Hi all

 

Please help me choose.

 

Today I went to look at a 61 plate VRS hatchback DSG petrol which has for sale at an independent garage who are predominantly motor engineers. They bought the car cheap from a main dealer (might not be skoda) where it had been recovered due to the timing chain tensioner failing. The garage anticipated having to spend in excess of £1500 to fix the car but thankfully as the tensioner failed at very low speed nothing other than the tensioner had broken. As a result they have changed this for the new version. I took it for a test drive and it drove superbly well with not a hint of a problem. The car has 68k and full service history and up for sale for £7995.

 

Needless to say I am very tempted indeed and loved the DSG box especially.

 

 

However just down the road from this car there was a 61 plate Octavia scout diesel with 44k miles and full skoda service history. It looked great and the 4x4 security would be great in addition to the fact this is obviously an estate which appeals from a practicality front. I didn't get the chance to drive the scout unfortunately as I didn't have time.

 

I only do 9-10k per year so the VRS would be fine and has the benefit of no dpf, better performance, better seats and dsg. I can also buy this on a 0% credit card and pay this off over 28months at £230 ish per month but the scout would be a PCP over 3 years at £175 per month. I will be putting down £1500 cash on either car.

 

On one side I am thinking I'd prefer the fun option and petrol and the other side of me loves the 4x4 in the winter and the more usable estate.

 

I need to make a decision by the weekend ideally.

 

Help!

 

Mark

 

 

You sound like you have made your mind up on the 4x4 already. Only you can decide which is best for you.

Good luck

i did love the performance of the VRS and the DSG box. I must be getting old as i'd never of considered the scout before!

 

Even if the scout is the better option the fact the vrs would be paid for in total within 3 years but the scout still having a balloon payment of over 5k left does make me wonder if the scout is THAT much better.

Go for the Scout. You can always 'chip' it if you need more performance. It's a proper 4WD system yet I still get 50+ mpg on a run and lots of those torques Clarkson bangs on about. Only thing missing is heated leather/alcantara trim

Drive both, see which you like. I'd go for the vRS but then I'm biased.

The boot on the hatch is huge anyway so you wouldn't be losing a lot of practicality vs the estate unless of course you have a specific need for the estate.

If you've got the storage space, a set of proper winter wheels and tyres for the VRS would make it a far better winter bet than the scout on summer tyres and still leave you several thousand in your pocket. My other half has a standard 2WD Octavia Mk2 and on its winters on snow and ice it is great fun driving past struggling 4x4s on the wrong tyres in the Yorkshire hills.

Of course if you need ultimate winter traction, the scout on winters...

Owning a great car outright in just over 2 years vs paying a pretty decent size balloon after covering the depreciation for the previous 3 years? 

 

I know which I would pick. 

 

How bad are the winters in Norwich? We have had ours 2 years and never encountered a problem in the winter even without swapping tyres. Its not like we are talking about a RWD vs AWD

 

But I am also bias. 

Well Norfolk is the driest region in the UK so winters are not too bad to be honest. It might just be a novelty to have 4x4 be honest!

 

I must admit it's the financial side that is swinging me towards the vrs to be honest, not that I've ever owned a car for two years! I am a bit of a car tart!!

Vrs without doubt

Do you need a 4x4 with the amount of snow we actually get in this country? Do you want the extra expense getting the Scout? Do you need the small extra boot space of the Scout when the boot on the VRS hatchback is so large anyway? Do you want to miss the pleasure of driving a VRS? The one I have recently bought is also a 2011 VRS petrol, although I have the manual box. I just love the car, buy the VRS.  

They're both great cars and I'm sure neither will disappoint.

Thanks all, i think the VRS is coming out on top especially considering the difference in cost. Just hope at 68k the tsi will have plenty of life left in it yet. I'll probably have the camshaft bridge replaced at the next service to reduce the risk of oil starvation mentioned on this forum. This and the new cam chain tensioner will hopefully give me some protection.

Go for the vrs + winter tyres, as even with a 4x4 you still need winters tyres to stop in the snow

Mark,

I have both, except my Scout is the 1.8TSI and my vRS is the estate. They are both fabulous cars and I love them both for different reasons. Both 2010 cars.

I personally think the estate looks better than the hatch. The hatchback boot is the same floor area as a the estate though, so very nearly as practical. We are four in the family and fill the car up when we go away, but rarely have we used all the space up to the roof.

I'd say the hatch is 9/10ths as practical.

My vRS is DSG and I love the gearbox. It takes all the pain out of driving in traffic and is very, very clever whatever type of driving you are doing. The vRS is also very quick. I'd say quicker than the figures quoted.

The Scout is manual. It's a lovely smooth 'box and I do enjoy changing gear too. It isn't as quick as the vRS, but isn't meant to be. It is still pretty impressive though and rarely leaves me wanting for pace when overtaking or pulling away - the 4WD traction is a novelty on wet, greasy, leafy roads when getting away from a junction or the lights.

The big difference between the two is the ride. The vRS is firm. Not as firm as the Golf V GTI I had before, but still firm. Of course, it's a sporty car, and needs to be like that. But, after driving the vRS, I find the Scout super relaxing and comfortable. Maybe I'm getting on a bit! (mid 40s)

Tyres-wise, I have summer and winter rubber (on 16" steelies) for the vRS and Falken Euro Allseason AS200s on the Scout. The vRS feels very different on the summer vs winter rubber - much softer on the winters. The Scout feels perfect on the Falkens. We live on a step hill in the Mendips (with a steep and slippery brick drive) and I need to be able to get both cars out whatever the weather.

