But the best one was the octavia MK1 1.9 TDI, sadly  I sold it after doing more than 280.000 trouble free Km in it.

Yes Km...I live in Belgium.

 

 

Which is exactly 1000 trips from one end of Belgium to the other   Those 1,9PD engines seemed to go forever.

 

EDI: Tidy up the quote

Edited 1 March, 201610 yr by susi

I'm on my first Skoda. Previous cars was a Seat Leon 1,9 TDI I drove for 11! years and before that a two Citroëns, a Xantia Activa and a ZX Furio.

Overall I am quite happy. I had a minor warranty claim on a strange noise from the clutch-pedal (mine is a manual) within the first weeks, and then I have had some rattling from my panoramic roof, which they seem to finally have sorted it out. Only real letdown is the harsh rear suspension. Next time I will definitely choose the multi link suspension. I originally test drove a hatchback version and I didn't notice it as harsh, but when leaving the dealer with my brand new car after almost 7 months waiting the harsh ride was the first I noticed. On country roads and motorways it is perfectly fine though. Also I am not overly impressed by the gearshift and the clutch. The gear shift is clunky compared to most other cars I have driven and the clutch is a bit strange. The clutch point is strangely undefined and unforgiving, so you easily stalls the engine. Compared to my old Leon that could almost be driven at idle around in city traffic without using the speeder at all only by changing the gears, it was difficult to get used too, and I still occasionally stalls the engine.

I am very happy about the interior's look, comfort and roominess, and I don't think the soundproofing is a problem.

The new Octavia 1.8 TSI Style edition has now done it's first 2000Km, not a lot I know but just enough to give my first impressions of the car.

I love it, to bits ! The engine is so smooth, inside the car it is whisper quite, knowing the Belgian roads are among the worst in the world and yes I am running the car on 18" wheels.

No booming, no wind noise, no rattles in fact my brother drives a VW Phaeton even he was impressed how silent the Octavia was.

Just wondering, would Skoda put less sound insulation in UK cars ? The Octavia does have the multilink suspension, could be the big difference I don't know.

The sound system is the standard Columbus and once again I must say it sounds impressive, deep full bass nice mid.tone and crispy high, all in good balance.

Again why the difference to the UK car's ?

 

On strange thing, when lifting the hood the first time to check the oil (I do this every week !) I noticed that all the aluminium parts were white corroded and not just a little.

The car was made to order, so hadn't being parked for a long time, in fact it was delivered 3 week early.

Took it to the dealer to ask for some sort of explanation....just got a load of S..T, road salt and what ever....road salt, the car was 600Km old and had not seen any winter conditions, in fact the rear calipers (also alloy) are sparkling bright little things, road salt my.... 

 

Is it better than the Octavia MK1 we had before for 13 years ? Absolutely yes, all I have to do now is hope it will stay this way for the next 13 years, time will tell.

But I fear all the moderen stuff Skoda put in the new cars, that sayed I remember me thinking the same thing about the MK1 Octavia 13 years back, and it proved to have been the best car we ever had...still miss it sometimes, but then I see the new Octavia on the driveway and all is well.

Having a few issues, the front parking sensors can be a bit weird and telling me I'm too close when there is not another car for 6+ foot at least.

 

SAT nav has thrown a wobbly or 2, once taking a proper shutdown before it loaded properly and another when it was giving completely different road signs, like telling me to come off the A406 and take the slip road to the M25. Think I might attempt a firmware update to see if it fixes, I have my iPhone as a backup just in case.

 

The gear selector is freeing up a bit now, it was a bit notchy at first to get in gear, not a problem and there is no issue with gearbox or the clutch as such. It does get easier when the gearbox/engine is warm, I am aware other people were having difficult in the cold weather.

 

Apart from that I am very happy even when I am stuck in traffic :-) .

Edited 17 March, 201610 yr by davitc

I'm on my first Skoda. Previous cars was a Seat Leon 1,9 TDI I drove for 11! years and before that a two Citroëns, a Xantia Activa and a ZX Furio.

Overall I am quite happy. I had a minor warranty claim on a strange noise from the clutch-pedal (mine is a manual) within the first weeks, and then I have had some rattling from my panoramic roof, which they seem to finally have sorted it out. Only real letdown is the harsh rear suspension. Next time I will definitely choose the multi link suspension. I originally test drove a hatchback version and I didn't notice it as harsh, but when leaving the dealer with my brand new car after almost 7 months waiting the harsh ride was the first I noticed. On country roads and motorways it is perfectly fine though. Also I am not overly impressed by the gearshift and the clutch. The gear shift is clunky compared to most other cars I have driven and the clutch is a bit strange. The clutch point is strangely undefined and unforgiving, so you easily stalls the engine. Compared to my old Leon that could almost be driven at idle around in city traffic without using the speeder at all only by changing the gears, it was difficult to get used too, and I still occasionally stalls the engine.

