The seats need better lower back support, that is the big gripe with them.

The NVH could be much better. An Astra H for example is much much quieter in the cabin on any terrain at any speed ie. town driving or motorway.

Handling... It's safe but not that sharp feeling, again my Mrs Astra 1.8 elite (not sports suspension) actually feels tighter, sharper, willing to change direction quicker and with much much better damping.

I've changed brands of tyres, changed shocks and changed wishbone bushes etc. but i've come to the conclusion it's never going to be as refined as other more premium brands.

Oh and the glass is soft as ****e, scratches far too easily

Your disproving your own logic. The blackline costs the same as a Bog standard VRS yet you get

loads of extras with the blackline. Lets put aside for a minute the exclusivity of owning 1 of only 500 vehicles

you still get Loads of goodies for Zero £ extra. Its a no-brainer and to suggest that you would by a standard

one because you can spec Xenons is nonsensical. You could fit better aftermarket bulbs to a blackline and

still be better off. Only reason i can think of not getting a blackline and buying the standard VRS is if you find

Black, Blue or White simiply respulsive as a body colour.

No sunroof, no curtain airbags, no xenons, no heated front seats, no auto lights and wipers, no front parking sensors and most importantly, NO PETROL!! No possibility of gettting them, No brainer.

All of these things I have on my car.

This man speakith the truth lol.

Not really a vRS then if they are only diesel

Naughty Trolls

Edited 6 November, 201213 yr by sly200sx

No sunroof, no curtain airbags, no xenons, no heated front seats, no auto lights and wipers, no front parking sensors and most importantly, NO PETROL!! No possibility of gettting them, No brainer.

All of these things I have on my car.

Don't take this personally pal but you could have beaded seat covers, underwater camera and a towbar fitted. We are talking about a VRS not standard cars with lots of add-ons. I spent years of my youth trying to make a bog standard Clio RT into a williams until i eventually saw the light and went out and bought a real williams. and a cliosport 172 exclusive after that (limited 172 made) I happen to like the exclusivity of limited or special editions. The number plaque would be nice for resale values but its not a deal breaker. I'm not trying to say that the blackline will suit everyone clearly everyone has preferences when it comes to trim level. But surely you can see that for the right individual who like me this ticks all the boxes and doesn't care about all the silly options its a cracking deal.

Handling will not improve with age; certainly not over 7 years and 100k miles. It will get worse as it gets softer. The original post i replied to suggested handling would improve over time as the suspension settled. This would be indeterminate in terms of any improved handling over say 6 months or 5k miles. That's my opinion having owned 3 octy vRS's, 2 of which ran standard suspension.

Your not getting me im coming from the standpoint that the blackline is a little 'too stiff' and im saying it will get better ie 'softer' less harsh as it wears in. You on the other hand i think are say that its already to soft and therfor wont improve and i agree. my 7 year old VRS is just about right now for me not too stiff but still no significant body roll in the corners im saying the new one will probably be the same given time for the springs and tyres to age a little. Hope that makes sense.

This all seems a bit resaurant to me! I bought from the table d'hote menu. I could have a black one, a white one or a blue one, hatch or estate, maunal or DSG but there were only 500 servings available, all with oil. I chose a blue manual hatch, ordered and picked up in less than 2 weeks. Some wanted extras so they chose the ala carte menu, but paid considerably more though many of the ingredients were the same and they had to wait considerably longer to get served. One didn't want either, decided he was in the wrong resaurant and went in search of a mitchelin star esablishment but only wanted to spend a tenner. Come on chaps lighten up a bit! if we all wanted the same it would be a sad state of affairs. Just feel sorry for anyone who picked up a standard CR vRS in the summer only to find out they missed out on £2ks worth of extras for nothing. If the hulkster can't get on with his he can always sell it- probably get what he paid for it too. My dealer already has someone who will pay the full price for his demonstrator and as (according to my dealer) there's none left then 499 of us thought it was a good idea. To all the petrol heads. I salute you- if you're prepared to pay twice the road tax, have insurance that's 2 groups higher and visit the pumps way more often fair play to you. Keep the faith or buy an Audi-what can't get one new for £18k with the same spec?

Your not getting me im coming from the standpoint that the blackline is a little 'too stiff' and im saying it will get better ie 'softer' less harsh as it wears in. You on the other hand i think are say that its already to soft and therfor wont improve and i agree. my 7 year old VRS is just about right now for me not too stiff but still no significant body roll in the corners im saying the new one will probably be the same given time for the springs and tyres to age a little. Hope that makes sense.

