Hi folks,

 

I've decided to return to Skoda Octavia vRS ownership, will be on business contract hire.

 

I had, I think, the first sprint yellow Mk2 in the UK back in 2006 ; it was a LEX company car and is now with it's 4th happy owner (all Briskodians!) albeit now wrapped in white film.

 

Since then I've had an orange Leon FR TDi and currently in a black Audi A5 TDi.

 

I'm currently undecided as to choices of colour , DSG or not and TSi / TDi ... any comments & advice would be most welcome ...

 

I have decided on Options and will most likely add nearly everything apart from the 'Driver Assistance' stuff.

 

A5 goes back end March'14 so all being well I shouldn't have probs with build date which seems to be a big issue at the moment.

 

cheers, Steve

Well it's always down to personal choice but if you do a lot of city driving I'd opt for the DSG, mainly motorway and is go manual.

Engine wise, I suppose that all depends on how long your journeys are and if fuel economy and tax matter to you. I do lots of short trips where by an oil burner would barely get warm so I've opted for the TSI. Plus I don't really care about fuel economy or tax so the extra performance sold the petrol for me hands down.

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Cheers ; my daily commute is 7-miles A-road, 18 motorway, 6 city and back again - so a bit of everything !

 

Fuel and tax cost aren't an issue really.

 

I'm swaying to manual, petrol at the moment.

As Ive driven all the combination now I thought Id chip in on this one... My overall preference was for the manual TSi but I could be swayed by a DSG TSi if my driving was more town based. For me though it would have to be a TSi as the TDi doesnt seem to have improved over the older mk2 vrs 170ps unit but the TSi is noticeably quicker. Colour wise I like white with the black pack but everyone seems to favour this so that would probably steer me to something different. Race blue looks great and I always used to get positive comments about this colour on my mk2 VRS TSi but maybe id consider Red with the black pack as its not normally something id choose but it looks fantastic on the mk3 imo.

White estates are very common on this forum. Race blue would look really nice and I've been highly impressed with how the red estates look with or without the black pack. Rally green ain't a bad choice either.

 

My choice was TSI DSG. If you drive a TDI hard enough you won't get close to official figures anyway, plus I rather dislike the limited rev range. DSG for me as I fell in love with it after I experienced it in a couple of cars. With the traffic here, it will be a godsend.

I have a Mk2 Blackline DSG estate at the moment, if i were to change would almost certainly be for a TSi manual hatch.

Diesel is excellent in its own right but have decided its power delivery doesnt make it particularly fun to drive hard, its probably one key reason id change the car sooner rather than later given the choice as its very much competent rather than fun.

DSG is very good but 1100 quid for something that is nothing like as smooth as a decent autobox and hurts fuel economy and emissions doesnt compute anymore, current car is my 2nd DSG and will almost certainly be the last for those two reasons.

I like the estate but I no longer desperately need the additional load space, the boot in the hatch is huge anyway, the car is also cheaper.

thats my two pence worth.

If the TSI/TDI difference in residuals isn't a factor (or you're prepared to take the hit of having the TSI if there is one) Then TSI IMO if that's your preference. my dealers opinion was that DSG is worth considering on the TSI so it may be worth a trip out in a demo if you can find one to see if it floats your boat. Colour wise that's a personal choice, though it will depend if you still want to stand out! I say that because the mkIII in estate form looks very much the same as the other models parked up in standard trim (there were 2 race blue estates, a vRS and 'something' with a 5 speed box) parked next to each other at my dealers and unless you knew what to look for it would be difficult to tell them apart and me I'd want people to know I wasn't in a car costing 10 grand less.

 

Manual TSI hatch in a standout colour I recon

Thanks for all the feedback , much appreciated and good to see the same responsiveness from members that I recall from years ago.

 

A Yellow TSI hatch is looming I think ...

My choice was TSI DSG. If you drive a TDI hard enough you won't get close to official figures anyway, plus I rather dislike the limited rev range. DSG for me as I fell in love with it after I experienced it in a couple of cars. With the traffic here, it will be a godsend.

Surely the same applies to the TSI.

 

Actually, just by simply driving a car these days and you won't get anywhere near the official figures!

 

Having driven a TSI DSG Estate on Monday, got to say I was a bit disappointed in the performance, but that might be because I'm used to the way diesels drive and tend to ride the wave of torque. Still a good car, just not quite the advance over the Mk2 that I was expecting/hoping for.

I would choose something that doesn't stand out, something that doesn't attract the unwanted attention of the boys in blue. And makes you easy to spot/find.

Surely the same applies to the TSI.

 

Actually, just by simply driving a car these days and you won't get anywhere near the official figures!

 

Having driven a TSI DSG Estate on Monday, got to say I was a bit disappointed in the performance, but that might be because I'm used to the way diesels drive and tend to ride the wave of torque. Still a good car, just not quite the advance over the Mk2 that I was expecting/hoping for.

 

Of course it does! That's what I was trying to point out. This sort of car (the VRS) kinda begs to be driven a little bit harder than usual and at that point you'll use significantly more fuel than a 1.6 TDI/1.2 TSI. Not rocket science really, everybody knows it.

 

Regarding the performance of the TSI, I find it rather hard to believe... It's faster than the TDI in any way possible (discussed to death already in multiple threads). But hey, it's your impression, I hope you got the car you wanted!

