Honest Opinions On The Mkiii

[Chappers.]

Hi folks, I'm after honest opinions on the MkIII Octavia - especially from those that have moved from a MkII.

 

I currently have a MkII vRS Blackline DGS with low miles, however it has been plagued with issues since I bought it new 2 years ago, and is currently at the dealers after it latest problems. (It's now spent about 9 weeks of its life off the road at the dealers, the latest being new new DMF & clutch packs, however there is now a clutch judder and electrical issues including a wiper with a mind of its own and the maxidot system randomly scrolling through its various menus).

 

To cut a long story short, I've about had enough of its problems, despite having an extended warranty & servicing for five years I'm now thinking of getting rid and changing it, hence canvassing yourselves for genuine opinions & reviews of the MkIII.

 

Based on the current finance deals, although I would like another vRS, I'm not sure that it would be an option, andas such, a specced up Elegance may be the choice.

 

Anyone compared the 170bhp diesel in the Mk2 compared to the 150bhp in the Mk3? Is there much difference in usable day to day power?

 

This time it's likely to be the estate, but with a manual gearbox. Any advice opinions welcome!

[fiisch]

Glad you asked for honest - I was going to feed you bulls***.....

 

Excellent car - I have had a new battery after 10k miles, but fixed under warranty so no problems.

 

vRS is excellent spec and a good drive, if not lacking a cutting edge for the true motorsport enthusiast.

[sniperpenguin]

Car Owned - MK3 vRS Diesel estate (from new > 13K Miles)

 

Pros

- Acres of Space

- Golf GTD for (much) less money (VAG share so many parts now, its crazy)

- Picked it up during the 0% deal so good offers

- Plenty of pep in the engine (vRS has 184bhp)

- Getting 400 miles to a tank (lively driving) or 450 (motorway)

- Rubber boot mat for £60 = best accessory ever ;-)

- Only warranty claim I've had was the rear seat release that popped out

 

 

Cons

- Dealers are a lottery

- Long build times

- Steering wheel wear seems higher than normal (even though I avoid the leather areas)

- vRS didnt get cruise or folding mirrors as standard

[V6Jules]

I've come from a 2006 Passat PD140 sport estate to a mk3 tsi vrs estate.

Obviously the entertainment system is better as its more modern. The vrs also feels lighter, more nimble and obviously much faster.

The quality of the interior is better in some places and worse in others than my Passat. The Passat had much nicer door cards that werent so plasticy and didn't have the slight burrs on the joins the Octavia seems to have on the inner handles. The passat also had a much thicker boot floor and a the seats folded completely flat.

However these are only small things really and at this price point I love it as an all round great car. Its not slow(in tsi form), still has bags of space, lots of nice tech

I can't compare to the mk2 vrs as I've not owned one but I think it looks much better inside and out

[Matt Pez]

I have a 2013 Octy III CR150, Manual, Elegance Hatch with a few extras, owned since new and covered almost 36k miles so far.  I came from a 170CR Superb II and SWMBO has an Octy II FL with the 160TSI which by the way is a peach of an engine although apparently a ticking time bomb with the cam tensioner issue, but that's another story!  Performance and economy is much better than the Superb but the significant difference in kerb weight accounts for that although I also understand compared to the Octy II vRS with 170CR, the 150CR MkIII owners who have made that switch can't really notice the difference in a straight line.

 

Main issue to bear in mind between an Elegance and a vRS will be the suspension.  vRS gets Independent rear set up whereas Elegance is Torsion Beam set up, and although there have apparently been recent tweaks to various components for new factory fresh cars, the general consensus is that MkIII suspension is overly harsh with either set up, especially over rough surfaces and also many owners have also reported the low frequency booming issue irrespective of variant, see separate thread. 

 

MkII Octy and Mk II Superb are from my experience much better screwed together and as mentioned above the main issues I have with the Octy III include poor ride quality, rubbish door cards and various dashboard rattles.  On the plus side, the Infotainment is much better, tyre wear is excellent, as I am still on original fronts with over 4mm remaining, economy, performance all great and space even compared to the Superb II is amazing as the Octy III is as wide as the Superb so the only noticeable difference coming from the Superb was the loss of rear leg room but there is much more room in the back of the III compared to SWMBOs II.