Good luck choosing. Either one will be awesome. If I could design the ideal Octy, it would be a petrol Scout with DSG and about 200bhp (which I reckon is enough in a car this size).

As it is, I usually allow Mrs Dunc to take the vRS as I would (just) take the Scout if I had to choose - unless of course I fancied a blat!! ;-)

Do feel free to PM if I can help further. Cheers.

Well Norfolk is the driest region in the UK so winters are not too bad to be honest.

 

Then you don't need 4x4 at all. It's very useful in serious winters, also on gravel roads but if you drive only on paved roads and winters aren't very cold then front wheel drive is good enough. 4x4 has some disadvantages as well - higher fuel consumption, more things to go wrong etc.

That's only about 4x4. I have nothing against scouts

Thanks for the feedback Dunc69. A good read!

 

My mileage of around 9k is pointing me towards the VRS and it did really put a smile on my face earlier. I was so impressed with the dsg that it almost makes me wonder why i'd bother with a manual again.

 

On the basis that i can pay the car off in just over two years i think i'll put a deposit on the VRS tomorrow.

 

It's a difficult job picking a car nowadays, in many ways the VRS feels a little old school in comparison to brand new motors that would also cost the same per month. However the idea of my money not going towards ownership of the car (PCP and PCH) still doesn't sit quite right with me. A £1500 quid deposit on the VRS will actually pay off some of the cost of the car whereas the £1500 deposit on the pcp only lowers my payments per month to a reasonable figure and i still wouldn't own the car after three years.

I would in this situation go for the vrs,the scout is a very good car but the extra money etc makes the vrs a better deal,68k is nothing,keep it serviced & it will do twice that easily. 

Mark, either would be a top motor. But, with the financial side and the added smile-inducing prospect of a petrol vRS DSG, you are doing the right thing! Especially as the winters your way shouldn't be too bad.

Good luck with it. Enjoy the new motor!!

Cheers,

Dunc

Just a final bid for the Scout. I bought mine as much for the extra ground clearance as the AWD as the lanes here in Devon are atrocious. Potholes, grass verges in the middle, broken & loose surfaces all wreaked havoc on my A6.

Just a final bid for the Scout. I bought mine as much for the extra ground clearance as the AWD as the lanes here in Devon are atrocious. Potholes, grass verges in the middle, broken & loose surfaces all wreaked havoc on my A6.

For roads like you describe, the Scout is perfect. Same for me in Somerset.

Not sure the OP is going to have similar conditions to deal with though.

Thanks all, remember now what a top forum this is!!

Hi all

 

Please help me choose.

 

Today I went to look at a 61 plate VRS hatchback DSG petrol which has for sale at an independent garage who are predominantly motor engineers. They bought the car cheap from a main dealer (might not be skoda) where it had been recovered due to the timing chain tensioner failing. The garage anticipated having to spend in excess of £1500 to fix the car but thankfully as the tensioner failed at very low speed nothing other than the tensioner had broken. As a result they have changed this for the new version. I took it for a test drive and it drove superbly well with not a hint of a problem. The car has 68k and full service history and up for sale for £7995.

 

Needless to say I am very tempted indeed and loved the DSG box especially.

 

 

However just down the road from this car there was a 61 plate Octavia scout diesel with 44k miles and full skoda service history. It looked great and the 4x4 security would be great in addition to the fact this is obviously an estate which appeals from a practicality front. I didn't get the chance to drive the scout unfortunately as I didn't have time.

 

I only do 9-10k per year so the VRS would be fine and has the benefit of no dpf, better performance, better seats and dsg. I can also buy this on a 0% credit card and pay this off over 28months at £230 ish per month but the scout would be a PCP over 3 years at £175 per month. I will be putting down £1500 cash on either car.

 

On one side I am thinking I'd prefer the fun option and petrol and the other side of me loves the 4x4 in the winter and the more usable estate.

 

I need to make a decision by the weekend ideally.

 

Help!

 

Mark

 

I'd say VRS but even though working OK insist on a compression test just to make sure cam chain didn't damage valves at all

See my signature, I used to own both, albeit the vRS was a diesel and manual.

 

I'm getting old and cover high mileage and the vRS was just too firm for me. For the rare chance I got to fling it around it was great, but 95% of my commute is sat at between 60mph and 80mph.

 

Pot holes were a nightmare, especially when driving on unlit roads in the dark. Here is my vRS the morning after driving through this (mikey vrs, you might recognise the road!).

 

 

I reckon I got off lightly, it did this...

 

 

The Scout is of course slower, but not by much, especially given the fact I rarely nail it from 0 to 60 from the lights.

 

 

The wife now drives the Scout, she wouldn't let me have it so I bought a Superb to go with my pipe and slippers and of course for the soft ride and pothole absorption of higher profile tyres  

 

 

You won't be disappointed with either choice!

I do most certainly see the appeal of a scout, maybe i'll opt for the mk3 after this one!

 

Bigjohn - i spoke to the mechanic over the phone who described everything he did to the car and seemed genuine. He also said he has undertaken a compression test and everthing is hunky dory. He also admitted that they appeared to have been very lucky as he was anticipating having to spend more money on the car to fix it but no additional damage was caused. They are providing me with a 1 year nationwide warranty also.

Edited 10 September, 201510 yr by markquinton

Well deposit went down on the vrs today! Thanks for the advice.