I test drove a Rapid before the Octavia, and the Rapid is Ok, but nowhere near as refined as the Octavia, so I cant see how your Rapid would be quieter unless your Octavia has a fault.

 

Definitely let the service dept, check it over again, alignment as simhub said, brakes, driveshafts etc. Who knows it may have sustained some damage in transit causing this issue.

 

Also ask to drive a similar demo car or nearly new, to see if there is an issue with yours.

 

 

 

A Rapid / Rapid Spaceback can sound different according to which tyres are fitted & pressures and trim etc exactly as an Octavia can, and any other vehicle can.

Tyres, pressures, interiors, colour, location, if the driver has good or bad hearing etc etc etc 

The car is just noisy full stop. I have been looking into this for the last 18 months and there are so many posible causes and loads of opinions, some contradictory. My opinion the main issues not listed in order of severity are below. 

 

1. Sound insulation, lack of

2. Poor rear dampers, some advocate bilstien b4.

3. Thin glass.

4. Thinner high tensile steel metal work.

5. Tyres. 

6. Higher metallic compound prake pads.

7. On one forum someone sugested rear camber

8. Boot lid.

9. Bad aero on wing mirrors. Wind noise.

 

The car can be made more quiet to some extent but i have come to the conclusion its inherrent and eather you put up with it or get rid. I have put up with mine as i would have lost a loads in deprecation. Mine has 16s, spare wheel, extra silent coat in boot and under rear seats, thick rubber scoda boot matt, and carpet floor mats with original rubber matts over the top. And its marginally better. Its still a noisy car and i have 5mm left on the auful conti eco tyres and have done 18k.

 

I went to my local dealer and as expected, sorry sir you car sounds fine if you have any further trouble come back. As expected. I should have got rid with in the 30 days and took the hit.

 

Edited 28 July, 20178 yr by Alpha2110

The thing is that people compare it to more expensive brands. It is a low/medium budget brand. I have driven a lot of different brands, and it is like this when I compare an Audi A4 to a Skoda Octavia. The Skoda will be just as fun to drive, but much more noisier. And the materials used is way cheaper. You notice it closing the door. 

 

My next car I am not sure on. The only thing is that it will probably not be from Skoda. It is simply not good enough on certain points. If it would be less noisy I would get one. 

 

And I know it will be much more noisy on uk roads than where I live. Drove a lot in Poland and there the roadsurface was less rough than Norway and Uk. I have driven a bit in the uk. 

Cant really say that i have noticed the materials of a £21,000 Octavia being cheaper than a £21,000 A4 or actually than a £24,000 one.

26 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

Cant really say that i have noticed the materials of a £21,000 Octavia being cheaper than a £21,000 A4 or actually than a £24,000 one.

 

It is. Just look at the doorcards and the pockets there. Open the glovecomparent and feel the way it operates. Compared my VRS 230 to a 2015 A4 Allroad the A4 is in a different league. 

 

The Skoda is a good car. But still a budget brand. Better than the Vauxhall Astra I drove though. 

Granted, i think we know what a 2015 A4 Allroad was like starting at £35,600 in the UK. (£26,000 for a 2015 vRS230 )

 

Not much to do really to do with comparing a £21,000 Skoda vs a £24,000 Audi, or the Mk3 Octavia the OP has.

 

PS

My Daughter in law in Oslo just changed her 1.6 A3 for a Audi A4 Allroad.

Edited 28 July, 20178 yr by Awayoffski

7 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

Granted, i think we know what a 2015 A4 Allroad was like starting at £35,600 in the UK. (£26,000 for a 2015 vRS230 )

 

Not much to do really to do with comparing a £21,000 Skoda vs a £24,000 Audi, or the Mk3 Octavia the OP has.

 

PS

My Daughter in law in Oslo just changed her 1.6 A3 for a Audi A4 Allroad.

 

I think that most people expect too much from a cheaper brand. By all means it is a good car, but if the expectation is too high most people would get disappointed. 

 

I went from a Audi A6 Allroad. And it was quite a change. Did know that though. 

I paid 553000 nok for my 230. With all extra and a extra set of wheels. 

12 hours ago, KjetilRos said:

I think that most people expect too much from a cheaper brand. By all means it is a good car, but if the expectation is too high most people would get disappointed.

