Hi all.

Well, tomorrow (9th) heralds one year of ownership so how has it gone?

Firstly, the vehicle in question.

vRS TDi DSG Combi (affectionately known as Bismark)

Meteor Grey

Simply Clever

Matsumi

Colour Maxidot

Sunset Glass

Silver Roof Rails

Canton Sounds

KESSY

Power Boot

Panoramic Sunroof

Light Assist

Active Cruise

Space saver Spare

Now covered 10,700 miles with an average fuel economy over the last 3,000 miles of 44.8mpg

So, what can I say? In short, my Skoda has met or exceeded my expectations.

As some of you may recall, my car was in fact a cancelled order which I was offered to get me round the already long waiting list so the colour / spec was 'take it or leave it', I took it.

She has been a joy to own, aesthetically, it's not a bad looking motor for a Combi, she's quick, spacious, handles well, stops on a sixpence and is reasonably economical considering I drive it Briskly (see what I did there?)

The fairly generous spec has made her very easy to live with, big plus points for me are the Pan Sun and Power Boot, I'm also keen on the light assist and the Canton.

In terms of comfort, sure the suspension is firm but not as stiff as my Rocco and even on a jaunt to Yorkshire (270 miles) I arrived feeling surprisingly relaxed and refreshed. Passengers too have commented on it being comfortable so we're all happy.

Load carrying is brilliant, whether it's people, dogs, rubbish for the tip or a combination of them all, the Octy swallows it all up with ease.

General performance is great, for an 'oiler' she is pretty nippy and great fun to drive. For medical reasons having to have a DSG isn't a concern, the box is predictable and very smooth and the Sport mode and flappy paddles are there if you want to be a boy again.

In terms of reliability, nothing really to get fussed over, the fuel pump was diagnosed as 'dodgy' after three weeks of ownership and was changed without question, apart from that, a duff headlamp washer relay was identified a few months back and once again changed very swiftly.

On the subject of faults and interaction with the dealer, a big mention to Station Garage at Broadbridge Heath, they were friendly and keen to assist long before I ever committed to buy and ever since have been nothing short of fantastic. In short, highly recommended.

Criticisms? It's not perfect as you would expect but it's not too bad, it could do with a bit more sound insulation as there's quite a bit of road noise and the fuel economy I think could be a touch better.

So, there we have it, a year on and I still enjoy driving her and have absolutely no problem driving a Skoda.

And the question I asked at my 6 month review, would I buy another Skoda?.......Yes, no problem.

it's good to hear a positive review....

 

I think the problem is the happy owners dont want to jinx theie luck by saying how reliable their cars have been

(or is that just me?)

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am one week into owning a vRS estate (manual TSI) and have to agree about the road noise - that was one thing I was hoping would have been addressed when moving from a Mk 2 to 3. The hatch I test drove seemed quieter at motorway speeds.

I have just bought a heavy rubber boot liner and I reckon that has taken the edge off things, which fits in with my feeling it's coming from the back of the vehicle.

Interesting you hightlight the sunroof, that was considered, but quite pricey and my wife never used the one in the old vRS, so I saved my money. Crikey, it's dark in there!

Any link/info on the heavy rubber boot liner?

 

TIA,

A good review, thanks for sharing.

 

As for sound insulation, I have to agree. Tyres may play quite a large part in this. My TSi hatch has Conti boots and they aren't too bad but I can hear them easily. Personally I don't find it a problem as not only can I feel what the car is doing but I can hear it as well. It adds to the experience of spirited driving.  Maybe not good for everyone if they have a cabin full.

 

Mine does not have a panoramic roof or any sunroof being a hatch but my Yeti had, it was a fantastic feature of the car that I do miss. Having said that my 24 hours of ownership of a vRS has been a lot of fun.

 

I hope the next year (and beyond) are good as well. My experience with Skoda dealers so far has been head and shoulders above all the other makes of cars that I have owned. 

1 year in a few days for me...

 

Had the DSG software upgrade to cure dropping out on a long run

Headlight washers needed adjusting so they go back in.

Popped the 12V socket fuse twice (not the car's fault)

 

Otherwise mine's also been good.  Like the OP says, it isn't perfect and could be improved with a few simple changes at the factory, plus it burns a bit more juice than I'd have hoped for but as a reasonably priced family motah that can lug tons of crap about, overall I'm happy too.

