The 'I actually really like my TDI VRS Estate thread'

[jimmyp2]

I thought I would start a new thread as I am fed up of reading negative posts about the car of late.

 

So I am a car nut. A Porsche enthusiast. I love my sports cars and have owned loads of them, mainly Porsches but also Lotus, BMW's and Audi's. 

I also have two young children however, so also wanted something practical and cheap to run. Years ago I would never of believed I would own a skoda... and really like it. 

2 years ago I started looking at used Mk2 VRS's. Liked the space and interior but could not settle on the front end. Then the Mk3 VRS came out and I thought the estate looked well in the pictures. Visited my local Skoda dealer just before the preview night for the VRS and a kind salesman showed me a VRS estate early. I sat in it and was really impressed. Started to look for a good deal but they were in short supply with very long lead times. In July 2014 found a pre-registered 50 mile only VRS TDI estate in white with black pack and was sold.

The car does everything I want from a family car very well. Looks good (this was very important, would not of considered any other spec other than VRS) has a large boot, economical and cheap £30 road tax. My only gripe so far was the common drivers side door rattle. This was resolved without problem when I took it into the dealer for its first year service at 10000 miles. 

 

If anyone else actually likes their car please feel free to post on this thread to maybe add some balance for anyone who looks on this site for ownership experiences!!    

[Neily03]

I love mine, now 25 months old with 41k miles on it.  Only problem i've had is rattling power boot struts which where changed under warranty.  Easily get low to mid 50's mpg too.  I'm now considering changing it for another when it's 3 year sold next October, might go for a DSG next time.

[PhilbvRS]

I'll add to it.

I'm a Renaultsport fan as a default, I've owned 7, 6 clios, 1 megane and still have battered 172 I use as a trackday car.

The reason I'm now on my 2nd Octavia vrs is i have 2 young girls and need a sensible car but as a car enthusiast I want something with a bit of something and the Octavia VRS tdi fits the bill. It's good looking(especially as an estate), quite quick, nice to drive and with the new one it even has proper brakes.

It's annoying me a little that the mpg is lower than I expected but other than that it's great.

[Ubbs]

Same boat as me although our vrs estate is my wife's, we've always had astra estates for the last 15 years, I'm mightily impressed by the skoda although early days yet as we've only had it just over a week, the only thing I've noticed is the rear heated window the last 2 lines don't seem to demist the heat line seems to be broken, but yeh I like it! so much that my a45 amg stays in the garage more often

[te@lc]

I owned only Audi's up to August. Bought a new VRS instead of new A4 in basic equipment (social as we call it in slang).

No regrets. I red a lots of things back theb, but none of them is bad as it was written. There are little compromises You must make if You come from premium, but much less than price difference.

One of the key things that made me buy it was the space between front and back seats for my two Gremlin's. First comments were: "Daddy we can play football back here".

What I also like is a 'retro dashboard design', more like Audi A4 B7, not the new 'curved' ones with controls below gearshift. It's up to personal taste, but I like it like on B7 and in current Octavia.

Design. I would never buy Škoda, but in third generation outline of the car design is very VAG-ish compared to previous generation, and it could last a while. I mean, a decade old Audi still jumps out of the mainstream design or ultra modern-two-years-lasting car design (French cars, Hyundai, Kia etc). Some cars impress in begining, but become ugly or common with time. VRS in third generation has a potential to have a long lasting good look and appearance in my opinion.

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[te@lc]

To add:

On rainy days I can blast it instead of motorcycle and enjoy the road. Half an hour later I can drive my two Gremlin's with all equipment to hills or a shore... All that in same car...

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[Simon667]

I've had mine about 9 months and have just shy of 10,000 miles.

 

 Ive had a mix of cars from fords, to hyundais to a merc c class estate

 

This is my favourite car to date. Massive inside- reasonably good fuel economy (low 50s average but can hit 60s on motorway) but also looks good and really goes when you boot it.

 

If only they did a 4wd manual VRS estate! That would be my ultimate all rounder

[PhilbvRS]

I owned only Audi's up to August. Bought a new VRS instead of new A4 in basic equipment (social as we call it in slang).

No regrets. I red a lots of things back theb, but none of them is bad as it was written. There are little compromises You must make if You come from premium, but much less than price difference.

One of the key things that made me buy it was the space between front and back seats for my two Gremlin's. First comments were: "Daddy we can play football back here".

What I also like is a 'retro dashboard design', more like Audi A4 B7, not the new 'curved' ones with controls below gearshift. It's up to personal taste, but I like it like on B7 and in current Octavia.

