Do you love / have you bonded with your Mk. 3 compared to your last?

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Hello everyone!

 

Just for fun really, I would be interested to hear other owners' thoughts on this....alternatively you are welcome to dismiss me as a complete mentalist, whatever! It's a bit of a long story too, so TL:DR version - I have a nearly new Mk. 3 VRS but I do not love it anywhere near as much as my 15 year old Mk. 1 vrs...

 

 

 

I bought a Mk. 1 petrol VRS around 5 years ago, on a '51 plate, for 2 and a half grand. With my budget, I was looking for a decent combination of fun, performance, practicality, durability and reliability, ease of maintenance and cost effectiveness. I wasn't looking for a Skoda - in fact I had never owned one before, but after browsing the 'net, a VRS 1 seemed to suddenly be the obvious choice.

 

Once I started hunting, I found a really nice black example at a dealers of all places. He was a high end car dealer, and had taken it in px - so he was just looking to get rid really I think. It had few owners, 80k on the clock and a fabulously comprehensive service history. After a shirt test drive, I couldn't give him my money quickly enough.

 

I swiftly had a Revo remap done at JKS in Portsmouth, along with a couple of other bits - Forge D/V, panel filter, stainless exhaust, pikey arch mod, nice brakes and brake lines, new shocks and springs etc. Over the next 5 years of ownership, I took the mileage from 80k to 170k. I serviced her myself, put in Mobil 1 every 10k miles, warmed up / cooled down the engine and turbo correctly, and apart from some basic issues like coil packs, a MAF, an alternator and battery and a couple of window regulators, she was totally reliable. She certainly never let me down or left me stranded.

 

The performance with the remap, and decent brakes and suspension was fabulous really, for a 15 year old car. She always pulled really strongly, in fact as the miles piled on, the engine seemed to loosen up and deliver even more performance. She didn't use much oil between changes, and never missed a beat. No smoking, no misfiring, no misbehaving. Never failed to start, whatever the conditions. Nothing else broke, failed or fell off, and even with 170k on the clock, nothing, and I mean NOTHING inside the cabin rattled or squeaked. I am really sensitive to this, but I could drive without the stereo on and enjoy complete, solidly-built silence. Beautiful.

 

Doing all the repair and maintenance work on the car myself, one thing that struck me whenever I had the spanners out, was not only the build quality, but the common sense in which everything was laid out and put together. I definitely got the feeling that VAG was making sure that the first Octy was a winner and didn't fail, or receive any criticism.

 

The practicality was exceptional - I was in a band, but I could fit all my gear in the thing, or a washing machine, or a load of stuff to go to the dump. Or three mates for a long journey, none of whom complained about lack of space. Fantastic. Then on the odd days when I was out driving on a quiet road on a quiet afternoon and the 'silly buggers' got into my brain, I could drop a few gears, rag the tits off it, give it death round corners, get it a bit loose and squirrely, enjoy the performance and generally finish up with a huge grin on my face. What other practical 5 door hatch could give such smile-inducing fun on a quiet A road?!

 

 

Six months ago however, I started to worry a bit, after yet another coil pack failed, along with the SAI motor, that it MAY let me down completely one morning early doors, in the cold, when I was trying to get to work. I cannot be late, or miss a shift at work really, as I am a Paramedic......not turning up for a shift isn't really an option. So, I made the decision to look for a new-ish Mk. 3 VRS.

 

I found a beautiful, one-owner, red, 14 plate manual petrol at a Skoda dealers. It was immaculate, with 13,000 miles on the clock. I bagged it for 16 grand, with a year's road tax thrown in. I think it was a bit of a bargain from a main dealers, and the salesthing conceded to me that it had proved a bit hard to shift as it was red, and not a diesel with DSG.....but for me, the spec was perfect.

 

I SHOULD be delighted of course.....and to be fair, for the most part, it would be churlish to say that I don't feel lucky and fortunate to own such a lovely car. And ok, I like the good points like the amazing headlamps, heated seats, comfortable interior, refined ride, similar size space and practicality, no bloody white bits on the seats and a black carpet (!), and generally the interior and exterior styling. Wheels are nice. Brakes are fantastic compared to the old one. Oh, and heated screen.....this feature is definitely from God himself. Hooks in the boot - obvious, every car should have them.

