Hi folks,

Back after a while....funny story the wife got so sick of me posting on Brisky that she changed my account reset email address and password so I couldnt log on anymore....so Ive created a new account!

Some of you may remember I was going to get a Golf GTD.....well I now have it. I have a standard 5 door manual in Deep Black as a loaner until my Carbon Grey factory order pitches up (hopefully in a couple of months time).

Car I have now is a Nov 14 64 plate and already its done nigh on 20k miles so its already had a bit of a life in its relatively short 7 months.

My Octavia is an Elegance and not a vRS so I wont make any unfair comparisons there but I have to note that on the whole whilst they are of course v closely related you can see where the extra money goes in a Golf. The big differences are as follows.

General build quality - not that the Octavia is at all bad but the Golf does just seem that bit more robust. The doors thunk more satisfyingly, whilst some of the lower interior plastics are not particularly clever as on the Octavia (and does have the hard top surfaces on the rear door cards) its definitely better screwed together and altogether feels more premium. The doortrims for example are cloth trimmed as are the armrests (and not that cheap covered foam that will look terrible in a few years on the Octavia). Given the car I have has likely had a fairly hard life and apart from some v minor leather wear on the gearlever it still feels like new. I dont think my O3 would do if subjected to the same life.

Noise insulation is soo much better....its quite noisy on the move as its rolling on low profile 225 tyres and sports suspension but there is alot less wind and engine noise.....the Octavia is v poor by comparison. You can barely hear the motor running in the Golf whereas its v loud in the Octavia, particularly from cold (though improves as it warms up).

The ride...although its on about as firm a sports suspension as it gets it actually rides better than the Octavia on standard suspension IMHO. Its definitely that bit firmer but its less crashy and feels that bit more cushioned somehow. Better quality damping I have no doubt.

The biggy for me....the sound system. I got the car and expected to be really disappointed with the sound system but my god its leaps and bounds better than the Octavias. No obvious artificial frequency capping and if anything it sounds better than the 8 speaker system on the Mk2 Octavia which was pretty epic for a base OEM system. V loud, bassy and doesnt really distort. I believe Skoda have put little or no sound deadnening in the door panels on the Octavia and the frequency capping is done to prevent people complaining about door trim vibrations etc. I really wanted Dynaudio but now Ive heard the stock system I can confirm there is absolutely no need to upgrade unless you want something to blow your eardrums away. In truth the stock Golf system would probably give the Canton a run for its money

Couple of things I miss.....the blip when locking (though that can be coded) and also the rear seatbelt warnings. The Golf does not come with this unless you spec the rear airbags which is a bit of a shame. It is also comparitively v small....its a good size car still but the Octavia really does show up its versatility shortcommings as its boot isnt particularly large or well shaped (it has a variable floor for some reason which is a bit pointless and just eats up space) and it lacks rear legroom. Also my Golf doesnt have Nav....I didnt think id miss it but I really do and was quite alien having to dig out the old tomtom and stick it to the screen on a near 28k car.

Thankfully my new car will have the equivalent of MIB2 Amundsen with carnet, as well as winter pack and keyless entry so am rather looking forward to its arrival.

Talking of the GTD specifically have to say its about the best car I have had. V impressed with the 184 TDI motor and it does just drive fantastically well. The ACC and front assist are v handy, great to have front parking sensors too and the bi-xenons are epic....I dont think I could run a car day to day with halogens now.

Brilliant car though and really enjoying it...also great to have the Octavia as a load lugger as there it really does excel.

Great review Pipsyp and I'm PMSL about your funny story !

10k more than a VRS with the same engine. Octavian is bigger too. My girlfriend has a Golf R on a NHS lease and I hate it! She thinks it's awesome to have a VW somewhat of a badge snob haha

Your wife has you sussed. Sounds a great car and you have regularly stated that you missed your Blackline, which was a lot of car for the money. £28K is the price you pay for a better overall, even if smaller, premium package. It obviously suits your needs. £27K was the list price of my car with the extras below. I have read that the non-VRS suspension/ ride is not as good on some Octy models. My MKIII certainly rides better and is more comfortable than my MkII, the road noise is about the same... Just waiting for the sawtoothing . Yes I know the residual value will be better on the Golf, as a private buyer I don't have to change as regularly as other business users and luckily got a very good discount which takes the sting out of the depreciation. Two of the MkII VRS selling points were that it was cheap and a relative rarity,well compared to a 3 Series. Both these points have changed, even though some of the price rise must include the standard fit of previous extras. I simply didn't see much else on the market for the price which matched my requirements.

