Hi. This is my first post and I'm after some advice.

Planning to buy an Octavia diesel in the spring to replace my Seat Leon (not struck on the new shape). Of all the features I want, one of the most important to me is climate control. My brochure tells me that the Ambiente has climate control, but the Seat site says it only has air con. I'm not sure I can afford the extra cost of the Elegance. Can anyone advise me? Or are there other reasons to splash out on the Elegance?

Thanks in anticipation.

Richard

The Ambiente comes with 'Climatic Air Conditioning with Automatic Regulation'. This is very basic climate control where the cabin sensor controls the mix of hot and cold air according to the temperature setting on the dial. It doesn't however automatically control the fan speed so the response and effectiveness isn't up to that of Climate Control. It is an effective step up from standard air conditioning though.

As for upgrading to the Elegance, the following are the extras you get by upgrading and my own comments:-

Front Fog Lights - Waste of time

Sun glasses holder - Handy but could live without it (the drop down door creaks too)

Rear arm rest - waste of time

Cruise Control - Waste of time unless you do a lot of non-congested motorway trips

Auto Dipping Rear View Mirror - Nice touch, I do really like this

Rain sensor - Nice idea but a real annoyance sometimes

Door mirrors with lights below - Look good but not really helpful

Jumbo box front armrest - Storage box too small for anything and armrest handy on long journeys but mostly just prevents you reaching the handbrake easily.

Dual Climate Control - Highly effective and nice integration of mode/temp selection displayed on the radio. Would not be without.

Rear Parking Sensors - Work great and also integrates nicely with radio to give visual indication of distances. Would not be without.

Leather steering wheel, gearstick gaiter and handbrake lever - Not essential but steering wheel has really nice feel to it.

Headlight Washers - I have the stupid light assistant option which turns my headlights on often in broad daylight so the result is that the washer tank just empties really quickly as the headlights wash with the windscreen when they are on. Headlights still get dirty.

Some food for thought

Rant over

I have an Ambiente and my opinions on the differences Johnny mentions ...

Front Fog Lights - Make the car look nicer from the front

Sun glasses holder - Handy, but I use the compartment on top of the dash instead

Rear arm rest - waste of time - never have rear seat passengers

Cruise Control - Hate it

Auto Dipping Rear View Mirror - Helpfully maybe twice a year

Rain sensor - I know when its raining

Door mirrors with lights below - Look good but not really helpful

Jumbo box front armrest - Would like an armrest.

Dual Climate Control - Never had it

Rear Parking Sensors - You soon learn how long the car is. Make the rear bumper look a mess.

Leather steering wheel, gearstick gaiter and handbrake lever - I like the leather steering wheel.

Headlight Washers - Useful at this time of year but not the rest of the year.

For the options I wanted (sunglasses holder, steering wheel and armrest) it wasn;t worth splashing out on the extra.

Oh, you get bigger alloys on the Elegance too, but I can live without.

I recall thinking the extras well worth the extra price, considering the particular deals I was being offered. [This was between Ambiente and Elegance 2.0FSI, not diesel.] Am very glad I got the Elegance, and recall thinking the L&K not worth the extra for what I wanted. Also not sure if Ambiente had an alloy spare, which I prefer to a steel spare.

I use most of the Elegance extras, most of the time, and the added-up cost of them was much more than the actual difference in the car prices in my "negotiations."

Ive test drove the Ambient and ive owned an Elegance and imho it has to be the Elegance every time. Im one of those people who has to have as many toys as possible. Theres nothing worse in a car than blank spaces where the extra buttons should be, and every time you drive the car you are reminded of the items you havent got.

I agree there are things on the Elegance that are not 100% necessary but for the extra money you get a lot of kit, Spec it with heated leather and throw on the 17" pegasus alloys + sports suspension and it makes for a very nice car indeed.

Forgot to say have you considered an ex demo car, there are great deals to be had if you can handle not having a brand spanking new model. I find you can have demos with extras like sat nav or leather for the same price as a standard new model, it takes some shopping around but its all worth it when you find the right car, just forget the fact it may have 1-5000 miles on it and lap up the extra toys you have, and theres no waiting weeks or even months for delivery. Dont forget the car will still have maybe 2+ years of warranty so almost the same peace of mind as buying brand new.

Also not sure if Ambiente had an alloy spare, which I prefer to a steel spare.

Hmmm touchy subject. It says in the brochure that it does, but mine didn't. Something else I will bring up when it goes for a service next week.

I... just forget the fact it may have 1-5000 miles on it...

Don't forget that all of these miles will probably have been obtained with no regard to proper running in, no respect for a cold engine and no sympathy for tyres or clutch.

But on the up-side, the dealer should have made sure every little rattle or defect has been fixed as the quality of the car is used to sell the others

I own an Elegance but had an Ambient for an extended period while a problem on my car was being investigated. The Elegance wins hands down on two main features as far as I am concerned:-

Auto Dipping Rear View Mirror - I get very annoyed when drving the wifes car as I have to manaually dip the rear view mirror. Once you have Auto Dip you just take it for granted, it is only when you drive a car without that you realise just how good it is.

Dual Climate Control - Absolutely brilliant.

As well as the top two features I use the Cruise Control frequently. Took a bit of getting used to but I now use it in most speed limited areas on motorways and main roads. It can be used in moderate traffic if you are careful. Absolutely invaluable on long motorway runs under light to moderate traffic conditions.

My comments on the other extras.

Front Fog Lights - Have been useful in fog.

Sun glasses holder - Not quite a waste of space.

Rear arm rest - no real views

Rain sensor - A mixed blessing. The are erratic in moderate rain but very good under all other conditions.

Door mirrors with lights below - very useful after dark

Jumbo box front armrest - Useful.

Rear Parking Sensors - Very useful especially in tight car parks.

Leather steering wheel, gearstick gaiter and handbrake lever - I like the feel of the leather steering wheel.

Headlight Washers - Useful at this time of year but not the rest of the year.

I would agree if you can afford to do so go for the Elegance it is a very well specd motor.