Just completed 1 year and 18,000 miles in a 1.6 tdi Elegance with Golus 18". Had same concern initially with regard to ride but don't find it much different to another new Octavia that I have been using recently on standard 16" alloys. Certainly prefer the looks though! I think wheels make a car.

I am also really pleased with choice of 1.6 against 2.0 as it has plenty of power.Octavia is so much lighter than the Passat that I had with same engine before this that it seems like it really is a more akin to a 2.0! I also chose 7 speed DSG, my first auto, and I think it is brilliant. Overall I decided to go for highest spec car with smaller engine (less tax) 18" wheels teamed with DSG and certainly don't regret my choice.                  

Just completed 1 year and 18,000 miles in a 1.6 tdi Elegance with Golus 18". Had same concern initially with regard to ride but don't find it much different to another new Octavia that I have been using recently on standard 16" alloys. Certainly prefer the looks though! I think wheels make a car.

I am also really pleased with choice of 1.6 against 2.0 as it has plenty of power.Octavia is so much lighter than the Passat that I had with same engine before this that it seems like it really is a more akin to a 2.0! I also chose 7 speed DSG, my first auto, and I think it is brilliant. Overall I decided to go for highest spec car with smaller engine (less tax) 18" wheels teamed with DSG and certainly don't regret my choice.

Thanks for the feedback on the Golus wheels and it's good to know that it hasn't made much difference to the ride quality. In an ideal world I'd prob go for the 1.6 Elegance with metallic paint and the 18 inch wheels. Unfortunately however this will probably break the monthly budget, so I'm really pushed down the SE route. Maybe I'll go for the 1.6Tdi instead of the 2.0 litre and most people seem to be saying that there isn't a huge difference between the two engines in the real world. I think it would save me around £100 per year in tax as well.

Not really, the 1.6 will have relatively tall 3rd 4th and 5th ratios...5th likely being as tall as 6th in the 150 TDI.

It wont set the world alight but with 184lb/ft torque accessible for a fair portion of the engines usable rev range it wont struggle on the motorway at all.

Only difference really is that 3rd will be probably the best accelerative gear, whereas 4th is on the 150 IMHO (3rd is pretty short on the 6 speeder)....4th will pull hard on motorway like 5th does on 6 speed and 5th will be cruising gear just like 6th on the 150.

I guess the extra torque available in the 2litre would help it to pull better from lower speeds. Interestingly some of the car mag reviewiers seem to feel a little underwhelmed by the 1.6 engine and have suggested that putting a six speed box in might improve things a bit. My current car is a six speed and I assume the reason that a lot of manufactures go for six speed boxes now is that the sixth gear helps fuel economy on long motorway runs due to having the taller gear available

I guess the extra torque available in the 2litre would help it to pull better from lower speeds. Interestingly some of the car mag reviewiers seem to feel a little underwhelmed by the 1.6 engine and have suggested that putting a six speed box in might improve things a bit. My current car is a six speed and I assume the reason that a lot of manufactures go for six speed boxes now is that the sixth gear helps fuel economy on long motorway runs due to having the taller gear available

For sure it wont be as quick as the 150....though that said I dont find my 150 particularly quick now.

I had one of the original Mk5 Golf Bluemotions when they were new....that was a 105ps 1.9 TDI with a 5 speed box and inordinately long 3rd, 4th and 5th gears....v similar torque output to the current 1.6 motor and I never felt like that car was slow.....in fact it felt little slower than the 2.0 CR 140 Mk6 Golf GT that eventually replaced it.

For sure it wont be as quick as the 150....though that said I dont find my 150 particularly quick now.

I had one of the original Mk5 Golf Bluemotions when they were new....that was a 105ps 1.9 TDI with a 5 speed box and inordinately long 3rd, 4th and 5th gears....v similar torque output to the current 1.6 motor and I never felt like that car was slow.....in fact it felt little slower than the 2.0 CR 140 Mk6 Golf GT that eventually replaced it.

I also had a 1.9 TDI Mk5 a few years back and I don't remember it feeling particularly slow. I wonder if the larger capacity engine gave the impression of it feeling a little bit quicker than the 1.6?

I also had a 1.9 TDI Mk5 a few years back and I don't remember it feeling particularly slow. I wonder if the larger capacity engine gave the impression of it feeling a little bit quicker than the 1.6?

Power delivery of the PD motors (lag, then loads of low end torque) I think made them feel a bit quicker than they actually were flat out....but surfing the torque and shortshifting made for a pretty quick real world package for day to day driving for what they were.

Had a 1.9 130 PD Ibiza Sport for a while too, 1.8T Mk4 Golfs had a time staying with that and Im adamant that performance wise its probably a touch quicker than a 150 TDI Octavia.

The master cylinder on my focus went yesterday and it had to be towed to the garage. My company arranged a hire car through the leasing company and as if but chance its a brand new Skoda Suburb Estate TDi Elegance. Its bloody lovely compared to the focus and I'm not 100% sure but I think its got the 140bhp, rather the 170bhp engine. I think having driven it today I'm now leaning towards the 2 litre engine for my new Octavia. I've got to do a 160 mile round trip tomorrow, so should give me a good chance to get a feel for the engine!

Its worth noting as well the performance of the 150 TDI Octavia is better than a 170 CR superb....engine is much improved with better/more consistent power delivery and it weighs alot less than a superb also.

Actually performance wise I doubt a 1.6 TDI Octavia would be much slower than a 2.0 140 Superb for the same reasons.

I think the problem you'll have TBF is once you've driven the 1.6 and 2.0 back to back I'd wager the much stronger overall performance of the 2.0 will lure you.

I've just got my new octavia with 18's and sports suspenion and actually find the ride fine for the set up. Its now worse then my last two cars with 17's but handles much better. Went for DSG and think its well worth it!

Just to update; I ended up going for the 2.0 litre SE with the 18 inch wheels and the ride isn't too bad. It doesn't like potholes or speed bumps too much, but then again my previous car was probably the same.

 

The 2.0 litre engine is stonking too, it feels massively faster than my last company car and the extra torque certainly comes in handy when overtaking.

 

I also went for the chrome window trims and I think it looks great. I'll try and get some photos up on here.

 

Thanks to everyone who contributed their feedback.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Adam