So, I've got a 1.2 TSI MK3 Octavia which I love. Had it for about 12 months since returning to the UK from Singapore. I promised my kids we'd get a dog. So now we're with doggo and the Octavia Hatchback isn't really working. I have to take the parcel shelf out to fit in his travel case, add into the mix we're driving to the south of France and I've got a few 6-7 hour driving blocks, I thought I'd look at replacing it with an estate.

 

So i found a garage which has a 2014 320D manual touring and a 2.0 Executive DSG Octavia MK3. They we're both within £500 of each other. Took them both for a spin with the kids in and I cannot fully explain just how horrible the ride of the BMW was. The seat was super uncomfortable and I'm no princess, but going over a slight pot hole gave me a serious crick in the neck (must be my age). The diesel sounds like a tractor and the suspension setup is very hard. The Skoda was like a dream in comparison, so much so I was pretty shocked. The DSG is amazing and I fell in love straight away. The Octavia's usable boot space was massive compared with the meagre BMW. I could run a kennels from it. Equally important, my kids felt sick in the back of the BMW despite initially falling in love with it's looks. And this was only doing a 2 mile circuit near the garage.  

 

Though one thing that the BMW did have which I was impressed with was the lovely big screen sat nav command setup. I'm a bit of a gadget nut and this did leave me lusting, I had tried to add a multi function steering wheel to my 2013 car and it was such a nightmare I gave up. Though thankfully the new one has this....

 

So my question is, my current 2013 Octavia has the touchscreen head unit which is about 6 inch big, but lacks sat nav. The new 2014 one seems to have the exact same headunit but with navigation. Someone on Ebay is selling a Columbus 2015 headunit with the module for the glove box. Given the new car has the required GPS module installed, can I swop them over with some minimal VSDS coding?

No it has component protection

Each unit is Component Protected and locked to the car it was initially fitted to. If you remove your unit (for example) and fit it in someone elses car then it bricks itself and won't work. In the same way, if you take a second hand unit from Ebay and fit it in your car, then despite it fully working in the original car it'll lock itself in yours and be useless.

The new unit needs the Component Protection removing before you can fit it in a different car. There are companies who are doing this now (doubtless against the wishes of VAG who designed the CP system to prevent swapping and therefore pinching of head units etc..), so if you can find someone who has had the equipment unlocked and can activate it for your car, then it's possible.

HI Rustynuts. The unit I had seen for sale has had the CP removed. It's been taken from a car that's being scrapped due to a rear collision write off. Though I don't want to throw good money away, bar the DVD playback and larger screen, is there a massive difference between the models. Also conscious that my new car would still be a MIB1 and therefore, would it ever work with a newer Airplay/Mirrrorlink unit?

 

Just trying to feel out the pros and cons of doing it really.

I'm not sure exactly how much functionality you'll get (or lose), I presume there shouldn't be too much of an issue. If you want Carplay and Android Auto you'll also need to swap the USB port, and if you have Canton sound system you'll also need to change the Canton amplifier for full functionality.

Sadly the new unit doesn't have Canton...I would have loved a vehicle with that but only one at the garage had it and that was a 140k miler. So given I've got colour Maxi dot, MFSW, GPS and DAB all ready inside the new car. Theoretically I just need to source a new columbus headunit and new USB port if I want to go for a Carplay option?

 

Edited 27 July, 20178 yr by mattfilmguy

I don't think you can get Airplay on the Columbus. You can get Carplay which isn't the same thing.

Apologies, that was me confusing my "PLAY" variants. I had mean't Carplay, so essentially apps and iPhone mirroring on the main display. 

 

Yep, should be entirely possible. It's only a cable connection to the main unit after all, which is why you need the new USB port fitting. However, you'll need to ensure that all the features you currently have and need are activated.

Thanks for the advice. Do you know of anyone capable of sourcing the head unit and USB module? I'd most likely need someone to do the coding element. Installation wise, it looks super straight forward.

I'm not sure of anyone doing this as yet. I can see a few people are offering it, but I'm not sure how good they are or what their level of skill is etc.

Matt, its not like the 90s when you could swap electronics on the VW group cars, they have got wise to it and made it very hard, also better for theft protection.

 

Make sure this DSG Octavia has had its DSG fluid change done every 40k miles, or what the sat nav screen is like will be the least of your worries!