 

On the whole, it is a very capable and well equipped car for the money, and I don't regret buying it despite the issues I have mentioned which I consider more of an annoyance than a deal breaker.  Next time I change though, I will be looking more closely at ride quality on test drives, and part of me thinks that for the same money, a 2 year old Jag XF or BMW 5 Series would have been a better bet, but the lure of a factory fresh model with 4 years warranty (one of the extras I chose) and low running costs won me over at the time!

Edited 17 November, 2014 by Matt Pez

[Wodge]

Only had mine a week but not disappointed. Very responsive for diesel and very spacious. Got 500 miles out my first tank too and insurance is well cheap

Do seem to have a dash rattle in sport mode though

Edited 17 November, 2014 by Wodge

[ednmra]

Gone from 1.8 TSi Elegance hatch to Mk. 3 1.4 TSi SE hatch, only done about 350 miles so far but very pleased, especially after personalising some of the functions.

 

Gut feeling is more space inside, more refined (smoother, quieter) and the Mk. 2 was pretty good on that anyway.

 

Much better mpg so far (again the 1.8 had been surprisingly good.) Mid range punch seems only a little different.

 

A few features missing as I didn't go for the Elegance e.g. no cruise, no 6 disc CD player) but nothing I really miss. Had to opt for spare wheel at extra cost, as I didn't fancy the standard repair kit.

[Auric Goldfinger]

 and insurance is well cheap

 

 

..........so is the road tax.

 

I've had 2 MKII Vrs's, a pre face lift 170 Tdi, manual, I then went to a FL Tsi DSG which was a peach to drive, I have gone back to a Tdi Vrs, A MKIII, Manual

 

It's a lot more grown up, a better ride and comes well  spec'ed up in standard form. Best Octavia I've had so far.............

[themanwithnoaim]

The elegance (still at 0%) is a nice place to spend some time, very comfortable, yes a bit of road noise but, playing with boot bump stops can rid you of most of that for as for the rest, turn the musibc up LOUD

 

The standard headlights are a bit dim not, dreadful but, very little help when it persisting down at night, I'm upgrading to 4200K LED's whole front end for around 80 quid although, fitting myself though which will be PITA.  Other than that, some say the diesel is good, I don't do the milage nowdays so went the TSI route and very happy with it, others have had some issues.

 

I would however really question whether you NEED the estate, it'll add something like 6 to 8 weeks extra to the build time and the HB boot is cavernous so, if you don't move a lot of large square boxes ?????

 

Don't up spec too much as you won't see the costs reflected in the GFV, the spare is a must, if you like your music the Canton maybe, the sat nav works ok but, the upgrade to Columbus ain't worth the money IMHO.

 

Regards

T

[Genoa1893]

Actually I'm driving an Elegance 150 AWD with a very few miles and had been driving a VRS PD170 daily for almost three years, of course both of them MT.

 

The MkIII has even more room for rear passengers and for boot. It feels much lighter and willing to go. I must say I was impressed at its dynamic qualities.

 

Based on my experience, unless you're not too picky on fuel consumption, I would surely advise you to consider the AWD. It is a different story from the plain FWD.

 

I didn't spec it up a lot, but I went for the Canton and must say it plays quite fine. No rattles but a "good" amount of wind and tyre noise when on the highway.

 

HTH

[Chappers.]

Some great replies, and very informative.

 

I feel like I am almost being backed into a corner with the lack of reliability on my current car - I certainly wasn't expecting to be looking at changing for another 18 months so I've not done the research that I would ordinarily do when looking at cars. 

 

My main reason for looking at the estate is that we have two labradors - they can fit in the boot of my current hatch (parcel shelf removed obviously) but the estate would be a more comfortable place for them as the window won't impede as much.

 

The main upgrades on the elegance would be the xenon headlights & possibly Canton speakers - I'm just concerned that the drop in power from my current vRS might be noticeable. 

[Genoa1893]

Oh yes, xenons are a security must IMHO too. The last 150 feels as quick, if not quicker, than my old PD170 although I didn't yet push it to max speed.

 

I've been said the CR170 was more refined, but I can't comment on it.

 

On a daily basis I bet you won't be disappointed, but what about trying it yourself at one dealer?

[toni8b]

Down to earth... I wish for better ride quality, whole car really feels cheap when going over any bumpy road, and I wish for better interior thim, less plastics all around. Other than that I am satisfied.

[Genoa1893]

I agree that the plastic trim of the drawer and covering out of sight portions of panel isn't premium and perhaps a bit under MkII level.

