Looking to purchase vRS TSi petrol hatch and first Skoda having driven Toyota's in the past and an Avensis currently.

 

I have found forum to be invaluable in the amount of information available about the Octavia, options, finance discounts etc. Thank you all.

 

My dilemma is that dealer offering test drive in a vRS estate and wanted to know from those in the know, how realistic is the experience in the estate when compared to a hatch?

 

I am also undecided in colour choice and torn between white, silver or race blue.

 

I will be purchasing on Skoda Solutions and wanted to hear of owner’s experience who financed their vehicle in this way. Thanks

 

I had the same issue!

In the end I was so impressed with the estate I just went ahead and ordered the hatch!

I know in the scheme of things it doesn't really help but IMO the hatch should be marginally better to drive than the estate.

Went for the white with the black package, still trying to decide on the winter pack too.

Cheers

Col

I had a test drive in an estate vrs and placed an order for a corrida red hatchback petrol manual vrs with sunroof, spare wheel, parking assist, heated seats and washer nozzles. Dealer said would be about 12 week wait but skoda uk inform me it would be 20 weeks wait. I also went for the skoda finace pcp , 0% finace over 3 years with free servicing. Reason for this is that if the car proves to be unreliable or worth less than the final balloon payment then I will hand car back and find something else. If the car is fine then I will keep it.

IIRC the estate is 35kg heavier than the hatch, that not even half a human so I doubt it's noticeable.

Driving wise there shouldn't be any difference though the estate may suffer from more noise from the rear suspension getting into the cabin than the hatch.

As above, estates tend to be slightly more noisy than hatchbacks due to a larger load/parcel shelf area allowing more suspension noise in to the cabin. Unless you are recording lap times it will be hard to tell any performance difference, 35kg being less than a tank of fuel (even accounting for the Octy having a tiny tank).

Test drove the TSI Estate but ordered a TSI Hatch because I wanted that classic saloon look.

 

1 week into ownership and I'm glad I ordered the hatch. Driving it is a joy. 

 

It has the look that a VRS badge merits.

 

Of course, estates are still VRS's, but they are not in the same visual class.

 

The looker probably loses interest in the estate after the first third of the car is seen from the front as it passes. However, the hatch offers much more interesting viewing from all angles apart from nose on. Skoda has to be applauded for being generous to the body team. It has paid off.

 

Both have a lot of space, so line them both up, fill your thoughts with fun driving, open rural roads, admiring glances from pedestrians, open your eyes and make your choice.

...estates are still VRS's, but they are not in the same visual class.

 

Thank you all for your coments

it must come down to size - hatch is huge but if you have an expanding family the estate is better in my view just in case...may even be able to ditch the roof box?

 

I actually prefer the looks of the estate for some reason.....(guess which I have ordered!)

it must come down to size - hatch is huge but if you have an expanding family the estate is better in my view just in case...may even be able to ditch the roof box?

 

I actually prefer the looks of the estate for some reason.....(guess which I have ordered!)

 

The estate definitely looks better (to me).... it doesn't have that "thing" going on in the rear doors' quarter lights :-)

Having ordered the vRS hatch last week in Race Blue, I started having some niggles about my choice of colour. Whilst looking around at other colour options, I came across the Skoda catalogue for I-pad and discovered a Platin Grey option which appealed to me. The current Meteor Grey listed in the printed brochure does not appeal at all and I know from other threads that Steel Grey is no longer available.

 

Having spoken to my dealer today. they advised that the only 'grey' colour option is the Meteor Grey and that Platin Grey is an European option. However, a 'Metal Grey' is apparently to be announced very shortly and was wondering whether anyone else had heard of Metal Grey and what this colour looks like in comparison to what is currently available. Also now undecided on wheel colour if I did choose a grey colour option i.e. Gemini anthracite or silver. Any thoughts?

 

Finally, for those who have taken delivery of their pride and joy, did anyone purchase the LifeShine  protection from Autoglym for their vehicles and if so what do you think? Is it worth it? Being offered by the dealer but not sure whether to do this, although can see the benefits I guess of having this protection.

A Hatch in Race Blue will just look right.  Probably the best colour out there too.