10k more than a VRS with the same engine. Octavian is bigger too. My girlfriend has a Golf R on a NHS lease and I hate it! She thinks it's awesome to have a VW somewhat of a badge snob haha

How can you hate a Golf R, one of a handful of universally acclaimed cars.

I have had many, many cars of different shapes, sizes and makes (& a few Skodas), & the Golf R is a great car.

I'm not a badge snob, couldn't care who made it, & will happily buy another Skoda if they made a car as good. Unfortunately, Skoda are going down the 'practical' route for the masses at the moment & that doesn't suit me.

Back to the original point though, why hate?

I've got a £28K Sharan 2.0 TDI Bluemotion DSG while my VRS TDI is being mended. Doors slam just the same, plastics are just the same, road noise is the same. Handling and ride are different but then again a Bluemotion bus is never going to be the same as a VRS estate. The Sharan is horrifically low spec!! No park sensors, no bluetooth, nav, steering wheel buttons... its a grim, dull thing to drive. Hope the VRS comes back very soon.

10k more than a VRS with the same engine. Octavian is bigger too. My girlfriend has a Golf R on a NHS lease and I hate it! She thinks it's awesome to have a VW somewhat of a badge snob haha

List price of £24075 for the skoda and £27595 for the golf doesn't equate to 10k difference?

I feel your pain at losing your Briskoda status..........................

 

As for the Golf do you realise that the MK3 Octavia hatch & estate are the same length & both are still 4inches longer than the Golf estate!!........................I have the MK7 estate & it is so much better in style , build etc & I recon in 5yrs time it will not date as badly as the Octavia..........that is all my opinion ...............

 

AS for the Dynaudio..................I could tell the difference & it is way better than the standard golf system..................never got the chance to hear the Octavia when I sat in the showroom,.............

Cheers chaps, the wife strikes again (knew I shouldnt be checking my posts in her vicinity) so not surenif this will get through haha

I still think the Octavia is a great car and its definitely a better value proposition than any Mk7 Golf....also that Skoda offer far better finance packages thats the icing on the cake.

Its just having gone back into one (thankfully other than CC tax at no cost to my own pocket) I had to be honest with myself and appreciate that the Golf betters the Octavia in a few areas other than just sheer size. The detailing is better and it is there or thereabouts better made and feels that bit more expensive. I wasnt expecting it to so has been a bit of a surprise.

If I were in the market for such a car I think Id probably still buy a vRS regardless as it'd be cheaper all round and as good I am sure in all important respects.

Had I been able to have a decent spec Mk7 estate (a GTD perhaps) id have probably gone for it but only the 5 door hatch was an option. Also am sure the Dynaudio system is a good deal better than the stock system, but the stock sounds are that good I think id just save the money myself.

I would love a golf r estate myself. Having driven a friends standard golf r they are definitely impressive cars

I would love a golf r estate myself. Having driven a friends standard golf r they are definitely impressive cars

 

Totally agree - it's on our list as a possible change...

Agreed a Mk7 R estate really is all things to all men.

Probably be a bit too thirsty for my liking though but for those that have the means and desire to own a car like that its about as ideal as it gets.

Annoying for me personally as up until recently with car allowance I could run what I liked petrol or diesel so long as it was 2.5 litres or less, could be run on regular unleaded and was less than 7 years old and that opened alot of doors that I unfortunately didnt really take advantage of. However there is a 120g/km CO2 cap as well so the limited vehicle choice rather defeats the object of taking the money. Id have probably ended up with a vRS TSI otherwise

Thankfully though our company car choices have improved a great deal hence the GTD....I think to be honest my firm are just trying to drive people back into CC's as our fleet dept is profit generating :-)

I do also have to say as nice as the GTD is (and it is really v nice indeed) not a chance in hell would I pay £28k+ of my own money for one. Great car but too expensive....certainly not 8k better than the Mk5 GTI which was sub 20k at launch only 10 years ago.

