This is what I'm going to do, the stick on pads and some sound deadning mats under the carpet and under the rear seats/wheel arches.

This might be worth a go. Yes, under the rear seat bench is worthwhile as well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RATTLEMATT-100mm-x-10m-Car-Audio-Sound-Deadening-Proofing-Panels-Pads-Sheets-/290725317259?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item43b0944a8b

Yeah, i'm going to order things like that and some carpet too.

This place looks good http://www.carinsulation.co.uk/category/vehicle_sound_deadening_pads_from_car_insulation_uk

Before buying the octy, I had a kuga on my short list.

After reading numerous post of ford not offering to pay towards corroding alloys which were only 13 months old then I decided against it ( well that and the 30mpg )

It looks like most brands will try and get out of paying what most of us would consider a genuine warranty claim

Shouting at motorway speed? Either your motorway speed is much higher than mine, or there's something else wrong

I was thinking the same, admittedly my perspective is a bit skewed as I came from a bone shaking Seat (which I liked) but I don't find other cars similar to the Octavia to be much quieter really, I don't mind doing long distance drives in car at all.

I have been frustrated with my Octavia as it's the only car to have let me down on a journey and not just once, multiple times although reading through this topic I'm now thinking it's not bad at all. Last year the night before heading off to Silverstone the exhaust pressure sensor failed so I ended up doing the trip in an automatic Toyota Yaris and when 15 miles into a 400 mile round trip for a Hogmanay party an ABS sensor or similar appears to have failed so I've lost all the driver aids, it doesn't inspire confidence in me. However on the other hand it is six years old now and nothing big has gone wrong, it always seems to be electronic and sensor problems and they don't seem unusual for Octavia (or any of its siblings). To avoid DPF and turbo issues I almost never use the car for short trips instead I've taken up cycling but I guess the flip side of that is that if something is going to go wrong it's more likely to happen when I'm on a long trip.

Then on the other hand when I inevitably have a look through Autotrader I can never seem to find a suitable alternative, I realise the Octavia isn't that fast these days but I find it's still plenty fast while driving legally and while I don't absolutely need an estate all the time it does come in very handy when I do. Few companies seem to make sporty estates, I see Ford have the new Focus ST in estate form but it will be a while before they're a reasonable buy second hand as I can't really stomach losing a lot of money on a new car.

John

The Focus isn't all peaches and cream as I say - it has had issues and I agree the quality of the plastics inside does leave a bit to be desired but my main aim was a change from VAG after the Octy II. I don't think Skoda are a bad brand per se as the Fabia I was excellent and I've still got a soft spot for the Yeti (from certain angles) but the Octy II I think was an opportunity for them to cut corners a bit. 2 year old cars should not rust like that.....or have steering racks fail......or have the paint fall off the wheels.....

When it came to the dealer they were really no better or worse than anywhere else, it was just that I was there almost weekly with something else going wrong, and then they started to get sloppy, handing me my car back half re-assembled. That really got my goat.

Ford dealer wise, Polar were terrible, abysmal showers of human excrement - their attitude and ineptitude seemingly knew no bounds hence I will not go back there for anything other than parts. Stoneacre in York haven't been bad to be fair - communicative and fairly on the ball but will try the one in Tad next time.

I used to love my Octavia and never saw me getting any other brand but after moving to a Ford my love for the Octavia has gone, I have no regrets in changing to the S-Max.

Yes, its a completely different style of car but it feels much better in everyway and still puts a smile on my face with how well balanced it is and how well it handles.

Having said that our mk1 fabia @ less than 3 years old had paint coming off the wheels, various faults (which were fixed under warranty but not the wheels). As said some cars just seem to be unlucky, mk mk1 vrs had paint blemishes @ less than 4 yrs old yet my mk pd130 never had any bodywork problems despite the starship milage on it.

I went out in my parents 08 mk2 octavia over xmas and I couldn't get over how cheap feeling it was, it felt cramped/noisy/harsh, certainly not what you would expect from a car manufacturer these days.

The Octavia will have to be dramatically improved to ever entice me back.