You are talking about ride and not handling then. I never found the ride to be hard even with eibach pros and koni fsds fitted, in fact ride comfort was unaffected but importantly it got rid of the jittery feel it had.

If I could get my money back................?

Hmmmmmm.

Don't take this personally pal but you could have beaded seat covers, underwater camera and a towbar fitted. We are talking about a VRS not standard cars with lots of add-ons. I spent years of my youth trying to make a bog standard Clio RT into a williams until i eventually saw the light and went out and bought a real williams. and a cliosport 172 exclusive after that (limited 172 made) I happen to like the exclusivity of limited or special editions. The number plaque would be nice for resale values but its not a deal breaker. I'm not trying to say that the blackline will suit everyone clearly everyone has preferences when it comes to trim level. But surely you can see that for the right individual who like me this ticks all the boxes and doesn't care about all the silly options its a cracking deal.

It's a reasonable deal if you happen to want a diesel and aren't bothered about options but at the end of the day it's not a special or a limited edition per se. You could have specced up a vRS (including the proper petrol engine) to have the leather seats and black wheels and whatever else the blackline comes with plus a whole lot more. Yes it would have cost more but the point I am making is that the blackline isn't any different from any other vRS.

Try advertising it- again my dealer (who seems an honest chap) said there were a fair few unhappy punters who wanted one after they'd all gone, though I guess the demonstarors could start filitering through in a few months time if you hang on to it

Nah. I'll keep it for the 3 years now buddy.

It would be interesting to know what you could get for a Blackline if you sold now with less than 1000 miles on it. Don't get me wrong I have no thoughts of selling, I'm lovin mine so far, and haven't had any of Thehulksters problems. Maybe not the best from a standing start, but pulls nicely through the mid gears. A 32 gig SD card is ample for me so the Ipod connection doesn't bother me at all and I like the seats.

Do you all think there was really only 500?

Definitely would have been nice to get at least a number or Blackline badge or something though I agree. At least on the reg doc from the DVLA it says Octavia vRS Blackline.

Would be interested if someone tried to sell one 2nd hand how much they would get, I would be shocked if they managed to get the full amount back. It never occured to me I was buying an exclusive/limited edition car, it was just the features and price that won it for me, its really just an end of line promotion in my eyes.

Would be interested if someone tried to sell one 2nd hand how much they would get, I would be shocked if they managed to get the full amount back. It never occured to me I was buying an exclusive/limited edition car, it was just the features and price that won it for me, its really just an end of line promotion in my eyes.

Must've posted at exactly the same time

To thehulkster.... Glad to see your keeping it after all the posts!

Mine's not quick out of the blocks below 1500 rpm either but I guess it'll free up once it settles down after a few K and like others I'm not giving it full throttle yet, though my 1.4 TFSI pulled better at 1000 rpm but guess that was the supercharger, tho after 1500 RPM it's a very different story!

Yes I have my suspicions there may well be more than 500 as limited edition numbers were not produced by Skoda for each car, tho guess we'll never know. One thing's for sure you'll get a better part ex when you come to trade in over a similar stock vRS and the residuals should be better than one that's been loaded with extras. in the meantime enjoy

Don't take this personally pal but you could have beaded seat covers, underwater camera and a towbar fitted. We are talking about a VRS not standard cars with lots of add-ons. I spent years of my youth trying to make a bog standard Clio RT into a williams until i eventually saw the light and went out and bought a real williams. and a cliosport 172 exclusive after that (limited 172 made) I happen to like the exclusivity of limited or special editions. The number plaque would be nice for resale values but its not a deal breaker. I'm not trying to say that the blackline will suit everyone clearly everyone has preferences when it comes to trim level. But surely you can see that for the right individual who like me this ticks all the boxes and doesn't care about all the silly options its a cracking deal.

I understand you're a sucker for a limited edition (that not officially limited) but that's it in a nutshell: it's nothing special. I would be very surprised if there was any difference in retail value due to this as it does nothing that a standard vrs can't do apart from the wheels. They may be silly options, but they're the ones that got you to buy the car cos they were chucked in.

And calling a safety feature such as curtain airbags 'silly' is just plain moronic! I've cut enough people and bodies out of cars to know i'd rather be able to spec that in my car if it was available.

If I was gonna buy a vrs, I sure as hell wouldn't buy a diesel one!

