Hi all,

 

Considering buying an Octavia estate in the next day or so for my wife.

 

Currently in a Citigo but way too small as we have a 2 year old and hardly any room for pushchair and the rest!

 

Looking at used, 2013-2014 with around 25 to 30k on the clock and both the 1.6 TDI and 1.4 tsi are priced pretty much the same.

 

Citigo averaging around 12k a year at the moment but may need to cover around 14 or 15k in its replacement. 

 

I'd say 50 50 motorway and round town. 

 

Is there much difference in running costs?

 

Do you think the diesel is a risky buy after the whole VW thing? 

 

Depreciation makes quite a bit of difference to PCP payments so the diesel appears to win here. Or do i stretch to the 2 litre diesel? Will it hold its value better?

 

Finally, as crazy as this may sound, do i consider a VRS petrol/diesel? I have seen some for 13-14k. I assume they hold their value better than a 1.4 tsi would meaning over 4 years the VRS may be worth soooo much more that it kind of covers the running costs?

 

Plus i would love a vrs!

 

As you can tell from above i am rather indecisive right now!

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

I've had three diesel vRS's, two MK2's and my current MK3.

Given your current scenario, I'd be looking for a 1.4 TSI, hopefully low mileage and good spec. A vRS at similar money will probably be higher mileage and may even have less spec. The 1.4 TSI appears to give near enough the performance of a diesel vRS anyway, albeit it won't have the more sophisticated rear suspension.

I don't really think a diesel will give much real financial benefit either in running costs or residuals.

Maybe test drive each if possible. The 1.4 TSI will potentially be more refined than any of the diesels.

I wouldn't go for the diesel unless you are doing a decent mileage almost every time you're using the car, there's too many issues with the DPF if you do a week or so of short runs without a decent long run to clear out the DPF - I once got 13mpg out of my 2013 TDI vRS because of swmbo driving to work and back over christmas when I was working from home, constant interrupted regens and sluggishness.

 

Also I can't comment on the 1.6/2.0 TDIs (non vRS) but I never got more than about 45mpg out of my vRS (averaged 42) so take the fuel economy figures with a pinch of salt - they seem to be allover the place on the forums with people getting good milage and people getting way less than the stated figures.

 

If you can live with the harder ride and higher insurance etc of the vRS I'd say go for the TSI vRS any day.

Edited 29 December, 20169 yr by gullyg

I had a Golf 1.4TSi, son has Ibiza 1.2TSi. both cracking units, plenty of low down pull, good MPG, cleaner and less grief than diesel. 

2013-2014 with around 25 to 30k on the clock and both the 1.6 TDI and 1.4 tsi are priced pretty much the same.

 

 

Blimey,

 

At first I thought you were wrong re petrol being priced pretty much the same as diesel Octavias but what a difference a year makes

 

In June 2015 I bought my 2014 Superb 1.4tsi at 14 months old. Similar diesels were priced at many £1000's more than petrol versions

 

Looking at Autotrader now the prices have rather converged (especially Octavia)  -  although I think the diesels are still very slightly more

 

Is the reason the VAG dieselgate - I'm not sure?

 

 

 

To make you decision - you need to drive both properly.

 

I did a lot of this when looking last year - my previous car was a 1.9 Superb diesel -

 

When I tried the 1.4 petrol MK II Superb I noticed less low down "grunt" compared to my old 1.9 but the turbo still propelled it reasonably well from 1500rpm. What I had forgotten about was the addictive "zap" of the petrol as the revs rise. I also loved the silence at tickover.

 

When I tried the 1.6 diesel MK II Superb I found it smooth but despite the same bhp as my old 1.9 I found the low / mid range slightly flat but the diesel revved through a bit better and was more refined than the 1.9. 

 

When I tried the 2.0 diesel MK II Superb (140)  I loved the performance but at the time they were many £1000's more - I must admit I was also worried about modern DPF and EGR technologies of the diesels (SCR wasn't used in the MK II)

Hard to say how much of an impact the VW scandal has had on residual values but certainly the diesel versions used to be much better at holding onto their value as more people wanted these cars secondhand at three years or so of age and low mileage. That was one aspect which convinced me to take the 1.6TD over the 1.4 petrol when I bought my Octavia on a 3.5 year PCP 3 years past in October, it certainly wasn't a good move financially as virtually all of these cars have collapsed in value leaving no equity whatsoever. I'm just about to change my current car for a Yeti L & K 1.4 petrol on a PCH deal, the PCH was so much cheaper and after getting burnt with the Octavia I can't see myself taking any other car on a PCP deal ever again!

 

On the whole I have enjoyed my time with the Octavia and the car is in virtually mint condition but much as I like the car, with such ferocious depreciation it is not a car that I want to keep long term but for anyone wanting a good secondhand car, these cars make a lot of sense and there should be a huge number of cars to choose from, I would think that either engine would be good, you get a bit better mpg with the diesel, it is relatively quiet with very good motorway performance and no road tax at all which is a good saving versus a much more powerful engine in the petrol version which would give you more oomph at lower speeds than the diesel engine can. Just try to find the best car that you can for your money with the best spec, I can't think that you would be unhappy with either engine to be honest!

I'd echo the above comments.

 

Go do your sums with regard to fuel costs. Start with the Urban figures and calculate the difference between petrol and diesel over your expected annual mileage.

 

Then figure out the purchase and service costs for petrol and diesel cars during your ownership period.

 

We'll see a change to road tax in 2017 too. Some will cost more, some may cost less.

 

But as many of us choose with our hearts, not our heads, you might just choose based upon how you like the look and feel; and they will sound and feel very different for sure.