I am very happy about the interior's look, comfort and roominess, and I don't think the soundproofing is a problem.

No doubt the standard suspension is poor, but you will find the ride quality improves over time. Mine has improved no end. Its like a different car suspension wise.

It will never be brilliant, but it should improve a lot as it loosens up.

This is my first skoda.

 

I went from a 1.25 petrol 2010 Fiesta with 82 bhp  to a VRS TDI Estate.

 

I'm super happy with it. I've had very few problems but Skoda dealers in Yorkshire (Mr Keith) have sorted without hassle or fuss under warranty

 

 

Pros:

Great Engine - really pulls well and is very efficient on longer runs (55 + MPG)

 

Boot size - as a rep I'm forever carrying loads of items around and having the capability to carry as much as I do is a great advantage

 

Looks - mine is Race Blue with dark anthracite Hawk alloys and looks the business

 

Tech on board - Bluetooth is great, its nice to have built in sat nav , cruise, auto lights etc

 

most of all I enjoy driving it!

 

 

Cons:

 

Ride - I love the sports seats in the VRS but the ride with the standard tyres (I got bridgestones on mine) was just way too fidgety and hard. I swapped to winters which has massively improved the ride quality and reduced road noise noticeably. Motorway cruising is fine - but on local roads and b roads the rides pretty hard.

 

Cabin noise - when cruising at motorway speeds I find the engine settles down and is lovely and quiet. But wind noise and tyre noise is high and gets a bit wearing

 

Tech: The standard bolero sound system is pretty awful (wish I got canton) also the sat nav (which I didn't spec but got free) is pretty useless - taking you the daftest of routes and generally being a bit unrealistic

 

Range - the 50L fuel tank could do with being that little bit bigger - if it was 60L it would be perfect- 450 to 500 miles to a tank is pretty normal for me

 

Alloys - the standard hawk alloys are a nightmare to parallel park with as they actually stand proud of the rim of the tyre. I have dinged 2 of em so far :(

 

 

Overall I don't regret it for a second. When my lease runs out I may very well get another one ordered with some choice options (sunroof, canton, smart link)

Have had the Octavia LB 1.6 TDI Style DSG now almost three weeks and driven just under 1200km.

The style trim level in Finland is a pretty good match with what I wanted (Xenon lights with afs, front and back parking sensors, colour maxi dot, bolero, heated front seats, folding mirrors, climatronic, drive mode selection, etc. etc.) added just the ACC and Winter Pack, which here includes heated windscreen, heated rear seats, fabric carpets and the Webasto auxiliary heater.

In general really like the car. Interior and boot space were one criteria on selecting Octavia. No disappointments there at all. I'm 6'5 and find the standard seat perfectly usable. Support for thigh could be a bit better, but I seldomly drive more than 250km at one go for which the seat is fine.

Performance was bit of a concern, but have been positively surprised.

It's a little more noisy than would prefer, but then I have studded winter tyres and the roads here are not the smoothest either.

Bolero sound quality isn't that impressive, but fine for my needs.

Will have to fill up a couple of more times to really form an opinion about the fuel consumption. But I already think that the tank is just too small, especially as the aux heater will not start if fuel warning light is lit.

DSG is smooth most of the time, but in the parking lots I dearly miss the torque converter automatic I had in my -95 Volvo.

ACC is just plain great.

Also the auxiliary heater works well. Can turn it on with remote while at home or sitting by my desk at the office. Using it pretty much whenever the outdoor temperature is below +5C.

Bluetooth connectivity works well. Got also the Android Auto and SmartGate working with, my Xperia Z3 tablet at first try. Haven't used much those though.

In general find it to be of very good value. Would choose again. The 5.5 month wait was a bit annoying though. Never got any explanation for the delay.

No doubt the standard suspension is poor, but you will find the ride quality improves over time. Mine has improved no end. Its like a different car suspension wise.

It will never be brilliant, but it should improve a lot as it loosens up.

I have had it since January 2014 and it has covered about 65,000 km's by now. I don't think it will loosen up much more. The gearhift has gotten noticeably better though.

I have had it since January 2014 and it has covered about 65,000 km's by now. I don't think it will loosen up much more. The gearhift has gotten noticeably better though.

Apologies, dont know what made me think it was brand new.

