Octy Elegance versus Octy VRS

[fjrden]

Hi folks. I have had 2 Octavia Elegance diesel estates and at present the Hatch vrs diesel. The Hatch will be 2 in February 14. I intend putting in an order this incoming week, which is the better value? In the Elegances I have always added lowered suspension and 18in Wheels. If the vrs I intend Candy White and Elegance possibly Red?White.

 

Any input from you guys/girls is invaluable. Money is not the issue value is.

 

Denis

[TheWanderer]

It depends what you want from the car.

 

The elegance will be more economical that the vRS, but then it lacks the out & out grunt of the vRS.

 

Also there's the difference in equipment levels & insurance as well.

[The Plumber]

Test driven a Elegance 150 DSG back to back with a vRS 184 DSG over the same rural A and B road route. Both had there plus points as well as the odd negative one. For me the Elegance just edged it but it was on standard springs and 17" rims; one thing that put me off the vRS was the increased tyre roar but that might be a peculiarity of that particular car and I didn't feel the 184 gave a marked increase in performance over the 150 :wonder:

 

TP

[Dr Zoidberg]

If you look at a 2.0 tdi SE as the starting point for both cars then look at what's added to bring them up to VRS or Elegance spec then you can see a list of parts and work out how much they cost. I suspect you'll find that there isn't much difference in terms of value for money.

The important question is which of those upgrades are the important ones to you, and also what is missing that you'd want to add on as options.

For me personally I'm not so bothered by the Xenons or lane assist that account for more than £1000 of the price of a VRS but would much rather have standard sat nav, cruise control and colour maxidot that you get on the Elegance so that's what I went for.

[fjrden]

All very positive from you chaps. I am 60/40 towards the Elegance at the moment but also love my VRS at the moment which is arguably better than the MK111

[Neily03]

All very positive from you chaps. I am 60/40 towards the Elegance at the moment but also love my VRS at the moment which is arguably better than the MK111

Have you actually driven a MK3 vRS, it's miles ahead of the MK2. I suspect the elegance is more your type of car to be honest.

[Dempsek]

If you look at a 2.0 tdi SE as the starting point for both cars then look at what's added to bring them up to VRS or Elegance spec then you can see a list of parts and work out how much they cost. I suspect you'll find that there isn't much difference in terms of value for money.

The important question is which of those upgrades are the important ones to you, and also what is missing that you'd want to add on as options.

For me personally I'm not so bothered by the Xenons or lane assist that account for more than £1000 of the price of a VRS but would much rather have standard sat nav, cruise control and colour maxidot that you get on the Elegance so that's what I went for.

I agree and you then need to think about if the speed difference makes a difference to you.

Edited 3 November, 2013 by Dempsek

[Dr Zoidberg]

The speed difference between cr150 and cr183 is minimal. Handling on the other hand.....

[TheWanderer]

Yeah chuck a vRS into a corner and it stays flat & perfectly composed, the Elegance is still very composed, but it lacks that something that the vRS has.

[fjrden]

Even with the lowered suspension would the Elegance handle better?

[Dr Zoidberg]

The sports suspension on the Elegance is still the cheaper torsion beam setup instead of the multilingual on the VRS, so it would be better than standard but not as good as it could be.

[TheWanderer]

So the vRS has ballestas, ophanging, federung, zavešení then. 

 

It's more talented than what ever I thought it was as it has multilingual suspension. 

[Black_Sheep]

one thing that put me off the vRS was the increased tyre roar but that might be a peculiarity of that particular car and I didn't feel the 184 gave a marked increase in performance over the 150 :wonder:

TP

The OP currently has Mk2 VRS - one of the biggest differences between the Mk2 and Mk3 VRS is the refinement and in particular the noise in the cabin. It is negligible in Mk3 IMO.

I also have use of the 150 ps diesel in a Mk3 Leon (assuming better power to weight ratio than the elegence) - the 184 ps diesel pulls like a train in the VRS throughout the rev range and would easily out drag the Leon, especially above uk speed limits.

[Yeti_Man]

Have to say that's not been my experience when comparing the 150 to the 185 in the VRS. I've posted previously after I did the test drives and after an extended drive in both I'm convinced the 150 feels much quicker than the 140 but am unconvinced the 185 actually feels much quicker than the older 170 unit. My overall biggest criticisim of the mk3 VRS's I had was also, funnily enough, the tyre roar which came into the cabin. Considering so much was made of the two different suspension setups and the fact that the independent rear setup was superior in terms of noise transmission, I was really surprised. The torsion beam setup is where the 'upto' 100kg weight savings come into play also, the independent setup doesn't provide much weight saving over the previous generations so could it be down to a very similar power to weight ratio of the elegance 150 over the VRS 185?

[Neily03]

What are the power to weight ratios of the two?

[Black_Sheep]

In terms of the noise, I have the Canton system fitted - whilst it claims to have active vehicle noise cancelling could this be the true reason for the differences in opinion Re: Tyre Roar?

[B B Burrows esq]

It all boils down to whether or not you wear a flat cap and have a tartan rug on the rear shelf surely? ;-)

[littleade]

It all boils down to whether or not you wear a flat cap and have a tartan rug on the rear shelf surely? ;-)

Surely you're getting confused with the Yeti....

But for the OP it's a choice between a more compliant ride with a better spec vs a more sporty ride and more power at the expence of the above?

[B B Burrows esq]

I'm in no position to comment as I am currently driving a Roomster diesel, kindly loaned to me by Skoda until my vRS TSI hatch arrives in Dec, and will soon be back to filling up every 5 days as opposed to every 2 weeks at the moment!

[LadyVienna]

All very positive from you chaps. I am 60/40 towards the Elegance at the moment but also love my VRS at the moment which is arguably better than the MK111

 

If this is how you feel why you are bothering to consider the mk3 vrs? Surely you would not pay money to change to a car which you consider to be arguably worse than the one you currently have?!

 

Either go elegance or go something completely different

[Orville]

In the Elegances I have always added lowered suspension and 18in Wheels.

Denis

You want lowered suspension and 18's. That sounds like a VRS to me.

[TheWanderer]

Or a car which handles similarly to the VRS, but has more equipment than a VRS and is cheaper than a VRS in insurance and running costs.

[philbes]

What are the power to weight ratios of the two?

According to brochure:

 

150ps and 1255kg, so 8.37kg/ps

 

184ps and 1395kg, so 7.58kg/ps 

 

So power to weight ratio of vRS is approximately 10% better.

[pipsyp]

Seems like pros and cons of having the better multi-link set up; probably drives a little better but makes the car quite a bit heavier.

I think the Elegance spec is nice enough but the car as a whole is a bit dull compared to the vRS; 18" wheels and sports suspension go some way to improve it visually but comfort seats and a 4 spoke wheel dont do it for me.

Would be good if SUK did a sport pack for Elegance spec cars, 18's, sports suspension (optional perhaps), some form of tasteful bodykit, sports seats and a three spoke wheel. Good for someone who wants spec and a little sporting pretence but not the full vRS experience.

[The Plumber]

Would be good if SUK did a sport pack for Elegance spec cars, 18's, sports suspension (optional perhaps), some form of tasteful bodykit, sports seats and a three spoke wheel. Good for someone who wants spec and a little sporting pretence but not the full vRS experience.

 

There is such a thing but not in the UK obviously.

 

 

TP