Just had a look on the Jabbasport site to see the cost of upgrades - only

Ah, the age old debate Fortunately most of the main debators are absent from the forum today though...

Insurance hike isn't necessarily more than the remap - depends very much on your circumstances and insurance company.

The 4x4 and vRS are two very different beasts. The 4x4 has much better ground clearance, so is very fast over uneven surfaces and bumpy roads. On track with standard supension it does roll a fair bit, and the stiffer vRS proves it's worth.

Really comes down to the sort of roads you enjoy. And whether you want a subtle car or one that looks sporty...

Rob.

I think I'll just have to try both out to see what I think - only thing is I'll be testing a standard 1.8T 4wd against a vRS, so would have thought the latter would feel far better.

When I was last looking for a company car (2001), the Skoda dealer didn't have any 1.8T's to try (not 4x4) so only tested one of the turbo diesels. The TD was very good, though gave me no idea of what the 1.8T would be like - ended up with a 2.0SE Passat as a result. Nice car, but for the price of a 1.8T S spec Passat now (no alloys :eek: ) I could get a very nice vRS or 4x4 1.8T. I'll dig out my What Car tonight to see what sort of lease rates the 4x4's cost.

IIRC Passats usually have lower lease rates than Skodas, but I guess it comes down to your lease company.

I take your point about test driving them standard - I guess you can only really compare the handling and "features", rather than the performance. Unless you find someone with a remapped 4x4 who would be willing to let you have a quick spin in their car...

Rob.

Can you get mods done on your lease car? One thing to bear in mind .... some leasing companies are not too keen :(

Hi kprm77,

Now the Octavia is available with a PD130 engine, how about this with a re-map.

You'll get a quick car, loads of torque (loads of toys with L&K version) and a lower tax bill!

Just an idea.

John.

I was in the same boat as yourself.

I took a ride in the 4x4 (jabba'd) and at the time there was no rs estate and I felt I needed an estate.

The comparison is hard to make as the RS does and will wow you more over a stock 4x4. The trick for me is to find a good bit of road you know VERY well that is not perhaps fast, or perhaps fast depending on your preference, take both cars down it at a similar pace. The key to that is not measuring the feel of the RS's pace...nigh on imposible

The standard 4x4 is a bit wobbly, although it's very capable over highly undulating and poor surfaces of say the Peak District. as I said I chosse the 4x4 over the RS primarily for the estate functionality and the fact a bargin appeared in autotrader. Either way I'm happy as punch.

They are different and a equally setup and matched 4x4 and vRS will both pull away and be caught at different points of a circuit or A road runout...The 4x4 looses a bit of power (circa 20%) to the haldex but you can stomp on the gas alot sooner...the vRS has a slight edge in looks if your after that, although once inside no real differences.

As to insurance, well the 4x4 was about the same after chiping as the vRS, lower group to begin with, places like Liverpool Victoria don't presently charge for mods of this nature either. If it's to be a lease and "chipping" is out then it really becomes a one horse race of the RS.

If chipping or remaps is the start of a long trail for you and money is not of much concern then eitehr path will be a good one, presently the "best" for want of another word Skoda is a tuned 4x4 to around 348BHP.

If your torn and want to get an idea...there are alot of different takes of vRS and 4x4 appearing at a town in Wales this weekend...Not too far from Leicestershire really.

ps I have changed my 4x4's stilts to KW coilover suspension and it's a world of difference, it's a tough call that I would not want to be making again...

So afterall that, as I said recently;

Happy to fiddle - 4x4

Happy out of the box - vRS

Originally posted by ColinD in this post

.

Happy to fiddle - 4x4

Happy out of the box - vRS

Company Lease car - vRS

Car Allowance - 4x4 + Jabba + bits

Rob

Fabpreza's spot on - if it's a company car it'd be the vRS. Opt out and it'd be the 4x4 + Jabba

Do I assume that's a NO to diesel then!!

John.

It's not

How much ??

Mine's a company car...

Do I assume that's a NO to diesel then!!

No - I would consider a diesel. I did write more until IE6 decided to wipe out what I wrote - had to quickly re-write before leaving work. (When I go back a screen in IE6 it has a habit of clearing out the stuff I've typed )

Anyway, would also consider the Superb PD130, or 1.8T - got plenty of time to make my mind up though - don't change until next May! I like to starting looking around nice and early