 

However, when I first cleaned it, the bodywork metal is thin thin thin. When I sponge the bonnet and roof, it is like pushing down on a thin sheet of alloy! Boing, boing it goes - I am terrified of denting it. Not like the Mk. 1.Closing the doors also sounds cheap, thin and a bit nasty. A rather shallow, resonant sound, which grates a bit each time. I wonder about the side impact protection, although I am sure it is fine.....right?

 

The endless tech and options on the infotainment / dash drives me mental. It's all far too complicated for it's own good, and here I am six months in, and yes I have read all the manuals.....and I still sometimes struggle to get to a setting that I want, or else something decides to do something by itself and is not what I want. In fact the other day, the radio decided to change station all by itself, and I was so caught up in why and trying to change it back that I managed to scrape the front left alloy on a kerb. Arrgghh!

 

The bongs. Ohhhh, the BONGS! Bongs for everything, including a low washer bottle level. WTF? Clearly modern cars are designed to cater for the perpetually stupid. Lane assist? Have you tried this abortion? It's actually horrendous, and I can't imagine why / anyone actually using this feature? Warnings for this, warnings for that......the latest annoyance today being constant reminders that it may be icy. I mean......I know, right? I have common sense!

 

Auto stop/start. I have nearly punched the dashboard with childish, visceral frustration about this. I am old-school about warming up / cooling down engines and turbos, and in that respect, the engine shutting off (yeah yeah, despite the 'coolant pump') after stopping at the end of a slip-road after a high-speed motorway run, makes my teeth itch, thinking about the damage to the turbo bearings. I am getting a bit better about remembering to press the disable button after starting the car each time, but I still sometimes forget.

 

Stereo getting louder with higher speed - **** off.

 

Plastic interior door handles - ****s.

 

Rear privacy glass making it difficult to look over my shoulder at the traffic when I join a motorway - no need!

 

DRL's - at least I was able to disable those.

 

It's worse on fuel economy than my remapped Mk. 1 - WTF?

 

Possibly most annoying of all - it has had interior rattles from day one. One of the most annoying I managed to track down and fix as the steering wheel height adjuster. I am now working on the seat belt height adjusters.......rattle, rattle, rattle.

 

 

 

So......I SHOULD be loving my 16 thousand pound, modern VRS over my 500 quid, 15 year old mark 1 vrs....but I'm just not. I haven't bonded with it at all, and I am not sure that I will be able to keep it for too long. Am I being a childish whinger, or do I have a point? Over to the floor......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Petunet]

...the latest annoyance today being constant reminders that it may be icy. I mean......I know, right? I have common sense!

 

 

It started couple of weeks ago and ends at May. It's icy in Finland during winter...

Edited 12 November, 2016 by Petunet

[gRoberts]

I hear you mate, I really do. 

 

Through pure childish, immature stupidity, I end up buying cars every 5 minutes because I bought something with my heart and not my head, with one exception, a VW Bora.

 

My ex's hated it and to be fair, I hate it too. I have this ability to detect the minutest changes in things and it screams warning bells. As I try to delude my self it's not true, the warning signs get greater and wang, the ex's are screwing someone else and the cars are all mysteriously going wrong (not linked, but you know..)

 

The Bora was amazing, 70 mpg, went like stink and if I had of put in the money I've wasted on my past two cars, it'd be mint... I got rid of it for a .... Hyundai Coupe SE... What a pleb!

 

3 months later, after the warning signs hit me again, I got my self a MK1 Fabia VRS. Same engine as the Bora, so I knew it'd be like slipping into the ex after a few years. In a way it was, but literally one year on, I'm now in the preparations of getting rid of it. It failed it's last MOT severely and after getting it sorted, something else has come up and no doubt something else will later on too.

