I've seen this question asked a few times. My 4x4 has it and I've always thought it's a great fallback safety feature. Here's Euro NCAP's view:

http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/recommendation.php

EDIT: They've changed their website. Here's a link to an archived version:

Euro NCAP's view

If you think you need it, get it.

Personally, I couldn't tell the difference.

I'd put the money towards coilovers and decent tyres personally, but I have heard it can get you out of a mess...

It's up to you.

I've got it on mine (Fabia vRS) - it works way better than the ASR, dunno what the Octy 4x4 comes with as standard but ASR seemed to be (far too) aggressive in interfering when you want to use that engine power (i.e. it cuts the power). ESP seemed to not do that unless I really go crazy (read: just floored it in the wet, etc).

Suspension upgrades + better tyres will definitely make general day-to-day use more enjoyable though

Reason I'm more a fan of ESP now then I was before is that I firmly believe it saved my bacon when some muppet forced me off the motorway onto gravel with two wheels (he basically paid zero attention, having just had the same thing happen to him only a few minutes before that). I was effectively doing an emergency stop with two wheels in the gravel & two wheels on the tarmac. The car stayed pointing exactly in the direction my steering wheel was pointing. I doubt ABS alone would have done that.

BTW this was not a 'we were racing' type event, this was purely some guy who was probably still shocked from what happened to him a moment earlier and didnt take the time to compose himself, thus then causing him to make a bad error of judgment.

I pretty much just found a safe place to park up, wander about a little, and then set off again with a cleared head. Hope you never have to go through that though.

EBD does that and is part of the braking package anyway.

Hmm - EBD wouldnt keep the car pointing in the same direction, all that does is distribute the brake force to prevent it locking up IIRC?

I've got a wife, kid and another kid on the way. Regardless of how good I thinking my driving is, I wouldn't have forgiven myself if something happened to them that ESP or Curtain Airbags could have avoided so I specced them. Would have loved 17" alloys and Xenons but you gotta get your priorities right.

There's an article in Auto express about ESP!! Looks like it does what it's sposed to, so well worth the money IMO!

@JohnnyC - that's one of the reasons I got Xenons as well - not got the kids (yet) but SWMBO is developing a lot of interest - Got the side-airbags option on our Furby for the extra safety.

I guess I'm seeing ESP as an additional safety feature, rather than (wanting to) rely on it on a daily basis. If it interfered with my driving I would be annoyed, but so far, it hasn't, so I don't bother turning it off

@JohnnyC - that's one of the reasons I got Xenons as well - not got the kids (yet) but SWMBO is developing a lot of interest - Got the side-airbags option on our Furby for the extra safety.

I guess I'm seeing ESP as an additional safety feature' date=' rather than (wanting to) rely on it on a daily basis. If it interfered with my driving I would be annoyed, but so far, it hasn't, so I don't bother turning it off [/quote']

Yeah if there was more money in the budget i'd have gone for xenons before 17" alloys as I appreciate the benefits of seeing that bit further up the road in front but curtain airbags and ESP were top of the list. ESP interferred with my driving last night and i've only had the car since friday. Driving in the wet and gave the throttle a blip in 2nd gear to pass someone cutting me up. ESP light came on and It felt for a second like it was hampering my progress but soon realised it was just preventing loss of traction while keeping as much power on as possible. Just a bad combination of new tyres and terrential rain I suppose.

Hmm - EBD wouldnt keep the car pointing in the same direction, all that does is distribute the brake force to prevent it locking up IIRC?

ABS prevents lockups.

The premise of EBD is the whole '2 wheels on ice, 2 on tarmac', still brake in a straight line.

gotya

If you REALLY needed the ESP it would be standard instead of an option. Just don't floor it round corners in the wet, and save yourself

If you REALLY needed the ESP it would be standard instead of an option. Just don't floor it round corners in the wet, and save yourself

While Stability Control has been shown to be effective at limiting loss of control and reducing accidents, the laws of physics still apply.

Classic!

TBH, don't really think its essential, but money no object - then sure, why not. Can never be too safe.

just wish a few more of these safety features were standard or available on lower spec engines.

i'd pay for it now i've had a car with it, well worth the money.

the systems works very well i believe, i have tried my best on empty open tarmac to get the car unsettled and never managed it yet

i've had a couple of incidents since having the car where people have pulled straight out in front of me without even looking and i have had to brake very hard and swerve violently, without the esp the car definitly would have stopped being quite so straight yet with the esp the car just turned round the idiot giving me plenty of time to 'sat hello' to him and wave in my own special way

ESP is worth the money -- it's just another safety blanket - but its an effective one, which most people under normal driving styles will never witness.