This all seems a bit resaurant to me! I bought from the table d'hote menu. I could have a black one, a white one or a blue one, hatch or estate, maunal or DSG but there were only 500 servings available, all with oil. I chose a blue manual hatch, ordered and picked up in less than 2 weeks. Some wanted extras so they chose the ala carte menu, but paid considerably more though many of the ingredients were the same and they had to wait considerably longer to get served. One didn't want either, decided he was in the wrong resaurant and went in search of a mitchelin star esablishment but only wanted to spend a tenner. Come on chaps lighten up a bit! if we all wanted the same it would be a sad state of affairs. Just feel sorry for anyone who picked up a standard CR vRS in the summer only to find out they missed out on £2ks worth of extras for nothing. If the hulkster can't get on with his he can always sell it- probably get what he paid for it too. My dealer already has someone who will pay the full price for his demonstrator and as (according to my dealer) there's none left then 499 of us thought it was a good idea. To all the petrol heads. I salute you- if you're prepared to pay twice the road tax, have insurance that's 2 groups higher and visit the pumps way more often fair play to you. Keep the faith or buy an Audi-what can't get one new for £18k with the same spec?

I have just got my petrol vrs today and I love it but I only do 4k a year so no point in me getting a diesel, so not many petrol pump visits for me plus my insurance was only £235 fully comp for me and the wife.

Would be interested if someone tried to sell one 2nd hand how much they would get, I would be shocked if they managed to get the full amount back. It never occured to me I was buying an exclusive/limited edition car, it was just the features and price that won it for me, its really just an end of line promotion in my eyes.

There is a blue 'Blackline' on autotrader for £18,485

There is also a couple of white 62 plate diesel Vrs that don't say Blackline in the ad, but have black alloys and one has a black grill. Plus plenty of spec for £19,500 ish

Must've posted at exactly the same time

Great minds etc. Lol

There is a blue 'Blackline' on autotrader for £18,485

There is also a couple of white 62 plate diesel Vrs that don't say Blackline in the ad, but have black alloys and one has a black grill. Plus plenty of spec for £19,500 ish

Would be great for the value to remain higher than standard diesel vrs. No doubt the mk3 vrs will hit used mk2 hard, but I expected that.

I understand you're a sucker for a limited edition (that not officially limited)

It says blackline on my documentation and if you give then insurance company the reg they tell you its a blackline so

it must be down on their screen as one. Therefor there wont be any dispute its distinct from other vrs the only thing which

i will and have conceaded is a let down is the plaque which numbers them 1-500 i suspect this was missed (oversight) in haste

to wrap up the last ones before the Mkiii.

And calling a safety feature such as curtain airbags 'silly' is just plain moronic! I've cut enough people and bodies out of cars to know i'd rather be able to spec that in my car if it was available.

Im not an expert on curtain airbags but i had a crash 4 years ago where my clio hit a kerb side ways on flipped in the air and landed on its roof compressing the roof slightly and none of the airbags fired as none of the sensors had been triggered, apart from the roof the vehicle was undamaged.

However none of the doors would open and the engine was still running on fire and i couldn't reach the key to turn it off as i was suspended upside down from the seat belt disorientated. A motorbiker stopped kicked the window screen in and dragged me out turning the engine off just before the whole thing went up. I can only assume curtain airbags would have hindered this rescue and i wouldn't be here typing this. You may no different but thats my theory.

If I was gonna buy a vrs, I sure as hell wouldn't buy a diesel one!

I have both petrol and a diesel so thats a non statement. oh by the way my other one has worthwhile options sat-nav & cruise control which wern't standard at the time so you see im not suggesting options arn't a good thing im mearly saying if your buying a vrs get the one with all the free stuff rather than standard.

