Possibly buying a new vRS. Help please.

[73henny]

Hi all,

 

Quite enjoyed reading your forum (and admiring some of your cars) whilst looking into a new vRS.

 

Currently I drive a 63 plate Golf GT Tdi 150, but could do with a little more room so thought I'd look at the vRS. I have a few questions that despite trawling and searching for ages I can't find the answers for. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Does the vRS have ambient lighting and lighting in the door pulls / handles etc? Have seen plenty of interior photos but none it seems taken at night.

 

How do you think the ride would compare to my current car in terms of suspension stiffness? I spend a lot of time in the car so don't particularly want a firm ride.

 

I get around 55mpg on average from my car. What should I expect from a vRS?

 

I'm not the most patient when it comes to ordering a car so probably will look to find a stock car with the spec I want. Something like this; 

 

http://www.henrys-cars.com/Used-Car-Details/used-skoda-octavia-20-tdi-cr-vrs-5dr-brand-new-hatchback-black-magic-manual-diesel-ID_117964407215985494.aspx

 

I understand this is the list price. What sort of discount do you think I could expect from this? We're well into 3 series money at that kind of price.

 

Again, thanks for any advice.

 

[pipsyp]

Believe the vRS does get door handle illumination but other than indirect LED's up front it doesnt get ahything else; nothing like as bling as a MK7 Golf at night.

VRS will ride similar to you GT; maybe a little firmer as ultimately based on a Golf GTI/GTD.

You'll probably get mid late 40's out of a TDi vRS, it has the 184ps TDi unit; be a little quicker than the Golf but equally not quite as frugal.

If you want more space though its a good call, same width as a Golf natually but much longer load space and considerably more rear legroom. If your Golf is a 63 plate (and have obviously not had it that long) only thing id be questioning is whether its the right time to chop it in as you cant have had it v long.

[73henny]

Thanks pipsyp.

 

I've only had the Golf for about 6 months, but have done 10k miles in that time hence the comfort / mpg questions.  I was perhaps hoping the vRS might manage 50mpg.

 

I must admit the Golf is a nice place to be, especially at night. Perhaps I need to look at the L&K, but there doesn't seem to be any on sale anywhere.

[gullyg]

I had a Golf GT Diesel on hire a few weeks ago so it's an interesting comparison and have done 10k miles since late november.

 

There's "submarine lights" on the door handles, rear view mirror to iluminate the gear knob etc.  There aren't footwell lights although there is puddle lights now if you order the electric folding mirrors, personally I find footwell lights to be a bit excessive but I really like the balance of very small lighting at night - it's just enough without being distraction.  However you don't seem to be able to turn them off and some people have complained about them here and resorted to bluetack etc to cover them.

 

With regards to the comfort, although the vRS is a slightly stiffer ride I found the vRS seats far more comfortable - whether that's because I'm used to the vRS or it's just the extra room I don't know but certainly after 10049 miles I've no complaints about the comfort.  I used to suffer terrible back and spine problems (Still do if work force me to driving in a Vauxhall SRI for long distances) in my old fabia vRS but it all most completely went away after driving the Octavia.  Although some people prefer cars with soft suspension so it's a preference I'd say the Golf GT was not much of a difference.

 

As far as fuel economy goes, tank to tank my last tank was a mixture of town, dual carrageway and a/b road driving mainly commuting 15 miles to work and back with a bit of driving round shopping and a couple of longer trips and I got 40.37mpg, my previous tank was 42.43 that's the Manual vRS TDI Estate on shell V Power diesel.  Personally I struggle to get more than 45mpg, but then I've got a lead foot and drive almost constantly with Air Con and seat heaters on full which can't be good for economy.  Others report much higher mpg, I will point out in my defence that SWMBO is no better for fuel economy.

 

Strangly I saw a L&K Demo car driving round Edinburgh today (Said Aberdeen Specialist Cars or some such on it oddly enough), I actually saw it in my mirror first and thought it was a 7 series or something it looked really tall on the road then clocked the Skoda badge, was only when it actually came up on me I realised it was an L&K

[73henny]

Thanks gullyg. Some interesting comments.

 

Have to say I'm a little disappointed with the mpg figures being reported. Has anyone got near the 55mpg I currently get from my Golf? On a VW forum the equivalent vRS engine in the Golf GTD seems to get around 50mpg. Guess the heavier Octavia hinders mpg a bit further.

Edited 4 August, 2014 by 73henny

[gullyg]

Thanks gullyg. Some interesting comments.