Edited 7 July, 201511 yr by pipsypreturns

I looked at getting the Golf GTD, and a colleague has one, first thing I noticed in comparison is that the interior looks cheap in comparison to the Octavia 3, the dashboard plastics, the whole dashboard in general looks cheaper. The Octavia has the more upmarket looking interior. The GTD, with the check upholstery also cannot have the heated seat option, which seems pretty poor on a car that came out with a list price (with options) of over £30,000. Doesn't feel any better built either. Main thing I notice with the Golf is how small it is, the rear leg room is tiny in comparison, and it is so narrow I can touch the passenger door from the drivers seat.

Road noise, ride, door closing, can't tell any difference, and can't see the value proposition in taking the Golf over the Octavia (of course, car buying is not totally subjective I realise and people have personal preferences).

One thing I do find with people who have the VW/Audi versions of the Skoda, they really, really do want to believe they are better built etc, it's quite sad really.

One thing I do find with people who have the VW/Audi versions of the Skoda, they really, really do want to believe they are better built etc, it's quite sad really.

 

Please don't state that your personal view is fact..........................I buy my cars on certain criteria, eg cash & plan to have them for 10ys. I don't give a stuff about "badge" image, just does the car & styling make sense for my needs.

 

I bought my previous car brand new (2001 Fabia Elegance) & have only just sold it earlier this year & at 14ys old it still has spec & styling way better than some newer cars! When I was looking at the MK3 Octavia & the MK7 Golf the Golf looked the X amount & 14yrs newer than the Fabia.........the Octavia to me DID NOT.........& for the 10% difference in price that the Golf had over the Octavia it was worth it to me, also the Golf had the multilink rear & better version of heated front screen & better dealer. If the dealers were swapped around I might have got the Octavia, but that would be very low chance as I wanted the multilink rear with the engine I got.

 

I bought my Fabia on the same reason, had a '96 Polo (crashed) & went in to buy another one, went into the Skoda dealership to see this new "Fabia" car, styling & spec way better than the Polo which was the same under skin! Also cheaper by £2K & cheaper on the insurance, so got that Fabia when Skoda jokes were still common.

 

The MK7 Golf estate to my eyes has the best rear 3/4 styling of a small estate & way better than the MK5 & MK6 (way tooo bulbous) ........the Octavia estate MK3 from the same angle looks too 3rd world styling & reminds me of China & India designed cars like the rear of the Rapid etc....& this is a fact in their styling as they will be making & selling loads over there. The Golf is styled more for over here & think all the better for it! Those are my opinions, but everyone has one................

 

I know that with the MK3 Octavia that VAG did the flat sweep dash like the new Passat, I don't like that style of dash & prefer a shaped driver priority dash, however I would buy an Octavia estate over the Passat if I needed the extra room over my Golf estate, as the new Passat styling in other respects is the same as the Golf & the cost over the Golf & Octavia is not worth it IMO!

Please don't state that your personal view is fact..........................I buy my cars on certain criteria, eg cash & plan to have them for 10ys. I don't give a stuff about "badge" image, just does the car & styling make sense for my needs.

 

I bought my previous car brand new (2001 Fabia Elegance) & have only just sold it earlier this year & at 14ys old it still has spec & styling way better than some newer cars! When I was looking at the MK3 Octavia & the MK7 Golf the Golf looked the X amount & 14yrs newer than the Fabia.........the Octavia to me DID NOT.........& for the 10% difference in price that the Golf had over the Octavia it was worth it to me, also the Golf had the multilink rear & better version of heated front screen & better dealer. If the dealers were swapped around I might have got the Octavia, but that would be very low chance as I wanted the multilink rear with the engine I got.

 

I bought my Fabia on the same reason, had a '96 Polo (crashed) & went in to buy another one, went into the Skoda dealership to see this new "Fabia" car, styling & spec way better than the Polo which was the same under skin! Also cheaper by £2K & cheaper on the insurance, so got that Fabia when Skoda jokes were still common.

 

The MK7 Golf estate to my eyes has the best rear 3/4 styling of a small estate & way better than the MK5 & MK6 (way tooo bulbous) ........the Octavia estate MK3 from the same angle looks too 3rd world styling & reminds me of China & India designed cars like the rear of the Rapid etc....& this is a fact in their styling as they will be making & selling loads over there. The Golf is styled more for over here & think all the better for it! Those are my opinions, but everyone has one................