It's the Skoda own one. There are 2 types, the rubber mat and a big plastic tray, both c.£60.

The website however shows a midway lighter mat with 5 cm raised edges.. Sounded perfect, so I ordered one and got some monstrosity that looks like you own a commercial nursery and should be growing cuttings in it. The dealer didn't recognise the one on the website and reckoned that was for other models, not the Octavia. Pity, as it was 1/2 the price! So, I went for the mat with tiny raised edges (but hopefully enough to keep a little water running off boots etc at bay). Looks okay and seems grippy enough to limit stuff sliding around in the boot.

Oh, and it has OCTAVIA embossed into it, just in case you forgot!

An older MkIII diesel albeit with low mileage... and not a DPF light in sight.

Long may it continue.

Great review!

19 months in, just passed 10,000 miles and I was a bit concerened whether the DPF would last as my daily commute is only 6 miles each way but no issues with it at all but it is stupid.  I can do a 200 mile fast motorway cruise then the following day about 2 minutes into a normal drive the DPF will regen!

 

No problems with road noise, more noise coming from rattles in the cabin and from the parcel shelf.  Economy hasn't really changed.  I was getting 40mpg when I first got it and about 41 now.  DSG really isn't mated well to the engine but when I ordered it (March '13) there wasn't a demo available so going off a very recent 2 week fling with a Passat 2.0TFSI CC DSG (which I loved) I went for it.  Since ordering I drove a Mk7 Golf GT in both DSG and manual back to back there is a big difference.  I prefer the sport engine response in the manual but in the DSG it's a waste of time and fuel.

 

I'm happy with it, perhaps I should have kept my previous steed for a bit longer (Mondeo ST TDCI) until the VRS had come out but the Elegance has a lot of toys, I still love it when it parks itself but with my mileage and the government BIK rates just going up and up I think I'll be buying private next time.  Really fancying a Golf GTI Edition30.

... and not a DPF light in sight.

 

Sod's law, my DPF light came on this morning on the way to work (3rd time ever)

Good review Mence. I agree the Mk3 Octavia isnt perfect; not sure that any car really is but there is no denying at any engine/spec level even with the relative increase in list price compared to the Mk2 it still represents a hell of alot of car for the money.

My biggest regret is buying an Elegance over a vRS.....Im just now a little bored of it whereas I dont think I would be had I got the vRS. I cant knock it too hard though, the 150 TDI engine really is very good indeed and as a daily driver other than not being the most interactive car to drive there isnt much not to like....its also to date been very reliable in the near 16k miles ive put on it over the past 11 months. I actually am probably taking its bland looks and less focused drive for granted as its actually rather nice that it attracts little to no attention from other road users and on the motorway the ride is very good compared to what I was used to (the Mk2 vRS). God did I used to get tailgated in the Blackline too!

DPF will only ever become an issue if you never give the car a half reasonable run now and again. The new DPF system on the EA211 motor is alot more forgiving of this but if youre only doing a few miles of stop start every day (less than 10 i would say) then you're still asking for problems...a petrol is best suited to that kind of habitual driving.

DPF? What is that? My car rarely starts for anything less than an hour's drive while being hammered after the oil heats up  .

 

I have had, on occasion, white plumes leaving the exhaust after a few miles of heavy traffic doing 5mph on average, a sure sign the engine is getting bored  :p. 

DPF? What is that? My car rarely starts for anything less than an hour's drive while being hammered after the oil heats up .

I have had, on occasion, white plumes leaving the exhaust after a few miles of heavy traffic doing 5mph on average, a sure sign the engine is getting bored :p.

Diesel Particulate Filter....basically soot from the exhaust gets caught by it, is then burnt off during a regen cycle, by dumping fuel into it to raise the temperature. If these cycles keep getting interupted eventually the filter blocks and you need a new one £1k+ cost at a main dealers I expect.

Edited 9 January, 201511 yr by pipsyp

Diesel Particulate Filter....basically soot from the exhaust gets caught by it, is then burnt off during a regen cycle, by dumping fuel into it to raise the temperature. If these cycles keep getting interupted eventually the filter blocks and you need a new one £1k+ cost at a main dealers I expect.

 

I was joking ... I drive too long and frequently to have the filter clog up.

I was joking ... I drive too long and frequently to have the filter clog up.

Thought you probably were but replied just in case :-)