+1

 

I went from a £55,000 Audi RS4 Avant to my current 1.4TSI Octavia Combi -it was an informed decision which we made because of retiring.

 

Do I regret it? - No. The fuel consumption, power, handling, ride and noise are all in a completely different league but better suited to our more relaxed lifestyle.

 

Choose a car based on information that you personally have gathered, don't reply on other peoples' comments as their perceptions will almost certainly be different from yours.

On my 2014 vrs tsi, the noise was driving le nuts. I got the noise killer pack. Insulated the spare tyre whell, the trunk floor that was only steel. Put the mat on the trunk, Insulated the hood (all provided by noise killer). 

I then got the hood silencer from superskoda. It was ok after that.

I then changed all my tyres from the horrible sport maxx rt to the Goodyear eas3 huge improvement in noise  comfort and mpg. The car is now quiet. If I find the time i will aply the stickers on the rear wheel arch. 

I've arranged for the car to go into Skoda York next Tuesday. Technision is going to accompeney me on a drive. I've asked to drive a similar car as well. I did test drive a diesal estate as opposed to my 1.4 petrol hatch. Just wondering if any of the other cars are more refined in way of less road and brake noise, where do I stand?

Sorry about the spelling!

If the other Octavias are just as noisy, then its a feature off the car, not a fault.

 

Your only hope then is to claim you were mis-sold and not given long enough test drive to discover this 'feature'.... and convince the dealer to offer you a different car or refund.

And as I have said, I do not find my car unacceptably noisy or uncomfortable . As there may be no "fault",  changing the car for a model which meets your requirements may be the way forward. Be very careful.

A friend of mine drove my car on his own. Remarked on the terrible wind noise around door mirrors and in his opinion could live with the brake noise. FFS what have skoda done to this one time solid tank of a car!

They had to try and make them lighter because they never really developed real low emission Euro 5 or 6 engines that could have good economy and get Taxi Sized vehicles about

and still have the car of a decent standard to meet low noise and comfort.

The octavia is not a cheep in my opinion im not comparing it to other mqb platform cars, if you compare it to a kia or ford or Vauxhall its marketed as more premium brand (as a salesman once said, its a thinking mans VW, allegedly) it has some good attributes however it clearly has issues. This is possibly deliberate design oversight in order to have some form of demarcation between the more expensive marks, cynical this may sound or just poor engineering.  Regardless its still noisy on anything other than smooth tarmac.

 

I was driving home from work going round a corner and there is definatly a noise the same noise as the brakes, its not good. I have been in a octavia taxi and its the same. Its a shame as the car is good apart fom these major floors.

Edited 3 August, 20178 yr by Alpha2110

I'm hoping next tuesday the technision lets me drive the DSG diesel estate that i test drove...compare that to my 1.4 petrol hatch and if the test car is quiet i have the trump card!

That is just comparing apples and pears and then apart from the weight differences likely the tyres will be different.

Been driving an Opel Astra Sports Tourer hire car for the last week here in Czech Republic, and it rides and handles a lot better than the Octavia, very little suspension or tyre roar. Its on 17" Continental tyres.

 

I'll try and get some decibel readings at 70mph on the motorway to compare. However the roads here are a lot smoother...all our EU grant money has been spent on lovely smooth tarmac.

Did you ever get to the bottom of the noises? 
 

My car, a 2020, is driving me insane with the noises. Loud brakes, loud power steering, road noise so bad you think a window is open, different engine notes from whisper quiet to chuffing away, various twangs, crackles and creaks. 
 

It crashes and bangs over any rough road in a way that chatters your teeth. 
 

150 hp apparently but gets ragged at the lights by Nissan Micras. There’s a clutch judder in first gear that varies between bouncing and an barely imperceptible grind but only if you’re always conscious of the judder. Let’s not mention the notchy gear change though. 
 

Dealer says there’s nothing wrong with it but I’ve got to drive it 10 hours a day (it’s a taxi) so it’s really getting to me. 
 

I honestly wish I’d never bought it and got a Mondeo or Insignia instead. 
 

To compare I have a 28 year old Ford Escort that’s better in many ways than this car at least it’s quieter in the cab and better over rough surfaces and no clutch judder.