 

I know that with the MK3 Octavia that VAG did the flat sweep dash like the new Passat, I don't like that style of dash & prefer a shaped driver priority dash, however I would buy an Octavia estate over the Passat if I needed the extra room over my Golf estate, as the new Passat styling in other respects is the same as the Golf & the cost over the Golf & Octavia is not worth it IMO!

 

Straw man argument. I'm not stating my personal view as fact, which is why I wrote 'One thing I do find' which clearly and obviously means it is something from my experience and not something I am presenting as an indisputable fact. I thought it was rather obvious.

I looked at getting the Golf GTD, and a colleague has one, first thing I noticed in comparison is that the interior looks cheap in comparison to the Octavia 3, the dashboard plastics, the whole dashboard in general looks cheaper. The Octavia has the more upmarket looking interior. The GTD, with the check upholstery also cannot have the heated seat option, which seems pretty poor on a car that came out with a list price (with options) of over £30,000. Doesn't feel any better built either. Main thing I notice with the Golf is how small it is, the rear leg room is tiny in comparison, and it is so narrow I can touch the passenger door from the drivers seat.

Road noise, ride, door closing, can't tell any difference, and can't see the value proposition in taking the Golf over the Octavia (of course, car buying is not totally subjective I realise and people have personal preferences).

One thing I do find with people who have the VW/Audi versions of the Skoda, they really, really do want to believe they are better built etc, it's quite sad really.

Its all v much a matter of opinion TBF.....I have both cars and feel that the Golf is slightly better built and better detailed but that does not make my opinion factual...its just an opinion. One I feel I can make though as I have both cars.

Two areas the Octavia does better the Golf inside....the infotainment screen is neater and hides the infrared sensor. Also VW whilst adding a multitude of other in cabin lighting and LED's have seemingly done away with the LED lighting for the centre console (from the main light panel) which seems a strange omission. Id have rather these than illuminated kickplates but there we go.

One thing you are incorrect about....the cloth seats can be heated if you opt for the winter pack. In fact the GTD comes with winter pack as standard now (along with nav and kessy with its already v decent base spec). The check seats I guess are an acquired taste, my wife hates them but I preference them over the rather overpriced vienna leather.

The Golf is overpriced...but then it could be argued that a base TDI vRS chiming in around 25k and getting closer to the base GTD pricing once you add things like ACC, front sensors, folding mirrors, nav etc etc....it also is no longer a cheap car. The only saving grace for the Octavia is the finance and PCH deals to be had...makes one of these all the more affordable. If I were a cash buyer, could negotiate decent discount and could put up with the lack of space in the Golf I know what Id rather be buying though. Again thats opinion.

Its all v much a matter of opinion TBF

 

my wife hates them but I preference them over the rather overpriced vienna leather.

The Golf is overpriced...but then it could be argued that a base TDI vRS chiming in around 25k and getting closer to the base GTD pricing once you add things like ACC, front sensors, folding mirrors, nav etc etc....it also is no longer a cheap car. The only saving grace for the Octavia is the finance and PCH deals to be had...makes one of these all the more affordable. If I were a cash buyer, could negotiate decent discount and could put up with the lack of space in the Golf I know what Id rather be buying though. Again thats opinion.

 

I still agree that the MK3 Octavia is ALOT of car for the money...........................however the only advantage of it in my case is the extra 2" in the rear leg room & 2" in the boot length but both not required for me. But to me the downsides of the Octavia in the specs I was looking at eg no multilink rear, hated the dash styling, cheaper version of heated front screen, etc  to me were a major down...................infact to me paying 10% more for the Golf for the things I needed was cheap at the price as in my eyes they made up over 20% of the reasons why I hated the Octavia.

I still agree that the MK3 Octavia is ALOT of car for the money...........................however the only advantage of it in my case is the extra 2" in the rear leg room & 2" in the boot length but both not required for me. But to me the downsides of the Octavia in the specs I was looking at eg no multilink rear, hated the dash styling, cheaper version of heated front screen, etc to me were a major down...................infact to me paying 10% more for the Golf for the things I needed was cheap at the price as in my eyes they made up over 20% of the reasons why I hated the Octavia.

I agree the Octavia is a cheaper car and of course that comes with associated compromises. For most i guess they are acceptable compromises though.

