I'm considering moving to the new 4x4 estate when it arrives, after many happy years in a 2wd Octavia hatch - consequently I have to confess I'm not very knowledgeable about the 4x4 system the Octavia uses. So I have the following conundrum:-

Will it have a selectable diff lock? Is there any point to a 4x4 which doesn't have this facility - isn't that just a "soft roader"?

Apologies if this seems a daft question!

No it won't. There's plenty of point without it in terms of tractive gains and yes, it's a 'soft roader' not an off roader.

Thanks for the reply.

Won't it just get stuck in the snow like everything else?? I'm not looking to go off-road, but it would be good to be out and about in all weathers.

Edited 8 May, 201313 yr by trevman

If you're worried about snow, theres an entirely different, far more effective and considerably cheaper solution - winter tyres.

If you do want to spend the cash, you can install a diff lock switch on Haldex equipped vehicles, but I've never got stuck in mine anywhere.

Yes, snow and ice when on my travels are an issue (though I've always got by with a spade in the boot).

So what's the attraction of the 4x4? I notice that you run one - what benefits have you found with that setup?

And wouldn't fiddling with the Haldex void the warranty?

I don't really have a good excuse, haha, you caught me. When I was looking to replace my Passat, I test drove one of these in the pouring rain and it just felt so secure and composed that I bought it. Its never put a foot wrong. I also find it useful when we go camping as sometimes the fields are quite slick and muddy. Could I live without it? Absolutely, the winter wheel set cover all that and putting them on for camping would help too, as they're also good in mud, but I am so used to it now that I wouldn't want to. Its a rare car, so I like having something a little different.

I would absolutely not buy an all wheel drive if I just wanted more winter traction. Waste of money, both in buying it and running it. SWMBO went past many stuck 4x4s in her FWD car on winters this year.

Yes, I have to confess that having something a bit different is part of the attraction. I'm not sure I can convince myself (though I'd like to) that it would be worth the extra buying and running costs, though. How does yours match up to the claimed mpg?

The spec sheet says 44 combined, I get about 42, brim to brim. Its a PD140.

Not bad at all - my 1.6 diesel is miles short of the claimed mpg. It will be a 2.0 next time - whether 4x4 or not.

Even in good weather conditions they feel more stable, even more so at high speed. Mine sits at 120mph and the haldex just makes the vehicle feel exceptionally well planted. It deals with deep snow in Germany and Switzerland as well as it drives to the local shops here in the Summer. There are also performance benefits in terms of outright grip and off the line performance. My first Skoda was an Octavia mk1 4x4 turbo. I replaced this with a mk2 VRS fwd and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my car buying history! The latest generation of haldex is far better than the older versions and have very few downsides. They are very slightly heavier (around 75kg iirc), do a couple of mpg less overall and have a slightly increased maintenance cost every 3 years or so - around £65 for the haldex fluid change.

Will it be the same Haldex system on the new Octavia as on the Yeti?

The new Octavia uses Haldex 5, which is pretty new. Yetis use 4 and mine uses 2.

I've found Haldex 4 pretty well unstoppable (in a good way) on winter tyres and pretty good on summers. It is a bit slower than the 2wd car but the traction is fantastic. The new Octavia 3 has the new generation Haldex and electronic diff locks front and back so should be even better. A weakness of the current system is no lock on the back axle - so loss of traction on both front wheels and one back is enough to cause problems.

The facelift Scout uses Haldex 4.

The facelift Scout uses Haldex 4.

The same as all facelift Octavia 4x4's.

... useful when we go camping as sometimes the fields are quite slick and muddy. Could I live without it? Absolutely, the winter wheel set cover all that and putting them on for camping would help too, as they're also good in mud, but I am so used to it now that I wouldn't want to. Its a rare car, so I like having something a little different.

I would absolutely not buy an all wheel drive if I just wanted more winter traction. Waste of money, both in buying it and running it. SWMBO went past many stuck 4x4s in her FWD car on winters this year.

Which winter tyres did you use, please? Interesting to hear that such tyres can be good on snow and on mud.

I wouldn't want a full-blown 4x4 SUV-type vehicle (not interested in cross country driving) but I would like to reduce the possibility of getting stuck on wet grass or muddy roadside verges, or in snow. And if I had a 4x4 Octavia, yes, of course, I would use winter tyres in winter. No point otherwise, and then you'd have the best of all worlds.

Edited 9 May, 201313 yr by Stuarted

If you do want to spend the cash, you can install a diff lock switch on Haldex equipped vehicles, but I've never got stuck in mine anywhere.

Can you give more details of this please? Complexity? Cost? Any downsides? Which models (MkI, II or II) of Octavia would this apply to?

...The latest generation of haldex is far better than the older versions and have very few downsides. They are very slightly heavier (around 75kg iirc), do a couple of mpg less overall ...

