Is there a better all round car than a Octavia 1.4 TFSI DSG?

[prichards1234]

I love my 1400 dsg. but there is room for betterment. road noise is not the best and hill start need park brake so you don't break your neck.

At lights you need to look at rev counter to check if stop start is of . the engine is so nice.

It is nice and easy to be able to up grade electrics with obd11. so you get stuff you dream of.

I like the ease of this car makes my life, going to the tip, taking her in doors shopping, room in the boot and more.

shame only a SE model .

[fabdavrav]

6 hours ago, MattChr said:

I'm v pleased with mine as an all-rounder and strikes my balance for performance, refinement, space (inside), size (outside) and price.

 

Anything else more "premium" including Golf estate seems to sacrifice interior space, or is significantly larger outside for similar boot space (thinking 5 series touring etc). Petrol DSG is refined and gutsy enough with reasonable economy.

 

 

1 hour ago, BoxerBoy said:

I wonder why my wife has never asked what kind of rear suspension is fitted to her car . . . . . . . . . 

 

Oh - maybe because it matters not a jot in the kind of day to day tootling that most people drive most of the time.

 

55 minutes ago, Octy0GG said:

Probably not a big deal if you drive on nice smooth roads.

If your driving was in the far North of Scotland rather than Central Scotland you might get the point. You do not need to read the specs or crawl about under the car to notice the difference.

 

 

 

Leaving aside the fact than my Skoda dealer up here is now Arnold Shark..

I chose the MK7 Golf 1.4 GT estate because it has a better mechanical & trim spec than the MK3 Octavia with a similar engine..

 

Yes the Octavia is 2inches longer in wheel base & a further 2inches longer outside of the WB (4inches O/A longer than Golf estate)..but I wasn't concerned by that.

 

What I wanted was the multilink rear suspension....& having driven both suspensions on the same car I can tell the difference on our roads..& for that size of car it should have multilink suspension, I mean its not exactly "new"....all MK5 Golfs had it..

 

Also the sports seats are very comfortable...which is N/A on Octavia unless vRS..at the time of ordering..

 

 

[Gerrycan]

Seems I must be the only one here who does not find the 1.4tsi mk3 torsion bar suspension an issue on normal tarmac roads at legal speeds.

I will admit it is not as good as my previous multi-link equipped mk2 on highly corrugated Australian dirt roads but then the mk2 also had 15 inch tyres (compared to 17 inch on mk3) which also made a significant contribution to ride comfort.

 

 

 

 

 

[Octy0GG]

4 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Seems I must be the only one here who does not find the 1.4tsi mk3 torsion bar suspension an issue on normal tarmac roads at legal speeds.

I will admit it is not as good as my previous multi-link equipped mk2 on highly corrugated Australian dirt roads but then the mk2 also had 15 inch tyres (compared to 17 inch on mk3) which also made a significant contribution to ride comfort.

 

 

 

 

 

The torsion beam is undoubtedly just about good enough much of the time.

For the best all round car though adequate / reasonable for the money / some folk don't know the difference, just isn't  good enough.

Think folk would have given the Mk3 Octavia rear suspension an easier time if it had followed directly on from the Mk1 but it didn't. Mk 2 was a step forward Mk3 was a step backwards. Wonder what the Mk 4 will have.

 

My ideal Octavia  - Manual L& K hatch with 17" wheels, IRS, VRS diesel engine torque and power (but without any of the diesel problems) - I know not happening.

[ahenners]

21 minutes ago, Octy0GG said:

My ideal Octavia  - Manual L& K hatch with 17" wheels, IRS, VRS diesel engine torque and power (but without any of the diesel problems) - I know not happening.

 

Really? The petrol has none of the "diesel problems" and is better in every way apart from fuel economy. It hardly disgraces itself on that front too....

 

The ideal Octavia is the one Skoda will probably never be allowed to make. VRS 245 with the 4x4 running gear.

[Octy0GG]

8 minutes ago, ahenners said:

 

Really? The petrol has none of the "diesel problems" and is better in every way apart from fuel economy. It hardly disgraces itself on that front too....