You are pretty much in the same boat as me as mine isnt much older. The suspension is a pain unless on lovely smooth roads. Its a shame as the car could be nearly impossible to beat with just a couple of extras- MultiLink suspension, and slightly better sound deadening (although this isnt as bad as some make out)

Went out with friends in their Merc yesterday. He uses stop/start all the time and it was driving me mad.

If my 1.4 TSi did not have the instant stop-start disable button I think I would have got rid of it by now.

Am I the only person in the world who likes stop/start?

No I like stop start on my 1.6 elegance

No i like it. Handy as well having the disable button easily at hand. Just in case you arent going to be stopped long enough, or dont think you will be.

Had my nearly new DSG Scout for a couple of months now and it's done 5k miles so far. Have to say this iteration of stop-start is bonkers! You brake to a halt and as long as you keep the Brake pedal on the engine stops ... ok, so far so good. But as soon as you take your foot off the brake pedal, the engine starts again, Yet, the Highway Code remarks to the effect that you should not be stationary, waiting, with your brake lights dazzling the person behind! Seem to recall that on the 2010 Landrover Freelander TD4e I had a few years ago, the stop-start started again when the accelerator was pressed. I just cannot see the point of the version on the Scout!

Very pleasant to drive with real getup & go when needed, though I look forward to the engine loosening up a fair bit & getting better acquainted with getting a more economical mpg out of the DSG box! Legroom front & rear is really impressive.

I've owned my new Octavia for 4 weeks now and have done just over 600 miles.  It's my first Skoda and so far I'm very happy with it.  Previously I owned a long line of Fords and Renaults with a couple of Peugeots and Volkswagens.  Fuel consumption is consistently better than 50 mpg around town and 60 mpg plus on a decent run.  Performance from the 1.6 TDI is more than adequate and the engine is smooth and quite refined.

 

A lot of people criticise the ride on the Octavia, but I don't think it's that bad.  My previous car was a VW Jetta with sports suspension which felt like a skateboard riding over cobbles.  The Octavia is so much better.

 

I like the level of equipment, although some things I am unlikely to ever use.  Leaving home/coming home lights seem pretty pointless and were the first things I disabled.  The light assist I'm not sure about but I'll give it a go.  I've never found it too onerous to dip the headlights myself.

3 weeks and 600 miles in and I can make a sensible assessment. I have come to Skoda off the back of an A3 sportback 1.6 Tdi which I have given back as I have left the company I worked for on voluntary redundancy (yippee!) so its a bit unfair to compare a Skoda to an Audi but previous cars have included several VW Passat's and a Golf so they are a fairer comparison.

 

The Skoda is of similar build quality with plenty of the cabin switch gear resembling that found in VW, it is well put together and to be honest much better than I was expecting (probably better built than my Mk6 Passat and Mk6 Golf). However, it is a far noisier ride than the VW's so I guess they save money by scrimping on the sound proofing, and initially I had the dreaded boom with a feeling of nausea and earache when I drove the car, however since I put some silent coat down on the boot floor, put a deep layer of carpet underlay underneath the carpet and tightened up the hatch bumpers this is much improved, albeit over rough surfaces it is still noisier than I would like but as I say I'm coming to this after driving an Audi. I have also fitted a bonnet liner but not sure that has made a huge difference as all the noise comes from the road (some of that will also be down to the Conti 5's)

 

I have a couple of other minor gripes including water in front door sills (but I has exactly the same problem in my last Passat so its clearly a VAG issue) but all in all I am pleased - its a great car with plenty of space and well spec'd for the money and given its cost I am prepared to put up with its shortcomings.

 

 

toni8b took the words out of my mouth. I've had a mk 2 1.9 Octy for 5 years, bought as a workhorse during a house renovation. It's been perfect for that role and I was considering replacing it with a newish Mk 3 Octavia. However, I don't understand those who dismiss the lack of refinement and sound insulation as a fairly minor issue. Refinement is a huge issue for me, perhaps the most important of all, as road noise and engine noise will tire you out very quickly on a long drive.In fact, I bought a 1999 Lexus LS 400 for long trips and it is in a different world, being one of the most refined cars ever made (60 engineers working solely and obsessively on NVH - noise, vibration and harshness.). I'm a bit lost in choosing a replacement. I'm looking at newish Mondeos, may stretch to a newish 3 series GT, although I don't really want to spend that much. I may try a Superb, although it would probably be a late MK 2. I wish I could hire one for a couple of days, it takes that to get to know a car. My prorities ( as I suspect is the case for many) are ride comfort and refinement, not shaving two seconds off at the Nurburgring, which is a point that seems lost on car makers. From what I read, even most Citroens now have a harsh ride. It's a dilemma