Octavia road noise - is really that bad ??

[R1100]

I keep hearing that the Octavia suffers from road noise, tyre roar and noisy rear suspension.  Is this correct or just rumours.

 

I ask as I will be selling my Land Rover soon and fancy a Scout as I want a more economical vehicle with reasonable carrying capacity and the ability to navigate muddy tracks and into grassy fields.

 

I would appreciate your candid comments.  I will be using it for properly mixed driving on lanes, A&B roads and on motorways.

 

Thanks

[Ads230]

In my experience (2016 Octy VRS 230, R19s (Pirelli P-Zeros)), there is a fair bit of road noise heard within the car when compared to other similarly-sized, similar age 'hatch-backs'. 

 

The main issue (in the Mk3 Octy at least) is that it seems Skoda have scrimped somewhat in sound-deadening / proofing panels, particularly around the boot space (as it is so cavernous, even in the hatch). This does obviously make the kerb weight lighter; which was probably one of their objectives. This can be added to with aftermarket additions (Silent Coat 10 x Tiles (187x265mm) - Google / Amazon). The other issues are the low-profile Pirellis (which typically have complaints of excess road noise anyway), and quality of standard suspension dampers (although obviously a 'sport' setup in the VRS).

 

IMHO, road noise really doesn't bother me - I owned a 2007 Fiesta S previously - can be easily drowned out with music, and I prefer to know what's going on within / around the car anyway. It's more noticeable on poor road surfaces (especially motorways the M25 clockwise between M23 and M4), but not as noticeable on B-roads when making progress.

 

The Octavia Scout has higher ground clearance and standard profile tires, so I'm confident you'll get considerably less road noise as standard than the Octy VRS. Upgrading from the standard tires and - if you've got the appetite - adding sound proofing panels to the boot-space will help also.

 

I wouldn't let it put you off testing an Octy Scout, as they are such good value for money.

[Redboy]

Think you will be ok going from a Land Rover to a Scout. Now if it was from a Bentley to an Octavia .....

[R1100]

It's from a 2014 Freelander 2. The only Octavia's I've been in have been taxi's with a zillion miles on them around town so not really a fair comparison.

[Lingnoi]

I can only compare my Octy to my previous e90 3 series BMW and the BMW was significantly quieter, especially at motorway/dual carriageway speeds. But it's bearable and not a problem. The Beemer was just particularly quiet especially when cruising along at 70.

 

I noticed this when I had my first ever test drive in a Skoda last year (also a 1.4TSi but a manual) and took it on the motorway.

 

When you look at the bodywork and the interior, under the wheel arches, bonnet etc it's obvious Skoda have skimped on the soundproofing and sound deadening kit in comparison to the my old BMW. But I can live with it and it's such a good car in other aspects, many of which outshine my previous car, I have no complaints.

Edited 5 July, 2017 by Lingnoi
Grammar

[Item]

Yes.

 

Learning to live with it, but compared to my old Mazda 6, Nissan Murano, Subaru Forester, newer comparable cars from the VAG stable, my in-laws Mazda 3 and even the rental Toyota RAV4 I was driving this morning, the Octavia suffers pretty badly from intrusive road/tyre noise which resonates through the cabin on coarse tarmac.

 

On nice smooth road and motorway, it is all good. The moment you get on the coarse stuff it is a different story.

 

Perhaps I am more sensitive to it than others, but on the rougher roads here in NZ and with the car loaded with people and luggage it gets pretty overwhelming IMO.

 

It is my greatest disappointment in a car in which otherwise there is a lot to like.

Edited 6 July, 2017 by Item

[Gerrycan]

A large part of the problem are the tyres.

Luck of the draw with a new car as they source frim several manufacturers.

The rest of the car is so quiet that when yiu get on course tarmac it is a bit obvious. I have been in worse though.

Just have to try one out for yourself which you would probably do anyway.

Edited 6 July, 2017 by Gerrycan

[wyx087]

Yes. Both wife and myself noticed it. We went from a 11 old Mercedes w203 C class coupe to this mk3 Octavia, the difference in motorway noise is very noticeable, especially over rough surfaces. Pretty quiet at 50mph or below though.

