OK, so in this weeks Auto Express, the Octy 3 debuts at position 11 in the Driver Power survey, from a list of 200 of Britain's best cars. Not a bad score but compared to the O2 which achieved podium in 2010 and top 10 four years on the trot, this is not a great result for Skoda. The main thing letting it down unsurprisingly, to me anyway, is ride quality, where it languishes down in 161st spot! Even the aging Superb 2 has only just dropped to 12th place, having enjoyed top spot in 2011 and was on the podium four years on the trot. I guess this is a sign that VAG have finally taken the shine off Skoda by pushing it further into mainstream fleet markets!

Hmm, you're probably right but all in all not too bad....it could have been a lot worse!

Couple of things on this.

 

Firstly, the % difference between the top 40 or so cars is so small, I think this is showing that most car makers are now able to pull together a good solid dependable car.

 

Secondly, I would really prefer Auto express to show the number of cars they surveyed for each model to give us a good indication as to the size of the audience per car rather than the 61k vehicles in total. I mention this as I have a VRS and can't fault the ride quality and believe the car sits in a position that is relevant to how good it is today.

 

The MK2 was a great car, still is, however it's not a better car and if you trawl through the MK2 forum from start to finish - going way back, you will see the same old stuff from start to date plaguing that model as seems to be plaguing the MK3. 

 

What is interesting is the differences between the VWG MQB cars with their most expensive falling behind their cheaper offerings, after all the platform and tech are pretty much the same!

Edited 26 April, 201511 yr by Telboy5

I did think it was interesting that the Leon scored higher but most of the categories it faired better in would apply equally to the O3. As I've said on numerous occasions, my car had particularly poor suspension but is a very early, April 13 build and cars built after mid June 13 will have benefitted from MY14 updates plus I think by the time the early vRSs hit the road, many of the early issues will have been sorted, plus IRS will help ride quality. SWMBOs O2 still rides much better than my O3 though and even many Golf 7 owners have complained about ride quality on early cars so I just think the MQB platform needed a bit more development before hitting the harsh UK roads. Anyway, even I'm happy with the ride quality now but I just had to bite the bullet and shell out my own cash as SUK would not help.

One thing often said about previous Skoda results is that because the cars were cheap owners expectations were lower hence the good results and why Audi often faired poorly , perhaps there is some truth in that as they certainly aren't cheap any more. 

 

I also have no issues with ride in fact my VRS on 18"s rides better than my Superb did on 17"s

 

I also have no issues with ride in fact my VRS on 18"s rides better than my Superb did on 17"s

That's a good benchmark as I too had a Superb 2 before the O3 and mine was on 18"s same as the O3 but the Superb for me was a much better ride. Now that I have upgraded my suspension on the O3, I would say it is comparable to the S2. I think MQB is obviously more suited to a sports suspension set up.

That's a good benchmark as I too had a Superb 2 before the O3 and mine was on 18"s same as the O3 but the Superb for me was a much better ride. Now that I have upgraded my suspension on the O3, I would say it is comparable to the S2. I think MQB is obviously more suited to a sports suspension set up.

What it has shown so far, is that anyone with IRS is happy, whereas those without it are not.

I've has no issue at all with my vrs suspension. I'd say it's a better ride than my mk2 Blackline.

So it seems that only Torsion Beam O3 owners have been voting in Driver Power!

I've not got a problem with the suspension or ride on my vRS and I've got the 19" xtreme on it to be fair the cars very good.

The MK3 octy is a step forward from the MK2 not a big one but it will get better the longer they built them. To be fair to be 11th out of 200 is very good

Simple lesson with none-IRS Mk3's is to stick with the 16" wheels on the SE. No, they're not very sexy but I'll trade low-rider looks for fillings any day

Let's be honest. Build quality is not that great, reliability is not the best in the world, handling is middling and pricing is no longer as good as past Skodas. The Octy's trump card is practicality, but this alone does not warrant a top 10 spot. People who buy Skodas nowadays have higher expectations, and with high expectations comes more chance of disappointment.

The Octavia is a good car, but not great.

Simple lesson with none-IRS Mk3's is to stick with the 16" wheels on the SE. No, they're not very sexy but I'll trade low-rider looks for fillings any day

I'd agree if you stick with OEM suspension, but aftermarket springs and dampers improve the ride and handling when running 18"s on Torsion Beam so Skoda should either not offer 18"s on Torsion sprung cars or at least offer the IRS as a factory option.

Moral of the the story we need better roads. 

Torsion beam axle on the O3 isnt that bad, I dont have any complaints really and thats with 17" wheels and 45 profile tyres.

Not the best riding car in the world (springs a bit soft, dampers a bit firm) but then its a 23k Skoda.....I think someone expecting Bentley levels of refinememt with these things has perhaps bought the wrong car.

I agree with the build quality comments though....VAG's move to the MQB platform was nearly all about cost saving and increasing margins....build cars cheaper and still sell them for a bit more.

We benefit from lower kerb weights and more standard equipment...but the quality has suffered as a consequence in a few areas IMHO.