 

My wife has always bought bangers, literally because she's a tight arse, she's always bought £300-500 cars and for the most part they've been great but as we had young kids and muggins here was always the one that had to cough up for the MOT's etc, I decided to buy her a brand new car (worst f-in mistake ever) - A Dacia Sandero Stepway Laureate, cheap as chips, amazing car and engine and asides from the wife treating it like her old £300-500 bangers, it's been amazing.

 

Bringing me back to point. Because of all of the crap I've had with cars, MOT's etc, I have decided that I'm now going to start leasing cars for short periods of time. The deal I got for the Octavia that I have on order now is actually half the cost of the Dacia per month and the spec/badge etc, is FAR better. The best and probably worst (my first brand new car) bit is I give it back after a period of time and get another one.

 

Sigh - Sorry, I waffled on a bit there lol

[ima]

I had two mk 2 vrs, the original and facelift. I respected both cars for the blend of practicality and reasonable performance and for me trouble free motoring. However I never 'loved' them. I now have a mk3 vrs tsi and it's all the things I respected but in a different league to me on desirability. It's a car I've truly bonded with and for someone who changes car on average every 8 months, the first car in many years I can see holding on to for a good few years.

Edited 12 November, 2016 by ima

[SC03OTT]

Not as in depth as the OP, but...

...yes. I have bonded with it as much. The only thing that I preferred from my last car was the noise. It was a Focus ST with the 5cyl 2.5T. The vRS was never going to match that noise. Ever. I knew that though, obviously.

[Gaz]

Yeah, I've bonded with mine    I wish I'd been patient and ordered winter and black packs, rather than bought it from the showroom, but for the most I just like being a bit of a tarmac terror in it.  A year and a bit in and I'm still going out for drives with no particular place to go.

 

Still miss my Superb, and if I'd had an ounce of common sense I'd have kept my still-going-strong '99 B5 Passat.  But in ten years time I'll probably be saying 'should've kept the vRS'.  Them's the dice.

 

Gaz

[LemonLime]

My last car (and first) was a mk 1 pre-facelift Focus 1.6. I loved that car. I went on so many road trips with it, modified it, serviced it and took care of it. It was an emotional time to see her go but I sold her to a friend rather than scrap her (thank goodness!). I knew my next car was going to be new and it also had to be special. The vrs 230 is certainly a world away from my little ford box and like 90% of the stuff Ray complained about I absolutely love :P

But bonding with it? Not yet, I bought it as a 10-year-car and I need to wear it in a bit more. Long road trips and adventures are good for that but I've only had it a month and just really broken her in. Next year though, we'll see.

[Leeboy22001]

I have to admit my vrs tsi is growing on me !, my previous car was a leon FR+ TDI, had it for 11 years, was remapped and was dynamic and fun to drive, and yes I loved it. The Occy is, or feels like a more grown up car ! Has way more features and tech than I was ever used to !. I love the tsi, having had a tdi for so long, having a fast petrol again is rejuvenating

[ahenners]

I think I have bonded with mine. I enjoyed my MK2 FL TSI VRS, because it's practicality was great with a new baby and it's performance was good too. It was a great all rounder that didn't cost much to run. It replaced a BMW 330D and the fact I didn't miss the BMW anywhere near as much as I thought I would, only confirms how well the VRS did in replacing it. Over time, however, it started to irritate me because it used a lot of oil (needed top ups on every other tank of fuel) and it was missing a number of options I'd have liked.

Fast forward to today and after 2 weeks of ownership on the MK3, it's early days but I'm loving it! It feels much smoother and more refined. It has no squeaks or rattles. It has a lovely sound system in the Canton and the newer Columbus navigation unit is far more responsive and pleasant to use than the old one. Winter pack has been a godsend this week with the cold icy mornings; heated windscreen has cleared in a couple of minutes and heated seats have been lovely to get into to warm up. Auto lights and Xenons have been great and better than the halogens in my MK2. Kessy has been convenient and I like not having to get my keys out. DSG has been great when I've been stuck in traffic and economy hasn't been too bad either; 45.7mpg on a 100 mile trip. I could go on and on, but everything about my MK3 seems better than my MK2. It's definitely a keeper and one I intend to own for a while.