 

It's just something you have to accept when buying cheaper cars. I bought this car for the rear + boot space and ACC. It was significantly cheaper than other not-Golf ACC enabled cars on the market. Put it another way, I could not bring myself to spend 25% extra on other cars when this is perfectly adequate. The money will go into savings pot for my Tesla.

[R1100]

Hmmm..concerning views.

 

Anyone with an Octavia have a Yeti? 

 

I have just taken my wife's Yeti for a 1200 mile visit to France and back. Is the Octavia louder than a Yeti?  If they are about the same then I can live with it.

 

Thanks 

[Gabbo]

I had a BMW 3series (now gone) & Mk3 vRS.

On a good road surface the Octy is not much worse than the BMW but you can hear the different on rough or bad quality tarmac.

However, in terms of engine noise the Octy is much better (the BMW was like a tractor in comparison).

As Lingnoi said, in my view the Octavia is far superior to the BMW in all the ways that are important to me.

 

I also think sometimes the critisism of the Octavia on the forum or comments about bad design for being a bit Noisy (except obviously the booming issue) are a bit unfair.

Essentially you are buying the same chassis, powertrain, interior electronics & safety features as VW & Audi but at a significantly reduced cost & almost half as cheap as a similar spec'd BMW.

The have to reduce the cost somewhere.

 

The Octavia is the best car I've owned & definately the best value for money of all the cars I've had before.

As others have said, take a test drive to make your own mind but for me the road-noise really isnt as bad as it can seem when you read the forum (we do have great roads in Switzerland though).

[skidpan]

Here is my experience.

 

Back in 2010 we decided to swap our 5 year old C Max and the Skoda Octavia estate was at the top of the list because at the time there was a VAT free offer plus some discounts as well. The 1.4 TSi looked to fit our needs perfectly so went for a test drive. The garage had exactly the spec we wanted as a demonstrator which is always the best approach and of we set, the garage simply handed us the keys and off we set. On A roads it seemed to meet our needs for performance and ride but once we got to the M1 it all went wrong. The noise from the rear was unbelievable, the wife was in pain and wanted me to stop. When we got back to the garage the salesman was confused since it was his own car and did not have an issue. We checked round the car and all was OK and I noted the tyres were 195 65 15 Dunlops. The salesman offered to get us another to drive the following weekend, the retired MD had the 1.4 TSi in the next spec up which had 16" wheels. Have to say that car on 2015 55 16 Bridgestones was better but when we drove home to think about it our 5 year old C Max was so much quieter we gave up on the Octavia despite the offers available. For the record we bought a Kia Ceed SW which we had 5 very happy years in.

 

Move onto 2013 and I decided to swap my BMW. Loved the look of the new Leon with the 1.4 TSi 140 PS but was worried about road noise since it and the Octavia are related but since the Leon used the new MQB floorpan it was probably nothing to worry about. The BMW was the quietest car we had ever owned but the Leon was just as good (over the exact same roads we had driven the Skoda on 3 years earlier) and I took delivery of one 6 days after the test drive.

 

Move onto 2016 and we had outgrown the Leon and the Superb 1.4 TSi looked perfect. Took one out for a morning (exact spec we we proposing to buy) and it was great, very quiet, great kit but we were a bit worried out the sheer size, not on the road but in supermarket car parks. So we took out a Octavia 1.4 TSi estate demonstrator to try. Guess what, we were deafened again. Tried a used Octavia 1.4 TSi hatch (the dealer was very good with us) an in truth it was fine so we decided it must be an estate issue.

 

But we bought the Superb for 2 reasons, first we preferred the looks of the newer Superb and second there were no new Octavias in the spec we wanted in either dealer or central stock and orders for the new model could not be placed at the time. In retrospect we made the right decision, not had a parking issue yet.

 

So as I said above from my experience the noise appears to be an estate issue and tyres do appear to make a small but significant difference.

