I've posted on here before, my sychophantic, borderline psychotic ramblings about how much I love my (basically now worth next to nothing) Mk. 1 VRS... I've been fortunate enough to have owned some epic cars and bikes over the years, from state of the art Superbikes, all sorts of track-day and racing kit (ending up with me becoming a track-day instructor) right to my 'dream' Porsche 911 a few years ago. All costing many £££'s to buy and run.

 

But it is bizarre, how much love I have for this little Skoda of mine - owned now for 5 years and 70,000 miles together, bought in 2001 for £2,500 - now worth what, maybe a grand on a good day? My '51 plater rolled over today to 150,000 miles, whilst serving me with a small to medium road trip.

 

I had to go up to North Norfolk on business today, from the South Coast. The total round trip was 550 miles. I had no qualms whatsoever about attempting it in my leggy old faithful. I checked and adjusted the tyre pressures, cleaned the screen, checked all the fluid levels (they were as always, up to their marks - this car seems to never use any fluids - well, not now that I have chased and sorted every weakness) and picked out a few CD's,

 

Off I went, late morning to miss the traffic. Being as I am an Ambulance Paramedic, I have to be careful with my driving licence - so no 'bananas' speeds; however I generally select between 80 and 85 on the clock, as being more like a 'true' late 70's, and hence hopefully 'under the radar' so to speak. I'm also careful to never be 'the fastest thing on the road' at any point, if you know what I mean

 

Car ran smoothly, perfectly, faultlessly, and in the most driver-friendly manner for every single one of the 550 miles. She cruised quietly and comfortably when I wanted her to. She accelerated with much vigour (and a bit of 'woosh-tish' due to my Stage 1 map and Forge 001 re-circ valve, plus a nice deep rumble from my stainless exhaust system) whenever I needed to occasioanlly boot it quickly past some cars or lorries, whom were proving irksome.

 

The seat, pedals, steering wheel and driving position complimented my battered 43-year-old frame perfectly, with not a single twinge or bit of discomfort over the whole day. I got home feeling as fresh as a daisy.

 

The cavernous boot was filled to the brim with a monstrous amount of stuff I had to transport - without making any kind of dent or compromise to the driving and handling - that I could notice, anyway.

 

Best of all - at those speeds I mentioned for MOST of the time, occasionally reducing to nearer late 60's mph on the more congested sections of the M25 - the trip computer ( and the calculations from my wallet at petrol stations) saw me receive early 40's fuel consumption for the entire journey. It was all done on Shell V-Power by the way.

 

When I got home, after letting her idle for a few minutes before shut-down, I thought I would re-check the fluid levels again before collapsing into the house. The result = not a single noticeable change in fluid levels. Some of the later TSI and TFSI VAG products would have used a good litre of oil for the same trip, no?

 

What other 15 year-old car can still take all this kind of use in it's stride, without batting an eyelid? The only thing which keeps me awake at night these days, is 'what the f**k am I gonna do when my Mk. 1 is truly worn out and totally knackered?'

 

I just don't want another car for my daily drive. Mine still shows no sign of corrosion to the shell....so I think that I will basiclaly try to keep her going in a 'Trigger's Broom' kind of way for as long as I possibly can.

 

Anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just mental?! Be interested to heaar other opinions...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice

 

I love mine. 11 years old this month and 133,000km.

 

I want another car as a project but can't imagine parting with this one.

Every time you post something like this up Ray it makes me feel all warm and fluffy lol.

 

Agreed on all counts. I've had a number of cars, most of which were objectively 'better' than the Mk1 in some way or another - but it's the way my car does everything I need it to so competently and with no real compromises that's won me over. It's the ultimate all rounder and still puts a smile on the face.

 

Would I upgrade to a mk2 if mine ever went to car heaven? No. More to go wrong, not really anything 'better' - just perceived quality improvements etc and it's fugly and less involving - part of the mk1 appeal is the rawness and driver involvement even if it's not a true drivers car.

 

It's the first time I've ever owned a car where I honestly think the next wheeled purchase will be as an additional vehicle rather than a replacement.

Hi Ray, great post, your not on your own I think quite a few on here still love their MK1 octavia's.

When I bought mine 13 years ago I took a chance and bought my very first Skoda and just hoped a prayed it was as good as it looked. Prior to the vRS I'd had Fords and BMW's and to be totally honest I was old enough at that time to have been brought up when Skoda cars were regarded by many as been a bit of a joke.

13 years and 27,000 miles later I can't bear the thought of ever parting with my octavia.

It still looks like it did the day we picked it up from the garage, even the engine and engine bay looks like brand new.

My local Skoda dealer borrowed my car for two weeks to put on display in their showroom and they loaned me a MK3 octavia, lovely car but not good enough by a long way for me to make a change.

My car will never be offered for sale, instead it will be given to a family member when the time is right, but not for a while yet.

I'll add my two penneth here having owned both mk1 and 2. I agree with most points regarding the mk1 vrs. Its probably 6 or 7 weeks since i sold mine so settling into mk2 ownership. Its something about that car really left an impression on me so Ray no its not you i know what you mean. Great engine ( remapped ) solid car but the driving experience for what we would call an old car now was actually a very modern feel. Raw yes a bit unrefined maybe that's what i liked about the car, you felt and heard everything. Mine used a bit of oil between services i will add. Not much but it did need topping up a few times. I actually find the seats in the mk2 very comfortable a lot better than the old ones. I used to get a bit of a pain in my shoulder in the old one but nothing in the new one. It really needed a sixth gear too. I thought it was noisy and a bit tiring on long journeys. But the car as a whole was brilliant and i never thought so long and hard about selling a car in my life. The two compared is quite a difficult one. They are quite a bit different yet in the same class. The mk1 is the 5 door practical car yet great fun to drive when you want some thrills. The mk2 is more grown up. In diesel vrs form like mine anyway the petrol might be different. It doesn't feel quite as quick, the engine isn't as exciting. The interior is lovely really a lot better than the mk1. And its great on long journeys again better than the mk1. Standard form the suspension is better. That was a weak point on the old one. The mk2 is a bit better in the handling dept. I didn't want to make it a mk1 v Mk2 debate but the op mentioned the mk2 in his post so i thought having owned both i would chip in. But the mk1 is a great car definately greater than the sum of its parts. And if i could afford 2 cars and the space was there I'd have a mk1 vrs tonight!! I miss that car so much.....