Been to an Autotest organised by my Motor Club today, there was probably around 70 cars there, including three Scouts! mine & another Mk 3 Scout 184 DSG and a Mk 2 manual.

Not a bad percentage of Scouts!

3 out of 70 isn't a lot really though....

I've seen only one other MK3 Scout on the road in the ten weeks I've had mine. I find that surprising when I compare it to the 20-30 MK3 vRS's I've spotted in the same period.

We have had ours for around a year and up to yet I have seen one! and that was local, Corrida red like a mirror image on a roundabout.

I do get around a fair bit so surprised at the lack of Scouts.

Its the opposite here in Northern Norway.

Lots of scouts, but Ive yet to see a single mk3 vrs.

Gromle: when knowing our roads & winters, i think they are better off with the Scouts than the stiff VRS :p

Edited 28 November, 201510 yr by raimoxxl

Gromle: when knowing our roads & winters, i think they are better off with the Scouts than the stiff VRS :p

I think its more the lack of 4x4 on the vrs that does it. Just see how many m-tech BMWs and S-line Audis there are.

But I agree, there is a reason I didnt spec the sport suspension. The roads suck!

Edited 28 November, 201510 yr by Gromle

Not surprised there is a lack of scouts. I have just got mine having come off vrs. I am so disappointed and the vrs is much better value. Why have skoda cut out so many of the standard nice bits that the vrs have. By the way, I have leased thank god. DSG 185ps. Only 2 years to wait for my next vrs!

What are you missing with the Scout that you valued so much with the vRS?

Do you not think that the Scout will be hands down better when the weather turns to more like a normal winter or did you not really 

require the AWD ability?

Only reason I didn't go for the scout was the diesel only option. I didn't want a dpf issue. Otherwise the scout is in most ways better than the vRS.

I've see a few now on the road....probably as many as I've seen vRS's

I don't see many other MKIII Scouts about but am surprised because it's such a good car.  4WD was the attraction for me getting one for the wife, that and it was a cracking lease deal.  We use it as the family car usually as it's more practical than mine

Not surprised there is a lack of scouts. I have just got mine having come off vrs. I am so disappointed and the vrs is much better value. Why have skoda cut out so many of the standard nice bits that the vrs have. By the way, I have leased thank god. DSG 185ps. Only 2 years to wait for my next vrs!

 

I thought the Scout was well equipped?

 

The MkII Scout certainly was against a vRS.

 

I did notice the vRS gets the bi-xenon's as standard now, whereas on the Scout they are an expensive option. Maybe the tables have turned?

In my opinion the Scout is not as well equipped as it should be for a £28k car.

I traded my 2011 Leon FR170 and lost:- bi xenon headlights, front parking sensors, folding mirrors, vanity lights above the sun visors, cornering fog lights, a DAB radio that does not drop out much, spare wheel & Jack.

There must be other things I can't remember at present.

What did I gain? ECO mode on the DSG, Lane Assist. for a car that is four years newer I would have expected more not less goodies on the car

I think now the vRS TDI 4x4 exists Skoda UK will sell far fewer Scouts.

Many have bought Scouts because they were happy the compromise the warm hatch image to have 4x4 and similar performance...the 184 DSG Scout being in certain respects to some more desirable than a 2wd vRS TDI DSG but an acquired taste in the looks dept....now those people can seemingly have their cake and eat it.

I like the idea of a semi quick 4x4 Octavia but not overly mad on the Scout....doesnt do alot for me...but I would consider a 4x4 vRS....its RRP with a couple of choice options (+£30k) is too much money though....good value for what it is I suppose but IMHO still too much money for an Octavia vRS.

The big turn off for me is the number of Scouts and vRS's being purchased on a PCP on a lease deal.

 

More used choice, but all bog standard.

 

These set-ups tend to discourage adding costly options to factory orders as you pay the full cost of the option over the term making any optional extras expensive.

 

If the Scout is missing some key options then I'd imagine most of them on the used market will be standard too...

The big turn off for me is the number of Scouts and vRS's being purchased on a PCP on a lease deal.

More used choice, but all bog standard.

These set-ups tend to discourage adding costly options to factory orders as you pay the full cost of the option over the term making any optional extras expensive.

If the Scout is missing some key options then I'd imagine most of them on the used market will be standard too...

To some degree sure but both the Mk3 vRS and Scout are considerably better equipped than their Mk2 counterparts were....so would suggest someone going from a reasonably spec'd Mk2 to Mk3 shouldnt feel too short changed.