As Op does not care about fuel costs, the TSI is the only option. Faster, smoother, no DPF worries, two real tailpipes, easy choice.

 

As for DSG vs manual only he can decide. I liked the DSG I test drove a lot but chose manual because my left arm and left foot needed some action. Manual's make you feel more connected to the car, but I spent all day long in traffic I would have chosen the DSG.

I chose DSG for the last Octavia & this one simply because of leg problems and the constant pressure of the clutch when I'm in traffic would do me no favours whatsoever, in fact I would probably be in trouble & a lot of pain.

 

The DSG is just perfect for town work, but also for cruising the motorways and major A's as well, it's just a shame it carries the weight & economy penalty. Ho Hum.

Regarding the performance of the TSI, I find it rather hard to believe... It's faster than the TDI in any way possible (discussed to death already in multiple threads). But hey, it's your impression, I hope you got the car you wanted!

You're right that on paper the TSI is faster and, yes, it's a discussion that's been done to death already, but it just didn't seem that fast on the 20 minute (accompanied) test drive I had. I don't think the dsg gearbox helps in truth, particularly if it's not in sport mode. It's the same with our Allroad, in that it can feel a little lethargic in normal drive mode despite 245hp and 428lbs.ft of torque, but put it in sport mode and well . . . it's pretty quick!

 

I haven't ordered any car yet, though at the moment it's between three options: Audi A3 sportback 184, Leon FR 184 or keep present vRS  :think:

That's pretty much the cars I had on the shortlist ; Audi A3 Sportback, Leon FR and vRS !

The Octavia won on size (kids are getting bigger) and spec.

I've always enjoyed driving and I cannot get rid of the niggling feeling that DSG will dull things down so manual looks like the way I'll go.

I chose DSG for the last Octavia & this one simply because of leg problems and the constant pressure of the clutch when I'm in traffic would do me no favours whatsoever, in fact I would probably be in trouble & a lot of pain.

 

The DSG is just perfect for town work, but also for cruising the motorways and major A's as well, it's just a shame it carries the weight & economy penalty. Ho Hum.

As I recall, DSG is less fuel efficient in diesel guise, but MORE fuel efficient in the petrol vRS.

It may not be generally known but the 6-speed DSG in the new petrol vRS has different internal ratios than in the Mk2.

 

The 1st 4 are ratios spaced sensibly, with a bigger jump into 5th & an even bigger step into 6th.

 

Our Mk 2 FL indicates app. 78 mph @ 3K rpm in 6th, the Mk 3 indicates app. 90 mph @ 3K rpm in 6th.

 

Very good for emissions & theoretical fuel economy on the official test cycle, + lower road tax, but it stifles performance & economy in the real world.

 

Same applies to the diesels, different final drive ratios obviously so the mph/rpm figures differ, but still the same wide ratios.

 

I've managed to drive all 4 power-train variants & they are good cars, but they don't  "feel" as lively as our old vRS.

We are still undecided, I might order one to replace my Superb, it's nearly as spacious & rides better than the older Octys, but 'er indoors is not convinced, she prefers the more urgent feel of her current car.

 

As for which (new) one to buy, the petrol DSG would always be our choice. We don't do enough miles to worry about the savings that a diesel might bring, & we both like automatics. so going back to a manual never going to happen.

We don't find that a DSG hampers progress at all, it's in the right gear nearly all the time, when one needs to to shift manually flicking the paddles &/or the stick is far quicker than pumping a clutch & shifting through a gate.

 

I'd prefer the paddles to be mounted on the steering column rather than the wheel itself, but that's my only niggle.

 

I don't feel that the extra weight adds very much to running costs, the car isn't that light to start with, but some people will think differently......

 

 

DC 

A few DSG proponents ; thanks for the detailed responses guys, it's much appreciated.

 

I think the order will be going in next week, will let you know of final decisions ...

TSI, manual, metallic green. DSG if you do not know how to use a clutch 8P.

Recently test drove both a Elegance 150 DSG and a vRS 184 DSG back to back. I didn't feel personally the vRS was that much more special than the 150 and only the multi link rear suspension really separated the two trim levels, oh and the additional tyre roar from the vRS. Would imagine (and hope) the TSI might be the way to go for a truer vRS ownership experience. Myself I went with the 150 but with quattro drive

 

 

TP

Steve. If you like the thought of a manual again, that is what you should do in my opinion. The vrs manual box was one of the best i had driven. If our company policy allowed a petrol option I would be all over one. There is something about a quick petrol that any diesel can't match for me. Try a dsg and make your choice.

I wish you all the best in your selection. And, yellow. You really should you know with the black pack.

Best of luck. Regards

Mat

cheers Mat.

 

Going to get in touch with dealer(s) this week to see how they stack up ... I've been in touch with one so far but they're slowwwww to respond to emails !

I've been in touch with one so far but they're slowwwww to respond to emails !

Aren't they just! I found that only half even bothered to reply. One of whom gave an inflated price over the list price!

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I'd prefer the paddles to be mounted on the steering column rather than the wheel itself, but that's my only niggle.

That could make it very difficult changing gear mid-corner.

That could make it very difficult changing gear mid-corner.

The steering wheel is definitely the right place for the paddles.  Change gear mid-corner!  That's poor advanced planning.