Morning All,

 

I am in need of a new 'family' car and the Octavia VRS has worked its way onto the short list. 

Looking for little advice from Petrol and Diesel owners alike for real world MPG figures as i am torn which to go for (35 mile a day commute).

How are the DSG boxes on these models; any known issues or are they dim-witted? 

 

Is there any 'options' i should hold out for on models of this year, or on the other end of the scale - avoid!
I have been looking at the one below, the spec seems decent for the money?
 

 

Hello Matt 

 

220 vRS TSI DSG here, bought new three years ago.  Only just passes 24k miles.  Mine has a Revo Stage 1 map on it, taking it to around the 300bhp mark.  My average mpg is around 29 (see fuelly below), but I don't drive for economy and much of my commute is stop-start nose to tail sitting in traffic.  On a recent week away to Dorset I managed 42mpg to a tankful, so 40+ is quite doable according to the journey and how you're driving.  The six speed wet clutch DQ250 is a robust DSG and mine has been faultless - possibly the best auto I've had in 38 years.

 

In my opinion having a spare wheel rather than can of gunk is a must have.  Next time I'll probably opt for the winter pack too.

 

Gaz

Ignore the Extras Spec, 80% of the list is standard.  (paint and smart link added) 

 

Welcome by the way

1 minute ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

Ignore the Extras Spec, 80% of the list is standard.  (paint and smart link added) 

 

Welcome by the way

Thank you, they do have a great amount of standard equipment!

 

57 minutes ago, V6TDI said:

Hello Matt 

 

220 vRS TSI DSG here, bought new three years ago.  Only just passes 24k miles.  Mine has a Revo Stage 1 map on it, taking it to around the 300bhp mark.  My average mpg is around 29 (see fuelly below), but I don't drive for economy and much of my commute is stop-start nose to tail sitting in traffic.  On a recent week away to Dorset I managed 42mpg to a tankful, so 40+ is quite doable according to the journey and how you're driving.  The six speed wet clutch DQ250 is a robust DSG and mine has been faultless - possibly the best auto I've had in 38 years.

 

In my opinion having a spare wheel rather than can of gunk is a must have.  Next time I'll probably opt for the winter pack too.

 

Gaz

Hi Gaz,

Thank you for commenting, i am quite glad to hear you have had no issues with the gearbox, especially running a map.

I would look into having the car mapped quite quickly into ownership as mid-range grunt for B-road overtaking is a must! - At least i know the box will be able to cope!

The winter pack is a good call! - I live semi-rural so being open we get quite harsh frost, i stand there scraper in hand whilst the misses heated screen is done within 30secs (Ford Kuga ) 

 

Thanks

My DSG TDi is on 101k miles now and no issue. Love it, best auto going IMO. For your mileage I would go petrol every time but you’ll find it easier to go diesel with more to choose from. I do 140 miles a day in mine and it’s a great place to sit. I highly recommend the winter pack with heated screen because it’s a great option and one of the few that’s not worth bothering retrofitting. Go for post MY16 to get a SmartLink compatible radio for Android Auto/Apple CarPlay/MirrorLink and probably don’t read my build thread. Lots of very poor financial decisions and expensive retrofits in there haha. I kid, I like to think I have spent wisely haha

Some features I like to have (may or may not be standard on this model)

• MaxiDOT dash display - Let's you get to the car menus from the steering wheel without a laptop - Useful for changing stuff like making the lights legal for continental driving without stick on things. Needed for the Bluetooth phone kit. Look at the dash display with a door open. If it shows a little picture of the car indicating which door is open then it has MaxiDOT. It's a factory option and an absolute pig to retrofit if you want it and the car doesn't have it.
• Electronic dimming mirror - Mirror automatically dims when people with bright lights come up behind you at night. Comes with the auto lights and wiper options (same sensor pack). If the car has an "auto" position for the lights then this is fitted. If you can't see the light switch, look from the front for the sticky that holds the mirror onto the screen being large with "stuff" in it.
• Xenon headlights - Really crisp and hi viz clothing shows up a long way away.