Have to say I'm a little disappointed with the mpg figures being reported. Has anyone got near the 55mpg I currently get from my Golf? On a VW forum the equivalent vRS engine in the Golf GTD seems to get around 50mpg. Guess the heavier Octavia hinders mpg a bit further.

My understanding is that the vRS is especailly heavy due to a different engine over say the 150bhp octavia and the different suspension setup.

The main dealer gave me a 150bhp TDI Octavia Hatch when my car was in for it's 10k service last week and it did feel a good bit lighter and surprisingly quick although I didn't bother working out mpg as they didn't give it me with a full tank. It might be worth considering although after driving the vRS the brakes felt somewhat lacking.

As for MPG, there's been a few "MPG" threads so it may well be worth searching the forums - I think I might have the dubious honor of getting the worst average mpg on the forums for the tdi vRS.

[TroyChallenger]

Has anyone got near the 55mpg I currently get from my Golf?

 

Can't get above 47mpg in mine, almost exclusively 6th gear up and down the M5.

 

It's the one disappointment I have with the car, Skoda quote 61mpg so I was hoping to get 55mpg at least.

[Mr Grump]

No door handle lighting that I have noticed ! There are leds to light the centre console area.

The ride is on the firm side, but I don't find it an issue. That's something a good test drive will tell you as we all have different preferences.

You need a good 8-10k before the motors loosen up and give best mpg figures IMO, at 1300 miles mine has averaged ~47 from mixed driving but very little motorway. I had been running supermarket fuel, filled up with Shell Nitro+ last time out and current mpg since refill is ~50 on the same driving style/roads. I don't have heated seats but aircon is always on ... never found it makes that much difference tbh.

For me, ~50mpg with for a car with good and effortless overtaking ability and capable of over twice the legal limit is a good compromise, if you want better economy than that, you bought the wrong car :p

27K is way steep for a vRS with a couple of extra's, at the spec I can see on your link, 23k max for that one IMO. But with availability as is, I guess some are taking the P

BTW list price of a vRS manual hatch TDi with columbus nav and met paint = £25,895.

[Mence]

Mines done 6k now and the economy is improving al the time, high 40s is easily achievable on mixed roads, mid 50s is being achieved more and more often which is I guess an indication of a slightly looser engine.

Ride would be similar, best described as firm.

Ambient light, hmm, not a great deal on mine, not that I see it as an issue, the overhead lighting does a good enough job.

[TudorM]

However you don't seem to be able to turn them off and some people have complained about them here and resorted to bluetack etc to cover them.

 

I have the foot-well lights (I thought they're not available in the UK?). If you set them to 0 in the options menu they will come on upon opening the car, but they'll turn off once you set off.

 

Guess the heavier Octavia hinders mpg a bit further.

 

I've seen this general misconception. If you look at the official specs, the high powered variants (GTI/GTD, VRS TSI/TDI) are indeed heavier than the "normal" versions, but they are almost identical between themselves. So a VRS TDI weighs about the same as a GTD. A 30cm stretch in some sheet metal will add some weight, but not that much!

[Gabbo]

This thread has discussions on the vRS TDi fuel ecomony.

As always, fuel economy will depend heavily on your driving style & types of journeys you do.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/319022-actual-mpg-20tdi-vrs/

 

Fuelly will give you an idea too. (from low 40s to mid 50s).

http://www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/octavia/2014?engineconfig_id=13154&bodystyleconfig_id=&submodel_id=73468

 

I would imagine if you get 55mpg from a 150PS you should get 50mpg from a vRS.

My lifetime average is 53mpg & I've had close to 60mpg on a 100kph long run.

[pipsyp]

Personally a 2.0 TDi Elegance whilst not the most exciting thing in the world is a very good compromise.

Its comfy and well equipped; also whilst it does without multilink rear suspension it has the added benefit of being a good chunk under 1300kgs making it extremely light for its size. Also makes it very little slower than a vRS TDi though admittedly it will not drive quite so dynamically. Its as quick if not slightly quicker than a 170 CR Mk2 vRS by the way.

You end up with a car thats as quick as the Golf 2.0 TDi 150 with nigh on identical running costs but a good deal roomier. More or less why I bought mine.

Edited 5 August, 2014 by pipsyp

[JJBS3]

I currently commute across the Pennines each day, so lots of steep climbs, drops, twisties, starts and stops. - My average per commute is now showing 53mpg, with the long term average gradually rising just above the 50mpg mark. That's with a reasonably light right foot, but still incorporates the odd overtake.

 

Long term average for the same journey was 47 in a 320d, 23mpg in a pick-up truck, and 47mpg in my Octavia scout PD140

 

Space wise - the vrs is bang on!