 

Don't want to go off topic but I can ensure that my previous 2012 320d touring with M suspensions and runflats on 18" rims was noisy, harsh and tramwaying even on the tiniest junction of otherwise perfect roads.

Edited 17 November, 2014 by Genoa1893

[littleade]

I can remember the problems you had when you first got it and how you stuck in there so you must be a tad disappointed it's still giving you problems. Pipsyp has done a similar thing so you might want to drop him a pm to see how he's getting on with his mk3 eli, though last thing I saw he was starting to pine a bit for his mk2 vRS.......

[Smeghead]

Decent car for the money.  Only problem I've had is the recall for the cruise control which would cut out randomly.

 

I'm used to the pedals being in the centre rather than offset to the right (others will argue the brake and clutch are centred but how often do you have a foot on both compared to normal driving when you are on the clutch and throttle changing gear?). Comfort-wise that's my only real gripe.

 

Other than that I really like it as a day-to-day car.  

Edited 17 November, 2014 by Smeghead

[Minimoke]

Migrated from a mark2 2.0 PD DSG Elegance Estate to a mark3 1.4TSI DSG Elegance estate. Both purchased new. Changed from diesel to petrol because I no longer do the large mileage.  

 

DSG was 6 speed on the Mk2 and 7 speed on the Mk3.

 

I need an estate as I do load carrying + dogs.  

 

I’m very happy with the new Mk3 and despite what others have posted in other threads, I think it still represents good value for money.

 

I suspect you are looking for the downsides of a move from a Mk2 to 3, and I think there are several. So ignoring the upsides (and there are lots) here are what I think are the major points of disappointment for me:

-  Noisy ride and crashes from the suspension on anything less than perfect road surface (but mine does not suffer from the “booming” noise that others have reported). This is on “standard” 17” size wheels.

- Not as well screwed together as the Mk2, and evidence of cost cutting in various places

- Stop/start drives me nuts. Needs to be permanently disabled.

- 7 speed DSG can sometimes get confused

 

The Mk2 was reliable – only issue in 4 years was a u/s camshaft position sensor (£90 to fix if I remember correctly). Too early to pass judgement on the Mk3 although I have experienced a few gremlins with the electronics (mainly with the Amundsen Sat Nav).

 

The relative newness of the MQB platform, significant increase in the use of electronic equipment/components and potential future problems arising (which is an industry issue rather than just being confined to Skoda), plus the usual DSG concerns led me to take out the 5 year manufacturer’s warranty for the Mk3.  

 

Q. But would I buy another Mk3 1.4 TSI DSG?  A. Yes I would.

[PUFPAF]

Having switched from O2 to O3, I can honestly tell you what you might not like in the new Octavia (compared to the old one):

- it has lost some of the practical storages

- some interior quality concerns (seats, switches, electronics)

- thin paint

- more expensive (but also better equipped)

 

However IMHO those above are largely overshadowed by the following:

- better looks and overall design

- more economical, refined, also lighter

- options to choose unseen in Octavia before

- better ride (at least mine, which has the multilink)

Edited 17 November, 2014 by PUFPAF

[Furbytom]

Pipsyp did the same move Octy 2 blackline to Octy 3 elegance 150. I think he regrets it and really misses having a vRS although says that pace wise the two are similar. Worth giving him a PM.

[AusieOccy]

Only had mine a week but not disappointed. Very responsive for diesel and very spacious. Got 500 miles out my first tank too and insurance is well cheap

Do seem to have a dash rattle in sport mode though

The dash rattle in sport mode is the speakers making it sound like the windscreen is shaking. I think this is normal.

[Falkster]

Coming from a vRS 2 FL to a Black Edition I agree that there is not a lot in terms of performance with a smooth power delivery but I have noticed a difference in the handling; it's like riding one of those rodeo things with a seat made of blancmange. Fair enough the BE is based on an SE but the steering is a bit light even in Sport mode and I can't remember having as much under steer with my old vRS. On an up side the styling is an improvement and the hatch boot is colossal. I have had dark thoughts that I should have gone for a diesel Focus ST estate.

[JungleJames]

Never had a Skoda at all before my MkIII Elegance. However, i'll chuck my 2 pence worth in.