 

3 minutes ago, glosrich said:

Ha! Bloody good point. The car is a 1 owner and has only done 36k....so it'll be needing that doing I imagine on the next service. 

 

Looks like its about £175, so budget that in to the deal.

2 minutes ago, glosrich said:

Looks like its about £175, so budget that in to the deal.

Am I right in thinking that the first 3 years, 60,000 miles are Skoda warrantied? 

@mattfilmguy I bought an Octavia VRS DSG last June and sold it again in January this year. I had previously had an old MK3 Mondeo that I'd kept for 10 years but age and mileage had taken their toll on the car so after much praise for the Octavia I bought one. The boot space was very impressive and the gearbox was nice too after having driven manual for so long. These were the only good things on the car as comfort was not as good as the Mondeo and long trips were very tiresome in it. MPG and build quality was very poor as was wind and road noise. As you already know the Bolero radio is a let down. Crappy dealers were the last stray and the Octavia was part ex'd at my loss but I was just glad to rid and it was the least amount time I've owned a car. 

I bought a BMW 320D M Sport running on 19 inch wheels. The ride quality and handling are in a different league to the Octavia, more precise and much more comfortable. The suspension works a treat and I found, even with the lower profile tyres, it is much better over pot holed roads and I'm no spring chicken either. The interior is much better place to be and long trips are no longer dreaded again. I've no idea what BMW you've driven but far from my actual experience.

I will give the Octavia merit for the size of the boot as it was actually bigger to the top of the seats than the previous Mondeo estate but that is it as the ZF 8spd autobox on the BMW is an absolute joy.

1 minute ago, CWARD said:

@mattfilmguy I bought an Octavia VRS DSG last June and sold it again in January this year. I had previously had an old MK3 Mondeo that I'd kept for 10 years but age and mileage had taken their toll on the car so after much praise for the Octavia I bought one. The boot space was very impressive and the gearbox was nice too after having driven manual for so long. These were the only good things on the car as comfort was not as good as the Mondeo and long trips were very tiresome in it. MPG and build quality was very poor as was wind and road noise. As you already know the Bolero radio is a let down. Crappy dealers were the last stray and the Octavia was part ex'd at my loss but I was just glad to rid and it was the least amount time I've owned a car. 

I bought a BMW 320D M Sport running on 19 inch wheels. The ride quality and handling are in a different league to the Octavia, more precise and much more comfortable. The suspension works a treat and I found, even with the lower profile tyres, it is much better over pot holed roads and I'm no spring chicken either. The interior is much better place to be and long trips are no longer dreaded again. I've no idea what BMW you've driven but far from my actual experience.

I will give the Octavia merit for the size of the boot as it was actually bigger to the top of the seats than the previous Mondeo estate but that is it as the ZF 8spd autobox on the BMW is an absolute joy.

I guess ultimately it comes down to horses for courses. I totally agree on the visual argument. The Octavia looks pretty utilitarian compared to the BMW. The BMW in defence also had lots of little toys being the corporate EfficientDynamics variant, like automatic tailgate, keyless entry and a better spec'd media system. I was sold on the BMW before driving it, I really was. But on the road, I should caveat for me, it was simply awful. Now this is not me running down BMW or anything like that. I had a 330Ci for many years and it was one of my favourite cars ever. The issue I had was the driving position in this particular car wasn't great. The seat adjustment was clunky and I've always hated the seat height adjustment in BMWs generally. The whole stomach crunch ab lift seat adjustment is poor, they need to add a piston/ratchet system for returning height like every other car I've ever had. The steering wheel was an M sport and felt plastic and too thin, the garage is in a rural area and again the BMW was super harsh. Rear visibility was bad and the tourer is in no way an estate. The rear space is tiny. My 10 year old son got out of the car and said "It's not all that, is it dad?"whilst my other son thought it sounded like a tractor. I've loved my last 12 months with 1.2 Octavia, here's hoping the new one increases that love.

See I find the rear room space strange as we don't have kids but end up ferrying the in-laws around they have always remarked how much more space and comfortable the BWW is over the Skoda. I had problems with the seating with the Octavia in that in favoured position with the seat at it's lowest height it creaked like an old ship so had to raise a bit but on driving to London from Leeds I had to stop for a rest as I was that uncomfortable. I never got as far as Spain in it like I did with the Mondeo and BMW but a trip to Limoges in France I was in pain after.  The thin steering wheel on the BMW isn't my experience either as the Octavia was much thinner and also creaked.