Money no object Id rather a Golf estate to an equivalent Octavia but when push came to shove it was pay 23k on 0% for the Octavia or considerably more for a similar spec Golf on much higher interest. The Octavia won out on finances alone....but I stand firm that overall it probably is not the better car. Skoda fan-boys are probably going to want to have a pop for that remark but Id wager most people spending any length of time in a Mk7 Golf would come to feel the same way...but then some wont of course.

I too can provide a comparison as i have had my Golf GTE for a few weeks now and still have the VRS. As Pipsy says the overall build quality and feel is a lot better than the Octavia - which is should be as the retail price was about 10k more.

 

This car has LED headlights which are awesome but they don't move with the steering wheel which is something the VRS did which was really nice. I also miss the beep on locking as this was great in car parks. The screen in the GTE is much higher quality than the VRS, the pixel count is certainly higher though i can't comment on the latest VRS equipment.

 

I would certainly agree that you get a lot of Octavia for 25k but you certainly have no hope of retaining any of that value when it comes to selling. Mine has been on the market for a while now with very little serious interest and for the price I have it for sale now it is only £100 more than a similar spec MK2! The money its really the issue for me (although it hurts), but i think that the market is so flooded with MK3 Octavias that the second hand price value is completely ruined (and not representative of the true value) and if i didn't buy the Octavia at 0% it really would have been an awful financial mistake and I would advise people who only keep their car for a short while to avoid buying a new octavia.

My car was £15.5K (7K miles on the clock), an equivalent Golf (with all the useful options) would be circa £19K; if I had £19K I would get a used Superb Estate Elegance - but that is a different conversation 

I too can provide a comparison as i have had my Golf GTE for a few weeks now and still have the VRS. As Pipsy says the overall build quality and feel is a lot better than the Octavia - which is should be as the retail price was about 10k more.

This car has LED headlights which are awesome but they don't move with the steering wheel which is something the VRS did which was really nice. I also miss the beep on locking as this was great in car parks. The screen in the GTE is much higher quality than the VRS, the pixel count is certainly higher though i can't comment on the latest VRS equipment.

I would certainly agree that you get a lot of Octavia for 25k but you certainly have no hope of retaining any of that value when it comes to selling. Mine has been on the market for a while now with very little serious interest and for the price I have it for sale now it is only £100 more than a similar spec MK2! The money its really the issue for me (although it hurts), but i think that the market is so flooded with MK3 Octavias that the second hand price value is completely ruined (and not representative of the true value) and if i didn't buy the Octavia at 0% it really would have been an awful financial mistake and I would advise people who only keep their car for a short while to avoid buying a new octavia.

100% agreed.

Interested to hear your thoughts on the GTE. I gather they have LED headlights but in some respects seem a bit of a backward step given they dont have adaptive cornering capabilities...also I guess you dont get headlamp washers and so also lose out on the washer fluid warning.

Something I found interesting....the washers on my GTD barely use any washer fluid...compared to those on the Octavia which deplete the reservior v quickly indeed. The timings on the Golf are way better and guess the Octavia could be coded to behave the same.

I do also think its a shame the GTE given its massive list price didnt come bundled with Pro Nav like the e-Golf;for the money it should have done. There does now appear to be a GTE Nav variant though.

Trade prices on the Octavia are ludicrous....and totally agree its because the used market is just saturated with ex-rental, ex Skoda fleet and ex demo vehicles....along with v early cars people seem to have traded in.

At the last check my Feb 2014 2.0 TDI Elegance estate with circa 24k on the clock was worth best case around 13k trade...so there or thereabouts an 8k loss year one which IMHO given it was not a massively expensive car in the first place is a big drop. My only hope....people in the market for used mk2's start buying up all the surplus Mk3s so they become more in-demand again and so see a rise in used prices but it remains to be seen!

My car was £15.5K (7K miles on the clock), an equivalent Golf (with all the useful options) would be circa £19K; if I had £19K I would get a used Superb Estate Elegance - but that is a different conversation

Mk2 Superb facelift is a nice car but a bit old-hat now, lacking any MQB architecture. You're much better off paying £15k for a v current 7k mile Octavia than 19k for an end of life Superb. I reckon Mk2's used values will likely take quite a hit following the release of the Mk3.