After saying goodbye to my '09 pre FL VRS TDI hatch two years ago, I'm back.

 

I've been given the go ahead for a new company car, a VRS 4x4 estate, happy days. I'm also allowed £2,000 of options, so...let the fun begin. Suggestions please!

 

Some factors to consider:

 

Colour options are basically narrowed down to either quartz or meteor grey, leaning towards quartz right now, there's £360 gone.

 

Black design package plus is non negotiable as far as I'm concerned   so another £800 gone

 

Add leather (three kids, so pretty necessary for cleanability!) and there's another £925 including heated front seats...BOOM, budget busted.

 

What would you do?

 

Also, are there any options available that aren't listed on Skoda's configurator, are there any facelifts imminent, and are there any common issues with the MKIII that I need to know about?

 

DPF's were a nightmare on my two previous VRS's - 08 TDI PD and 09 TDI CR. They were both eventually removed. I know all about regen etc, and did big miles in both (40k + per year), but still they played up.

 

Thanks in advance!

Forget the leather. Whilst it may look nice, it can be a devil to clean and if damaged expensive to repair. It can also burn the back of your legs & backside if you leave the car in the sun!

 

Heated seats/Windscreen are a must for those cold winter days.

 

Folding wing mirrors useful for parking on the street, so they don't get knocked off.

 

Kessy, Keyless entry is so nice and add the park assist is great for getting in & out of a tight space (parallel)

 

Adaptive cruise. Cruise is so useful especially when you have SPECS cameras around or controlled motorways such as M20/25/42, set the speed and you don't have to worry about getting a ticket. I use it all of the time on the M25.

Edited 2 March, 201610 yr by TheWanderer

I second that adaptive cruise is a really nice thing to have!

I'd also just go black pack rather than full design pack if you're trying to make the £2k go a bit further. Meteor plus black pack looks awesome, and doesn't need 19s to pull it off I don't think.

Leather seats do have additional adjustability which is nice

If you are keen on the leather, could you swap the VRs for a SE-L Superb with same engine ?

The pricing is odd, as adding options to the Octy sometimes takes it above the cost of the Superb which includes those features.

My spec?  Don't have one at all!

Forget the leather. Whilst it may look nice, it can be a devil to clean and if damaged expensive to repair. It can also burn the back of your legs & backside if you leave the car in the sun!

 

Heated seats/Windscreen are a must for those cold winter days.

 

Folding wing mirrors useful for parking on the street, so they don't get knocked off.

 

Kessy, Keyless entry is so nice and add the park assist is great for getting in & out of a tight space (parallel)

 

Adaptive cruise. Cruise is so useful especially when you have SPECS cameras around or controlled motorways such as M20/25/42, set the speed and you don't have to worry about getting a ticket. I use it all of the time on the M25.

 

+1 for this spec.

 

I dont understand why leather seats are a premium feature, i find them horrible & would never pay £1000 extra for them.

Even in warm conditions (not hot) your back & ar$e get sweaty, let alone a really sunny day when it burns your legs.

 

Personally, I would never pay money for cosmetic things like the black pack.

For the same money you can have AutoTailgate which I would find  much more useful.

 

But then thats why they have these options so everyone can get the car that they want.

If you are keen on the leather, could you swap the VRs for a SE-L Superb with same engine ?

The pricing is odd, as adding options to the Octy sometimes takes it above the cost of the Superb which includes those features.

Superb has the newer 190 engine, but agree with this. The Superb is the nicer car by a long shot too.

Agree with the vRS vs Superb argument.

 

I looked at vRS Estate DSG Diesel but with my lease allowance (company car) couldn't get it anywhere near the equipment which the SE-L Superb could offer. I could however add options to the Superb which is what I did.

 

It'll more than likely be residual values / resale values impacting on the monthly lease for the vRS.

I went for full leather black design folding mirrors kessy sunset glass winter pack and smart link

I've got 2 kids and have to say that leather is not the wisest option. Take a normal velour or whatever and just make sure it's not beige;)

Last Superb that I had was alcantara/leather combo in beige...a complete disaster - 1 week in jeans was enough to make it hard to look at. Only the leather was the problem though - alcantara was not affected.

As for the options - just make sure that you choose the navi/infotainment that you are 100% satisfied with. Afterwards it's kinda problematic...see my other post / struggle if you like.

Other thing - both sensor arrays front/back are a big help in the city.

 

In general - I agree with the octy/superb comment. If you can afford superb, even at expense of some options - I would say go for it.

I had 3 Superbs already (I, II, II after FL) and they all were...well - superb:) I went for Octy this time to save some cash and have a bit of change. Good stuff too, but if you drive more and / or have kids, I would say Sup is a better choice. All the options...are just "options" on the car, while the car itself is what matters most.

In general, especially with the new Sup, the comfort levels and available space are much, much more than a gimmick.

Other thing: I'm missing kessy now a bit, but there is more and more on the news that cars with this system are much easier to "loose". There were many instances of cars being stolen after the keys were scanned during e.g. shopping.

