Thinking about a new Octavia and leaning towards a 2.0tdi SEL.

 

I never use the engines potential on the current VRS I have now so don't really need the extra power of the VRs. I would go back to petrol and get the 190ps to have the IRS but where I work now (farming) they let me fill up the car once a month from the 'white' diesel tank that they use to fill up their cars that need to run 'white' diesel. So even though I only do about 8000 miles a year I reckon I would lose out by over £1000 a year if I went back to petrol and having to pay for it myself. Having the 150ps TDI means the torsion beam rear set up,is it really that bad (I would be speccing the 18" Alaris alloys) that I would need to spec DCC as well? Bear in mind that most of the day I'm pounding round the farm yards,roads and fields in a tractor or 4x4 loadall so I'm not exactly going to be overly sensitive to ride quality.

 

Then on to the sounds,the Vrs I have has the Canton upgrade but again I'm no audio phile and don't use it to it's full potential. Would say that probably 90% or more of the time we just listen to the radio. So is the standard sound system fine given that scenario?

Canton for me is one of the best things about my car. I spend 5-6 hours a week commuting and it's actually rather good, it makes the journeys so much more bearable.

 

How do you find it currently? The standard system is noticeably inferior imo.

Edited 2 March, 20197 yr by ahenners

I must admit I find myself underwhelmed by the Canton sound system, I don't notice any discernible difference in the sound quality than a non Canton system. 

 

What I do noticed is the amount of valuable space that it does take up. I most certainly won't be paying for it again.

I've driving an FL vrs with DCC and I did notice the difference on the more sportier of the settings.

 

I also 'test played' a VRS with and without a canton system at the time when I was in the speccing up stage of my car. I could notice the difference in the sound quality. It's no B&O system, but it certainly gives a better quality of sound. I don't feel the subwoofer is overpowering. On some car systems, even on the lowest settings, it can take over and either deafen you or break your back.

You need DCC to accommodate for catastrophic suspension and you need Canton to outsound all those rattles.

Think I need to get to local dealer and show enough interest to get a test drive to see what's what. Don't particularly want DSG but that's all that the cheapest broker I've found is offering as far the 2.0 diesel goes so need to see if I can even get on with an auto. Could ask the dealer what price they can come up with but I doubt they can get near the brokers price of £21,600 I've found online. That would be a 2.0 TDi SEL DSG. Quartz Grey, front/rear sensors,electric folding mirrors,heated front seats,spare wheel,18" alaris alloys and led rear light high,cornering front fogs and interior light package. Adding Canton and DCC pushes that to £22,800. That's taking it on a Skoda PCP agreement.

 

Must be a mid life crisis. Said I would never buy a new car again 

 

Only ever bought one brand new and that was back in 1988,was a mk2 Cavalier 1.6LX,when Vauxhall was doing it over 4 years and a deposit as low as £99. Nineteen years old and single at the time and on YTS. Doing enough OT to comfortably pay for it though or so I thought. Then within a couple of months I found love,married in less than a year and the first son 18 months after that. Became a bit of a struggle financially but got through it. 

14 hours ago, hatchy said:

Thinking about a new Octavia and leaning towards a 2.0tdi SEL.

 

I never use the engines potential on the current VRS I have now so don't really need the extra power of the VRs. I would go back to petrol and get the 190ps to have the IRS but where I work now (farming) they let me fill up the car once a month from the 'white' diesel tank that they use to fill up their cars that need to run 'white' diesel. So even though I only do about 8000 miles a year I reckon I would lose out by over £1000 a year if I went back to petrol and having to pay for it myself. Having the 150ps TDI means the torsion beam rear set up,is it really that bad (I would be speccing the 18" Alaris alloys) that I would need to spec DCC as well? Bear in mind that most of the day I'm pounding round the farm yards,roads and fields in a tractor or 4x4 loadall so I'm not exactly going to be overly sensitive to ride quality.

 

Then on to the sounds,the Vrs I have has the Canton upgrade but again I'm no audio phile and don't use it to it's full potential. Would say that probably 90% or more of the time we just listen to the radio. So is the standard sound system fine given that scenario?

Interesting, I started a similar thread for similar, and different reasons.  I also don't really use the VRS power fully, although it is good to have every now and again.  Like you I have been thinking about a 2.0 SEL version as I will be doing more mileage, with a small work mileage allowance, the VRS petrol use probably won't cover it. Anyway I need to work out the specs of both types of Octavia  with a price comparison, as the VRS obviously tends to have better kit on it already, and I think I would have to load up the  SEL with extra kit. Which broker were you looking at? 

Thanks. 

9 hours ago, stubev156 said:

Interesting, I started a similar thread for similar, and different reasons.  I also don't really use the VRS power fully, although it is good to have every now and again.  Like you I have been thinking about a 2.0 SEL version as I will be doing more mileage, with a small work mileage allowance, the VRS petrol use probably won't cover it. Anyway I need to work out the specs of both types of Octavia  with a price comparison, as the VRS obviously tends to have better kit on it already, and I think I would have to load up the  SEL with extra kit. Which broker were you looking at? 

Thanks. 

 Skoda's own configurator will give you the 'standard kit' on all models. The broker site I look at is drive the deal. Apparently the car will come from a Skoda dealer but the price is way way cheaper than what comes up on Skoda website.

I had Canton on my 2014 vrs. I don't have it on my 2018 model. Don't really notice any difference. Money better spent on heated windscreen if this is still available as an option. 

On 02/03/2019 at 19:59, hatchy said:

Having the 150ps TDI means the torsion beam rear set up,is it really that bad (I would be speccing the 18" Alaris alloys) that I would need to spec DCC as well? Bear in mind that most of the day I'm pounding round the farm yards,roads and fields in a tractor or 4x4 loadall so I'm not exactly going to be overly sensitive to ride quality.

On that basis, I’d say why bother? I haven’t ridden in a car with DCC and I don’t doubt its benefits, but if you’re used to bumping around fields then just being on a road in a car is going to be massively comfortable by comparison and save you hundreds of £s. 

On 02/03/2019 at 19:59, hatchy said:

I'm no audio phile and don't use it to it's full potential. Would say that probably 90% or more of the time we just listen to the radio. So is the standard sound system fine given that scenario?

Again, sounds like there’s no point paying for it from what you’ve said. 

My previous car was a 55-plate 2.0tdci Focus, 9 years older than the Octavia but a class leader in terms of handling in it's prime.

It's fair to say that the Octavia doesn't handle as well as the Focus but it is a bigger car for starters, the ride is also a lot more comfortable and tbh I'd take the Octavia's handling over that of the focus because unless you're racing point to point on a daily basis, you're really not going to notice much difference.

For me the handling is perfectly adequate, safe & comfortable and if I was going to be spec'ing a new one, I really don't think I could justify the cost of DCC.

One of the weakest areas for me is the sound output of the stereo, it sounds nice but the volume limiting is frustrating.  Whilst I've heard good things about the Canton upgrade, I've also heard less than glowing reports so I guess it's quite subjective.

 

Perhaps there are some members in your vicinity that do/don't have the upgrade and you could listen for yourself, maybe a dealer too?