Edited 13 November, 2016 by ahenners

[M12MKD]

Tbh. At first no. Didn't really like it that much as such. Wasn't what I wanted but I had to make do (long story).

But then one day we just clicked. I don't know what did it but yes now I'm smitten.

Sure there are better cars out there, cheaper cars out there, quicker cars etc. But it's my car and fits what I need.

[Ant-Vrs]

Yes and no at the moment. After coming from a mk2 fabia vrs at 220bhp which was amazing and now to a 220 tsi estate they are two completely different cars.

I'm still using the fabia vrs but it's back to standard ish but the refinement of the octavia is amazing it's got everything I wanted in one with the extras it's got. Personally I will be alot happier when it's running more bhp. Saying that I only do 10 miles a day for work

[Corrida15]

Yes after one year of ownership I do love my mk3 octy Vrs tdi. This is my tenth car (first skoda) in 18 years of car ownership. It's without doubt the best car I have ever owned in terms of overall package considering styling, performance, gadgets and economy. In my heart however it is my second favourite. No. 1 was my Saab 9-3 v6 xwd, I still miss it!

[Isocrem]

I really liked my Mkii TDi Elegance Estate. I had around 80'000 miles out of it without a hitch and was quite sad to see it go. I'm still in the Honeymoon period with my Petrol Hatch vRS Mkiii (8 days and around 700 miles). Apart from having to mentally get out of the habit of filling up more often, it fits the bill in all other ways, plus some. It doesn't give away a lot of practical space against the Estate (I have to lug around a PA system and other such stuff for the band I'm in) I had a gig the first night I got the Hatch and everything fitted in fine. A bond has definitely been formed!

[AccoSnr]

Two months gone, settling in and enjoying my new Octavia vRS, TDi 135kW Hatch with DSG box and comfortable leather seats more each time I take her out. Pleased with the colour (Rio Red), black pack, red stitching, Gemini anthracite wheels and the smaller 'sporty' steering wheel. Also found the Net Program useful a month ago when needing to secure potted plants and other items in the boot. Looking forward to using the sunroof when the weather warms up next year, something I missed on my previous second hand Octavia Ambient. Getting into routine switching the engine 'stop - start (SS)' off which seemed to catch me out a few times, or rather it stopped the engine just as I was wanting to move off. I would have liked a permanent solution to isolate the SS, rather than having to remember to isolate it before starting a new journey, or restarting the engine part way through a journey; I believe other manufacturers provide this option. I have noted some other negative comments/observations on the forum but the only one which so far I have found a bit of a neusense is the reflection of chrome work in the wing mirrors; it can distract from meaningful observation until you get used to looking through and beyond it. The cabin ambient noise is as expected for a Hatch, tyre noise becomes very obvious especially over concrete and rough/heavy used tarmac surfaces but is almost non-existent on good quality tarmac road surfaces (not many in the UK these days, more like driving over a cooks colendar with all the pot holes). Having adjusted the Canton sound settings slightly, generally a little more bass, I quite enjoy the quality and album presention having uploaded 1400 tracks onto the hard drive. Lots more could be said but enough for now lest I bore you with my personal observations, and, yes, I am very pleased with the car and bonding to it nicely thankyou.

[Auric Goldfinger]

Yep, Ive bonded with my 230, almost 1000 miles on the clock and she is just starting to stretch her legs, ( when warmed up )  when fully run in she'll be a beast.

 

Loving the Eletric/Heated leather seats and I've got the driving position just right. Sunroof is a good addition, suits the car, loving the Colour, Meteor Grey and the 19" black wheels and the Black pack really sets it off.

 

 

Well Minted......... 

[norsko]

No rattles in mk1? How come?

Dont like the sound of the doors in mk3?

 

I have owned two mk1 octavias and now a 2016 mk3, and cant say that there is one thing in the mk1 that is better than mk3.

Yes the mk3 has a cheap build quality, but far better than the mk1.

And I always hated the sound when you shut the door on a mk1

 

I havent bonded with my mk3, and I havent fallen in love.

Its a good car that brings me from A to B without a fuzz, thats it.