 3 years time I will be changing.............to the Scout.

Nowhere comfortable to rest my right elbow when driving. Use jumbo box arm rest.

LHD?

LHD?

No, just find it easy to rest my left arm on the jumbo box rest.

But hard to rest your RIGHT elbow on the jumbo box

Sounds like somebody needs to make a "how to" and a sticky,

Any more info on this such as part numbers, pictures of location etc?

They have. See Steveoraith's excellent guide below.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/221240-fitting-s3-jack-pads-to-octavia/