The car is the 184BHP 2.0 Litre Diesel. Now that I have used the car in various conditions I thought I would write a short review.

 

Build quality seems excellent. Performance, not as much initial punch as the MK1 Fabia VRS SE I traded in, but the Octavia has an excellent torque curve, that goes almost to the red line. I would say it's quick, but not fast.

 

Handling, tight is the word I would use, although the reduced steering angle lock to lock takes a bit of getting used to. Also on the motorway in Sport mode, the weight of the steering is too heavy for my tastes, so I set the steering to normal mode in the individual settings option.

 

Economy, 49MPG average, which I reckon is OK, but far from the claimed 61.1 quoted by Skoda.

 

Now the technical stuff, namely the DPF system, my God it's complicated. Post injection warm up (at least the heater is warm after only a mile or so) passive regen, active regen, user initiated regen, and if all else fails, trip to the dealer for service regen. Looking at the technical specifications, I think Skoda used the best system out there that doesn't involve Adblue. I was amazed to read that max soot loading for the DPF is only 45 Grams!

 

What I have found, is that motorway cruising is what the DPF system does not like. Almost without fail, when I come off the motorway and stop at the first set of traffic lights, the auto stop start is marked as unavailable, and the idle speed is 900 to 1000 RPM, no lights on dash to inform Joe public this is a regen taking place. I bet those increased revs and no auto stop start have caused a few visits to dealers thinking it's a fault. Same symptoms when the throttle pedal sensors goes noisy, varying idle speed.

 

Being ex demo, this car came pretty much loaded with toys, My music is on my phone and an SD card, so integration is excellent.

 

Ride quality, on good roads first class, on less than perfect roads, lot's of tyre noise and skittish handling.

 

Now Skoda probably knew this, and I'm sure I am just being paranoid, but brake fluid is one of the most combustible substances under the bonnet. So why is the brake fluid reservoir only a few inches away from the DPF that reaches 600c in operation.

 

Complexity of the DPF system aside, I love this car, I looked at similar specs with Lexus, and you are talking another 12 to 15K for a Toyota with a party dress on. 

 

 

Noting your location, and this: 

 

 

Being ex demo,...

 

is yours the white Estate that Ian from West End in Uphall had as his car ?

Noting your location, and this: 

 

is yours the white Estate that Ian from West End in Uphall had as his car ?

 

It's actually the hatchback mate

Just like to point out that brake fluid isn't highly combustible, even if you attack it with a gas lamp it'll struggle to ignite.

 

I've been in the Fire Service for 30 odd years, and attended a vehicle fire investigation course a few years ago and that was one of the practical demonstrations.

ah - could have sworn your photo wasn't there the first time I looked at the thread

Just like to point out that brake fluid isn't highly combustible, even if you attack it with a gas lamp it'll struggle to ignite.

I've been in the Fire Service for 30 odd years, and attended a vehicle fire investigation course a few years ago and that was one of the practical demonstrations.

Regarding brake fluid being flammable, I think DOT4  is OK. I know the old stuff went up with a woosh when it hit an hot exhaust manifold. 

 

Detailed study in this link

http://garrett-engineers.com/2005/10/what-auto-fluids-burn/

Surely it's the vapour given off that burns due to the relative fluids flash point - e.g petrols flash point is -43deg c but diesels is over 50deg c hence there is generally no issue with ignition of diesel in the atmosphere (in most countries). Seems to be varying flash points quoted for brake fluid but it would have to be exposed to the atmosphere in any case - presumably it's ok when in the sealed system but just to be safe maybe don't top it up when the cars really hot!

Edited 27 March, 201511 yr by Exeterj

Yep the CR's very linear power delivery makes them feel a bit less flexible than the old higher output PD lumps....but when you get used to driving around the laggy low end and revving it out a bit more to 4k RPM you realise the performance is there. They just do require a bit more revs and more gear changes.

The DPF tech on the new EA211 motor is very good, I believe it passive regens (using existing exhaust temp to burn off soot) as often as it can and active regens (when it raises the idle and dumps in diesel to force raise the exhaust temp) once at least every 600 miles.

I believe the maximum soot loading is so low as in terms of mass the soot is not particularly heavy, also under normal conditions when all is functioning properly there should be very little soot loading in the DPF canister anyway.

The only things I really dislike about regens are that the car doesnt perform quite so well when undertaking a regen....the ECU tweaks things to make the car produce a little more HP to account for the power loss but the car does feel a bit strained, particularly on warmer days. Also it does hurt the economy.

The fast warm up is very handy though, my Mk2 vRS used to take an age to warm up on a cold winters morning, the new car is much more petrol like.