Trading Mark2 TDi Octy for new petrol one; opinons needed.

[Richard46]

I am thinking of trading my 2012 TDi 2.0 DSG Octavia for a new petrol Octavia. The performance of the TDi 2.0 suits me fine. Will the 1.5 TSi give me similar performance or should I think about the 2.0 petrol version. I am looking at the SE L models which according to the configurators come with those two petrol options.

 

Couple of things in the SE L package that I cannot work out. It gives powered folding mirrors as an option but they also seem to be standard*? Any info appreciated.

 

* The configurator says 'Electrically adjustable, heated and foldable mirrors with boarding spots' which is a bit ambiguous about the folding mechanism.

 

Space saving spare is an option on the configurator anyone know what the standard kit is? Is it the bottle of gunk and an electric pump. I have a full size spare (much my prefered option) unused that I bought a couple of years ago for the Mark 2 anyone know if this will fit the studs on the Mark 3 and is there room in the boot cavity for it if I hang onto it?

 

Lastly the SE L standard says Acoustic rear parking sensors. Is that all you get? Is there no on screen graphic indicator? 

 

Many Thanks for any info and Merry Christmas.

 

 

Edited 25 December, 2018 by Richard46

[SurreyJohn]

Not sure which power output your diesel is.  I am guessing the 140 or 150

 

There have been some problems with 1.5 petrols with manual gearbox, seems to be be easy to stall in first gear, since it was remapped for WLTP (particularly seems to affect Karoq and there is a thread In that section.  However a remap (technical software update) is expected sometime in 2019 to improve this

 

The generally accepted view is the new engines work brilliantly with DSG boxes (and seem to be optimised to do so), but are not easiest to drive smoothly with a manual

 

If you choose the 2 litre it will have plenty of power.

 

Obviously the new diesels are plagued by emissions kit, and with ships changing to 0.5% sulphur fuel in 2020, the fuel could easily be 20-30p litre more than petrol (to to refinery capacity) in 2020.  So sensible to move away from diesel.

 

Unless you specify the spare you get the gunk and no jack

 

The rear sensors also show on the display to best of my knowledge 

 

Not sure on the other items as not upto date on specs of Octavia.

 

Happy Christmas 

 

 

Edited 25 December, 2018 by SurreyJohn

[Richard46]

1 hour ago, SurreyJohn said:

Not sure which power output your diesel is.  I am guessing the 140 or 150

 

There have been some problems with 1.5 petrols with manual gearbox, seems to be be easy to stall in first gear, since it was remapped for WLTP (particularly seems to affect Karoq and there is a thread In that section.  However a remap (technical software update) is expected sometime in 2019 to improve this

 

The generally accepted view is the new engines work brilliantly with DSG boxes (and seem to be optimised to do so), but are not easiest to drive smoothly with a manual

 

If you choose the 2 litre it will have plenty of power.

 

Obviously the new diesels are plagued by emissions kit, and with ships changing to 0.5% sulphur fuel in 2020, the fuel could easily be 20-30p litre more than petrol (to to refinery capacity) in 2020.  So sensible to move away from diesel.

 

Unless you specify the spare you get the gunk and no jack

 

The rear sensors also show on the display to best of my knowledge 

 

Not sure on the other items as not upto date on specs of Octavia.

 

Happy Christmas 

 

 

Thanks for that John. I am only considering a DSG. Having had a DSG box no way would I go back to a manual. Already decided to move away from Diesel. From 2021 0nwards will cost me at least £12.50 everytime I drive to the end of my road with a diesel under the new London emission regs.

Edited 25 December, 2018 by Richard46

[Rodge]

On 25/12/2018 at 22:14, Richard46 said:

Already decided to move away from Diesel. From 2021 0nwards will cost me at least £12.50 everytime I drive to the end of my road with a diesel under the new London emission regs.