Design. I would never buy Škoda, but in third generation outline of the car design is very VAG-ish compared to previous generation, and it could last a while. I mean, a decade old Audi still jumps out of the mainstream design or ultra modern-two-years-lasting car design (French cars, Hyundai, Kia etc). Some cars impress in begining, but become ugly or common with time. VRS in third generation has a potential to have a long lasting good look and appearance in my opinion.

Poslano sa mog Mi-4c koristeći Tapatalk

Me and my other car geek mates were discussing the looks of current Skodas. Came to the conclusion Skoda is the best looking VAG. It's hansom where as Audi is a bit "chincie", SEAT is dull and VW you can't tell the R from the boggo ones.

[Skodev]

Had my VRS tdi estate for three months now and love it. Puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. It's quiet, frugal, quick and has plenty of spec. Love it.

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[Gabbo]

+1 Very happy Skoda customer.

 

The Octavia TDI is honestly the best car I have ever owned.

Practical, great fuel economy, huge space, quiet, techologically pretty advanced & faultless so far (plus great dealer service here in Switzerland).

 

Our 2nd car is a 2013 BMW 320d & in comparision it is heavier, clumsier & much more noisy to drive.

The technology really doesn't work as well & except for the highway it is really a chore to drive it compared with the Octavia.

 

Combined with the fact the 320 retail price is almost 2x the cost of my Octavia & I know where I will be going for my update.

[butchvrs]

Not a TDI and a hatch, but all the same a fantastic car.

 

This is my second VRS, the first being a mk1 which I owned for 11 years, it impressed me so much I bought the mk3.

 

Only minor gripe was the sunroof started to creak at around 4K miles, the dealer couldn't do enough, booked in for 3 days later, collected the car, did the repair, properly valeted it (the guy who collected was the valeter and I told him I had just detailed it so I would notice any scratches etc), and delivered back within 6 hours.

 

Very impressed with the service.

(Faintree Skoda, Telford)

[gullyg]

2 years, 25k on the clock of my vRS tdi manual estate and I love mine so much I'm seriously considering ordering another one, probably the 4x4.

My vRS had to get recovered last Sunday (engine overheating - stop immediately) so I'm currently driving an enterprise 2.0 tdi dsg Passat, nice enough but God I miss the vRS.

Most of all I miss the brakes. There's something brilliant about them on the vRS, not grabby but with plenty of beef.

Edited 24 November, 2015 by gullyg

[alancha]

And me - had mine about 16 months now.  After having had sporty small cars all my life (Golf GTi x 4, MX-5 x 2, Mini Cooper S...), I needed something with more carrying capacity as we often need to carry both a wheelchair and a mobility scooter in the car, and I preferred to stay with VAG and I liked the styling of the vRS estate.  I also wanted to save money on fuel and tax, so went for the diesel. The car really is great to drive - especially once you get on a windy country road in 3rd gear, where it's a joy.  With hindsight I'm slightly doubtful about the decision to go TDi now that it's turned out that diesels are the spawn of the devil - not helped by the VW scandal of course.

 

My only regret is the lack of reversing camera, which wasn't an option when I ordered mine.  I managed to reverse into a low rock in the dark last week, which wouldn't have happened if I'd had a camera.  Fortunately the damage is barely visible.

 

Overall, very pleased.

[jimmyp2]

I think when these cars are 3 years+ it will be the diesel estates which are sought after. People who buy 3year and older cars tend to want value for money and this is where the TDI excels. When I was looking at 3 year old Mk2 VRS's a couple of years back the diesel estates were fetching £3k+ more than the petrol hatchbacks. I don't expect that to change with the mk3 even with the vw emission thing, looks like the £30 road tax will hold with the cars already registered which will also be important.    

[WPUK]

Only had my vRS estate for about a month now but absolutely love it! Came from a LR Disco 4 which as lovely as it was, drank fuel like no other car I've owned. Seeing as its just me and the Mrs I wanted something with good MPG, comfy ride for our weekends away and practical and fast for all the kit I carry and my line of work. The vRS ticks all those boxes, drives like a standard estate in eco and as good as, if not better IMO, than the Merc C Class Coupe I had which was a 'sport coupe'. I get between 40-50mpg depending on where I go and how I drive and with the DSG and cruise control it can soak up the miles no issue.

 

I had one issue early on which was a major oil leak, caused by a leaking turbo manifold inlet (something like that) which was fixed by my Skoda dealer within 10 days while I drove around in a vRS saloon which didn't work as well for me.

 

Coming from BMW's, Mercs and LR's I was concerned I wouldn't like the quality but it is more solid and better to sit in than some 'high end' marques. Would highly recommend them to anyone and can't wait for the following months/years!
 

