It's been a while since I was last seen on this forum, perhaps because I've been so happy with my 2010 (MY2011) Scout. It was a factory-ordered 2.0 diesel, with a very high spec, chipped to 125kW,  and has been totally faultless for almost 6 years. 

 

I recently had an accident (fell off my roof, smashed myself up a bit). As a result, driving a manual is a real challenge. So, I'm considering trading up to a new DSG Scout. 

 

I'd be really interested in feedback from anyone who has moved from an Octavia (in particular, a Scout) mk2 to a mk3.  I'm particularly interested in new car build quality, refinement, reliability, petrol vs diesel, must-have options (that said, the NZ standard spec is pretty high).  Or if you have purchased a mk3 Scout, having come from another brand, what you love or hate about your new car. 

 

I look foward to some thought-provoking responses :-).

 

Simon

Hi Simon,  sorry to hear about your accident & trust recovery continues to go well.

 

I upgraded from 2010 Scout just over a year ago, after 5 reliable years with my first Scout.  The new model seems a step up but some of that is a change to CR engine, my mk2 was one of the last with PD unit.  Have no complaints after 20k miles (32k kms) build quality seems much the same, some have complained about squeaks & rattles.  I might just be deaf but only had minor squeak from B pillar area on drivers side that was sorted with a quick spray of silicon to the door catch.

 

Came standard with Amundsen, voice control, lane assist & half leather which are useful additions over the previous version (NZ spec may be different). Have lost the little storage box in the rear armrest & umbrella locker behind the rear load cover but can live without.

 

Have 150 manual so can't comment on DSG but current car does everything as well as the previous one while seeming a little bit more refined.

 

Will be interesting to read other responses.

Last week we changed our silver 2010 Octy Scout 1.8tsi to a silver 2017 Octy Scout 2.0td1 DSG.

First, you'll note I'm seriously boring about cars and colour, the motto being: 'If it ain't broke....'.

So why change? Well nearly 80,000 fairly trouble-free miles and some impending chunky bills (eg Brakes had needed no work in the entire 80K miles, but would soon.) and a VERY tempting deal (£11K off new cost!) for a car with 2+years manufacturers warranty to run did the trick.

So what's different at early sight?

Negs first.

No closeable 'cupboards' in the 'boot' space. Nowhere to store the umbrellas atop the rear seats; the compartment is no more. The rear seats do not drop to give a flat floor. The centre glove box has shrunk, as has the front glove box. The seats and the steering wheel do not have such a wide range of adjustment so to get semi comfortable requires me to give up any hope of seeing the top of the dashboard dials. The chrome 'bits' around the front side air vents reflect in the outside mirror and the moulding across the top of the dashboard reflects on the windscreen at night. The 'repeater' indicator lights on the exterior mirrors are distracting to the driver and do not help night-time vision at all! There is no CD player. The 'ride' is harder and the standard wheels look a bit forlorn in the wheel arches because the new car appears to ride higher than the old one. There is no provision for 'rubbing strips' along the doors because the shape of the doors probably make strips redundant; so look for big car park spaces to avoid 'door rash' in the supermarket car park. There is no protective top surface on top of the rear bumper/below the boot lid.

Enough! Perhaps I should take the car back to the dealer......?!

Well, no, actually.

Because the car redeems itself in many other ways.

For instance some of the Skoda 'twiddly bits' have got better. There are TWO bag hangers on each side of the boot space. And next to those are two catches you can tug to drop  the rear seats forward without all the former scrabbling about in the passenger cabin, moving front seats to allow the rear seats to drop into 'big boot' position. There is, indeed , an ice scraper tucked away inside the petrol flap (must stop saying that. This one's a diesel!!).

The standard music system is much improved, even over the old one, which was, anyway, no slouch . The 'media system' is a revelation. Want to play all your music on an SD card in alphabetical order? No problem! File access in comparison to the old car is lightning fast. The (standard) Sat Nav. seems to work adequately (although I still prefer TomTom's way of post code entry) and the various volume control options and steering wheel based controls are very clever. Blue tooth connections are fast and the telephone system works well (there were none of these conveniences in the old car).

But the important changes are 'on the road'. The car handles very well indeed, is (a bit) quicker off the line and the brakes are first class.

Even with the change to a diesel engine the car is quieter and the 'ride' is as comfortable as the previous model.

The 6 speed auto DSG box is quick and smooth. 

The passenger space seems 'cavernous'. We swapped a MK1 Octy 4x4  for the old Scout and the rear leg room improvement was vast. The new Scout is even better. The seats are (standard) leather (and whatever), comfortable and do look posh!

The fuel consumption seems to be about 15(ish)% better (40 mpg v 35 mpg) but not, I think, a very impressive improvement. Road tax is reduced by a third (ish) and Insurance (in these, my Saga years) is also cheaper despite the car being worth maybe 4 times as much as the old model.

I would be very interested to hear about the experience of any other members of this august forum  with their Mk3 Octy Tdi DSG Scout.  Meantime; good luck and good driving!

 

I went from an Oct 2 Scout 2010 to an Oct 3 Scout 2016 and there are massive differences.  The new one is more refined, more toys, quieter and more comfortable.  The MPG isn't as good in my 2016 Scout compared to the old one (both manual diesels).  As above cheaper tax and insurance

 

I miss the under seat storage on the passenger seat but that's about it.  My 2016 has Columbus and Media Pack so has a CD /DVD player in glovebox but I rarely use it as I put most my music onto SD cards.  Speaking of which the new stereo is crap, the sound is tinny and it distorts / vibrates where's as the old one was very good imo.

 

The wing mirrors also seem very small on the new ones and I agree that the mirror indicators that can be seen when driving are a distraction at night, many times I've glanced across / seen out of the corner of my eye the flashing light and thought it's a car coming up the inside.  If I was a real issue I would black it out with permanent marker or black paint.

 

Overall though, the improvements are massive and going from 2010 to 2016 the difference is like night and day.

 

 

Very interesting to read new owner's thoughts. Our 2010 FL Scout with lots of options is still going very strong. It’s provided 56,000 kms of essentially trouble free motoring. As someone who normally changes their car about as often as I change my socks, 7+ years of ownership is unheard of. If money were no object, I’d probably have traded now, but given the trade in value and the fact that this car still does everything I want it to do, reliably, comfortably and economically, and it still looks good, I can see no justification in purchasing a new one. 

 

Our other car car is a BMW i3, and I’m totally sold on electric. I honestly don’t think I will buy another ICE vehicle. I’m looking forward to seeing Skoda’s offerings in this space. 

Upgraded from a 09 plate 1.9 diesel estate to my Scout, on a 66 plate, as said already I miss the under passenger seat storage and the umbrella storage in the boot.  Again no closable boot storage, had to buy a spare as only a puncture repair kit ( full size alloy in my 09.

 

For me the engine is a delight, more pull than my old car, like the 6 speed manual, MPG little less if not on par with my 1.9.

 

was a bit disappointed to find the smart link did not work after reading the boards on here it would seem their is no way to retrofit even from a main dealer.

 

All in all well happy with my third Skoda and hopefully will look after me in the upcoming snow

The dsg gearbox is a lovely thing you need to test drive one and see. Whatever anyone says, actually using it is the only true test. With 6 gears to play with letting it decide what to do will let you concentrate on the other aspects of driving. If you really want to change gears, you have the paddles to play with and if you forget  to change gears it will take over again.