I see Autocar has just started a petrol - diesel vRS comparison.

 

Autocar vRS

 

Comparing 3 months living with a 4x4 diesel vRS saloon to 3 months living with a 2wd 245 petrol estate to see which is best.

 

A 3 month report for each car will be interesting but how on earth can you compare a 4x4 saloon to a 2wd estate? Like comparing apples with oranges.

 

CAR magazine currently testing the 245 petrol version DSG  CAR 245 estate

 

 

Edited 15 April, 20188 yr by Guest

I guess because that is real choices people are considering, buy X or Y so if you are in the case of buying X or Y what is the pros and cons.

Owning the saloon I have to ask, is the estate actually any bigger ? Coming from Fabia 1, the saloon seems huge so practically is an estate to me !

The estate seems a bit shorter on appearance ( perhaps a bit taller?) are they really that different ?

The Estate is only bigger if you load above the window line. If you wouldn’t use the space, it’s down to looks and the shape of the rear doors. The Estate doors are slightly taller at the back as they don’t slope with the roofline. Also don’t have the pointy end to make opening the door harder in tight spaces. Comparing the 4x4 diesel hatch to the 2wd petrol Estate is a handy test as it compares 6 configurations, so more useful info can be found. Personally, I only considered an Estate as I think it looks better than the hatch and I do occasionally load the boot full, or carry animals.

I think regarding hatch vs estate its in the eye of the beholder so deeply personal. For me personally I'm sorry I have to beg to differ IMO the hatch is most sleek. However we all have different eyes for what we like so that's understandable.
Either way its too big! Give me a smaller "full fat" vRS in smaller sportier package please Skoda ( same engine tho pls).

 

 

Isn’t it interesting how people’s perceptions differ. 

 

I thing the Octy vRS looks far better in estate trim. 

 

Some cars look better as saloon / hatch, some as estate - IMO of course. 

 

Saloon / Hatch - Merc C & E, BMW 5, Golf 

 

Estate - Octy vRS, Audi A4 & A6  

Superb MkII, definitely better in estate

 

Superb MkIII, undecided!! 

Will be interested in the end summary of the diesel Vs petrol test. It's a debate I had for ages before buying mine due to higher than average mileage, yet still went for petrol. Still think I made the right choice too. 

 

I'm also in the hatch camp rather than estate, but think both look good. The hatch is slightly sleeker, but no option of electric tailgate, and the hatch boot let's a considerable amount of standing water in if you open it on a rainy day and it's been parked up for a while.

 

Also think it's good they are going from a 4x4 DSG hatch diesel to 2wd petrol manual estate. It's far broader and allows more comparisons despite only having 2 cars to do it with.

I wanted to stay in the petrol camp but with 10k added on the clock of my vRS since December, I ended up with TDi power. I’m not going to say I’m disappointed, but the throttle is very mushy and the engine quite flat. It picks up quickly enough and is very nice overall, but I feel it could be much better. I am spoiled though as the other performance car is a 5.5 litre V8, which feels exactly as you would expect, and my previous ‘nice car’ was a tuned to over 320 bhp Volvo C30 T5, so maybe it skews my experience of ‘normal’ cars somewhat. I still feel the CR TDi is a bit flat, especially compared to the other diesels of this engine size I’ve driven and had experience of in the past. Nothing I can’t fix though. 

 

I had the SE-L hatch courtesy car for a couple of days, and it was just as useable for my needs while I had it, but there are plenty of times I have used all the space in my estate. I could have lived with the hatch and compromised, but for me, it made sense to get an estate anyway. I like the look of the hatch, but prefer the estate.

16 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

The Estate is only bigger if you load above the window line. If you wouldn’t use the space, it’s down to looks and the shape of the rear doors. The Estate doors are slightly taller at the back as they don’t slope with the roofline. Also don’t have the pointy end to make opening the door harder in tight spaces. Comparing the 4x4 diesel hatch to the 2wd petrol Estate is a handy test as it compares 6 configurations, so more useful info can be found. Personally, I only considered an Estate as I think it looks better than the hatch and I do occasionally load the boot full, or carry animals.

Estates tend to get used to transport coffins so debatable whether looking good is a priority for our dearly departed loved ones. Never seen a hatchback used as a hearse unless you know otherwise. Funnily my dad's old vectra estate was nicknamed the hearse because it could transport my mum's mobility scooter whereas his 62 plate skoda Superb Estate can't. That did surprise me.

13 hours ago, vRSAnt said:

I think regarding hatch vs estate its in the eye of the beholder so deeply personal. For me personally I'm sorry I have to beg to differ IMO the hatch is most sleek. However we all have different eyes for what we like so that's understandable.
Either way its too big! Give me a smaller "full fat" vRS in smaller sportier package please Skoda ( same engine tho pls).