I hope you're happy in the new car but Octavia wasn't a patch on the current one.

I've run a 2012 320D and Mk3 Octavia for the last 2 years & am on the side with Matt.

For me the BMW was horrible & I couldnt wait get rid of it.

The engine was very very noisy, gear-shifting was aweful & unless you were on the highway it felt cumbersome & awkward to manouver at low speed or around town.

 

For sure the build quality, materials & road isolation is better on the BMW as you would expect for the extra cost.

But then there are stupid BMW things like to adjust the seat height you have to get out of the car or the iDrive interface.

 

For the same price, I would choose the Octavia & given that the lower spec BMW had a 40% higher list price, when I'm paying with my money I would choose the same.

It's funny as on the way to view and drive both, I'd pretty much decided on the BMW. I was surprised just how much more I enjoyed the Octavia. In all fairness it's not necessarily an apple for apples comparison given the DSG of the Skoda and the manual of the of the BMW. It was purely a body style / cost budget  consideration that I'd ended up driving both. The Skoda also had a few extras that the garage hadn't taken into account, that I knew about from my existing car. For example they hadn't noticed the electric front seats,  the electric retracting wing mirrors were also missed as was the auto lights and wipers as they'd been turned off in the options menu. So there for me were some excellent additional incentives to take the Skoda, which was very keenly priced anyway. The Skoda was also at 36k versus 48k for the BMW, this sort of metric doesn't bother me much but I know my wife would fixate on this. But man I fell in love with the DSG. The last car we had with an auto box was a C4 Grand Picasso...yeah enough said. Hoping to collect the Skoda in a week when prep has been done. glosrich suggestion about the oil might be too late since I'd given them a deposit to secure it. I'll enquire about the servicing though prior to collection for sure.

54 minutes ago, CWARD said:

See I find the rear room space strange as we don't have kids but end up ferrying the in-laws around they have always remarked how much more space and comfortable the BWW is over the Skoda. I had problems with the seating with the Octavia in that in favoured position with the seat at it's lowest height it creaked like an old ship so had to raise a bit but on driving to London from Leeds I had to stop for a rest as I was that uncomfortable. I never got as far as Spain in it like I did with the Mondeo and BMW but a trip to Limoges in France I was in pain after.  The thin steering wheel on the BMW isn't my experience either as the Octavia was much thinner and also creaked.

I hope you're happy in the new car but Octavia wasn't a patch on the current one.

 

Nice car but in my experience simply too small in the back seat if you need to sit more than 2 in the back,  spent an afternoon being ferried around crushed in with 2 other blokes of small-medium build and it was not a pleasant experience. Ok for Empty-nesters. 

Better buying the car and then getting the servicing done yourself. Too easy for the seller to just "tick a box" in the service book or tell you they've done it. If they don't do it then the issue becomes yours further down the line.

The DSG is nice if you're coming from manual but not as smooth as the ZF, maybe helped by the additional two gears. 

I still can't see how you found the ride harsh though. Only thing I can think of is it may have had the adaptive suspension which may have been in sport mode but that would have been selected as it doesn't start in that. 

@Redboy never actually sat in the back myself fir any length of time but as said the in laws have and they're all pretty lanky but never had more than two of them in rear. 

My kids are 17, 10 and 12. The young 2 came along for the test drives. I think because of the low sweep of the roof line in the BMW, also not helped by the largely black leather seats and trim, they looked pretty cosy. Whereas in the Octavia they were rolling around as I was giving it a suitable blast around the B-roads. 

1 minute ago, CWARD said:

The DSG is nice if you're coming from manual but not as smooth as the ZF, maybe helped by the additional two gears. 

I still can't see how you found the ride harsh though. Only thing I can think of is it may have had the adaptive suspension which may have been in sport mode but that would have been selected as it doesn't start in that. 

@Redboy never actually sat in the back myself fir any length of time but as said the in laws have and they're all pretty lanky but never had more than two of them in rear. 

I did change the various modes up from Eco to Sports+ and it made minimal difference. Maybe it was due to the alloy/tyre selection?