Only if you've got a diesel car which is more than 6 years old in 2021. The London Ultra Low Emission Zone will require diesel cars to meet Euro 6 emission standards. This includes all new diesel cars sold in the UK since September 2015, including Octavias.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/cars

[Richard46]

59 minutes ago, Rodge said:

Only if you've got a diesel car which is more than 6 years old in 2021. The London Ultra Low Emission Zone will require diesel cars to meet Euro 6 emission standards. This includes all new diesel cars sold in the UK since September 2015, including Octavias.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/cars

Correct unfortunately my Octavia is 62 plate Euro 5.

[MorrisOx]

You get two advantages from the 2.0 TSi petrol. One is the obvious grunt, the other is independent rear suspension - the 1.5 has the torsion beam back end, which some find bumpy and noisy. The disadvantage of the 2.0 litre will be found in your bank account.

 

If the torsion beam doesn’t bother you, the 1.5 TSi and the DSG are an extremely effective combination.

[Richard46]

Thanks for all the advice/comments. Have now had a drive in a 1.4. Ride is not as comfortable as my 62 plate diesel Octty.  Wife hated it although she loves our present one. It is off the new car short list.

Edited 14 January, 2019 by Richard46

[logiclee]

10 minutes ago, Richard46 said:

Thanks for all the advice/comments. Have now had a drive in a 1.4. Ride is not as comfortable as my 62 plate diesel Octty.  Wife hated it although she loves our present one. It is off the new car short list.

 

We have a Mk2 and a Mk3.

 

The Mk2 is on 16's, has fully independent suspension and the setup is far more compliant.

 

the Mk3 is on 17's and is torsion beam. A lot is made of torsion beam but the whole setup is much stiffer than the Mk2 even the front suspension is far less compliant when hitting potholes and ridges and this isn't helped with the lower profile tyres.

 

It would be interesting to try the 2.0TSi 190 on 16" wheels and IRS and see what it's like. I've tried several vRS Octavia's but for me any comfort gain from IRS is more than negated by the stiffer springs and lower profile tyres.

 

I find the Mk2 better for ride as well as wind and road noise. It just feels it's better built than the MK3 even though the Mk3 has a higher quality interior.

[Richard46]

In fact I found the interior quality of the new Mk3 I drove disappointing compared with my Mk2.

[MorrisOx]

22 minutes ago, Richard46 said:

In fact I found the interior quality of the new Mk3 I drove disappointing compared with my Mk2.

 

I think the interior quality of the Mk 3 is pretty reasonable to be fair; it’s a Skoda, and isn’t allowed to tread on VW’s toes quality-wise.

 

If you look at my profile you’ll see I solved the ride and quality issues by trading up to a Superb, which has independent suspension all round and rides really nicely.

[logiclee]

49 minutes ago, MorrisOx said:

 

I think the interior quality of the Mk 3 is pretty reasonable to be fair; it’s a Skoda, and isn’t allowed to tread on VW’s toes quality-wise.

 

If you look at my profile you’ll see I solved the ride and quality issues by trading up to a Superb, which has independent suspension all round and rides really nicely.

 

It's not just IRS that makes the Passat/Superb ride far superior. They use different suspension components, geometry, are set up differently and have far superior insulation to reduce NVH .

 

The ride and refinement is just in a different league. I bought a Passat new a few years ago as Superb waiting lists were too long.

 

And to be honest that is acceptable and expected. That in some respect the Mk3 is a backward step to the Mk2 shouldn't be expected.

 

For me the Tech on the Mk3 is a major step forward and efficiency is better, handling is slightly sharper and the interior looks more modern.  But the Mk2 has better seats, more compliant ride, quieter interior and just feels more substantial.

It feels like the Mk3's weight saving and cost cutting has been taken too far in some areas.

 

Lee

Edited 14 January, 2019 by logiclee

[dunc69]

9 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

It's not just IRS that makes the Passat/Superb ride far superior. They use different suspension components, geometry, are set up differently and have far superior insulation to reduce NVH .