We had a very enjoyable day at Millbrook a couple of years ago -- 2 fleets of A4's one with the ESP totally disabled and one with it functional.

We had a test route of different styles of road tight and twisty and wide open were you then built speed right into a very violent change of direction.

Every car without ESP span - even the Pro driver instructors found it hard not too

Every car WITH ESP just went through - the benefit of being able to do this over and over again - apart from being lots of fun was that you could vary the way you drove and the speed - and feel the system sorting you out - amazing.

Of course it's not fool proof - but I'd rather have than not -- cos its those sudden unexpected manouvres that have to be made in a split second that it catch's

ESP is worth the money -- it's just another safety blanket - but its an effective one' date=' which most people under normal driving styles will never witness.

We had a very enjoyable day at Millbrook a couple of years ago -- 2 fleets of A4's one with the ESP totally disabled and one with it functional.

We had a test route of different styles of road tight and twisty and wide open were you then built speed right into a very violent change of direction.

Every car without ESP span - even the Pro driver instructors found it hard not too

Every car WITH ESP just went through - the benefit of being able to do this over and over again - apart from being lots of fun was that you could vary the way you drove and the speed - and feel the system sorting you out - amazing.

Of course it's not fool proof - but I'd rather have than not -- cos its those sudden unexpected manouvres that have to be made in a split second that it catch's[/quote']

Cool, its nice to experience exactly what different safety features do eg ABS I'd say you'd be amazed with peoples reactions when this kicks in, a lot of people haven't a clue what its for.

Cool, its nice to experience exactly what different safety features do eg ABS I'd say you'd be amazed with peoples reactions when this kicks in, a lot of people haven't a clue what its for.

Yes,it was really usefull - you really can't get to the full level of ESP operation on the road -- not on purpose anyway - it would be too dangerous,but as I said you could actually feel the car working its way around the skid - with power being altered and different wheel's being braked.

If the road is even slightly damp and I go to take off anyway quickly, the ESP will kick in for a second or so in 1st and 2nd gear. Also 3rd if it's really wet.

Could be the Bridgestone tyres and the fact i am still getting used to the car but i'm sure a lot has to do with the huge torque this car seems to have.

I think the ESP is a little quick to kick in TBH though. I'd like to turn it off for a while to check if without ESP under these situations I do loose traction so easily but sods law dictates that this is the one time i'd be likely to have an accident that ESP could have helped prevent. This wouldn't happen in the equivalent petrol car.

Anyway, i'm very glad I specced it but as already intimated, it doesn't make you a better driver.

Did you see the episode of Fifth Gear where they tested ESP using a Jag on ice with Tiff driving - it was the series before the current one I think.

It was an impressive demo and proved without a doubt how well it works. Made me wish I'd got it on mine.

I'd love to try out the effect of ESP on/off somewhere safe - I don't mean the turning down the engine power part here

Wouldnt dream of purposefully doing this on a public road. A little brisk driving is one thing, but even on an empty three lane motorway you really, really wouldnt want to 'loose it' as you'd have to go pretty hard at it to get it to go badly wrong.

Is this Millbrook thing open to anyone (assuming you have to bring a wad of cash or something?) - I would love to go on one of these just to see what it can do

From what I

I think all this ESP' date=' EDL, etc is possible because of the ABS sensors checking the difference in rotational speeds of wheels, the car can then decide to reduce engine power, lock or unlock individual brakes and even supply the information to make the TPM work (I knew staying awake during new car launches would come in handy one day) [/color']

I’m pretty sure that I am no where near a good enough driver to cadence brake and react to a sudden manoeuvre/skid like Tiff Needell, so I spec’d ESP on my soonish to be delivered Octy.

By the way, did any of you guys see 'Shops, Robbers and Videotape' last night on BBC 1? the police were driving around in an unmarked Octy 1 Vrs. Nice car

The tyre pressure monitor option TPM works as you say from the ABS sensors. You set all your tyre pressures and then reset the TPM. After that if any wheel starts moving slower than the others over a certain period of time then it flags up a puncture effectively. It won't however pickup the normal gradual drops in pressure in all the tyres over time because they all loose pressure at roughly the same rate generally so no single wheel rotates slower than the others.

The TPM option consists of a switch on the dash and the enabling of the TPM function through VAG.COM. That's all but I reckoned it was worth the extra £50.