Silver1011 - Good call on Lawtons of Tadcaster, my dad used to use them many years ago in his Ford days as he couldn't stand the guys at Polar. I'll no doubt end up using Lawtons and pedal down to my sisters in Ulleskelf for a few hours at Service time :yes:

I used to love my Octavia and never saw me getting any other brand but after moving to a Ford my love for the Octavia has gone, I have no regrets in changing to the S-Max.

Yes, its a completely different style of car but it feels much better in everyway and still puts a smile on my face with how well balanced it is and how well it handles.

But, but...

It's basically a van, with hard suspension to make it 'sporty'. Or at least that's what the S-Maxes I've had as hire cars have been like. Having said that you're not the only one with that opinion as the last time the man from Hertz dropped one off he stood next to my Lotus as he handed me the keys and said with no apparent trace of irony "This is something special, you'll enjoy it...".

I did love the handling and steering feel on my Mk 1 Focus and often regret getting rid, would have tried another but I can't stand Ford's current interior design. If VAG could be bothered with trying to engineer in any sort of steering feel then I would have a lot more love for the Octy, given what's on the market at the moment I suspect I'll be heading towards a 2nd hand BMW next time.

My S-Max doesn't feel van like at all. You barely hear the engine (which is good on the diesel although I'd want to hear it if I had the 2.5t petrol :love: ), the ride is very supple when driving normally which increases the enjoyment of the drive yet I also find it handles as well as the Octavia just slower to accelerate and doesn't have the nose heavy characteristics of the Octavia.

I find the ride quite similar to the 407sw that I had. The Octavia also looks dull & bland inside IMO.

If only Skoda could make the Octavia more refined and sort out the harshness of the ride it would make it a truely excelent car.

Isn't the S-Max a Mondeo with a van type body?

Octavia's are too noisy, but the cost to sort that out would be prohibitive. £10 of materials, wholesale? say £100 retail?

Most golf platform cars do not have particularly good handling. VAG and individuals can do it, so I can only presume it is to preserve the differentials between various models. As the R&D has already been done and they only need to fit parts they already have, cost £00.00.

Isn't the S-Max a Mondeo with a van type body?

Correct, the S-Max is based on the Mondeo chassis

I would have no issues with driving an S-max as everyone i know who has one loves them. I have been in my cousins and its a great car. problem is Everyone i know who has one has had several costly problems with them. My cousins recently spent £2500 on repairs when it packed up on then when on holiday.

This may not be typical of the model but a work collegue said he had electrical issues with his so did some searching on ford forums and unfortunately these electrical issues did seem to be a common fault. IMO electrical problems are the worst kind as they are so hard to trace and rectify which means they are costly.

I serioulsy considered an s-max but now i have nagging doubts about them. Pity as i like everything about them and think they look great.

Strangely enough my work collegue mate has sold his now for an xc90 and my cousins have lost faith in theirs and are changing it also. Theirs has about 100,000 miles on it now and they say it feels "tired".

FL Octy is so much quieter than pre FL, to the point in the petrol vRS it loses a bit of Alfaesque engine soul. I came from a previous gen Focus diesel, and whilst it "peformed" it was like watching paint dry - a joyless experience if ever, and made so much more painful from the dealer support. At least with Skoda there are some good ones out there, all Ford franchises in my part of the world are totally full of ****. I spent £100s trying to find what was eventually a £35 fault in a wiring loom: utter fiasco of clueless, couldn't give a ****. OK, it sort of handled well (numb steering though), but so does the Octy in the grand scheme.

Personally, I think Ford has managed to drag it's interior to Skoda / Seat levels, Audi and VW still manage to do it better; and let's be honest, the Ford powertrains are not the most robust. Remember, they lost another couple of billion last quarter, there is no cash to spend on quality parts, VW is still one of the few profitable EU manufacturers (and Honda, Toyota and Nissan all lose money in Europe, it's not a strategic market for any of them). My money is only ever going to go into a European car maker for that reason alone, since I know from the industry I work in they are prepared to invest in the product properly.

I think you were just unlucky - my previous vRs did 50k miles in 2 years, was remapped, hammered, thrashed daily, and the worst it did was bust a rear wheel bearing. Like all makes, some you win, some you lose.