 

If it was me I'd stick with that.

 

Finally, for those who have taken delivery of their pride and joy, did anyone purchase the LifeShine  protection from Autoglym for their vehicles and if so what do you think? Is it worth it? Being offered by the dealer but not sure whether to do this, although can see the benefits I guess of having this protection.

 

Can't help you with the grey issue but all cars I've seen that have the anthracites look great.  Personally I'd go with them.

 

As for LifeShine, many folks will probably say avoid at it all costs and direct you to ebay where folks who've probably nicked or counterfeited the kits are selling them for a few quid.  However, there is clearly no warranty with these although I'm not sure how important that is to you.  The price is about the same whether you go with Skoda or someone else (about £250) so I went with Skoda as I know that if I have an issue with mine I'll just take it back and get it redone.  From what I've seen it makes a difference.  When I picked my car up there was another parked next to it which was awaiting collection and my candy white certainly looked glossier and more radiant.  Not sure of the longevity of it now but a mate of mine had it done years ago on his Volvo which still looks stunning and beads water like it was done yesterday despite only having an annual polish.

Test drove the TSI Estate but ordered a TSI Hatch because I wanted that classic saloon look.

 

1 week into ownership and I'm glad I ordered the hatch. Driving it is a joy.

 

Eh? You wanted a saloon so bought a car that isn't available in a saloon?

Eh? You wanted a saloon so bought a car that isn't available in a saloon?

 

It's pretty obvious what he means.

 

I agree with him.  The hatch looks better.  But I went for the estate for the little extra practicality. It just depends on your priorities.

Can't help you with the grey issue but all cars I've seen that have the anthracites look great.  Personally I'd go with them.

 

As for LifeShine, many folks will probably say avoid at it all costs and direct you to ebay where folks who've probably nicked or counterfeited the kits are selling them for a few quid.  However, there is clearly no warranty with these although I'm not sure how important that is to you.  The price is about the same whether you go with Skoda or someone else (about £250) so I went with Skoda as I know that if I have an issue with mine I'll just take it back and get it redone.  From what I've seen it makes a difference.  When I picked my car up there was another parked next to it which was awaiting collection and my candy white certainly looked glossier and more radiant.  Not sure of the longevity of it now but a mate of mine had it done years ago on his Volvo which still looks stunning and beads water like it was done yesterday despite only having an annual polish.

 

Lifeshine as a product is quite good, however, the problem with Lifeshine is the application, what the dealer sells you for a couple of hundred is something which costs them a few quid, its a paint sealant, upholstery sealant and a window sealant, the products in there own right are pretty good, but, don't be fooled into thinking the valeter at the dealer will be spending several hours, washing, getting rid of any delivery dirt, glue stains etc before applying the product with the proper care it deserves as that won't happen (or at least only happens in very rare instances), also the guarantee they give you will only be applicable if you have followed the aftercare guide, which, I believe involves you regularly polishing the car and ideally using the recommended shampoo to maintain the 'finish' and hence the warranty, its up to you if you decide to go for it, but personally I would just accept the basic dealer pre-delivery valet and then spend a day doing the job yourself.

 

There are many 'long life' products out there if that is the sort of thing that you like, if you are just happy to go to the local polish car wash then just go with what they do, as the chances are the heavy cleaner products they use will remove the Lifeshine and other products as well.

 

If you are looking at saving a some money as opposed to the Lifeshine that will cost a fraction of the cost but will give you similar results, you will still have to wash it and care for it yourself and maintain the upkeep of the products on the car but you will have to do that with Lifeshine anyway.

 

Personally I use products from Gtechniq, I use C2V3 for all exterior paint, trim, windows, then I1 for interior upholstery, it needs reapplying every 6-8 months, but a little goes a long way, also, you get the satisfaction of knowing you have done it yourself, to a standard you are happy with all at a much cheaper cost to the wallet.

 

My dealer recently gave me the AutoGlym LifeShine kit as he ha bucket loads of them and said if I wanted one I could have one to play with, so I plan on using is for my new vRS when it arrives, however, I got mine for free and I know I will spend the time getting it right so when I apply the product it is going onto paint that is properly prepared for the product to help with the longevity of it.