[alancha]

Having had my VRS TDI for about 4 weeks now, perhaps I can contribute?   As for mpg, official figures are almost always nonsense, having been measured in a very artificial test.  My old Mk 5 Golt GTi, which was supposed to get 35.9 actually got around 28mpg long-term in spirited but not extreme driving, so I expected my vrs (claimed over 60mpg) to get about 45mpg in practice and this is pretty much what I'm getting, so I'm happy.  Of course it depends very much on the type of driving.  On rural A-roads, even enjoying the drive, it easily goes up into the high 40s.  On motorways (where, when conditions allow, I usually cruise more than a little over the limit) it's more like 40mpg but when speeds are constrained by traffic I've seen over 50. So it all depends on you and the roads.

 

My one big recommendation though is that you listen to the sound system in anything you're about to buy.  Listen to it with a variety of types of music you like, and do so while the car is being driven (as road and engine noise seem to affect the perceived quality a lot), and also at different volume levels.  I'm very disappointed with the sound in mine with the standard Bolero setup;  it's not too bad if you turn the sound up - it can even sound rather good with some music - but at lower levels, and with some music, it sounds like there's an old-fashioned transistor radio sitting on top of the dash - really awful. 

[mk4gtiturbo]

Overall MPG wise mine is in my signature. It has 8k miles on it and has been gradually improving although it has levelled out at around 47mpg.  At the last fill up for the first time I got over 500 miles to a tank.  My commute is about 35 miles one way along the motorway.  I've noticed at 60mph I get an average of roughly 60mpg but at 80 is about mid 40s.

[Squirrelz]

I'm averaging about 50-52 mpg, my commute is 50 mile round trip, brief motorway stint then the rest is ring roads etc.

 

The economy difference between cruising at 60mph and 80mph is very noticeable though.

[Squirrelz]

My one big recommendation though is that you listen to the sound system in anything you're about to buy.  Listen to it with a variety of types of music you like, and do so while the car is being driven (as road and engine noise seem to affect the perceived quality a lot), and also at different volume levels.  I'm very disappointed with the sound in mine with the standard Bolero setup;  it's not too bad if you turn the sound up - it can even sound rather good with some music - but at lower levels, and with some music, it sounds like there's an old-fashioned transistor radio sitting on top of the dash - really awful. 

 

You may find it improves as it beds in. I used to spend up to a grand upgrading the sound system in the past, but the standard Bolero is the best "standard" system I've ever had in a car and I'm finding it quite acceptable.

[CBMotorsport]

I switched from a Golf GTI to a VRS TSI and I do around 30k per year, so comfort is important. 

 

The suspension is very similar in feel, and the ride is firm as has been said, but not crashy and adequately comfy. The seats are far more comfortable than the golf, they're not as 'buckety' but much nicer for long journeys. The size of the car also seems to make it feel smoother, whether this is true or not I don't know. It's also quieter which is good.

 

I wanted a bigger car, and it's a great size, I can get my MTB in the back without taking the wheels off, nice to have 5 doors too.

 

Can't comment on MPG as it's a TSI but I get around 32-35mpg at the moment for those that are interested. 

[alancha]

You may find it improves as it beds in. I used to spend up to a grand upgrading the sound system in the past, but the standard Bolero is the best "standard" system I've ever had in a car and I'm finding it quite acceptable.

 

Yes - others have said this too and I think it's true that it's better now than it was when brand new.  I was even starting to think it was possibly OK until my wife and I went somewhere in her car last week.  As soon as we put some music on I was immediately struck by how much better it sounded than in my car - especially the fuller bass and especially when we turned the volume down so that we could talk at the same time.  Her car is a 2007 Beetle Cabrio with the standard sound system so it's nothing special but it definitely sounds a lot nicer, even now mine is 6 weeks old.

 

I think a lot depends on what kind of music you listen to and how you listen to it (e.g. high volume or background music).  I would recommend anyone to check it out before buying as some people like me are dissatisfied with the standard setup, while others like you are very happy.  

 

I'm visiting my dealer today who has arranged for me to try out one of their identical demo cars to see if it sounds any different to mine, while the service manager checks mine for faults.  I'm not optimistic they'll find anything wrong but it will be interesting to see what they think.  I also want to discuss whether any kind of upgrade is possible post-sale.

Edited 6 August, 2014 by alancha

[73henny]

Many thanks to all those that have replied. Seems there is a little uncertainty over the interior lighting, and some differences over mpg achieved.

Given the car in my first post is shown at its list price, what can I expect to see in terms of a discount? To be honest I can't see myself paying £27k for an octavia, regardless of how good it is.