 

 

Top picture a hearse, bottom picture carrying mourners. Know which one I would travel in. Also noticed how few 245 Black Pearl Estates are on the photo forum. I think we know the reason for that because people don't want someone commenting on their pride and joy transporting them to the cemetry one day. Or even worse being buried in their car, which wouldn't be very funny if you are the butt of the joke.

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

Top picture a hearse, bottom picture carrying mourners. Know which one I would travel in. Also noticed how few 245 Black Pearl Estates are on the photo forum. I think we know the reason for that because people don't want someone commenting on their pride and joy transporting them to the cemetry one day. Or even worse being buried in their car, which wouldn't be very funny if you are the butt of the joke.

 

You might prefer the bottom one, but we all end up in the top one...! 

Much prefer the estate pictured on top however not a particularly fair comparison as the estate is the pfl with the much better front end, is obviously lowered and has VWR R360 alloys.

16 hours ago, ahenners said:

... the hatch boot let's a considerable amount of standing water in if you open it on a rainy day and it's been parked up for a while.

 

 

 

I got very wet feet the other day when I opened my estate boot & the water ran off it, around the inside edge of the opening, over the bumper and onto my feet - it's not just a hatch issue!

35 minutes ago, Mr Statto said:

 

I got very wet feet the other day when I opened my estate boot & the water ran off it, around the inside edge of the opening, over the bumper and onto my feet - it's not just a hatch issue!

 

Phew, that's a relief then 

Never happened to me, but then again, haven't had decent coating on it yet... The hatch soaked me every time I opened it when I had it!!

I own a black 245 hearse 

6 hours ago, mumphie said:

 

You might prefer the bottom one, but we all end up in the top one...! 

Simple choice for me, no dogs or children to transport and wife hates all estate cars. 3 big reasons then!

3 hours ago, Kahunajb said:

Much prefer the estate pictured on top however not a particularly fair comparison as the estate is the pfl with the much better front end, is obviously lowered and has VWR R360 alloys.

Having had xenon's on a 64 plate Vrs and the LED lights on my 17 plate FL I can compare the difference and it's like comparing  halogen to xenon's only one winner there! You can drive faster on a country road at night if you can see a lot further unless you follow someone with more powerful LED headlights.

3 hours ago, Mr Statto said:

 

I got very wet feet the other day when I opened my estate boot & the water ran off it, around the inside edge of the opening, over the bumper and onto my feet - it's not just a hatch issue!

That' why after heavy rain I put my work gear on the back seat of my hatch to avoid filling the boot with water then use the rear wiper and aerodynamics clear the rest of the moisture. Simply clever!

1 hour ago, Mark7 said:

I own a black 245 hearse 

Only ONE reply so far so not very popular as I suspected most estates ordered have been poverty red as someone put it, grey primer as someone else described it and white as there are only 4 choices on the 245.

1 minute ago, shyVRS245 said:

Only ONE reply so far so not very popular as I suspected most estates ordered have been poverty red as someone put it, grey primer as someone else described it and white as there are only 4 choices on the 245.

It’s popular with me and that’s why I bought it, and that’s all that matters thanks 

Another vote here for the estate @shyVRS245

 

Better looking, slightly more space & practicality, and there are other colours available if you are really worried about the hearse look! 

Estate all the way imho, it's a much more cohesive design than the hatch.

 

I think in VRS trim with the black pack it looks sufficiently un-hearse like.  That said I did specifically opt for Quartz Grey over black on my SEL.

2 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

That' why after heavy rain I put my work gear on the back seat of my hatch to avoid filling the boot with water then use the rear wiper and aerodynamics clear the rest of the moisture. Simply clever!

 

It's definitely a lesson learned - I'll make sure my feet stay away until it's all trickled down. Might forget to warn Mrs Statto though!

20 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

I wanted to stay in the petrol camp but with 10k added on the clock of my vRS since December, I ended up with TDi power. I’m not going to say I’m disappointed, but the throttle is very mushy and the engine quite flat. It picks up quickly enough and is very nice overall, but I feel it could be much better. I am spoiled though as the other performance car is a 5.5 litre V8, which feels exactly as you would expect, and my previous ‘nice car’ was a tuned to over 320 bhp Volvo C30 T5, so maybe it skews my experience of ‘normal’ cars somewhat. I still feel the CR TDi is a bit flat, especially compared to the other diesels of this engine size I’ve driven and had experience of in the past. Nothing I can’t fix though. 

 

I had the SE-L hatch courtesy car for a couple of days, and it was just as useable for my needs while I had it, but there are plenty of times I have used all the space in my estate. I could have lived with the hatch and compromised, but for me, it made sense to get an estate anyway. I like the look of the hatch, but prefer the estate.

 

Have a look here. It does sharpen things up a little.