It's amusing how defensive people become. There's clearly a case for both petrol and deisel options otherwise Skoda wouldn't offer them. Regarding options yes I totally agree safety options are worthwhile (If you can have them) But I can't have curtain airbags so that's the end of it. However both have ESC, which is not standard on the elegance downwards which is one of te reasons I bought the blackline as this is recognised as being the biggest single major safety improvement since ABS. As far as residuals are concerned although nothing is certain except death and taxes I'd bet that come to trade in time my blackline will be worth more than a standard petrol model of same age condition and milage, and certainly won't be woth any less than a standard deisel. My dealer has an 09 plate limited edition on his forecourt at 12K and has already said he'll take mine no problem because it'll be low milage (for a deisel) so he'll be able to offer me more as (in his words) the deisels are more popular 2nd hand and low milage ones in particular command a higher price. if you couple that with the £2k worth of extras Skoda have included as a buyer of a 2nd hand car this will be a big draw. OK the sat nav isn't te best, but it does the job and personally I hate the lick, stick and reach involved with aftermarket ones. OK so the after market ones can be used between cars (unless your wife leaves before you with it in her car) and are oftemn better but my point is mine came free and aftermarket ones do not. I find the rear parking sensors a boon especially with the ironing board on the back and the leather is really cool, as is the DAB and the SD card slot for my music plus the black wheel seem easier to keep clean/don't show the marks as easy none of which you get on a standard vRS. So if you were buying secondhand you don't have the luxury of optional extras- you get what someone else has bought. So with all those extras on it that were part of the package and not optional then the BL will be more saleable and therefore be worth more. As far as the MKIII prices yes the MKII vRS residuals may suffer, but I'd be very surprised if they continue to discount the Octy as a MK III, so buyers will probably pay more initially, which I haven't so the £31/2 K I've already saved on the VAT back offer remains in the bank and with the 3 years free servicing and £500 manufacturers contribution on the finance I've already paid off I'm already quids in. I've also saved the £600 service costs my 1.4 would have cost me over the same period and at trade in the vRS wll be worth at least twice what the year older 1.4 will be worth, so with the road tax the same, insurance less than £50 a year more and 7 mpg better than the 1.4 (14 mpg over the petrol vRs?) I'm not such a sucker for a limited edition afterall ! :sun:

As it's already been said, it's all down to personal preference & requirements regarding whether the Blackline is a good choice or not.

Some people despise diesels, personally both myself and the boss (I mean wife) prefer the way that they drive - it's a lazy performance that is easily accessible and doesn't require having to rev the nuts off the engine like a lot of petrols - personal preference.

Built-in Sat Nav. I prefer my old Tom Tom, and it wouldn't have been an option that I would have picked from the list, however it has come as part of the deal for the same price as the standard vRS which does not have Sat Nav. The standard vRS does not have DAB - an option that I would want.

Rear parking sensors - again whilst not an essential they are a nice addition and based on the size of the boot I would expect them to be standard - on the Blackline they are - standard vRS they cost extra.

Leather seats - brilliant, I love leather. The standard vRS cloth trim is a bit garish for my tastes. I accept that for no cost on the standard vRS you can specify Alacantra (or whatever it is) which makes the cabin a lot better - but it's not leather. Again I get this "option" for the same price as a standard vRS without it.

Black wheels - maybe not my ideal initial choice - but now it's arrived I quite like them. If I had been against them enough I would have insisted that the dealer had changed them for silver as part of the deal.

Colour - I'm obviously getting old and my ideal choices would probably have been the metallic grey or black. I don't like the current trend for white cars as they look exactly the same as the cars we have at work. I ordered mine late in the deal and there was only blue left in Hatch form - now it's arrived I absolutely love it in that colour - especially when its been waxed and is in the sun and it has received a lot of positive comments from people.

To spec a standard vRS to Blackline levels would cost about £1905 according to the Skoda website, and if I wanted Xenons (which I've never had anyway) on a standard vRS I would still have to add that cost - personally I will be fitting a set of Osram Nightbreakers when I can be bothered - and in my current job I do a lot of night driving in all conditions with standard bulbs in the work cars. The only thing that I really would have like is auto-lights with the come home/go home facility - but again I can quite easily live without it for the half a dozen times in a year that it's wanted!

So for me, the Blackline was a great deal (or will be if the dealer ever fix it's reoccurring problem and it stays on my drive for more than 12 hours). The only glaring omission was the lack of Bluetooth - thankfully easily fixed for less than £40 all up and working - a lot less than any dealer or factory option on the standard vRS.

Would be great for the value to remain higher than standard diesel vrs. No doubt the mk3 vrs will hit used mk2 hard, but I expected that.

You are probably correct but you wont get such a good offer of free servicing and vat free plus an extra £500 off plus the price of the new VRS will be quite high.

I picked up me new Vrs yesterday and the manager at the dealership was talking about the new Octavia and I asked about the new Vrs and he said it will in his opinion be late on in 2013 but we will just have to wait and see, who knows if the new one will be way better than the old Vrs, time will tell.

I love mine and I have only had it a day.

To some up the whole thread here, as long as you are happy with your choice then that is all that counts, no matter the spec or engine.

I will keep saying this all day, I love mine and that is what matters to me.