No disrespect but as nice as they are no Octavia really needs a pano roof, xenons, ACC/front assist, Canton, electric seats, leather etc etc....lots of the Mk3 options are "class above" options that you on the most part pay dearly for which on a VFM proposition which Skoda is really meant to be they dont IMHO make huge amounts of sense unless you are speccing a car to keep it more or less indefinitely.

That's my point, either the Octavia doesn't warrant expensive options or the way we finance cars these days discourages it.

 

The reason I bought all three of our Skoda's was that they were a lot of car for the money and were more desirable (in my eyes) than their equivalents (Peugeot, Renault, Citroen, Ford, Vauxhall etc.). All three were used, two of them had factory fitted options that I now wouldn't be without.

 

When the time comes to replace our current cars if all I have to choose from is a raft of bog standard versions without the options I'd like then I will most likely look elsewhere.

Edited 29 December, 201510 yr by silver1011

would a lot of scouts in one place be a jamboree.... ill get my coat!

Only reason I didn't go for the scout was the diesel only option. I didn't want a dpf issue. Otherwise the scout is in most ways better than the vRS.

I've see a few now on the road....probably as many as I've seen vRS's

My feelings exactly.  I live in a fairly hilly area which is prone to snow (when it stops fecking raining....) and in many ways the Scout is my ideal car except for the lack of a petrol engine.  Apart from the dpf issue I don't do anything like the mileage to justify a diesel.  In the UK it's very difficult to get any vehicle with four wheel drive and a petrol engine but hopefully this will change as diesel seems to be falling out of favour.

Edited 29 December, 201510 yr by dave6376

I think now the vRS TDI 4x4 exists Skoda UK will sell far fewer Scouts.

Many have bought Scouts because they were happy the compromise the warm hatch image to have 4x4 and similar performance...the 184 DSG Scout being in certain respects to some more desirable than a 2wd vRS TDI DSG but an acquired taste in the looks dept....now those people can seemingly have their cake and eat it.

I like the idea of a semi quick 4x4 Octavia but not overly mad on the Scout....doesnt do alot for me...but I would consider a 4x4 vRS....its RRP with a couple of choice options (+£30k) is too much money though....good value for what it is I suppose but IMHO still too much money for an Octavia vRS.

I think you are right to a certain extent if people purely bought the Scout for the 4wd however the acquired taste in the looks department is subjective. I quite like the higher stance and soft road styling.

I think they have constrained the desireability by only offering the vRD 4wd with DSG though.

I am being honest. I have the advantage of coming off 2 consecutive vrs. The vrs beats the scout purely based on the standard kit supplied and costs. Yes I wanted the 4x4 capability, but for the number of times it will be used I have wasted money. Skoda have been smart in the way all of the cars supplied to car test magazines. Nearly all have the bi xenon lights and window trim, this alone brings the car into a different class. How can they justify charging over £1000 pounds for these? And why leave them off a car costing in excess of £28000? No LED daytime running lights and trying to compete with opposing car manufacturers is a mistake. Perception is everything. The scout is all about the great AWD system, if you don't need it go get the vrs. I made a mistake, but so pleased I only have a 2 year lease deal.

P.S. I am not saying this is a bad car, it is a great car.

It seems like perhaps the UK-version of the Scout is stripped down. In Norway the Scout has more or less the same base spec as the vrs, apart from navi and canton.

Edited 2 January, 201610 yr by Gromle

To my way of thinking, the Scout is a massive bargain on a PCH deal at the moment. Mine will be delivered in time for the new "16" reg, on a 2 yr lease at 15k per yr with full maintainance ( for those of you that saw my original post, the colour change was successful, so Capuccino Beige it will be). This is my first forray into leasing of any kind, so I'm a bit of a novice, but I think the Scout is a very well equiped car for the money. Sure, bi-xenons would be nice, but not £45 more a month nice over a 2 yr lease!

Agreed, but my benchmark is the vrs which is better equipped and cheaper

First proper snow on Friday night, having picked up my Scout just before Christmas.

 

Driving home from work and just cold heavy rain falling in the city and by the time I exit the motorway 20 miles later the only tarmac I can see is through the sets of tyre tracks along the A road; then a mile from home the road is white and untreated.

 

Pulled into the village and had to wait behind others crawling along in the 5-6 inches that had fallen on our untreated road; then parked as I watched a car being towed up the street by a tractor.

 

Entire journey my Scout (his name is Harald) took it all in it's stride, I stuck with 'Normal' driving mode until the last mile when I switched to 'Offroad' for the mostly uphill windy country road (that was apparently there below a couple of inches of snow).

 

It all made for a very comfortable and calm journey.