[Dalelfc89]

Can't get above 47mpg in mine, almost exclusively 6th gear up and down the M5.

 

It's the one disappointment I have with the car, Skoda quote 61mpg so I was hoping to get 55mpg at least.

 

That does seem extremely low. I drove from Telford to Leigh at the weekend up the M6, cruise on at 80mph and i got 64mpg.

 

TDI VRS with 11k on the clock and three adults in the car.

[pipsyp]

Yes - others have said this too and I think it's true that it's better now than it was when brand new. I was even starting to think it was possibly OK until my wife and I went somewhere in her car last week. As soon as we put some music on I was immediately struck by how much better it sounded than in my car - especially the fuller bass and especially when we turned the volume down so that we could talk at the same time. Her car is a 2007 Beetle Cabrio with the standard sound system so it's nothing special but it definitely sounds a lot nicer, even now mine is 6 weeks old.

I think a lot depends on what kind of music you listen to and how you listen to it (e.g. high volume or background music). I would recommend anyone to check it out before buying as some people like me are dissatisfied with the standard setup, while others like you are very happy.

I'm visiting my dealer today who has arranged for me to try out one of their identical demo cars to see if it sounds any different to mine, while the service manager checks mine for faults. I'm not optimistic they'll find anything wrong but it will be interesting to see what they think. I also want to discuss whether any kind of upgrade is possible post-sale.

Have to agree the sound system is about one of the only major negatives I can level at the car.

I really do like my music and came from a v late model Mk2 vRS, a car that had a surprisingly good (actually great) stock system....I expected similar with the Mk3 but it couldnt be anymore polar opposite.

Ita actually gotten to the point where Ive stopped buying music to listen to in the car as everything generally just sounds awful via CD/SD card (whereas it absolutely didnt in the Mk2) and tend to just listen to DAB radio all the time.

Ive not sampled the Canton system but i'd like to hope it sounds a great deal better than the stock offering.

The worst thing about the stock system is that it has a noticeable frequency capping system on it; I believe to prevent distortion and protect the drivers from blowing (and costing VAG a fortune in warranty swaps no doubt). With some music it really is horrendously noticeable and I think id rather just have speakers that fart a bit if overdriven a little than tinny artificially reduced sound.

If it were something that were coded into the infotainment and could be removed Id do it in a heartbeat...i think there is a good stock system in there but Skoda have done something to ruin it....maybe to encourage greater uptake of the Canton system...who knows!

Edited 6 August, 2014 by pipsyp

[alancha]

Have to agree the sound system is about one of the only major negatives I can level at the car.

I really do like my music and came from a v late model Mk2 vRS, a car that had a surprisingly good (actually great) stock system....I expected similar with the Mk3 but it couldnt be anymore polar opposite.

Ita actually gotten to the point where Ive stopped buying music to listen to in the car as everything generally just sounds awful via CD/SD card (whereas it absolutely didnt in the Mk2) and tend to just listen to DAB radio all the time.

Ive not sampled the Canton system but i'd like to hope it sounds a great deal better than the stock offering.

The worst thing about the stock system is that it has a noticeable frequency capping system on it; I believe to prevent distortion and protect the drivers from blowing (and costing VAG a fortune in warranty swaps no doubt). With some music it really is horrendously noticeable and I think id rather just have speakers that fart a bit if overdriven a little than tinny artificially reduced sound.

If it were something that were coded into the infotainment and could be removed Id do it in a heartbeat...i think there is a good stock system in there but Skoda have done something to ruin it....maybe to encourage greater uptake of the Canton system...who knows!

 

Interesting - I'm glad it's not just me.  I've been in some discussion with my dealer sales rep about this issue and as a result paid them a visit today.  We compared the sound in my car with  that in another vrs with the same system to see if there was any difference.  There didn't seem to be, so we concluded that mine is not faulty but working as designed.   I had a long discussion too with the service manager who had taken it seriously, read a couple of rather long e-mails I'd sent and also the "Bolero sound system on Octavia RS III" thread on this forum that I'd sent a link to.  As it happens he used to work in an up-market car audio company which gave him some useful insight.  

 

However, the bottom line is that there's nothing that can be done by Skoda - I mean there is no optional post-sales upgrade I could buy from Skoda.  The Canton system replaces many components in the car including the wiring loom so any attempt to install it other than at the factory would be horrendously expensive.

 

However, he did recommend that I call Skoda Customer Service and let them know of my dissatisfaction.  As he said if enough people complain there's always a change they may offer either a software upgrade or even an dealer-fit upgrade option.

 

So - if you're not happy too, I suggest you do this too.