 

The ideal Octavia is the one Skoda will probably never be allowed to make. VRS 245 with the 4x4 running gear.

Bearing in mind all the talk about turbocharged petrol engines with diesel like torque - No, we are not there yet. 

Shifting from petrol to diesel it takes one very short drive to adjust to diesel torque, going the other way takes a bit longer.

 

But yes diesel does have many issues, the one which steered me back to petrol being all the active regens.

 

Ideal Octavia, I was only talking about my ideal (and that may even change), you are talking about The ideal Octavia, that's a bolder claim.

 

 

[ahenners]

Just now, Octy0GG said:

Bearing in mind all the talk about turbocharged petrol engines with diesel like torque - No, we are not there yet. 

Shifting from petrol to diesel it takes one very short drive to adjust to diesel torque, going the other way takes a bit longer.

 

But yes diesel does have many issues, the one which steered me back to petrol being all the active regens.

 

Ideal Octavia, I was only talking about my ideal (and that may even change), you are talking about The ideal Octavia, that's a bolder claim.

 

 

 

Agree, it's all subjective, to some the ideal one might be a 1.0 TSI for its running costs, insurance, tax etc. It's all relative.

 

As for the switch I'm not convinced based on my experience, but again everyone is different. I had a 330 diesel BMW with 245ps and a silly amount of torque before I made the switch to a Skoda 2.0 TSI petrol. Can't say the torque as being one of the things I miss - the VRS has plenty and never feels lacking here. The thing I actually miss is the noise, 6 cylinder diesels are in a completely different league to 4 cylinder ones and are actually quite pleasant sounding when pressing on. I imagine the switch from a 2.0 diesel to a petrol is easier.

[SWBoy]

3 minutes ago, Octy0GG said:

Shifting from petrol to diesel it takes one very short drive to adjust to diesel torque, going the other way takes a bit longer.

I've only ever owned one diesel car (I'm ignoring several diesel motorhomes) which was an Audi A4 1.9TDI 130 Sport - which frustrated me a lot because I kept hitting the rev limit at around 4500 rpm, having come from petrol cars which had rev limits over 7000rpm.

 

Now having owned a petrol car with an 8600rpm rev limit I think adjusting to a diesel would be a step too far for me.

[Gerrycan]

5 hours ago, Octy0GG said:

Bearing in mind all the talk about turbocharged petrol engines with diesel like torque - No, we are not there yet. 

Shifting from petrol to diesel it takes one very short drive to adjust to diesel torque, going the other way takes a bit longer.

 

I recently drove a Kia Ceed diesel 1.6D manual which had very long gearing and I was a very surprised at its lack of low down torque and the requirement to change gears far more frequently than I would have to on the 1.4tsi in similar circumstances. When you kept the diesel engine on the 'boil' you got better performance and economy.

Appreciated the diesel engine braking available in Devon and Cornwall though.

The 2.0D Octavia probably offers a lot better low down torque delivery than I experienced.

 

Stepping back to the 1.4tsi was both a relief for the relatively easier drive (probably more to do with the gearing than the engine though) but an effort adapting back to the lack of engine braking on the 1.4tsi and utilising it for the economy benefits.

Edited 14 November, 2017 by Gerrycan

[MattChr]

My shift from mk2 vrs CR diesel to mk3 vrs petrol was easy. I found the torque in the diesel too narrow and didn't feel that punchy or powerful. The petrol feels like it has similar torque, but much wider spread so it's easier to drive smoother and quicker, with much more power in higher revs.

 

The 6cyl diesels are something else though - so much smoother and quieter than 4cyl. If I was in the market for a medium or large 4x4 that would be my preference.

 

I haven't experienced torsion beam in a similar sized car. I can see how that differentiates the smaller engine or low/mid spec Golf estates from equivalent Octavias.

[Octy0GG]

On 09/11/2017 at 13:20, Suuntobob said:

If you think so name it

Hillman Avenger Tiger - The ideal antidote to the 21st century while still managing to be a 4 dr 4 seat family car.