[0voyager0]

2 years, 25k on the clock of my vRS tdi manual estate and I love mine so much I'm seriously considering ordering another one, probably the 4x4.

My vRS had to get recovered last Sunday (engine overheating - stop immediately) so I'm currently driving an enterprise 2.0 tdi dsg Passat, nice enough but God I miss the vRS.

Most of all I miss the brakes. There's something brilliant about them on the vRS, not grabby but with plenty of beef.

Water pump failure?

[lostp]

Really like my car, space is great and realistically the cabin is 90% as good as a Golf. Just wish I had gone for the vRS instead of the 1.4 petrol unit now!

[Timoctav]

Hi jimmyp2! Great idea for a new thread from another Porsche enthusiast, we are on our fifth one, a Boxster GTS. We've had our Octavia Elegance 2.0D for two and a half years and 49,000 miles. It's probably one of the best cars I've owned for what it does. Nothing rattles, squeaks, has broken or fallen off. Running costs excluding depreciation very good, the fuel economy is outstanding for such a large car, seldom drops below 60 mpg. Tyre wear also good, replaced the fronts at 34,000 miles with 3mm tread remaining, tears are still original. I've never had a front wheel drive car that's been so easy on the front tyres. No the car is not in any way sporty or exciting to drive, but it doesn't pretend to be. Ride is firm, in fact bump absorption is not as good as the Boxster (which is on 20" wheels), but it is not overly uncomfortable. Yes a Golf with the same engine comes with the more sophisticated rear suspension, but you pay a huge premium for that. Plenty of room, far more than I need, cavernous boot, good driving position, great ergonomics, love the external and internal styling, quite classy for the bracket the car is in. Bravo Skoda for a great car!

Edited 14 December, 2015 by Timoctav

[jbyrnes82]

I started with a 1.6 TDi Elegance MK2 FL before trading up to a TDi VRS Mk2 FL, which was replaced 2 years later with a MK3 VRS TDi manual after a 9 month wait for delivery, after being wrecked by a 'youth' in an old focus after 9 weeks I looked around at all the options, was even offered a massive deal on a new Audi but it just didn't match the Mk3. 

 

As luck would have the local dealer had a demo that ticked all the spec boxes with the added bonus of DSG so I got down to the dealer quick and snapped it up.

 

Absolutely love them and am really struggling to find anything else that matches the spec, look and value (IMO of course)

[Jollyroger]

Agree with OP, great all-rounder car and overall impressed with my first Skoda. You get a few niggles with any car so this one is no different. Just hit 20k miles after 14 months, off to the Swiss Alps in it tomorrow so we'll see how it performs in snow for the first time.

[challymo]

Not a TDI and a hatch, but all the same a fantastic car.

 

This is my second VRS, the first being a mk1 which I owned for 11 years, it impressed me so much I bought the mk3.

 

Only minor gripe was the sunroof started to creak at around 4K miles, the dealer couldn't do enough, booked in for 3 days later, collected the car, did the repair, properly valeted it (the guy who collected was the valeter and I told him I had just detailed it so I would notice any scratches etc), and delivered back within 6 hours.

 

Very impressed with the service.

(Faintree Skoda, Telford)

 

I'm so glad to hear you say that about Faintree, picked my VRS estate up from them last week.

 

Back on topic, Have only had it for 200 miles/ 1 week so far and am still adjusting but first impressions are fantastic. I had a string of Fiat Punto's for 8 years and absolutely loved them, so much so I was struggling to find anything I was even tempted to look at, however the Octavia is a massive step up in quality compared to my previous punto evo sporting. I actually look forward to leaving for work now as I get to drive the Octavia!

[Neily03]

Carried 273 kilos of bathroom tiles in the boot at the weekend without any problems :clap:

Edited 16 December, 2015 by Neily03

[KarlO3V5]

Had mine for a couple of months now after having a 2013 C220 AMG Sport+.

 

It's not built as well as the Merc but I love it! I really struggled with the saloon.

[GuyVXT]

I've had a couple of Renaultsport Clio's, a VX220 turbo, an Evo IX, Fiesta ZetecS diesel, amongst other cars. I tend to get bored easily but I am really enjoying my VRS TDI Estate. Decent looking, practical, nice to drive and a nice interior with plenty of tech. Now on 2700 miles.

[Genoa1893]

I agree with the OP about all the virtues of the Octy3. I enjoyed a lot my MkII VRS TDI.

 

My second Octy is an Elegance because I falled in love with RWD and about 18 months ago a plain (no VRS) AWD was the most near solution in term of traction.

 

I think that next one will very probably be an AWD VRS.