 

Enjoy.

1.4TSI is a no brainer now. I switched from a 2.0CR VRS diesel to a 1.4TSI SE DSG and would never go back.

Similar MPG, the TSI is a nicer place to be and the engine is very quiet, higher profile tyres means a lot less road noise. The 1.4 is also slightly quicker in a straight line.

 

The multilink rear suspension on the VRS is better, but the ride is terrible on less than perfect tarmac. Petrol is cheaper than diesel, and the days of diesels are numbered.  

Try and test drive them both.

The 1.4TSI is a cracking engine, economical and quick when needed.

Diesels residuals are being hit by lots of different factors and the 1.4 is holding better value because it's becoming the most suggested engine to get in the Octavia.

I am getting almost the same fuel economy out of my 1.4 in a larger car than the 1.6TDI in my old fabia estate, with better performance.

When I tried the 1.6 diesel MK II Superb I found it smooth but despite the same bhp as my old 1.9 I found the low / mid range slightly flat but the diesel revved through a bit better and was more refined than the 1.9. 

 

 

 

The 1.6 CR is a strange beast (had it in a mk2), I didn't like it compared to my old 1.9 TDI (mk 1), have to drive it harder to get it work well, certainly much less grunt low down.  I chopped mine in and got a mk3 vrs diesel.

But as everyone else says, you need to drive a few and figure out what works best for you.

1.4TSI is a no brainer now. I switched from a 2.0CR VRS diesel to a 1.4TSI SE DSG and would never go back.

Similar MPG, the TSI is a nicer place to be and the engine is very quiet, higher profile tyres means a lot less road noise. The 1.4 is also slightly quicker in a straight line.

The multilink rear suspension on the VRS is better, but the ride is terrible on less than perfect tarmac. Petrol is cheaper than diesel, and the days of diesels are numbered.

How do you find the brakes? I had a few 2.0 non vRS diesels as courtesy cars and I found their stopping woeful comparatively.

How do you find the brakes? I had a few 2.0 non vRS diesels as courtesy cars and I found their stopping woeful comparatively.

Brakes are brilliant, maybe as my car is DSG and you use the brakes a bit harder when coming to a stop. My VRS on the other hand, brakes were great when I bought it, but soon felt mushy, even after a few Italian Tune ups, to clean them up.

1.4 TSI DSG Elegance or SE_L is a great spec for the money

Hi all,

 

After spending nearly 4 hours at our local dealership we walked away disappointed. They didn't have a used 1.4 tsi available but promised a good price on the brand new sport model. Unfortunately the deal was just too much a month for us.

 

So we are now 100% looking at buying used, 2013 - 2014 cars. 1.4 tsi manual and ideally estates. Anything to look out for on these? 

 

Also do you think the VRS petrol would cost much more to run than a 1.4 tsi? Will it hold its value a lot better in 5 years time?

 

Should i consider a DSG? I am worried it may go wrong when out of warranty.

 

Thanks again

Also check out the leasing prices:

https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/car-leasing/skoda/octavia.html

Also look at the type of discounts you can get on new:

https://broadspeed.com/new_cars/Skoda/Octavia/Choose_Number_Of_Doors/Hatchback/

With the facelift out in march, there is very limited stock of new ones at the moment.

Octavia doesnt hold its value that well, too many discounts and 0% finance. An average mile VRS at 3 years is worth around £10k - £12k.

Also check out the leasing prices:

https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/car-leasing/skoda/octavia.html

Also look at the type of discounts you can get on new:

https://broadspeed.com/new_cars/Skoda/Octavia/Choose_Number_Of_Doors/Hatchback/

With the facelift out in march, there is very limited stock of new ones at the moment.

Octavia doesnt hold its value that well, too many discounts and 0% finance. An average mile VRS at 3 years is worth around £10k - £12k.

 

Unfortunately i'll need to buy used, i plan to keep the car for around 7 years if possible and don't want to lease this time. 

 

If buying a 2013 1.4tsi se or a VRS petrol do you think the VRS will hold its value a lot better than the 1.4? I am seriously considering one of these, especially if its going to be worth quite a lot more in the future.

 

I know it will cost more to run the VRS but if its worth a lot more that the 1.4 in 7 years time then maybe it will even itself out?

 

Thanks again

I would say get the nicest example you can find in either version, a 10 year old vrs will probably only be worth £3000 anyway and if fuel prices rise as expected over the coming years they may not even fetch that much, so I would not worry to much about trying to balance the books several years down the line. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=octavia%20vrs&_dcat=18275&rt=nc&Model%2520Year=2006

Edited 3 January, 20179 yr by POWYSWALES

Brakes are brilliant, maybe as my car is DSG and you use the brakes a bit harder when coming to a stop. My VRS on the other hand, brakes were great when I bought it, but soon felt mushy, even after a few Italian Tune ups, to clean them up.

No complaints about the brakes on my 1.4 TSI (manual 6 speed)

Do we know what the originator of this thread  decided to go for?.   If yet unrequited, ie purchase not yet  made, my advice would be steer clear of diesel, as the portents are it's days are numbered, and in a few years time, diesel engine cars  probably worth very little even if saleable at all ?

Citizen Khan is urging the government to bring in a diesel scrappage scheme, which even if they don't the bad odour has been made, ie diesel needs to be scrapped, which will stick in people's minds and put them off. I would not " invest " much now in diesel.

I'm biased, but my vote goes to the TSI - projected annual mileage is only just over the break point for diesel and the 1.4 is a great engine, IMO, although for long-term peace of mind it would be better to stick with the Mk3s.