 

 

Edited 12 February, 20197 yr by Papfox

Hi Matt I actually bought an ex-Skoda HQ Rallye Green Vrs TDi DSG back in August 2015 with just 7,000 miles on the clock. Because it was a 2014 (64 plate) it did not have Sat Nav but looked pretty similar to the car you are looking at. Cost me £20,500 from the local Skoda dealer and although I only kept it 7 months and did another 7,000 miles in it it was totally reliable and averaged 45mpg (driven BRISKLY of course). However did get 66mpg on a trip to Bicester Village (retail therapy with SWMBO).

Would I recommend one yes (think the road tax was £30 not sure) but did not really like the DSG in Sport mode, better left in Normal or Auto. Loved the colour so much I bought the wife a 2015 Rallye Green Rapid Spaceback to match the Vrs. My current petrol Vrs averaged 40mpg despite having 150bhp more than the diesel Vrs LOL.

Ah. I missed the fuel. Unless I was doing a lot of miles, I would opt for a petrol one. They are very much fun and can be sprinkled with fairy dust by a number of good tuning specialists to increase the size of your grin whilst still remaining civilised, easy to drive, family cars around town. You also won't have any problems with low emission zone charges for a number of years to come.

Edited 12 February, 20197 yr by Papfox

On 12/02/2019 at 13:46, Papfox said:

• MaxiDOT dash display - Let's you get to the car menus from the steering wheel without a laptop - Useful for changing stuff like making the lights legal for continental driving without stick on things. Needed for the Bluetooth phone kit. Look at the dash display with a door open. If it shows a little picture of the car indicating which door is open then it has MaxiDOT. It's a factory option and an absolute pig to retrofit if you want it and the car doesn't have it.
• Electronic dimming mirror - Mirror automatically dims when people with bright lights come up behind you at night. Comes with the auto lights and wiper options (same sensor pack). If the car has an "auto" position for the lights then this is fitted. If you can't see the light switch, look from the front for the sticky that holds the mirror onto the screen being large with "stuff" in it.

• I believe MaxiDOT has been standard on all British Mk III Octavias. The difference is that some have a higher resolution colour display, which IMO is nice to have but not vital.
• I have auto wipers and lights but not an auto dimming mirror, so the two don't always go together. Look for the manual adjustment lever on the bottom of the mirror to tell if it's automatic or not.

I would go petrol, I do 46 miles a day in mine and generally average about 40mpg for the commute, or around 36/37 per tank after some shorter trips at weekend.

 

Personally I think the DSG box is fantastic, can't see the appeal of a manual any more for a daily driver that will spend some time in traffic. It's generally reliable too as long as it's serviced every 40k.

 

Nice options to have are the winter pack (heated windscreen, washer nozzles and front seats), canton sound system (fantastic and much better than stock), and the colour Maxidot (the standard b+w one on the pre-facelift makes the setup look very dated otherwise). There's other stuff such as Dynamic chassis control (adaptive dampers), Adaptive cruise control which are also great options but fairly rare from what I have seen.

 

@papfox All 3 of those things you mentioned are standard on the VRS.

I'd also suggest that if you're looking at spending 17k anyway you might want to look at how much you can get a new one for through some of the brokers, asking around might net you a 230 (lower performance Petrol VRS)  for 20k.

5 minutes ago, SunsetZed said:

I'd also suggest that if you're looking at spending 17k anyway you might want to look at how much you can get a new one for through some of the brokers, asking around might net you a 230 (lower performance Petrol VRS)  for 20k.

 

Am I  correct in saying that the 230 Engine has been dropped. All new Petrol Vrs's are now the 245 variant 

7 minutes ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

 

Am I  correct in saying that the 230 Engine has been dropped. All new Petrol Vrs's are now the 245 variant 

 

Correct 

I thought there may be some still in stock with dealers but I could be wrong.

 

Usually there are cancelled orders that people can get hold of.

2015 220 DSG here. Echo comments about DSG having converted from manual I'm really enjoying it.

I've done 6k and average about 37mpg. Up to 44mpg being best.

 

Winter pack and spare wheel probably best two options. Thankfully I have them both. 

 

As Sasha mentioned go for MY16, anything 65 plate on will be. Some 15 plates will be but 65 on to be sure. 

 

Petrol models seam to be rarer and command a bit more over TDi of which there are plenty.