In other words - I do miss it but just "a bit"

Same may apply to other wireless access points to your car (Smart gate/link, WiFi, 3G) - it's all weak points in the security and new tools are being developed by smart-ass kids to make it even easier to hack, without even touching your car.

See here for example:

this could have been done from miles away...

Black pack, Dimming folding mirrors, heated seats and washers (not fussed about the screen), front sensors, spare wheel...maybe Canton if the stock sound system hasnt improved at all on earlier cars.

I wouldnt go too wild...all you'll do is increase the BIK on the car and pay more tax.

Heated screen and seats, black pack, smart link, front sensors, sunset glass, folding mirrors, footwell lights spare wheel. Maybe the electric tail gate if budget then allows.

Plus 1 more for the superb agruement. Better spec and newer model. Just the size swayed me to the Octavia.

As for options it's such a personal thing.

Thanks all. Regarding the Superb, the 4x4 necessity is the killer - I would have to go with a 150bhp 4x4 Superb to get within the budget, and I really don't want to do that. I actually had a Superb 280 TSI 4x4 demo for a week - that was awesome  , sadly beyond my reach though.

 

In my experience, leather has been a whole lot easier to remove 'kiddy debris' from too. 

 

The black design pack plus just makes the car IMHO - I really like the 19's especially. :yes:

I'd go for black pack, leather, parking sensors, sunset glass out of that list.

I have kids and swear by heated leather now. The amount of muddy football boot prints and other debris I have to clean off is unreal.

Thanks all. Regarding the Superb, the 4x4 necessity is the killer - I would have to go with a 150bhp 4x4 Superb to get within the budget, and I really don't want to do that. I actually had a Superb 280 TSI 4x4 demo for a week - that was awesome , sadly beyond my reach though.

In my experience, leather has been a whole lot easier to remove 'kiddy debris' from too.

The black design pack plus just makes the car IMHO - I really like the 19's especially. :yes:

Simple tuning box puts the 150 to 195-200 BHP...worth considering.

hello

 

I also think meteor grey with standard black pack

spare wheel ( a must )

folding mirrors

sunset glass

front and rear mud flaps ( dealer fit )

cornering fogs

canton ( miles better than standard system )

tow bar ( always better to have a factory fit )

variable floor

 

I also agree to leave the leather as the standard seats

are very good ( in my opinion )

and use the money towards some of the above,

 

good luck.

The three I'd want most is the winter pack, sunroof and Canton, but you probably don't have quite enough budget for all of them.

Would love sunroof, Columbus, heated rear seats too (for the kids!). Parking sensors are a no-brainer too. Guess this is one of life's luxury problems!

 

I've looked at speccing up a Superb 150 4x4, and take the point re tuning box - (I've had them before, also remaps), but doubt I'd get the company to pay for it 

 

The Superb would still end up very similar in price when options are added, in fact I don't think I'd save anything once built to preferred spec, and it'd still be a bit slower.

 

I'm going to ask the question and see if I can contribute to the cost, and add some more options. :yes: May as well get it right & enjoy it!

 

I think any employee contribution comes off the company car tax bill too, according to comcar.co.uk, so that's a plus side.

 

 

I have  an '09 VRs and should be placing an order for a petrol VRs on Saturday so have been digging through the options.  I'm a gadget man so I may be looking at more than is sensible, but hey, this will be my first new car order since 2000 !

 

Leather - have leather seats in my current VRs and it's great for clearing up the kids crap as well as looking good.  Never had an issue with burnt ar$e in hot weather

 

Heated front windscreen - Have heard great things about it on other cars, very keen on this

 

Spare wheel - essential.  Hate the foam crap, never seems to work in my experience

 

Extra airbags - gotta keep the kids safe in the back

 

SmartLink - have read really good things about Android Auto

 

Extra parking sensors - Wife is very keen on these

 

Black pack - love the look, but could remove if the cost gets too high

 

Colour maxidot - as above

 

Front assistant - like the idea of some help in not bashing into the guy in front!

 

Powered / dimming mirrors - seem like a good idea to me

A few more questions if I may:

 

• Is Amundsen std & does this include sat nav?
• Is Bluetooth std?
• Any new colours available not shown on Skoda configurator?
• Is there a facelift due anytime soon?
• Any options not shown on the configurator?
• Meteor Grey or Quartz grey if no new colours available?  :p

Thanks all!

A few more questions if I may:

• Is Amundsen std & does this include sat nav?
• Is Bluetooth std?
• Any new colours available not shown on Skoda configurator?
• Is there a facelift due anytime soon?
• Any options not shown on the configurator?
• Meteor Grey or Quartz grey if no new colours available? :p

Thanks all!

Amundsen is standard and is SD driven nav

Bluetooth with voice control is standard

Not that im aware of

Facelift is coming but not for a good while

Not that I am aware of

Quartz grey but Meteor is IMHO nice and a bit of a left field choice.

Amundsen is standard and is SD driven nav

Bluetooth with voice control is standard

Not that im aware of

Facelift is coming but not for a good while

Not that I am aware of

Quartz grey but Meteor is IMHO nice and a bit of a left field choice.

 

Thanks - very helpful! I'm leaning towards Meteor right now for that reason, and I think it won't show the dirt so easily