Only my 3rd post but I have now covered 1500mls in my VRS CRTdi estate and have some things to think about.

My wife has a 2008 Gold GT sport with the 140 tdi engine and it was the lack of a nice looking golf estate which led me to the VRS.

My main thoughts are with the handling compared to the golf, the VRS is definately stiffer but it just doesn't seem to handle as well, the golf rarely spins the wheels yet the VRS seems to struggle out of corners when being aggressive, it also seems to get messy on the limit when cornering hard. This has surprised me as I was expecting more of a golf gti experience but it seems lacking compared to the GT golf even tho as said it is stiffer sprung, car is nearly new with good tyres so nothing should be wrong with it.

Secondly the economy is on the whole 10-15 mpg worse like for like than the golf, around town it seems very poor but claws some of the difference back on a run, the computer on both cars seems out by about 3mpg but the golf is definately better by a fair bit.

Onto the better points, the VRS is quieter and the cabin seems to be made of better materials, the stereo is also a lot better, as I do a lot of miles these matter, it is also marginally quicker and the engine a lot more refined, the golf has a very diesel like noise in the cabin.

The car is growing on me tho so we'll see what a few more miles bring, maybe a remap and some suspension is on the to do list but for now we'll see

How many miles has the car done, I know diesels loosen up over time and start to return better mpg, I could also imagine the suspension will settle a little too

The standard suspension setup on the vrs isn't great hence why many, myself included, have gone for after market spring and damper combinations or coilovers. I found the ride on standard suspension a bit jittery and the handling wasn't inspiring when you pushed on hard. The diesel engine is heavier than the petrol so this probably doesn't help the balance of the car either.

I had a CR before my current tsi vrs and didn't find it particularly economical, probably because I drove it hard as it didn't deliver the sort of performance I wanted.

The standard suspension setup on the vrs isn't great hence why many, myself included, have gone for after market spring and damper combinations or coilovers. I found the ride on standard suspension a bit jittery and the handling wasn't inspiring when you pushed on hard. The diesel engine is heavier than the petrol so this probably doesn't help the balance of the car either.

I had a CR before my current tsi vrs and didn't find it particularly economical, probably because I drove it hard as it didn't deliver the sort of performance I wanted.

+1......drop it and feel the love....got 52 mpg today on a run to Nottingham from Worcestershire....admittedly not pushing it.

IMHO I am not sure that you can compare an Octy estate to a Golf.

Don't forget you are pushing 30bhp more through the front wheels than the golf.

I find that it handles brilliantly with the XDS...It really inspires confidence. It is jittery however and would love to get some suspension changes but my insurance won't allow it.

As for the MPG, you have to drive it totally differently to the PD (I presume the golf is a PD being 2008?). The CR needs to be revved more to get the best out of it performance and economy wise, it is a lot more linear than the PD. I can easily get 55-60mpg on a run now its bedded in nicely at 26k....in fact i got 54mpg on the trip home from picking it up from London with 6 miles on the clock.

Thanks for the replies, yes it drives totally different to the golf and a lot of the economy preconceptions are mine and as the car is bigger it is no surprise. I am really liking the car tho but it has some annoying electrical gremlins and this brings back memories of the only other Skoda I owned a new superb in 2004, I'll visit the dealer and see what they say