Was the discount hard work? Seems a great deal

Tell me about it, the dealer has said they'll give me the 20% staff discount so if they are £1000 then ill get them at £800 which i think they could be worth but its also due to being a non factory fit so ill update next week when they find out.

On the upside if they are dealer fit you'll have the standard wheels to sell off or use to fit winter tyres on....

The wheel issue is odd at the mo, I've heard if u go to 19in u keep the 18in set too which is why cost is high?

No options shown on website config :(

Yes that should be right, there wont be the option shown with it been a dealer accessory.

Discount wasnt hard just went to 3 dealers and asked for best price

i prefer a lighter tint as hate the dark tits

Haha! ;-)

That same spec would look great with the panoramic sunroof too. It's what I'd like, but the pano isn't available in Romania for some reason (Columbus as well). Basically the same spec you can see in some of the official "studio" photos. White, black pack estate with Gemini anthracite and panoramic sunroof. Sexy...

That same spec would look great with the panoramic sunroof too. It's what I'd like, but the pano isn't available in Romania for some reason (Columbus as well). Basically the same spec you can see in some of the official "studio" photos. White, black pack estate with Gemini anthracite and panoramic sunroof. Sexy...

That's the one, have it as my desktop wallpaper. For a family car, that ain't too shabby.

I think its just like the MK2, in the right colour and wheel combo they look great otherwise a bit plain.

I think the car above is definitely about as good as it gets. I might hold out for a white anthracite wheeled estate with black pack and pano roof if there is a next time, think id rather spend the money on the roof than DSG

Edited 20 July, 201312 yr by pipsyp

Is that the 18 or 19 wheels?

With no options on the config can u order silver or grey wheels?

Anthracite 18" Gemini in that Picture. You can have them in silver.

Looks fantastic in White...can anyone photoshop that into the Red for me?

I really am close to ordering but can't make my mind up what would look better....

Is that the 18 or 19 wheels?

With no options on the config can u order silver or grey wheels?

In the photo they are the standard anthracite 18's, as iv said 19's at the minute cannot be had but my dealer is trying to get some info from skoda on monday

Has anyone drove the tdi yet,how does it compare power wise to the current 170? Iv heard no reports from test drives yet.

 

Autoexpress (no1277) reckons it is "considerably cleaner, sharper and faster (eh 1 or 2 mph) (though a couple of tenths quicker to 62) but they sounded overall disappointed in the article.

 

They only drove the petrol on the Goodwood track but seemed more impressed with it.  Have not seen the full brochure but we know the TSI has improved 20hp and also dropped six CO2 band which is very impressive and important for some of our taxes and car choices.

 

Have not seem the published fuel economy figure for the Mk 3 TSI VRS and it will need to be 10% better to cope with the 9% smaller fuel tank. Be suprised if it has improved the near 20% the CO2 has improved but that would be very nice.  5-10% more realistic I guess.

They say 17%, but then again we all know the story with the official figures...

Official figures are just clod cookoo land. Any test where your allowed to disconnect the alternator is a ****-take

that's what I mean, surely they won't do an aftermarket replacement that only uses a single side!

The single to twin exhaust I posted earlier in this thread (on an Audi TT mk1) is a Milltek:

http://www.thettshop.co.uk/performance.asp?cat=3109&product=101700

So as long as there is a way to route the second exhaust to the back, these guys should be able to do a proper twin exhaust I'd wager.

Mines a diesel though so only on one side anyway but will see if they ask

Does the diesel Octy vRS only have a single-sided exhaust exit as opposed to the Tsi twin pipe setup?

Does the diesel Octy vRS only have a single-sided exhaust exit as opposed to the Tsi twin pipe setup?

Furby just scroll up this thread. You'll find the photos answering what you're asking...

Does the diesel Octy vRS only have a single-sided exhaust exit as opposed to the Tsi twin pipe setup?

Absolutely. Look behind the left "fake" pipe and theres a regular cheap-ass twin exit exhaust behind it. Theyve not even done much to disguise it. The right hand one is a blank and entirely for show. The TSi probably has a similar backbox to a MK7 GTi without the chromed tailpipes so is 100% authentic.

The TDi also has a sound generator on it to make it sound more like a petrol which has been slagged off a bit in the press as it apparently sounds v artificial and probably would have been better without.

Fake exhaust fake performance car it will be said.

 

150 hp version is very slightly less performance but much better economy etc.  

 

If doing low mileage then the 1.4 TSI offers similar performance.

 

Good to see the insurance groups have dropped rather than risen.  Think our VRSs are 28 for the Fabia and 30 for the Mk2 TSI. 

I managed a test drive in a petrol estate dsg on Thursday and was impressed.  Firstly full marks to West End for arranging to bring the dsg down from Dunfermline for me otherwise I'd have had to make do with the manual!  I managed a good 45mins behind the wheel on a mix of motorway & others down to twisty back roads.

