A little vid for those diesel heads......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RfNedWbU7g

Like it is launch control standard or need switching on?

Watching DSG gear changes on hard acceleration never fails to make me smile.   

Like it is launch control standard or need switching on?

according to the manual I think you have to disable some of the traction functions ?

Traction control off, DSG in Sport or tiptronic as far as I know.

Very nice ... Can't wait for mine!!

It was almost 1s quicker than the figure published in the brochure? Was it running downhill or had tail wind to assist?

Stopwatch was timed against the cars speedo so, not accurate.

Also, I'm sure I read somewhere that Skoda's official 0-60 tests were carried out with a full tank of fuel and 1 passenger (2 people total) on board. So slightly faster times are possible if you are only 1 up and low on fuel.   

A full 10 seconds to gain the 40mph to get to 100mph. The lack of power really shows, Skoda need a better diesel unit, it was behind the times in the mk2, they need a twin turbo or 6 cylinder diesel option.

Its actually slower than a mk2 Astra GTE 16v!

Sorry not impressed

A full 10 seconds to gain the 40mph to get to 100mph. 

 

This is academic, as it would be illegal in the UK to do such speeds.  :evil:

Its actually slower than a mk2 Astra GTE 16v!

 

Not according to these stats http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=613

 

Same 0-60 time....not that impressive as the astra is 500kg lighter, and 0-100 in 20 seconds.....3 seconds slower than the Octavia vRS diesel.....not bad for an oil burner.  

Edited 24 September, 201312 yr by booke23

Not according to these stats http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=613

Same 0-60 time....not that impressive as the astra is 500kg lighter, and 0-100 in 20 seconds.....3 seconds slower than the Octavia vRS diesel.....not bad for an oil burner.

For a estate, automatic, diesel haha something doesn't add up

Astra GTE 16v will do 15.5 sec qtr miles all day long. Be interesting to see the Octy over the quarter, I reckon a 16.4 or 16.5.

Still needs a better unit, that video only highlights the issue.

The VX/Saab twin turbo 4 pot diesel or BMW's unit are decent 4 pot engines, sadly VW has seen fit to keep costs down for themselves by not offering better options for the top of the range sporting diesel octavias.

Its just a slow estate now, 8 years ago the performance would of been great, now its just a bit dull with no pull after the initial 50mph.

Edited 25 September, 201312 yr by vrs777

It's a family 5door load lugger with mild sporting pretensions. The engine is just fine.

Edited 25 September, 201312 yr by Dodgy

Panmat, many thanks for the link. Engine is perfect for a family estate with a bit of fun when needed. I cannot get three dogs in the Astra and most are probably in the Astra place in the sky by now! I remember the Astra GTE with the electronic dash which was like night rider.

 

I have also owned the Saab twin turbo and ok it's quick when it worked! Octavia is in a different league with the build quality.

 

Interesting to see the Octavia is quicker than the A6 Avant 2.0 170. The Audi sales guy told me although 170 compared to 184 his car would be quicker as lighter and tuned in a different way. Doesn't see to me that way.

0-60 times mean very little. Most FWD drive cars are limited by the adhesion provided by two narrow bands of rubber at the front. On anything other than a super grippy surface any FWD car will struggle to post a sub 7 second time. The more telling figures are in-gear times, and the 60-100 figures posted above are "sporty", but far from spectacular. The VAG CR184 is a very very good oil burner, but diesiels in general do not make for great sports cars due to their nature. Diesels have tons of torque but performance is crippled by narrow power bands which require long-gearing to make them usable for every day motoring. It is also near impossible to make a diesel sound like a sports car. Even the best BMW 6pot diesels sound rough under hard acceleration.

 

Once 10+ speed DSG/auto boxes become available the narrow power bands of deisel engines can be better exploited. Diesels are driving the increase in gear ratios moreso than petrols which have near twice the usable torque band. It seems strange that VAG uses 6 speeders within most of their deisel cars, yet 7 speeders for petrol. Logic says it should be the other way around, but I guess VAG are limited by the physics of putting so much torque through such small devices at affordable prices.

 

Diesels handicap a sports car in many ways. The extra block weight affects performance, handling and braking. Narrow power bands affect performance and higher relative torque requires more robust and heavier clutches & gearboxes. Whilst modern diesels no longer sound like a bag of spanners (once warmed up), they do not sound anywhere near as nice as petrols.

 

They are however great for fuel economy and currently a much better option for company car owners due to lower CO2 emissions and tax banding. Ultimately the only reason for choosing diesel over petrol is cost, but as so few of us have unlimited budgets this is usually the deciding factor. Personally, my head says diesel but my heart says the TSI. I have also taken a profound dislike to the false second exhaust pipe of the TDI. It would niggle at me too much having one sooty and one clean pipe every time I walk past it's rear end. It will also look pants in the winter with smoke exiting from one pipe only, like the wide-boys of the 80's & 90's with stick-on tailpipes on their XR3i's. Note: my XR3i was bog standard .

Edited 25 September, 201312 yr by Orville

I basically wouldn't try this "launch control" thing, it can only shorten the life of the DSG as it's not designed to have huge power dumped on it from standstill, it's main mission is to provide very fast smooth gear changes not be an F1 wannabe carpark toy.

I basically wouldn't try this "launch control" thing, it can only shorten the life of the DSG as it's not designed to have huge power dumped on it from standstill, it's main mission is to provide very fast smooth gear changes not be an F1 wannabe carpark toy.

 

In that case, I shall cancel my order.  I wanted a Skoda Octavia because my idol is Jensen Button and I thought it would make me just like him.

If it was unsafe to the life of the gearbox (although I did hear there is a counter in there for how many times it has been done...), you wouldn't be able to do it in the first place...