[SC03OTT]

You really need to try for yourself.  It's all subjective.  I don't find the car noisy or uncomfortable, but appreciate others might.

[Ootohere]

Is it a Octavia Scout you are looking at because the Octavia does not seem to fit your brief of a reasonable carrying capacity & the ability to navigate muddy tracks and into grassy fields.

Might get in but not out again unless on a tow rope...

Edited 6 July, 2017 by Awayoffski

[gregoir]

I do not consider my 2016 model Octavia Combi 1.4TSI SE to be loud or irritating in any way. I have done many long runs in comfort and with acceptable  noise. Yes, I can hear some wind and some road noise. I have had many cars over the past 45 years including a recent Octavia and eight from the VW group to compare with.

Others will disagree. I suggest you have a test drive at the speeds you wish to travel at, like I did.

[juan27]

How goes noise compare with the Mk2 Octavia? I've always found my Mk2 VRS to be very refined and quiet. 

[gregoir]

My previous Mk2 Octavia FL hatch was a 140 hp diesel Elegance with sport suspension.

The noise was different to my current petrol 1.4TSI SE Combi. On good road surfaces I'd say my current car is slightly quieter when cruising.

 

Edited 6 July, 2017 by gregoir

[MattChr]

I've recently changed from diesel MK2 VRS estate to petrol MK3 facelift VRS estate. The petrol is significantly quieter and seems to be much less noisy in general. On poor surfaces it is quite noisy, but now missing the diesel drone.

I think it's subjective and possibly linked to tyres (mine's on Bridgestone Potenza).

[Alpha2110]

10 hours ago, Gabbo said:

I had a BMW 3series (now gone) & Mk3 vRS.

On a good road surface the Octy is not much worse than the BMW but you can hear the different on rough or bad quality tarmac.

However, in terms of engine noise the Octy is much better (the BMW was like a tractor in comparison).

As Lingnoi said, in my view the Octavia is far superior to the BMW in all the ways that are important to me.

 

I also think sometimes the critisism of the Octavia on the forum or comments about bad design for being a bit Noisy (except obviously the booming issue) are a bit unfair.

Essentially you are buying the same chassis, powertrain, interior electronics & safety features as VW & Audi but at a significantly reduced cost & almost half as cheap as a similar spec'd BMW.

The have to reduce the cost somewhere.

 

The Octavia is the best car I've owned & definately the best value for money of all the cars I've had before.

As others have said, take a test drive to make your own mind but for me the road-noise really isnt as bad as it can seem when you read the forum (we do have great roads in Switzerland though).

In the uk, a bmw is not double the price, in reality you can get pre delivery at very competitive prices. I have seen a 150mile 335d for 32 grand. Yes bmw are more expensive and yes they have problems off there own, but in general there a better car, its the last 20% that makes all the difference. You have to compare apples with apples or in the skoda mk3 octavias case lemons. Also the 150bhp Octavia diesel is far from refined.

[ExSEAT]

My Mk3 Leon had quite a lot of road noise, I put it down to the tyres at first. When I picked up my Octavia I was so delighted that it had the EXACT same brand and model of tyre. It was quieter though, from new anyway. Now that the tyres are down to about half they are getting really noisy. I'll likely replace them early but I dont hold out much hope. These are noisy cars!

[ahenners]

1 hour ago, Alpha2110 said:

In the uk, a bmw is not double the price, in reality you can get pre delivery at very competitive prices. I have seen a 150mile 335d for 32 grand. Yes bmw are more expensive and yes they have problems off there own, but in general there a better car, its the last 20% that makes all the difference. You have to compare apples with apples or in the skoda mk3 octavias case lemons. Also the 150bhp Octavia diesel is far from refined.

 

An Octavia VRS TDI estate is about 23k with discounts. A new 320D M Sport estate is about 6-7k more expensive, and still has a smaller boot.

 

I like BMWs, and agree the 3 series is a better car than the Octavia overall, but it still isn't perfect. It's around 25% more expensive and has a smaller boot. There's a reason the Octavia is popular, and that is because it offers things such as value, space, low running costs etc. and to some these are far more important than elements than a 3 series does better.