 

The engine is very quiet even allowing for the air con running full blast.  You only really hear it when you get the revs up.  At rest with the stop start the only indication that the engine isn't running is the indicator on the dashboard and it picked up cleanly when the foot was removed from the brake.  I thought that it really would annoy me but I can see me being able to live with it.

 

It was the first time I've driven a car with the dsg box and I was mightily impressed.  Out on the road it changed gear seamlessly and most of the time the only indication that anything was happening was the rev counter dancing up & down.  Plenty of power there when needed.  The flappy paddles worked well but will take a bit of getting used to as they turn with the wheel.  They also mean that you need to hold the wheel at a quarter to three instead of a more natural 10 to 2.  The biggest issue to relearn will be how to get the best out of it pulling away at junctions but that is only from 30 odd years of driving manuals.

 

The steering is sharper than my current FL (which has never seemed quite as good as my origianl Mark 2).  But you have to watch the variable assistance.  Towards the lock it really does turn the car tightly (nearly ended up in the hedge on the inside of the corner as I wasn't expecting it to turn quite so quickly!).  On the back roads i know well it went round corners like it was on rails and I felt I knew exactly where it was going to go.

 

Overall it seems well screwed together - no rattles or squeaks.  The one concern that I have come away with is the quality of the material used for the seat facings.  My original Mark 2 showed no signs of wear on the drivers seat in 4.5 years of ownership.  I'm on the 3rd seatcover on the FL in 2.5 years (both replaced under warranty) and this one is again showing signs of wear in the same place.  The material used in the Mark 3 just doesn't seem robust enough to me when compared with my first vRS.  I'm wondering if the leather would therefore be better.  Has anyone had a chance to see the new leather seat facings?  I know some have expressed doubts about the quality of the leather Skoda use.

 

I've read all the comments comparing it with the Golf.  However size wise the two are really no longer comparable.  The Mark 2 always struck me a Golf with a big boot as a result of which it had lost some of the claimed sharp Golf handing.  My concern was that the extra length over the Mark 2 would make it feel a bit unwieldy but it really isn't.  The extra length does put it into a different category in my mind & I'm not sure that the Golf comparison is valid any more.  Seven years ago when I bought my first vRS the space suited me.  Now my daughter has grown up, I need more space in the rear seats when we do long hauls to the Midlands.  The new vRS gives me that.  That space is just not there in the Golf Focus Leon etc.  I always have the seat set way back and I've got room to sit in the rear comfortably behind a front seat set to suit me.  That is just not doable in the new Golf - I've tried!  The downside is that the boot is a bit bigger offering the family even more chance to pack it with stuff they never seem to need!!

 

A better comparison seems to me to be cars one size up e.g. Mondeos, Insignia, Passat, A4, 3 series.  However all these feel to me to be significantly bigger on the road than the vRS.  I did a comparison with the A4 out of curiosity as it is a car I've always fancied.  The A4 is only 3 inches longer the Octy but has an extra 5 inches in the wheelbase.  The rear legroom however is only comparable with the Golf which really surprised me.  To get the same degree of performance as the vRS I found that I was having to look at spending the thick end of another £10k on the A4 which I am really not inclined to do.  Yes it is a very nice place to sit but am I prepared to pay the premium to get that?  Pricing up the Mondeo and the Insignia I found that I was in the same price bracket as the vRS.

 

Overall it is a very nice car and offers me the extra space that I need without having to sacrifice the performance I like and really don't want to give up.  And the dsg box - well that is the first thing to be ticked on the options list!  Then we have to negotiate a price!!!!

Octy VRS Diesel, nearside.

Stock Skoda style diesel 2 pipe backbox which is partly shrouded by chrome finisher.

From some angles you can see the floor through the finisher.

 

 

Octy VRS Diesel, offside.

Empty hole goes into undertray.

You can't see the floor from any angle.

 

OMG just seen this! As said above this is absolutely woeful. Cheap and nasty doesn't even come close. Look at the angle that cheap looking back box is just rammed into the trim finisher! I couldn't live with that tbh. Gotta be a

TSI if you were ordering an Octy vRS surely to avoid this horror show.

Absolutely. Look behind the left "fake" pipe and theres a regular cheap-ass twin exit exhaust behind it. Theyve not even done much to disguise it. The right hand one is a blank and entirely for show. The TSi probably has a similar backbox to a MK7 GTi without the chromed tailpipes so is 100% authentic.

The TDi also has a sound generator on it to make it sound more like a petrol which has been slagged off a bit in the press as it apparently sounds v artificial and probably would have been better without.

I think you've got the right idea mate - keep the black line or get a TSI :-)

I think you've got the right idea mate - keep the black line or get a TSI :-)

Absolutely furbytom, happily live with the BL for a while longer no more TDi for me for future exploits mate :-) how gash is the exhaust thing too?!

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by pipsyp