 

The ride and refinement is just in a different league. I bought a Passat new a few years ago as Superb waiting lists were too long.

 

And to be honest that is acceptable and expected. That in some respect the Mk3 is a backward step to the Mk2 shouldn't be expected.

 

For me the Tech on the Mk3 is a major step forward and efficiency is better, handling is slightly sharper and the interior looks more modern.  But the Mk2 has better seats, more compliant ride, quieter interior and just feels more substantial.

It feels like the Mk3's weight saving and cost cutting has been taken too far in some areas.

 

Lee

Agree with all this. Love my Mk3, but it is definitely not at refined as my Mk2, which had the same engine and tyres. 

 

Rougher road surfaces are far too noisy and are starting to p me off! 

[Octy0GG]

Hard one to quantify but having driven both Octavia 2 and 3 over some time and distance, I believe the Octavia 2 was noticeably more stable in crosswinds. ( Octavia 2 1.9 PD compared Octavia 3 1.4 TSI both Hatchbacks) Neither came even close to my 1992 Saab 900s Aero in this respect.

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Octy0GG said:

Hard one to quantify but having driven both Octavia 2 and 3 over some time and distance, I believe the Octavia 2 was noticeably more stable in crosswinds. ( Octavia 2 1.9 PD compared Octavia 3 1.4 TSI both Hatchbacks).

 

Could easily be explained by the former being approx 130kg heavier - most of it being over the front axle.

[juan27]

Spare from a Mk2 will have the bolt pattern and centre bore as Mk3 and offset should be pretty close.  I think all of the models you are considering have brakes that will fit in a 16" wheel (I'm assuming that's the spare on your Mk2)

 

The spare wheel on my Mk3 VRS will certainly fit a full size spare for a standard Octy.

 

Edited 15 January, 2019 by juan27

[logiclee]

One other cost saving that bugs me on the Mk3 is the handbrake.

 

On the Mk2 the LHD/RHD models have the handbrake next to the driver. On the Mk3 the handbrake on the RHD models is not moved so it's next to the passenger.

 

Poorer ergonomics for RHD models.

[Octy0GG]

5 hours ago, Scot5 said:

 

Could easily be explained by the former being approx 130kg heavier - most of it being over the front axle.

No doubt about that. Less weight up front is fine for sharper turn in under good conditions but in crosswinds or snow there is something to be said for a bit more weight up front.

[PetrolDave]

15 hours ago, logiclee said:

One other cost saving that bugs me on the Mk3 is the handbrake.

 

On the Mk2 the LHD/RHD models have the handbrake next to the driver. On the Mk3 the handbrake on the RHD models is not moved so it's next to the passenger.

 

Poorer ergonomics for RHD models.

Skoda weren't the first VAG company to make that cost saving...

 

Audi were doing it for years before Skoda: my 8P S3 (2000), 8E S4 (2003) and 8E RS4 (2006) all had the handbrake on the left next to the passenger on RHD cars.

[TheITGuy]

Having had a MKII Octavia and now a MKII Octavia (1.5 TSI SEL manual) with 2 Superbs in between, in my opinion the MKIII Octavia does not feel as "solid" as my previous Skodas - the doors feel flimsy and rattle when closed, the bodywork metal seems ridiculously thin (even light finger pressure on the bonnet causes it to flex), there are obvious signs of cost saving (no gas strut for the bonnet, for example).  On the plus side, given the right conditions and driving style the 1.5 engine can be almost as economical as my previous 140 BHP 2L diesel Superb and the active cylinder technology works well.  There is plenty of kit (the acoustic rear sensors do also give you a display on the infotainment system) and the driving environment is rather pleasant. 

 

The ride is certainly a bit harsh and with numerous rattles and creaks it can make for an irritating journey, especially through urban areas where the road noise is not sufficient to mask these other noises!