[brettikivi]

I'm going to disagree here - the hatch I run is relatively quiet and I'd say almost as good as the Focus I had as a rental last weekend. That's without doing anything to it. 

But asphalt makes such a huge difference... coarse or poor surfaces are incredibly noisy. 

I didn't see / hear any issues with the estate we had last summer as a rental, either, over 3000kms. But that had a full boot, which makes a massive difference. If the car has nothing in the spare wheel well, that will also make a difference. 

 

 - Bret

[vladRS]

My petrol vRS was really noisy when I bought it as it had 3 worn Conti's and a cheapo new tyre on the n/s rear. I replaced all 4 last week with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3's and it has made a noticeable difference to tyre noise, albeit that I can hear the suspension noise a bit more now.

[AllanDJ]

14 hours ago, R1100 said:

Hmmm..concerning views.

 

Anyone with an Octavia have a Yeti? 

 

I have just taken my wife's Yeti for a 1200 mile visit to France and back. Is the Octavia louder than a Yeti?  If they are about the same then I can live with it.

 

Thanks 

I haven't got both cars but have recently switched from a mk 3 1.6 TD Elegance Estate to a Yeti 1.4 petrol L & K, purely because of the cheap PCH deals available on the Yeti. I test drove a 2 litre TD Yeti which drove well enough and was comfortable but a bit noisy on the motorway, not from poor suspension but mainly from the diesel engine which was much more vocal than the 1.6 diesel in my Octavia. After driving just over 3000 miles in my Yeti since March I can easily compare the two different cars, each has their own strengths and weaknesses but I'd say that with a petrol engine the Yeti is much quieter than the Octavia for most day to day driving and has far better suspension, much more comfortable on rougher roads, which you would expect with it being four wheel drive. I've driven it on motorways too and it is very comfortable and assured but obviously poorer aerodynamics than the Octavia, which tends to encourage slightly slower driving to try to get a few more miles per gallon out of it. By comparison my Octavia was simply superb on the motorway, very comfortable, surprisingly powerful for a relatively small engine and excellent fuel economy but much less enjoyable on rougher roads such as normal town driving with the usual lumps and bumps on the local roads.

 

The Octavia isn't a bad car by any means but I think it may well have been intentionally handicapped, otherwise if the car had better suspension and sound proofing, who would bother buying a VW Passat or maybe even a Skoda Superb? But these cars are built just a bit better than the Octavia from many of the same components.

 

The Octavia is a good car, just not quite as civilised as many of us would wish it to be, it did all that I ever asked of it during the 3.5 years that I had it but isn't really a car that makes sense to buy new unless you are going to keep it for a really long time, the residuals are awful to say the least!

[finnster01]

I have the VRS with 19 inch wheels and to be honest I find it a very quiet and refined place to be, admittedly I normally buy cars with sports suspension etc so i can't compare the ride with a "normal" car but I find the Octy to be better than others I have tried and owned.

The only aside to this is I did test drive a Superb before I bought the Vrs and that was super quiet.

My other car is a new Mini and that is far noisier than the Vrs, although the suspension set up is far stiffer.

I think the Octy is no better or worse than any other in the price bracket but thats just my opinion  

[andyvee]

23 hours ago, skidpan said:

Here is my experience.

........

So as I said above from my experience the noise appears to be an estate issue and tyres do appear to make a small but significant difference.

Having had both a hatch and an estate, it is not body shape that causes the issue.

 

Tyres are the biggest factor in the noise.

 

There is a huge difference between low profile 18's and standard profile 16's as well.

 

There is also the confusing issue of the 'booming' that some experience on rough road services - attributed to a resonance of the boot floor and/or lid - and some have experienced cabin pressure issues that have affected their ears.

 

I would say test drive a Scout, it has higher profile narrower tyres than a vRS or L&K, and it has the IRS that the standard models don't get. Most people reporting issues seem to have the torsion beam rear suspension.