 

The 2l TDI is a brilliant engine. So smooth and next to no turbo lag. Gives you a good kick up the arse from the first moment. Also very quiet once underway. Avoid the 1.6 as the two are completely different. Used to think the 1.6 was good until i drove the 2l. The 2l is also very powerful and pushes the car along with the minimum of fuss. The acceleration doesnt die down until well past the legal speed limit.

Interior is smart, and very pleasant, albeit, as others have said, it does seem a bit cheap in places, and perhaps not brilliantly put together. Saying that, I have no rattles to speak of in normal driving.

Main downside to the interior are the seats. Front seats very hard, and rear seats overall very uncomfortable and not a pleasant place to be. Im always shuffling about in the drivers seat trying to stay comfy. It however is a very supportive seat.

 

Now to the major downside of the car. The suspension. Very harsh with rubbish damping. On a good road, the car is brilliant. Very quiet. But on rough tarmac and bad surfaces, the suspension causes pretty bad road noise all through the cabin, and get the wrong type of surface, and it rumbles through. I get the impression its mainly the rear axle at fault. The lightweight nature of the car probably doesnt help in this regard either.

Certain imperfections in the road also causes a massive jolt and bang all through the cabin. Hope you dont have a bad back, because you definitely feel them, and it isnt potholes im on about. Just slight bumps in the tarmac can do it. As can certain joins on concrete motorways. 

Other problems caused by the suspension. On some road surfaces there can sometimes be a very faint buzzing just above the drivers door., inside the trim. The parcel shelf has a habit of knocking around on poor surfaces as well. Apart from that, totally rattle free.

 

Would I buy another? If they sort out the suspension and damping, and that led to a reduction in noise (as i think it would), then yes. If they dont sort out the suspension, then no. I'll be off to look at the Superb or a Jaaaaag.

 

Before buying, take a car for an extended test drive, including on rough motorway surfaces, and check what you think of the suspension set up.

[pipsyp]

As furbytom has advised above I like but do not love my Elegance. Its a v good car, particularly for what 23k tends to buy you new nowadays but whilst its not bad at all to drive, relatively rapid for a 150hp diesel, comfortable and well equipped its absolutely no drivers car. Of course the vRS is not a sports car (and doesnt pretend to be) but offers just enough additional capability/power/fun to make a case for itself for someone wanting a reasonably quick/fun daily drive that wont break the bank.

In fairness I doubt muchly that the 150 is much slower than a vRS TDi but the vRS specific chassis workings, sport ESP/XDS, vastly better brakes and progressive steering all add up to a much more enjoyable package.....even the much better profiled seats and sporty wheel just provides that bit more spark when youre sat in it.

That all said and done, since whinging like buggery about mine ive ended up having to do alot of motorway miles for work and have to say in its defence of all the cars Ive had (mk2 vRS included) its the best of the bunch for it. Again quick enough, pretty stable and generally just v relaxing to drive in a straight line.

I guess it depends what you want. For someone not particularly bothered about cars but wants something half decent thats big (cabin space and boot), quite quick and a good thing to while away the miles in an Elegance 2.0 TDi is great...for someone wanting the same but expecting it to be remotely sporty/fun to drive it has to be a vRS.

Edited 18 November, 2014 by pipsyp

[JungleJames]

I guess it depends what you want. For someone not particularly bothered about cars but wants something half decent thats big (cabin space and boot), quite quick and a good thing to while away the miles in an Elegance 2.0 TDi is great...for someone wanting the same but expecting it to be remotely sporty/fun to drive it has to be a vRS.

Actually i find the Elegance extreme fun to drive enthusiastically. The suspension is very sporty, Very little body roll, the seats are hard and supportive, and the amount of feel you get from the car is amazing (well, my broken back tells me it is anyway!!)

[pipsyp]

Sorry JungleJames, just have to agree to disagree there. I wont deny as a car overall the Mk3 Elegance is better than the Mk2 vRS Blackline I had before. Its considerably more modern, the interior (with exception of the seats) is nicer in desigh and there is a nice amount of tech/safety aids on board. The 150 engine knocks spots off the 170 too for power delivery and response (though i do now wonder how much the DSG stunted its potential).....but it defintely is not as fun or as competent to throw around a set of bends.

Also whilst im v pleased with the standard performance I got out dragged quite royally by a 10 plate Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi on my way home from work the other night....im suspecting it was a 163hp or possibly tuned but was a bit embarrasing, it probably would have done my vRS too!

Edited 18 November, 2014 by pipsyp