Interesting information - thank you. Are you talking about the slightly greater weight and slightly worse fuel economy of 4x4 Octavias compared with 2WD Octavias, or the difference between cars fitted with the latest generation Haldex compared with cars fitted with older versions, please?

The tyres I use are Goodyear Ultragrip 8s. I haven't tried them on proper deep mud, but they are classed as mud and snow too, due to the tread pattern. I meant it more as a if I didn't have awd I'd put them on when going camping as they'd be better than summer tyres.

For a custom haldex controller, I believe you can get one for all generations and price is about £500-1000 for controller and fitting. I've seen a few articles where people have fitted them to TTs and Golfs. You replace the haldex controller on the unit and run a cable to a switch in the cabin where you can select different modes. Its aimed more at racing. I think if your car is slipping about, the haldex will be locked up already anyway, so I don't really see the need for it. Remember even if you have a locked centre coupling, the front and rear diffs are open and rely on the computer braking slipping wheels.

Interesting information - thank you. Are you talking about the slightly greater weight and slightly worse fuel economy of 4x4 Octavias compared with 2WD Octavias, or the difference between cars fitted with the latest generation Haldex compared with cars fitted with older versions, please?

Between 2wd and haldex equipped models.

Thanks for the reply.

Won't it just get stuck in the snow like everything else?? I'm not looking to go off-road, but it would be good to be out and about in all weathers.

The picture below was after my PFL Scout got in, turned around, parked and out of a car park. And yes that is the imprint of the bottom of the car you can see in the snow.

This was a standard Scout on winter rubber, not a lot stops it!

Can you give more details of this please? Complexity? Cost? Any downsides? Which models (MkI, II or II) of Octavia would this apply to?

HPA Motorsports Inc in the States sell performance Haldex controllers.

http://www.hpamotorsport.com/haldex.htm

Lots of helpful comments in this thread - thank you!

As a general comment: perhaps a useful distinction could be made between an "all-terrain" vehicle optimised for off-road travel, where ground clearance and (to some extent) larger wheels are needed to cope with rocks, potholes, boulders, streams and deep mud; and on the other hand a road vehicle which can cope well with slippery (but relatively smooth) surfaces like snow, ice, mud (not deep mud) and wet grass.

The 4x4 Octavia (not the Scout) is clearly not intended to be an "All Terrain" vehicle, but I suspect that on merely slippery-but-relatively-smooth surfaces, it would have every bit as much traction and be just as unstoppable as a full-on SUV.

And for many drivers, that is more useful.

If people drive up rocky tracks, thought muddy ditches or across moorland and mountains, they do so deliberately and (if sensible) would only attempt to do so in a suitable vehicle. But any driver can be unexpectedly caught out, occasionally, by snow, ice, a muddy roadside verge or field gateway or a sloping wet grass car-park, and I suspect that many drivers might feel that the relatively small extra cost of running a "stealth" 4x4 like the Octavia is a useful form of insurance.

Perhaps such a vehicle could be better described as an "all weather" car rather than an "all-terrain" car?

Edited 9 May, 201313 yr by Stuarted

... The new Octavia 3 has the new generation Haldex and electronic diff locks front and back so should be even better. A weakness of the current system is no lock on the back axle - so loss of traction on both front wheels and one back is enough to cause problems.

I'd be interested to know more about the 'electronic diff lock'. Is this actually a diff lock, or an electronic system which achieves much the same result, but by sensing and automatically applying a brake to any wheel which is spinning?

I was interested to watch a Honda CRV recently, which I am told uses a similar Haldex-type 4WD system, making a not-very-good job of towing a glider trailer across a rather soggy grass airfiled, with first its front wheels and then its rear wheels alternately spinning.

Edited 9 May, 201313 yr by Stuarted

I'd be interested to know more about the 'electronic diff lock'. Is this actually a diff lock, or an electronic system which achieves much the same result, but by sensing and automatically applying a brake to any wheel which is spinning?

The latter. The diffs are completely open. The only thing that locks is the Haldex coupling.

If I remember it right, the CRV uses an entirely different system for its 4 wheel drive. Instead of using the ABS sensors to see what is spinning and activate the coupling, I think it uses a mechanical pump on each axle and the coupling links based on an imbalance in the pressures. Its as dumb as Haldex 1. This may just be older ones, though. The nicest system I know of is (and we agreed it between various members on here) the Subaru Outbacks, where if the vehicle is stationary, the center differential locks when the vehicle is stationary, so it always moves off in 4 wheel drive then releases it once its moving.

I do like the term all weather vehicle, though you get that ability from the tyres more than the drivetrain Though the Octavia and Superb 4x4s are aimed more at being towcars I think. I certainly wouldn't try taking mine on harsh terrain.