Well, a month in (interrupted by a couple of weeks in the US) I could not be more delighted. It is so well built, with superbly damped controls - well ahead of our old Octavia and with more bells and whistles than I have managed to master. But the main point is the smooth, quiet and totally unruffled progress. Comparing it with our previous car (2006 Octavia 2.0 TDi DSG), and others we have had, including a M-B 500S and a BMW 730, it is far superior, with a nearly silent engine and imperceptible gear changes. We are already calling it "The Limousine". All my iPlayer discs (160GB) downloaded onto a USB memory stick and were immediately recognised by the car; it latched on to my iPhone and instantly allowed me to make hands-free calls (actually I have to admit both of these achievements were down to my son, who lives and breathes technology).

The only cavil is that is has a mind of its own when it comes to reversing or manoeuvring - lots of bleeps when I can see all is clear and weird warnings on the colour screen. But give me a year or two and I'll have mastered everything ...

Funny thing is that if you look for a review of the 1.8 TSi with DSG they are all in India. And when I asked for a test drive in Canterbury the only one available in the UK was in Scotland (400 miles away), So this may be an unappreciated gem in the Octavia range. But don't look for great MPG ...

MPG gets better in time, from new to what i experience now there is a drop of approx 20-25% in consumption. 

Well, a month in (interrupted by a couple of weeks in the US) I could not be more delighted. It is so well built, with superbly damped controls - well ahead of our old Octavia and with more bells and whistles than I have managed to master. But the main point is the smooth, quiet and totally unruffled progress. Comparing it with our previous car (2006 Octavia 2.0 TDi DSG), and others we have had, including a M-B 500S and a BMW 730, it is far superior, with a nearly silent engine and imperceptible gear changes. We are already calling it "The Limousine". All my iPlayer discs (160GB) downloaded onto a USB memory stick and were immediately recognised by the car; it latched on to my iPhone and instantly allowed me to make hands-free calls (actually I have to admit both of these achievements were down to my son, who lives and breathes technology).

The only cavil is that is has a mind of its own when it comes to reversing or manoeuvring - lots of bleeps when I can see all is clear and weird warnings on the colour screen. But give me a year or two and I'll have mastered everything ...

Funny thing is that if you look for a review of the 1.8 TSi with DSG they are all in India. And when I asked for a test drive in Canterbury the only one available in the UK was in Scotland (400 miles away), So this may be an unappreciated gem in the Octavia range. But don't look for great MPG ...

 

Below the web article I studied before buying mine.

http://www.caradisiac.com/Essai-Skoda-Octavia-1-8-TSi-180-perle-rare-91596.htm

Title means: is the 1.8 TSI octavia a pearl?

Its a gem of an engine in my opinion.

Its silent, fast enough and not too thirsty. I was sold after I borrowed one from the dealer.

And the 4x4 version is really fun in the snow.

Paired up with the Gen5 Haldex and the DSG6, for my needs, I'm finding it hard to fault

I had 2 1.8 mk2 L&K's, and loved them. underrated, but quick. Unfortunately only the 1.4tsi & 2.0tsi engines were available at the time. So I ordered the Vrs. There was minimal 0-60 real world difference with those, but big mpg gap. Expect it'll be the same with the mk 3's. Takes about 10,000 miles to improve from my experience.

Paired up with the Gen5 Haldex and the DSG6, for my needs, I'm finding it hard to fault

DSG6 in the 1.8TSI ? or is that just on the 4X4 and its the DSG7 in the 2 wheel drive 

DSG6 in the 1.8TSI ? or is that just on the 4X4 and its the DSG7 in the 2 wheel drive

Correct, the 4x4 has dsg6 and Fwd dsg7.

DSG6 in the 1.8TSI ? or is that just on the 4X4 and its the DSG7 in the 2 wheel drive 

Yes its just the 4x4 that has the DSG6 the 1.8, the 2wd has the DSG7. I think all 4x4s have the DSG6 petrol or diesel

+1 for the 1.8 TSI DSG  :clap:

 

Over the last few months, I travelled across Europe (Czech Rep, France, Germany, Netherlands). It was a perfect tool for it.