 

At the end of the day, its down to you, personally I think LIfeshine and other dealer offered things like this are good products if priced better and if applied better, but in the time scale they generally have and the lack of proper preparation of the paint on the car then in my opinion the product is never going to be a good as it can/should be.

 

Anyway, regardless of what you do, enjoy the car :-)

I was going to ask about this - my dealer wanted £399! I've got two young boys, so am more concerned with protecting the interior. I've ordered the Elegance spec, so if anyone could recommend a product to protect those fabrics, that would be great!

I was going to ask about this - my dealer wanted £399! I've got two young boys, so am more concerned with protecting the interior. I've ordered the Elegance spec, so if anyone could recommend a product to protect those fabrics, that would be great!

 

I had the same concern. My lad spilt water and it did what it shows in the images, just beaded up and was soaked right off by tissues.  There's loads of room for manoeuvre on that price but you could buy the kit from ebay and try it yourself.  Others seem to recommend the product but not necessarily the application by the dealer. Mine seems to have done a good job but I wouldn't have paid more that the £249 that I did. 

 

I think I've seen stuff in furniture shops to protect fabric upholstery...might be worth a try.

I was going to ask about this - my dealer wanted £399! I've got two young boys, so am more concerned with protecting the interior. I've ordered the Elegance spec, so if anyone could recommend a product to protect those fabrics, that would be great!

I've got three youngish kids and I never bother with any of these fabric protectors. I've had three new cars in the last 7 years and the dealers have always tried to sell me things like sureguard and the like but I have never bothered. The kids have always made a terrible mess in the car front and back and every type of food and drink item has been spilt. But at the ned of the day I have always managed to bring the interior back up to showroom condition with a vacuum cleaner and a bit of elbow grease. Infact my wife uses the wet and dry vac on certain more unsavoury spillages and that always seems to do the trick. At the end of the day mine is just another opinion and I would always go with what ever you feel comfortable with.

I intend to take my vRS hatch to a professional detailer for a "new car detail" when it arrives. Charges seen to be £250-£300 but for that they will send the whole day prepping the car and correcting the paintwork (if needed),before applying the protection.

These products are excellent (AG, Chemical Guys, Gtechnik etc) but are only as good as those who are applying them. I trust a professional detailler rather than a main dealer valeter

I was going to ask about this - my dealer wanted £399! I've got two young boys, so am more concerned with protecting the interior. I've ordered the Elegance spec, so if anyone could recommend a product to protect those fabrics, that would be great!

 

Order leather interior - problem solved.

For Metal Grey take a look at the new Yeti here:

http://www.skoda.co.uk/models/new-yeti

 

Select the 3D visualiser and you can then change the colour to Metal Grey - it looks like gunmetal grey.

Order leather interior - problem solved.

 

Not too impressed with the leather I've seen though

I was going to ask about this - my dealer wanted £399! I've got two young boys, so am more concerned with protecting the interior. I've ordered the Elegance spec, so if anyone could recommend a product to protect those fabrics, that would be great!

 

There are plenty of fabric protectors out there on the market, Halfords etc offer them so do furniture shops etc or a look online, 3M do Scotchgard the same stuff you buy when you buy a new sofa etc, personally, I use Gtechniq I1, its about £7 for a 100ml bottle which is enough to do the fabric and carpets and mats in a vRS, it requires applying every 6-8 months but it does work, I went to the shop a while back and picked up a bottle of milk, put it on the front seat and drove home, didn't realise it but the top wasn't on properly and the seal had slightly broken on the bottle so it leaked everywhere, all over the seat etc (in my mk2 vRS with black alcantara) so I got a micro fibre cloth I carry in the car, put that on the spill, let it mop it up, then wiped the seat to remove any marks, left the car went back the next day and it was dry and no smell from gone off dairy products so the cloth must of picked up all of the spill as it can't of penetrated the fabric due to the protector.

 

Anyway, lots of different ones on the market and in my opinion for a small outlay it saves a lot of hassle for spending 10 mins spraying carpets etc with a spray every few months.