Hi! Just registered to this site as I'm looking to buy an Octavia vRS TDI, and I'm doing some research.

I've had a variety of cars over the years, come to think of it, I'll run through them.

1st car - an old n-reg (1974) Mini 1000. It was an awful car, but I loved it, and it taught me a huge amount about cars. (Mainly trying to get the thing started in cold weather.)

Then onto a 1978 Mini 1275GT, which was also a better car, and I enjoyed it right up until I trashed it by driving like a complete tool. In this car I learned that Minis are perfect for handbrake turns, which were all the rage at the time. (Early 80's)

Trashing the 1275GT was a nightmare as I'd taken out a loan to pay for it, so I had a spell without a car and switched to motorbikes as they were cheaper. Two crashed bikes later, I realised I could die and used the bus for a bit.

After marriage came a 1988 Ford Orion LX, which was a good practical car with a giant boot and a heavy thirst for oil, parrticularly on start-up. (Valve stem oil seals.)

Later came a 2L 1992 Rover 400 SLi which was great. I really loved that car and kept it for about 8 years. (Thereafter we became a two-car family and things get a bit confusing.)

Then I bought a Seat Ibiza TDi SXE, which was my first diesel. I haven't bought myself a petrol engined car since.

Then I went mad anout bought a 2001 Ibiza TDi 110 new. This was a great car and I loved it. After it developed an expensive fault, I replaced it with ...

...another Ibiza with the 130PD engine which was a delightful little rocket. My wife trashed it, and so languished in a "punishment car" of a 3-cyl Skoda Fabia 1.2 with wind-up windows and no radio for a few years.

The Fabia was actually a nice little car with a delightful gearbox, but my wife hated it as it was slow and she knew she was only driving it as a punishment.

Meanwhile I discovered Fod Mondeos, and fell in love with their all-round abilities. I'm on my third Mondeo now (2006 2.2L TDCI Ghia, which I've had for 8 years and adore), and am looking to change it.

I've got my head round Fords, so intended on getting another Mondeo, but the new Mondeo is about the size of an oil tanker, and so hugely impractical for small parking spaces and tight car parks, of which there are many.

So I looked to the Focus, which has a tiny boot as does the focus estate, IMO.

Thus, I decided to give up on Fords, and look elsewhere for a family car with good performance, good handling and a big boot. I saw the Octavia vRS might be a good bet, but I wanted to find out more about it.

And that, dear reader, is how I ended up here.

A warm welcome to the Forum!  I think my list would be too long, just say I started with a 1937 Austin through lots of makes and countries to end with my Octavia last year which I am greatly enjoying.